Join writer E.J. Koh for a free one-hour Q&A. E.J. will offer some tips, tricks, and advice on the art and craft of writing a novel. Come to the call with questions about your work-in-progress or for ideas about how to get started.
Hugo House welcomes author John Whittier Treat as he launches his new novel, First Consonants, the story of a boy who grows up a stutterer in the Pacific Northwest. Using his fists whenever words fail him, Brian's acts of violence are exacerbated by the abuse he suffers as a teenager at the hands of his
Write-O-Rama is your chance to try out several workshops offered by Hugo House teachers all in one writing-packed day! Sample Hugo House classes, meet our teachers, and try out genres and topics outside your purview without the pressure of registering for a full class. This season's event is presented in partnership with Secret Garden Books!Event
Join Hugo House in welcoming Phong Nguyen for a special reading and craft talk around his latest book, Bronze Drum. Nguyen, a hapa (half-Asian) writer, will be giving readings from his work over the years and discussing them in the context of his development as a literary artist, offering a panorama, rather than a snapshot
There are so many good poems. There are, however, very few perfect poems. While we understand perfection is subjective and unachievable, why is Brigit Pegeen Kelly’s "Song" a favorite, a perfect poem among poets? In this craft talk, Nicole Sealey examines "Song," its leaps, sounds, images, digressions, syntax, and embellishments, eight years in the making. Understanding the forces behind this beloved
Word Works craft talks by novelists, essayists, poets, and memoirists focus on writing as process rather than finished product, examining how language works to inspire and provoke new ideas through live close readings of the writer’s own or others’ work. These talks are designed to apply to writers of all genres as well as illuminate
From unreliability to intimacy, first-person offers the writer a rich arsenal with which to build tension, plot and characterization. But for Katie Kitamura, the shift to writing in the first person was also very personal, and had to do with her own relationship to her writing—where she located herself in her own fiction. In this
Join us in the Hugo House Lapis Theater for an evening of poetry and conversation between three award-winning Washington poets. Kelli Russell Agodon, Katerina Canyon, and Caitlin Scarano will read in a call-and-response style and discuss identity and writing in the complexity of our current social context.
A good poem makes feeling and thinking scrutable, and makes use of any number of tools (think sonics, image, tone, diction, figurative speech, lineation, white space) to help the writer go more deeply into the material of the poem and engage the reader’s imaginative participation as fully as possible. In this talk, Mark Doty read and discuss
This event has been cancelled. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and will be in touch with ticket holders soon regarding their purchases. Thank you for your understanding.In a global literary and intellectual culture awash in misinformation and at the same time, so seemingly obsessed with the rhetoric of free speech, cancellation, and the supposed dangers of things like "critical race theory," how
Drawing on a personal blog post, Bethany C. Morrow will discuss how integral a stage of her writing process—thinking about writing—has been, and why she thinks it can combat (the possible misnomer) "writer's block." Morrow will be joined in conversation by Nisi Shawl.Word Works craft talks by novelists, essayists, poets, and memoirists focus on writing as
Early career writers often assume that readers’ interest and attention are a given, while, in truth, readers have limited amounts of either to spare. To meet this challenge, writers can employ a number of techniques to communicate that their stories will pay off and ultimately be worth readers’ precious time. Jonathan Escoffery will provide strategies
Join us in welcoming Cedar Sigo, poet and member of the Suquamish Tribe, for a reading from his collection of work followed by a conversation with Hugo House Executive Director Diana Delgado and a Q&A session with the audience. Books, provided by our friends at Elliott Bay Book Company, will be available for purchase and
Is there always a cat in the room? Can you really hear Mars? Does the Moon ever get lonely? Will there be a banjo? For these answers and more, join poets Sally Ashton, Marjorie Manwaring, and Molly Tenenbaum for a diverting evening of poetry, conversation, and a bit of live music. Brief Q&A to follow. Doors
This event is FREE and open to the public.Join us for an evening with Steve Almond, whose new book, Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow, explores the emotional struggles that we bring to our writing. Together, we'll explore everything from the anxiety of exposure to ego need and envy—without judgment or platitudes. The
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