Teachers

Jon Lanthier is a writer, filmmaker, and musician. He's published several pieces of arts criticism; directed an award-winning documentary; and led workshops on antiracist nonprofit communications. He believes that the best art facilitates conversations between creators and their communities.

Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe is from the Upper Skagit and Nooksack Indian Tribes. Native to the Pacific Northwest, she draws inspiration from her coastal heritage as well as her life in the city. She writes with a focus on trauma and resilience, ranging topics from PTSD, sexual violence, the work her great grandmother did for the Lushootseed language revitalization, to loud basement punk shows and what it means to grow up mixed heritage. Sasha teaches creative writing at the Native Pathways Program at Evergreen and is a mentor for Seattle’s youth poet laureate program. Her memoir, Red Paint, has received starred reviews from Kirkus and Shelf Awareness and is available through Counterpoint Press. Her collection of poetry, Rose Quartz, is available through Milkweed Press. Her essay collection, Thunder Song, is forthcoming from Counterpoint Press. 

Ana-Maurine Lara (PhD) is a scholar and a national award-winning novelist and poet. She is the author of: Erzulie’s Skirt (RedBone Press, 2006), When the Sun Once Again Sang to the People (KRK Ediciones, 2011), Watermarks and Tree Rings (Tanama Press, 2011), Kohnjehr Woman (RedBone Press, 2017), Cantos (letterpress, limited edition 2015), and Sum of Parts (Tanama Press, 2019). Her academic books include: Queer Freedom: Black Sovereignty (SUNY Press, 2020) and Streetwalking: LGBTQ Lives and Protest in the Dominican Republic (Rutgers University Press, 2020). Lara’s work focuses on questions of Black and Indigenous people and freedom. She has been published in literary journals (Sable LitMag, Transitions Literary Journal), scholarly journals (Small Axe, Bilingual Revue, Sargasso, Feminist Review) and numerous anthologies, as a scholar and as a creative writer. She is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Oregon, in the Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

David Lasky is the co-author of the Eisner-Award-winning graphic novel, Carter Family: Don’t Forget This Song, but he is better known to children as the guy who colored Cece Bell’s awesome graphic novel, El Deafo, a Newbery Honor Book. David is currently at work on a graphic novel that will focus on the historic Georgetown Steam Plant, commissioned by Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture and City Light. He teaches comics at numerous venues in the Seattle area, including Richard Hugo House and Coyote Central.

Pulitzer Prize finalist Dorianne Laux’s most recent collection is Only As The Day Is Long: New and Selected, W.W. Norton. She is also author of The Book of Men, winner of the Paterson Poetry Prize and Facts about the Moon, winner of the Oregon Book Award. She recently published a limited edition chapbook, SALT, from The Field Office Press. Laux teaches poetry at North Carolina State and Pacific University. In 2020, she was elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.

REID LAUZON (they/them) is currently a Junior studying Creative Writing at the University of Washington. Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, they now consider Seattle home. They are passionate about minimalist fiction and contemporary poetry. They received an Honorable Mention in the 2021 Seattle Colleges League for Innovations Student Literary Contest, Poetry division. In their spare time, they are a full-time cat parent, crow feeder, and an occasional fire spinner.

Courtney LeBlanc is the author of the full-length collections Her Whole Bright Life (winner of the Jack McCarthy Book Prize, Write Bloody, 2023), Exquisite Bloody, Beating Heart (Riot in Your Throat, 2021) and Beautiful & Full of Monsters (Vegetarian Alcoholic Press, 2020). She is a Virginia Center for Creative Arts fellow (2022) and the founder and editor-in-chief of Riot in Your Throat, an independent poetry press. She loves nail polish, tattoos, and a soy latte each morning. Read her publications on her blog: www.wordperv.com. Follow her on twitter: @wordperv, and IG: @wordperv79. 

Kate Lebo’s writing is anthologized in Best American Essays 2015 and her first collection of nonfiction, The Book of Difficult Fruit, was published by FSG in Spring 2021. She’s the author of Pie School and co-editor (with Samuel Ligon) of Pie & Whiskey.

Kimberly Lee, JD, is the author of the gripping thriller, Have You Seen Him. A versatile writer, workshop facilitator, editor, and creativity coach, she has a passion for nurturing the imaginative spirit and helping others reveal their own inner wisdom. Kimberly left the practice of law some years ago to focus on motherhood, community work, and creative pursuits. A graduate of Stanford University and UC Davis School of Law, she is an Amherst Writers & Artists facilitator and holds additional certifications from Guided Autobiography, The Center for Journal Therapy, The Center for Intentional Creativity, The Path Meditation, and SoulCollage®. She has led workshops at numerous retreats, conferences, and nonprofit and corporate venues. A former editor and regular contributor at Literary Mama, Kimberly has also served on the staffs of Carve and F(r)iction magazines. Her stories and essays have appeared in publications and anthologies including Minerva Rising, LA Parent, Words and Whispers, Toyon, The Ekphrastic Review, Writers Read, I Am Woman: Expressions of Black Womanhood in America, the Better Sleep app, and elsewhere. Kimberly trusts in the magic and mystery of miracles and synchronicity, and believes that everyone is creative and has unique gifts to share. She lives in Southern California with her husband and three children. Connect with Kimberly at KimberlyLee.me.

Margot Leitman is an award-winning storyteller, best-selling author, speaker and teacher. A former story scout for "This American Life," she is considered a leading expert in the growing field of storytelling. Leitman has written two books on the subject: the best-selling, Long Story Short: The Only Storytelling Guide You'll Ever Need and her latest What’s Your Story? A Workbook For the Storyteller in All of Us both from Sasquatch Books. Her comedic memoir, Gawky: Tales of an Extra Long Awkward Phase is available from Seal Press/Perseus Books

Eric LeMay has taught writing at Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Chicago. He is currently on the faculty of the writing program at Ohio University, his alma mater. He is also a host on the New Books Network. He is the author of five books, most recently Remember Me. His poetry and prose have appeared in The Paris Review, DIAGRAM, Salon, Poetry Daily, the Best Food Writing series, and other venues. He lives in Athens, Ohio, with fellow writer, Kristin LeMay, and their son.