Focus: Setting, Characterization

Debut author Amy E. Casey will introduce her novel The Sturgeon’s Heart and speak about her unique approach to letting the setting drive the process of writing a novel. She will lead participants through an interactive craft workshop–writers will test different approaches for leveraging sense of place to create emotional resonance in fiction. In other words, we’ll see how setting and characterization can intertwine to inform one another.

Perfect for intermediate and experienced writers, but also accessible for the beginner, this 90-minute workshop will help you move beyond worldbuilding and into worldwalking… instead of simply knowing things about the world of your story, you’ll come away with new skills to breathe life into it.  Bring your writing materials, whether laptop, notebook, or napkin, and worldwalk with us for a memorable evening of learning, writing, and sharing. All genres of writing are welcome! 

Amy will also be happy to personalize and sign copies of her novel The Sturgeon’s Heart for interested readers.

Mentor texts: 

The Sturgeon’s Heart, Amy E. Casey 

The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood

The Rose and the Beast, Francesca Lia Block

Fauna, Christiane Vadnais (Translated by Pablo Strauss

Ages: 16+ 

Cost: $20 (Summer 2022 Promotional Rate)

Max : 15 participants

Amy E. Casey lives and writes in Wisconsin, near the cold freshwater shore of Lake Michigan. From there, she dreams up stories of quiet monsters and wild landscapes. Her short fiction and poetry have been published in Split Rock Review, Psaltery & Lyre, Club Plum, NonBinary Review, Bramble, and elsewhere. She does a large portion of her writing on a Smith Corona Classic 12 manual typewriter from 1964. The Sturgeon’s Heart is her first novel.