WLT hosts Third Thursday each month, featuring discussions focusing on specific topics of interest to writers and readers, bringing together distinguished panelists for conversations moderated by a WLT staff member.
For many writers, the new year brings renewed energy and determination for the writing life. Whether we’re setting out to start a new project, returning to an old one, or even trying out a new genre, January is the time for us to look ahead and set ourselves up for success in the year to come. For our first Third Thursday of 2023, join us for a conversation with three writers who are ready to share how they’re preparing for their new year of writing. We’ll dive into everything from writing routines, tools, community, and more. This conversation will be moderated by WLT Program Director Sam Babiak.
Featured Presenters:
Matt Bell is the author most recently of the novels Appleseed (a New York Times Notable Book of 2021), Scrapper (a Michigan Notable Book), and In the House upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods (a finalist for the Young Lions Fiction Award). His stories have appeared in Best American Mystery Stories, Esquire, Tin House, Conjunctions, Fairy Tale Review, Gulf Coast, and many other publications. A native of Michigan, he now teaches creative writing at Arizona State University.
Beverly “Bev” Chukwu is a Nigerian American writer, script consultant, and behavior therapist from Garland, TX. When she is not working with neurodivergent kids and teens, she is a development exec for Pipeline Media. Bev is an alum of the James A. Michener Center for Writers, where she received a fellowship in screenwriting and fiction. Her screenplay, PRINCE OF LAVENDALE STREET, was the feature winner in the BlueCat Screenplay Competition, and an excerpt of her novel-in-progress, OF BROKEN THINGS, was published in Vol. 2 of the I Scream Social Anthology. Bev is a queer writer, who tells stories about assimilation, the allure of groupthink, and characters who struggle with being someone they are not. Mental health advocacy for people of the Black diaspora is at the forefront of her work.
Katie Gutierrez is the author of the debut novel MORE THAN YOU'LL EVER KNOW. She has an MFA from Texas State University, and her writing has appeared in TIME, Harper's Bazaar, Texas Highways, and more. She lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband and their two kids.
Sam Babiak holds a B.A. in English Literature with a certificate in Creative Writing with Honors from the University of Texas at Austin. She has experience working on the fiction board for Echo Literary Arts Magazine, Badgerdog Creative Writing Camps, and the Texas Book Festival. Her writing can be found or is forthcoming from HotHouse Literary Journal and the lickety~split. She is from Laredo, Texas and currently lives in Austin, Texas.
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