Sierra WordFest

Through the sharing of poems and brief workshop on writing strategies we will journey with the idea that your poetry is a part of your one human experience taking place in and revealed by an interconnected reality. The view of craft as component can wall away potential insight and inhibit writing. Writing strategies that flow from the reality that craft does not have to be a metaphysical, separate entity from you strengthens all internal processes of liberation, importantly including your art. From political to unpopulated realities of the world, all continuums of existence can emerge together in a line of poetry within a cooperation to produce insight. You can let the infinite, natural occurring unities of reality do the work for you on the page.

In this workshop we will consider how the specificity of place-based writing can enhance connection and meaning beyond regional relationship. As the Managing Editor for Watershed Review and Flume Press, Pape will offer examples of published pieces that rose to the top of the slush pile, as well as offer practical tips and re​​vision strategies for getting your work ready for submission.

Jaime will share his educational and artistic life journey.  He will focus on ways in which place, class, culture, education, and art have converged and shaped his writing.  Growing up California farm towns with strong immigrant communities has informed his entire life, whether he was living in a town of 2,000 people, Philadelphia, Boston, or Kofu City, Japan.  Jaime will showcase how humor, hardships, and resilience are the hallmarks of the characters he loves and writes about.

This workshop will introduce participants to the 25 projects presented in Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s book titled Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. The presenter will also share her poetry and writings on the topic of decolonization and relay how storytelling and poetry can counter erasure and dominant narrative discourse. Participants will have the opportunity to contribute to a group writing activity and leave with a collectively written poem.

Daniel Handler will share his thoughts about  A Series of Unfortunate Events, his extraordinary journey as a writer, his memoir and career, and the enduring magic of literature in conversation with Dr. Kim Bateman, writer and Dean of Sierra College’s Tahoe-Truckee Campus.

This talk explores how our emotional bonds with landscapes — what psychologists call ‘place attachment’ — shape identity and well-being. Drawing from history, philosophy, and lived experience in the oak woodlands, rivers, and canyons of the Sierra Nevada, it traces how ordinary people have defended these lands against threats, and asks how we, in turn, can give back. At its core, it is a call to transform love of place into reciprocity: to move from consuming nature to caring for it, so that people and landscapes can flourish together.

Still Standing Guard is the second volume of oral histories recalling the incarceration of all persons of Japanese ancestry in WWII from Placer County. Published by Sierra College Press in 2025, the book is dedicated to the ‘Spirit of Community.’ As a joint effort between the community and college, the stories, energy, and effort to publish the book are inspiring –perhaps especially in these troubling times. Writers on the panel will share their approach to the narratives and capturing the salient stories. Learn more about Standing Guard and Garden of Remembrance on the Rocklin Campus.

Panel Members:
Rebecca Gregg, moderator
Randy White, teacher, poet, publisher
Tricia Lord, English professor

Layering Creativity and Trusting Intuition explores how ideas evolve across different forms of artistic expression. In this talk, author, illustrator and director, Allison Chan, shares the journey of trusting one’s instinct and layering creativity to transform ideas far beyond what was originally imagined.

What is AI? How does it affect the climate and what are the energy and health costs of using it? What about creative theft, security, privacy, trust and human relationships? How are people using it, and how do you know the difference between AI hype and its usefulness?

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better” ~Albert Einstein

Let’s gaze outside our window and attest how nature is a spiritual storyteller, entwining complex patterns and vibrations that form our world. This workshop calls writers to ground their creative process by eliciting inspiration from Mother Earth and her “womb.” Embracing the universal brilliance found in nature—such as the depth of the ocean, the upstream of rivers, the expansiveness of the day or night sky, and the four seasons—we’ll sense how these natural vibrations can form our poetic flows of writing. Through mindful practice (breath exercises), readings, imagination, intuition, memory, discussion, and writing. We’ll see how essence in our world can inspire free verse poetry, invoking invigorating vantage points to symbolism, metaphor, and structure. Poets will have the opportunity to create and share in a safe space inspired by the natural world, as well as in the classroom. Pamela Heyda said, “Nature gets into our souls and opens doors to hidden parts of ourselves.” We can tap into our souls, hearts, and minds through creative writing as we connect with Mother Earth’s lessons and wisdom!

