7th Annual Catamaran Writing Conference

Virtual Reading Series

July 26-30, 2020

Join us for a series of virtual readings, lectures, and craft talks. These events will be held via Crowdcast and are open to the public. Simply click on the “join event” button on the day and time listed. To learn more about our speakers scroll down the page. We are offering signed books for sale at our conference online book fair.

Special Guest Speaker, Sunday July 26th, 5pm

Jane Smiley

Faculty

Catamaran Writing Conference Evening Reading Series

Poetry readings, July 27th

Featuring Joseph Millar and Susan Browne, 5pm reading followed by audience Q&A

Joseph Millar’s first collection, Overtime, was a finalist for the 2001 Oregon Book Award. His second collection, Fortune, appeared in 2007, followed by a third, Blue Rust, in 2012. His latest collection Kingdom was released in February of 2017. He has won fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as a Pushcart Prize and has appeared in such magazines as DoubleTake, TriQuarterly, The Southern Review, APR, and Ploughshares. Millar teaches in Pacific University's low-residency MFA Program and in North Carolina State's MFA Program in Creative Writing.

Susan Browne’s poetry has appeared in Ploughshares, The Sun, Subtropics, The Southern Review, Superstition Review, Rattle, SWWIM, New Ohio Review, B O D Y, American Life in Poetry, Love’s Executive Order, and 180 More, Extraordinary Poems for Every Day. Her first book of poetry, Buddha’s Dogs (Four Way Books), was awarded the Intro Prize. Her second book of poetry, Zephyr (Steel Toe Books), won the Editor’s Prize. Her third collection, Just Living, won the Catamaran Poetry Prize, 2019. Other awards include prizes from the Chester H. Jones Foundation, the National Writer’s Union, the Los Angeles Poetry Festival, and the River Styx International Poetry Contest. She received a fellowship from the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, and her work has been nominated for three Pushcart Awards.

Fiction readings, july 28th

Featuring Josip Novakovich and Lisa Fugard, 5pm reading followed by audience Q&A

Josip Novakovich emigrated from Croatia to the United States at the age of 20. He has published a dozen books, including a novel, April Fool's Day (in ten languages), five story collections (Infidelities, Yolk, Salvation and Other Disasters, Heritage of Smoke, and Tumbleweed) and three collections of narrative essays as well as two books of practical criticism. His novel, Rubble of Rubles, is scheduled for publication in 2021. His work was anthologized in Best American Poetry, the Pushcart Prize and O. Henry Prize Stories. He has received the Whiting Writer's Award, a Guggenheim fellowship, the Ingram Merrill Award and an American Book Award, and in 2013 he was a Man Booker International Award finalist.

Lisa Fugard is the author of Skinner’s Drift, a New York Times Notable Book and a runner up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Her novel was also a finalist for the LA Times First Fiction Award. Her short stories have been published in numerous literary journals, Outside, the British Council’s NW 15: The Anthology of New Writing, featured on Selected Shorts and anthologized in a Houghton Mifflin Harcourt text book of world literature for high school students. She has also had numerous travel articles in the New York Times.

Nonfiction readings, july 29th

Featuring Dan White and Charles Hood, 5 pm reading followed by audience Q&A

Dan White is the author of The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind and Almost Found Myself on the Pacific Crest Trail (Harper Collins), an NCIBA bestseller and Los Angeles Times “Discovery” selection, and Under The Stars: How America Fell In Love With Camping (Henry Holt & Co.), which Cheryl Strayed described as “the definitive book on camping in America.” His writing has been published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Outside, Poets & Writers, Catamaran literary magazine and the Washington Post. He has an MFA in nonfiction from Columbia University, where he was a Dean’s Fellow and taught in the Undergraduate Writing Program. Dan was a Steinbeck Fellow at the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University. He has taught writing at Columbia University and San Jose State. Before pursuing his MFA, he worked as the city reporter for the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

Charles Hood grew up in Atwater beside the Los Angeles River. He has been a bird guide in Africa, a translator in New Guinea, and a National Science Foundation Artist-in-Residence in Antarctica. He is the author of many books and essays including A Californian’s Guide to the Birds among Us. Charles has received numerous fellowships and writing awards, and his most recent artist-in-residence positions were with the National Science Foundation in Antarctica and with Playa Arts in Oregon. He has also been a visiting professor in England, Mexico, and Papua New Guinea. Hood is currently a research fellow with the Center for Art and Environment at the Nevada Museum of Art as well as a teacher of writing and photography at Antelope Valley College in the Mojave Desert.

Online Daily Craft Talks Schedule

Topics are related to the craft of creative writing, giving attendees a chance to experience craft topics outside the focus of their small group writing workshops. Craft talks are one hour each, with a a portion of the hour devoted to discussing questions raised by participants. The craft talks will be presented by professional authors, poets, editors, and agents all working in literary field.  

Zack Rogow is the author, editor, or translator of more than twenty books or plays. His most recent poetry collection is Irreverent Litanies from Regal House Publishing.

Karen Joy Fowler finished her seventh novel one week ago. ( This is a little aspirational because as I write this, it's not finished, but I believe, I believe, I believe it will be true by the time I speak.)  She also writes short fiction, which she likes writing better, and has published three collections.  She lives in Santa Cruz.

Neal Snidow’s first memoir is titled Vista Del Mar. His writing has been published twice in Catamaran Literary Reader, and is working on a second memoir.

Joan Rose is a writer, artist, and creative coach dedicated to assisting others rediscover their purpose, stay on their life path, and complete their creative projects.

Virtual Readings Schedule

Each evening join us for readings from our conference faculty at 5:00 pm followed by a Q&A from the audience. Signed books are available for sale at our online book fair.