Aspen Summer Words: Public Panels
The public events at Summer Words feature award-winning and best-selling authors in conversation about the writing life, the impact of literature, and more. Advance tickets are only available for the two evening events at Belly Up, and can be purchased at aspenshowtix.com. Tickets to the afternoon panels at The Gant are available at the door of each event. Read featured author bios here.
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MONDAY, JUNE 19, 2017
We All Start Somewhere – Dani Shapiro & Hannah Tinti
3:30PM – 4:30PM | The Gant | Tickets at the door
You all ventured away from your writing desk to the Rocky Mountains for a week…now what? Dani Shapiro and Hannah Tinti give advice on how to utilize this week to seek progress in your writing life.
Literature With Impact – Chinelo Okparanta, Ben Fountain & Saïd Sayrafiezadeh
5:15PM – 6:30PM | Belly Up | ASPENSHOWTIX.COM
The $35,000 Aspen Words Literary Prize was launched this year to honor an influential work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue. How can literature forge connections and shape public conversation around critical issues, without polarizing readership? Carole DeSanti will moderate a discussion between Chinelo Okparanta, Ben Fountain, and Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, where they will look at the transformative power of literature on thought and culture.
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TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017
Crafting Character – George Hodgman, Jane Hamilton & Ben Fountain
4:00PM – 5:15PM | The Gant | Tickets at the door
We all have those characters we know and love, that live on in our imaginations long after we finish reading a story. George Hodgman, Jane Hamilton, and Ben Fountain share their advice on writing compelling characters.
Living the Creative Life – Jess Walter, Dani Shapiro & Jericho Brown
6:00PM – 7:15PM | Belly Up | ASPENSHOWTIX.COM
Making a life as an artist has its joys, just as it has its frustrations. Rejection, confusion, disappointment – can all make a creative career an uphill battle. Simply finding time to create can seem impossible. Hear from three authors on their experience of finding ease and clarity in the creative life.
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THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 2017
The Take Away – DeSanti, Brown, Hamilton, Tinti & Walter
4:00PM – 5:15PM | The Gant | Tickets at the door
Now what? After a week of full immersion into the art of fiction, memoir, and poetry, what will happen when you return to the blank page? Summer Words faculty share their advice for reentering the day to day writing life.