Who is this for?

This workshop is ideal for anyone inspired to write and connect with the beauty, intricacies, and wisdom of the natural world. No prior writing background is required—just an open-heartedness to survey and immerse yourself in your surroundings.

Objectives and takeaways:

• Explore creative prompts that align with nature’s power: the sky, Redwoods, hummingbirds, oceans, the wind, rain, etc.
• Engage with writing exercises inspired by the outdoors.
• Develop skills to integrate natural metaphors and symbolism into your work.
• Engage in group dialogue involving nature-based writing.

Cited source: “Writing with the Patterns of Nature: Finding Inspiration on Rhythms and Wonders of the Earth” by Kimberly Lee. About Wow! Women on Writing, 31 October 2025.

How can you get (and give) the best feedback in a critique group? Author Marty Coleman-Hunt and Writing Coach Catharine Bramkamp will demonstrate the how-tos and the never-dos for critique groups and beta readers that will lift your work from good to great. Bring a 1,000-word sample of your writing to session one for peer feedback. Rework your submission for further refinement in session two.

Publishing in the Middle Grade space can often look a bit different than in other areas. First, Middle Grade literature has an unusually wide readership range, and includes everything from early chapter books, the Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey, and then The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Middle Grade authors also often have to promote their work to parents, teachers, and librarians rather than directly to the readers themselves. As a result, this can make for a different kind of marketing plan than usual and can sometimes include more school and library visits. Come and hear four Middle Grade authors talk about their experiences in Middle Grade publishing, ranging from the “Big 5” publishers to small presses and self-publishing.

Panel Members:

• Karen McCoy
• Catherine Arguelles
• Jenny Lundquist
• Lisa Frenkel Riddiough

This workshop will address writing historical fiction, where you start, and what lights the flame.

Where a reader finds a character does essential work. That’s true whether that character is yourself, as in memoir, or one you’re creating, as in fiction. What we call “setting” can be employed to convey information not only about the physical location of a given character, at a given time, but about their history and culture; it can also be used to deliver emotional and psychological details. Wielding setting wisely helps a writer vividly unfold vital details about their characters.

In this workshop, with the help of excerpts from memoir and fiction, we’ll examine what their authors accomplish, and what we can learn from them. Prompts allow you to put this valuable piece of craft into practice.

Daniel Handler is the author of the novels The Basic Eight, Watch Your Mouth, Adverbs, We Are Pirates, All the Dirty Parts and Bottle Grove. He worked with Maira Kalman on the books Girls Standing on Lawns, Hurry Up and Wait, Weather Weather, and Why We Broke Up which won the Michael J. Printz Honor. Handler also edited The Best Nonrequired Reading of 2014, which includes an introduction by Lemony Snicket. His new memoir, And Then? And Then? What Else? (Liveright, May 21, 2024), was described as “fully captivating” by Kirkus and “dazzling” by Booklist.

As Lemony Snicket, he has written the best-selling series All The Wrong Questions as well as A Series of Unfortunate Events, which has sold more than 60 million copies. A Series of Unfortunate Events was the basis of a 2004 feature film starring Jim Carrey and Meryl Streep, with Jude Law as Lemony Snicket. In 2017 Netflix produced a critically acclaimed, Peabody Award-winning series based on A Series of Unfortunate Events, starring Neil Patrick Harris. A deluxe limited edition of The Bad Beginning (HarperCollins, October 14, 2025) with bonus content is now available.

Snicket is also the creator of several picture books, including the Charlotte Zolotow Award-winning The Dark, illustrated by Jon Klassen. Other Snicket titles include the picture books 13 Words, in collaboration with Maira Kalman, 29 Myths on the Swinster Pharmacy, The Goldfish Ghost, both illustrated by Lisa Brown, The Bad Mood and the Stick with art by Matthew Forsythe, Swarm of Bees with Rilla Alexander, and two books for Christmas: The Lump of Coal and The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming: a Christmas Story. His other Snicket books include: Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Biography, The Beatrice Letters, Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can’t Avoid, Read Something Else: Collected & Dubious Wit & Wisdom of Lemony Snicket, and Poison for Breakfast. Snickett also annotated an edition of Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio with illustrations by Mike Mignola.

Daniel Handler’s criticism has appeared in The New York Times, Newsday, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Believer, where he has a column exploring the Nobel Prize in Literature titled “What The Swedes Read.” He wrote the inaugural dispatch for the Wall Street Journal’s monthly feature on literary cocktails, “Message in a Bottle,” and the foreword for Tin House’s reissue of Bernard DeVoto’s The Hour. Handler has worked as a screenwriter on the adaptation of A Series Of Unfortunate Events, as well as the independent films Rick, based on Verdi’s opera, Rigoletto, and Kill The Poor. He is currently set to pen a contemporary horror film based on the Golem legend from Jewish folklore for Ben Cosgrove and Josh Foer’s Leviathan Productions. His play for adults, Imaginary Comforts, or The Story of the Ghost of the Dead Rabbit, premiered at Berkeley Rep in October 2017. He also wrote the script for You Shouldn’t Be Here, a multipart audio drama that takes place in automobiles. In 2025 he wrote Why We Lost, about a family, a neighborhood, and a dog.

In an interview with PEN American Center, he said, “My parents claim that when I was six years old I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, and my answer was that I wanted to be an old man who lived at the top of a mountain giving advice. If this story is true—and my parents are unreliable narrators—then there was a time in my life when I did not want to be a writer. But I do not remember such a time. I do not remember a time when I was not writing things down. I do not remember a time when I was reading without thinking of how I could poach the tricks of my favorite writers. All I have ever wanted was to be in the company of literature.” Handler established, in partnership with the American Library Association, the Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced With Adversity. He hosted the National Book Awards in November 2014 in New York.

Handler works extensively in music, serving as the adjunct accordionist for the music group The Magnetic Fields and collaborating with composer Nathaniel Stookey on a piece commissioned and recorded by the San Francisco Symphony, entitled “The Composer Is Dead”, which has been performed all over the world and is now a book with CD. He is currently at work on a commission from the Royal Shakespeare Company on a stage musical in collaboration with songwriter Stephin Merritt.

He is a graduate of Wesleyan University, and lives in his native San Francisco with his wife, illustrator Lisa Brown, and their son.

Learn more at: https://www.danielhandler.com

Catherine has worked as a counselor with middle school students, a fundraiser for non-profits, and is the proud parent of two feminist readers and three regal cats. She has a BA in English, with a Minor Women’s Studies from the University of Oregon, and a MA in Psychology, Counseling, from CSU Sacramento. Catherine lives in Northern California.

Dr. Bateman is known for her engaging and entertaining presenting style. Her research interests include leadership and communication, humor, end-of life issues, and technologically mediated relationships. She has delivered many notable keynote addresses, including: How to be more comfortable in uncomfortable conversations, There’s a fox under my bed and pixie dust in my hair, The Psychology of Humor, and Organizational Culture through the song lyrics of Bob Marley. She presented a TEDx talk called “Singing Over Bones” and is the author of a book on the same subject called “Crossing the Owl’s Bridge: A Guide for Grieving People who Still Love” (Chiron Publications, 2016). Dr. Bateman holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology with a Depth emphasis, is a M.A.P.S. (Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies) trained M.D.M.A. assisted therapist and an INELDA (International End of Life Doula Association) trained death doula. She currently serves as the Executive Dean of the Tahoe-Truckee Campus of Sierra College.

Catharine Bramkamp runs a successful (in that the members are publishing their work) critique group. She is a writing coach and has authored 28 novels, poetry and non-fiction books.

Allison Chan is a founding member of the Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra (C.A.T.S.) a multicultural theatre company that has produced quality theatre for over 30 years. She directed the 2025 production, “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon”. She earned her B.A. in Art Studio from UC Davis, while competing on their gymnastics team. Currently based in Davis, Allison teaches TK–12th grade homeschool and independent study where she encourages students to nurture their creativity. She is currently working on her second children’s book, inspired by her family’s Lunar New Year traditions. A passionate world traveler and wildlife photographer, Allison brings her artistic eye to every adventure all while being a devoted PTA president and mom to her two incredible daughters.

