Taos Summer Writers Conference
I returned on Saturday from a week-long writing conference that was totally worth it. I’ve been disappointed by such conferences in the past, but this one was different. Having spent five years (you read that right–I took the long road) in an MFA program, I wasn’t sure I’d ever want to “workshop” again, but by mid-winter this past year, I realized that I missed this aspect to writing and the writers community. I knew I didn’t want to join a writing group again, but I needed feedback on a first chapter I had recently completely re-written. The Taos Summer Writers Conference hosts a number of writing workshops of all levels, taught by some literary heavy hitters: Robert Boswell (my literary superhero), his amazing wife, Antonya Nelson, Wally Lamb, Pam Houston, Joy Harjo, just to name a few. My own instructor for the novel-in-progress was Laura Brodie, a writer of both novels and non-fiction. Her workshop was smart, wise, compassionate, funny, and practical. My peers were archeologists, medical doctors, psychiatrists, English professors, event planners, military air pilots, grad students and…housewives (that would be me). I’ve rarely been in a more interesting workshop group, one that was both smart and critical of work presented, but also kind and open-minded. And how can you go wrong in Taos? The dry air and mountains and sunshine, which were all *really* great once I got over the altitude sickness, complete with a short episode of vomiting, made the experience all the more positive. My hope is to return to this conference again, but participate in one of the master’s classes for the novel (requiring a fully completed manuscript). Check out this year’s schedule of events: