LITFEST SCHEDULE

May 20th, 2025

Allen Library Petersen Room

10:00-11:00 am - LitFest Inaugural Performance

11:00-11:50 am - Writer's Workshops

Learn how to improve your writing with one of our experts:

What Comes After the End with Andrea Karin Nelson
Journaling to Become a Better Person with Christina Wolfgram
So You Say You Aren't a Translation Studies Person? with Aria Fani

12:00-1:20 pm - Author Panel and Q&A

Listen in on a lively discussion between five local, Seattle authors:

Wendy Martin
Sujin Witherspoon
Keshara Moore
Zoe Hana Mikuta
Alma Garcia

1:30-2:20 pm - Creative Storytelling Workshop

Get hands-on experience with storytelling and book-making:

Gavin Verhey
Accordian Book-Making with Maya Sonenberg

2:30-3:50 pm - Featured Author Reading

Come and hear UW Alumna, E.J. Koh, read selections from her critically acclaimed memoir The Magical Language of Others. There will be a Q&A, book signing opportunity, and live-podcast recording of this session.

4:00-5:00 pm - Refreshments & Open Mic

Book Fair (located on the HUB Lawn)

11:00-3:00 pm - Book Fair: featuring UW student publications, local Seattle authors, literary organizations, and bookstores

May 21st, 2025 - Interdisciplinary Research Colloquium

Allen Library Petersen Room

10:00-11:00 am - Poster & Projects Gallery

Senior theses and projects will be set-up around the Petersen Room for guests to view and discuss throughout the day.

11:15-11:30 am - Opening Remarks

11:30-1:00 pm - Presentations (Block 1)

Students will give 10-minute, formal presentations about their research.

1:00-1:30 pm - Break

1:30-3:00 pm - Presentations (Block 2)

Students will give 10-minute, formal presentations about their research.

3:00-4:00 pm - Reception

Speakers & Sessions

LitFest is only made possible by our wonderful partnerships with organizations across UW and Seattle. In addition to being sponsored by the UW Libraries, Comparative History of Ideas Department, and UBookstore, here is who you can expect to see at LitFest!

Writer's Workshops

— May 20th 11:00-11:50 am

What Comes After the End

Did you recently finish a draft of your manuscript but aren’t sure what comes next? Come learn tips for crossing the finish line of your manuscript and what to do after you type THE END. We'll discuss how to approach revisions, structuring your rewrite process, how and when to solicit feedback, querying agents, and more. Participants will leave with practical exercises to apply to their work in progress.

About Andrea Karin Nelson: In addition to her developmental editing work with published novelists, playwrights, and essayists, Andrea brings a unique set of experiences and skills to her editing craft. Twenty years as a writer and theater maker has developed her keen sense of story structure, plot, and character development. Her plays have been commissioned and produced across the United States and performed in both English and American Sign Language and her fiction has been published in 34thParallel Magazine. Fifteen years as a Master-Level, Certified Sign Language Interpreter finely tuned her ear to the subtleties of language and the nuances of human interactions. And with over two decades as an educator, her teacher's heart allows Andrea to personally tailor her work with each writer.

Journaling to Become a Better Person

Do you have a collection of half-filled notebooks hidden in your desk? Then this workshop is for you! Join comedy writer and author Christina Wolfgram for a fun, practical workshop on making journaling work for you. Whether you’re looking for creative inspiration, self-reflection, or just a way to actually finish a dang notebook, you’ll leave with personalized goals, invigorating writing prompts, and the motivation to fill those pages.

About Christina Wolfgram: Christina Wolfgram is a sit-down comedian and author of F*cking Deal With It, a humor-driven mental health workbook based in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Her writing has appeared all over the internet, most notably the Facebook Watch series Christina Tried Her Best, which has been viewed over 500 million times. Christina has a Masters of Professional Writing from USC and you can keep up with her (and her beautiful cat) on her substack, The Sob Blog.

So You Say You Aren't a Translation Studies Person?