Marty Coleman-Hunt is a published author of magazine articles and short stories. Her forthcoming fictional trilogy about a female environmental trailblazer is due out next year.

Jaime Cortez is a California writer and artist based in Watsonville and the SF Bay Area. His writing and drawings have appeared in “Kindergarten: Experimental Writing For Children,” “No Straight Lines,” “Street Art San Francisco,” and “Infinite Cities.” He wrote and illustrated the graphic novel “Sexile” for AIDS Project Los Angeles. His debut short story collection, “Gordo,” was published in 2021 by Black Cat, an imprint of Grove Atlantic Press. “Gordo” received national acclaim from the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. It was nominated for the Carnegie Medal of Excellence in Fiction and the Lambda Literary Award for fiction, and was named a best book of the year by National Public Radio and Bookpage. His drawings and mixed media art have been exhibited across the San Francisco Bay Area in venues that include the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Oakland Museum of California, Southern Exposure, and Galería de la Raza. Cortez received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, and his MFA from UC Berkeley. Jaime’s website is www.jaimecortez.org.

Originally from San Francisco, Tongo Eisen-Martin is a poet, movement worker, and educator. His curriculum on extrajudicial killing of Black people, We Charge Genocide Again, has been used as an educational and organizing tool throughout the country. His book titled, “Someone’s Dead Already” was nominated for a California Book Award. His book “Heaven Is All Goodbyes” was published by the City Lights Pocket Poets series, was shortlisted for the Griffins Poetry Prize and won a California Book Award and an American Book Award. His latest book “Blood On The Fog” was named one of the  New York Times poetry books of the year. In 2020, he co-founded Black Freighter Press to publish revolutionary works. He was San Francisco’s eighth poet laureate.

Lisa Frenkel Riddiough is the author of Elvis and the World As It Stands (Amulet 2021), Letters to Live By: An Alphabet Book with Intention (Running Press Kids 2022), Pie-Rats! (Viking 2024), and Embarrassed Ferret and Furious Turtle, books 1 and 2 in the Forest School of Big Feelings Series (Disney Hyperion 2025 & 2026). She earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University and is a writing mentor for Society of Young Inklings. Lisa is a former sales executive, an avid squirrel-watcher, and a frequent baker of chocolate pound cake. Learn more about Lisa at www.lisariddiough.com and on Instagram @lisariddiough.

Ernesto M. Garay’s writings have appeared in the award-winning Sierra Journal, The DI-VȇrRSέ-City Anthology 2020, Redwood Writers 2016 Poetry Anthology, Pterodáctilo, and Ethnic Studies Journal. Garay is the author of one collection of poetry: Reverberating Voices (2022). He is a 2024 Poet-Laureate nominee for Davis, California, La Revista Bilingüe: La Voz’s Person of the Month in Sonoma County for March 2020, 2019-2020 Sonoma County, California, Discovered Award Recipient in Literary Arts, and a full-time Ethnic Studies faculty member at Sierra College. Garay now lives in Auburn, California, and is the proud father of Pakal, his son.

Rebecca Gregg retired from Sierra College as Professor emerita in Photography and Applied Art and Design though she was first a counselor for a dozen years. Rebecca was the project coordinator for the publication of Standing Guard: Telling Our Stories and related activities including the creation of the Remembrance Garden on the Rocklin campus. For the second volume she acted as editor, collaborator, writer, and occasional photographer.

Joan lives under the spell of wanderlust. She takes wing, whenever possible, for actual destinations near and far and for literary locales in the pages of books. A native Californian and proud UCLA Bruin, Joan lives in the Northern California foothills of the majestic Sierra Nevada, a world she loves exploring. Joan navigated her way through two careers—marketing computers, then sailboats—before applying her love of storytelling to her dual passions of teaching and writing. Retired after 25 years of teaching middle school, Joan currently teaches classes in literature and history at the Osher Lifelong Learning Program (OLLI) at both Sierra College and Davis. Joan’s adventure memoir, Force of Nature: Three Women Tackle the John Muir Trail, was recently published by Black Rose Writing. She is currently writing her second memoir about growing up adopted.

