April 9-April 12

Book Fest Highlights:

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See You There!

A Uniquely Formatted Online Course to Create a Compelling Opening

What to Expect:

Starting 6/3/26, participants have 13 days to watch 4 instructional videos and do exercises via a private webpage. Participants spruce up or create a dynamic opening for a book, memoir, or short story of up to 300 words.
Two Ask Me Anything video calls will take place during that time to clear up any confusion about the videos or the exercises and to help you make your opening as compelling as possible. And I do mean "Anything"–even questions about writing that fall outside the course are welcome.
By 6/15/26, opening pages are submitted and distributed anonymously to the other participants via a link.
Participants review other writers’ openings and answer three questions by 6/29/26 (14 days):

Does it make you want to turn the page and keep reading?
What hooked you?
What would have been an even stronger hook?

A summary of participant feedback will be emailed to each writer prior to 6/30/26.
On 7/3/26, the group meets on the internet to review and discuss feedback received.

$50 Registration Due by 6/15/26

Questions:

C@CAlexSmith.com

C. Alex Smith started her writing career as a political blogger on the Daily Kos in 2008. She was invited to be one of three editors on a well-researched weekly blog concerning economics, politics, environmental concerns, medicine, and science.

She moved on in 2014 to being the host of Spec Fix Pix, a podcast for fans of Sci Fi, Fantasy and Horror.

After moving back to Arizona in 2018, she became a co-founder of Flagstaff Writers Connection. She continues to work for FWC to maintain their internet presence, host the local Critique Circle, and to provide occasional workshops and courses on writing and the publishing industry. She also edits two newsletters on Substack: Speculative Fiction Picks & Writing Tips.

Since 2008 she has been writing science fiction and alternate history. She has five complete manuscripts and three partial manuscripts. Two of her manuscripts took second place at the Arizona Authors Association Literary Contest.

Short Story Workshop

Learn The Advantages and Artistry of Writing Short Stories

10 am-3pm

Saturday, Nov 8 & Sunday, Nov 9

Luke AFB Recreation Area

415 Battalion Rd

Fort Tuthill, Flagstaff

$125 for Weekend Workshop

**Lunch Included**

Deadline to Register 11/5/25

Classes will discuss:

Story Structure–Once a writer understands the structure of a story, it’s easier to write one. We will discuss three common structures: Linear, In Medias Res, and In Finis

Literary Devices–Learn to access hundreds of literary devices including: Metaphor, Simile, and Analogy.

Setting and Scene–Learn to implement a chosen literary device in a scene to improve the impact of your story.

Characterization–Learn about attachable characters and non-attachable characters and the purpose of each. Create a character to integrate into your story.

Point of View– Learn various ways to tell their story: known narrator, unknown narrator, animal, inanimate object, or entirely through dialogue and action.

Dialogue–Practice integrating dialogue into your plot.

Show Don't Tell–Turn boring description into a sensory experience for the reader

Publication–How and where to get noticed.

Requirements: This is a generative workshop so bring supplies to write a new short story with you. Also bring a way to access the internet: phone, tablet, or computer.

Krista Carter has been writing since age 10. She has published non-fiction and fiction and won awards as a playwright. Krista holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Indiana University, a Master’s in Sociology from Central Michigan University, and a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan. She has taught Creative Writing, Composition, Sociology, and Psychology. Krista writes stories for fun and explores the literary components that make a story a piece of art. She is currently working on a novel and a non-fiction book. She works as a mental health therapist, coach, and editor.

Shut Up & Write!

This Saturday (4/19/25) is the return of

Come to Flagstaff's

iHop Pancake House

on the

first and third Saturdays of the month at

10 am

to write, share, and inspire one another.

Itinerary

10:00: Introductions. Socializing.

10:30: Quiet time to write.

11:00: Break.

11:15: Quiet time to write.

11:45: Concluding check-in to see how everyone did. Don't worry, no one will ask you to read what you've written.

Stick around, order lunch, and talk to other writers.

12:30: Critique Circle starts.

Book Fest

April 10-April 13 of 2025

Book Fest Highlights:

NOAZBF Heritage Square Literary Book Fair

Exhibitor Booths, Readings & Performances

All day Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

@ Heritage Square (22 E Aspen)

11 a.m. - 6 p.m Wasted Ink. Zine Distro sponsored Maker Table: DIY Make and Take Zines at Heritage Square Maker Table

11 a.m. Children's Story Hour + Craft

Matthew Henry Hall and Terrilyn Trejo

12:30 p.m. Youth Poet Laureate of Flagstaff and Youth Poetry Council present Literary Trivia Come out, play in a team or individually, and win some cool prizes!

2 p.m. Local Presses Showcase

Writers from Soulstice Publishing, Rinky Dink Press, The Thalweg, Little Somethings Press, and Shō Poetry Journal

3:30 p.m. Indigenous Storytelling

Ed Kabotie, Shaina Nez, + more!

5 p.m. Haiku Death Match + Ed Mabrey

Sign up to win CASH prizes for your haikus! Simply show up, sign up, and recite your poems. Followed by a featured performance by the GOAT poet, Ed Mabrey!

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Volunteer Opportunities

Library of the Damned

“This is a dangerous time for readers and the public servants who provide access to reading materials. Readers, particularly students, are losing access to critical information, and librarians and teachers are under attack for doing their jobs.”

Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Libraries Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom

The Literary Community comes together each year in the last full week of September to honor our freedom to read and share ideas—even unpopular ideas. Banned Books Week spotlights historic and current attempts to censor literature in schools and libraries.

Every year Flagstaff Writer's Connection joins the American Library Association to celebrate banned books by reading them, and making the public more aware of the problem of censorship. Despite this annual event, book banning has become more prevalent in the last few years. This year, I will be bringing you daily articles about the epidemic of book banning on our Facebook Page.

You are invited to take part in this celebration by reading part of a banned book and submiting your recording to the National Virtual Read Out where your recording will appear on their YouTube channel

You might be surprised at some of the books that have been banned in the past. Here is a short list:

The Call of the Wild by Jack London
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Animal Farm and 1984 by George Orwell
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (Some people have an underdeveloped sense of irony.)