All literary scholars engage translation in one way or another in both scholarship and teaching. Yet, many continue to perceive translation studies --the field that theorizes the histories, operations, and reception of translated texts-- as peripheral or even inapplicable to their research and pedagogy. In this workshop, we will discuss ways --small (e.g. assignment) big (e.g. syllabus)-- how to help students develop translation literacy. The fundamental question at the core of translation literacy concerns the utilization of translation studies as a heuristic in academia and in life. Come to find out how you are a translation studies person and you just don't know it yet.

About Aria Fani: Aria Fani is an assistant professor of Persian and Iranian studies at the University of Washington, where he co-convenes the Translation Studies Hub. His first book, Reading across Borders: Afghans, Iranians, and Literary Nationalism (University of Texas Press, 2024), was translated into Persian by Shirazeh Press in Iran. Outside of academia, he advocates for non-citizen Americans, focusing on asylum seekers from Central America.

Author Panel and Q&A

— May 20th 12:00-1:20 pm

Sujin Witherspoon is a Korean-American author, artist, and lover of words she can’t pronounce. She is the author of Bingsu for Two. Having earned her degree in English from the University of Washington, she spends her time writing, thinking about writing, or thinking about how she should be writing. You can find her online at sujinwitherspoon.com

Keshara McRae is a writer and storyteller whose work centers Black girls and women—especially those often labeled “far out” for being their full, multifaceted selves. A military kid turned criminal justice grad, Keshara has lived everywhere from Germany to New Orleans and now calls Seattle home, where she works in Business Operations by day and writes by night. Her debut novel, The Obsidian Society, took shape during the pandemic and reflects her passion for exploring identity, queerness, and the evolution of Black culture in America. Through her platform, Far Out Black Girl, she creates space for stories that are unapologetically Black, queer, and deeply human. She is working on her second book and also trying her hand at shorter format stories.

Alma García is the author of the novel, All That Rises (University of Arizona Press, 2023). Her award-winning short fiction has appeared in Narrative Magazine and elsewhere and appears most recently in phoebe and the anthology Puro Chicanx Writers of the 21st Century. She is a past recipient of a fellowship from the Rona Jaffe Foundation. Originally from El Paso and later from Albuquerque, she now lives in Seattle, where she teaches fiction writing at Hugo House and is a manuscript consultant.

Creative Storytelling Workshop

— May 20th 1:30-2:20 pm

This is a hands-on workshop on making a physical accordion book. We’ll start by looking at a variety of accordion books, then move on to making our own text blocks and covers, and end by completing an exercise or two on developing content appropriate for that form. You’ll come away with a blank book and a plan for filling it with text and images. All supplies will be provided, and absolutely no previous book-binding, art-making, or crafty experience is necessary!!!

About Maya Sonenberg: Maya Sonenberg is the the S. Wilson and Grace M. Pollock Professor in Creative Writing at the University of Washington. Her story collections include Cartographies (winner of the Drue Heinz Prize) and Bad Mothers, Bad Daughters (winner of the Sullivan Prize). She has also published fiction and nonfiction containing images, and her artist’s book, Contained, can be found in Special Collections at Suzallo/Allen Library. For years she taught an undergraduate creative writing class with a focus on artists’ books.

Book Fair Vendors

— May 20th 11:00-3:00 pm

Seattle Literary Organizations:

Short Run
Girl Noise Press
Adelaide Blair
The Vera Project Screen Print Studio
Wave Books
Left Bank Books
Chin Music Press
Common Area Maintenance
Charles Queer Books
Seattle Arts & Lectures
Tulipwood Books

UW RSOs:

Jackson School Journal of International Studies
The Historical Review at UW
HOMEROOM UW
UW Journal of Political Science
Grey Matters

Writer's Workshops

Author Panel

Creative

Book Fair

LITFEST SCHEDULE

May 20th, 2025

Allen Library Petersen Room

Book Fair (located on the HUB Lawn)

May 21st, 2025 - Interdisciplinary Research Colloquium

Allen Library Petersen Room

Speakers & Sessions

Writer's Workshops

Author Panel and Q&A

Creative Storytelling Workshop

Book Fair Vendors

BRICOLAGE LITERARY & VISUAL ARTS JOURNAL