Sands Hall is the author of the award-winning memoir, Reclaiming My Decade Lost in Scientology (Counterpoint Press); Blackstone Audio produced the audio book, read by the author. She is also the author of the novel, Catching Heaven, and a book of essays and exercises, Tools of the Writer’s Craft (Moving Finger). Her award-winning essays and stories have appeared in such journals as Alta, Los Angeles Review of Books, Iowa Review, New England Review. Also a playwright, singer/songwriter, and musician, Sands’s extensive theatre experience, as actor, director, and playwright, allows her to offer a unique perspective on writing, and infuses her teaching. www.sandshall.com

Josh Jackson is a writer, photographer, and speaker, whose work shines a light on America’s most overlooked public lands — those managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Through his Forgotten Lands Project, he weaves storytelling and imagery to draw readers into the beauty and complexity of our least understood and most threatened landscapes. He shares weekly dispatches on these landscapes through his Forgotten Lands Substack. His work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, High Country News, Adventure Journal, Backcountry Journal, and on numerous podcasts exploring nature, science, and conservation. His first book, The Enduring Wild: A Journey into California’s Public Lands, continues this exploration.

Dr. Melissa Leal is an enrolled member of Ohlone/Costanoan Esselen Nation. She earned her Ph.D. In Native American Studies from the University of California, Davis where she focused on Hip Hop and Indigenous communities. Melissa is currently the Department Chair of Ethnic Studies at Sierra College and teaches for the Community, Liberation, Indigenous Eco-Psychologies Program at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Dr. Leal is also a poet and creative writer whose work focuses on resilience, decolonization, and healing.

Jenny Lundquist is the author of multiple middle grade and young adult titles including Seeing Cinderella and The Library of Curiosities, which was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Jenny holds an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and lives in Northern California with her family and their rescue pup, Ollie the Wonderdog, who occasionally makes unscheduled appearances at Jenny’s virtual school visits. A typical day in Jenny’s life includes consuming copious amounts of coffee and managing multiple family and canine distractions while writing about wonder and whimsy in worlds both real and imagined. Her debut adult novel, The Stars of Somewhere Else, will publish in 2027 with Tor Publishing Group.

Karen McCoy is an author, librarian, and tea enthusiast. She has reviewed books for Library Journal and Children’s Literature, wrote a feature article for School Library Journal and contributed a chapter to Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. She also maintains a blog where she interviews other authors. She has worked as a part-time faculty librarian at Sierra College since 2019, and lives in Sacramento with her husband and two very opinionated cats. The Etiquette of Voles is her first published novel. It is already in its second printing and was just named as a finalist in this year’s New Mexico Book Awards.

Julia Park Tracey is an award-winning journalist and author. Inspired by a mysterious train receipt in her family’s scrapbook, she researched her Orphan Train roots and wrote The Bereaved. She has ancestors—or should we say an-sisters? Another such ancestor is the Puritan woman named Silence Greenleaf; look for Silence from Sibylline Press. New out in November 2025 is Whoa, Nelly! —a contemporary journey into literary fandom by a lonely librarian who lives through a fixation on the Little House books.

Sarah Pape teaches English and works as the Managing Editor of Watershed Review at Chico State. She is the Co-Director of the Northern California Writing Project. Her poetry and prose appeared in The New York Times, New England Review, Passages North, Ecotone, Hayden’s Ferry Review, and elsewhere. Her debut poetry collection, Forgive the Animal, was published by Cornerstone Press (2024). She curates community literary programming at the 1078 Gallery and is a member of the Community of Writers. Check out her website to learn more: www.sarahpape.com.

Lisa Redfern is currently producing smartphone walking tours and local documentary films in association with the Nevada County Historical Society and Sierra College Press.

She is the author of four historical fiction books focused on Chinese culture, railroads, brain injury, and vampire myth busting.

Redfern is a small business owner and has worked as a professional portrait photographer and web designer. She is a life-long reader and enjoys preserving food and composting with fermentation.

Lisa earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from CSU, Sacramento.

Check out her website to learn more: https://littlemountainpublishing.biz/lisa