Starting in May I’ll be doing a new poetry project on my Instagram.
#SerialKillerSummer is a series of erasure poems using found source text from famous murderers. I’ll be posting blackout poems (hopefully every day) that use the words of the creepiest, darkest, most rotten dirtbags and twist them. Erasure is the art of creating a poem from a found text by removing and cutting away words or blacking them out. What remains is an entirely new and original poem. Why serial killers? Well, I’m a true crime junkie and I realized there are so many fascinating sources like interviews, court transcripts, manifestos, and other true crime found sources to work with. I got obsessed with how we can cut these killers down and get back at them for the lives they’ve taken. Manipulating their words is the best way I’ve found as an artist. My work is always interrogating the world we live in, shining a light in the darkest crevice. Follow along on Instagram!
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I had a blast chatting with folks this year at the virtual World Fantasy Convention! It was such an honor to get to answer questions about indie publishing and author marketing, and to get to be on a panel with some of my favorite poets. Here are the recordings for your watching pleasure: Poetic Fantasy: I'm stoked to once again be paneling at Readercon in Boston July 11-14! Here is a list of the panels I'll be on and where you can find me. Oh, and this year, I managed to convince my spousal unit to come along. If you see us around at the con, please come say Hi! I love meeting new writer friends. Writing Craft and Mentoring Programs Friday, 12pm - Salon 4 Panelists: Jack Dann, Theodora Goss (mod), Kate Maruyama, Kenneth Schneyer, Holly Walrath Those who want to learn the craft of writing popular genre fiction have more options then ever. MFA programs and workshops of excellent repute are popping up all over the U.S., from Stonecoast in Maine to Clarion in California, as well as in other parts of the world. With so many options, how does one choose? Panelists who have participated in these programs as mentors or mentees will discuss their experiences. Amazon, Goodreads, NetGalley, and Edelweiss, Oh My! Friday, 7pm - Salon B Presentation There are a variety of valuable resources for independent authors out there, but how does one choose among them, and how can an indie book stand out among the crowd? Holly Lyn Walrath will explain how to navigate the available options for self-publishing and explore how books can reach more readers via the growing field of reviewer markets. Rainbow Open Mic Saturday, 6pm - Sylvanus Thayer Room Celebrate the voices of LGBTQIA2P writers! Read your work out loud among a group of welcoming peers. Hear new work by established authors and meet new writers! If your identity is anywhere on or under the rainbow, you're welcome to read your work; allies are invited to attend and listen. Sign up at the information desk. I'm stoked to once again be a panelist at Comicpalooza this year in Houston, Texas. Comicpalooza has grown to be a massive comic con with cosplay, celebrities, and of course literature panels! This year we host the mother of dragons, Emilia Clarke, and I for one will be waiting in line for her panel. If you see me around at the con, come say Hi! Panels for Comicpalooza 2019: Art & Writing Crossovers, from Comics to Artist Collaborations Room 370D Friday May 10, 2019 2:00pm - 3:00pm Art and literature have always inspired each other. How do visual art and writing inspire and reveal a creative process? What can emerge when one form is refracted through another? Has there been a different emergence of the combination in a reality that seems more visualized and surreal? Join us for a lively discussion of the mediums' crossover and influences. Speculative Poetry Deathmatch! Room 370D Saturday May 11, 2019 4:30pm - 5:30pm Join us for an entertaining and interactive panel on science fiction, fantasy and horror poetry. Learn a little about speculative poetry, hear poets read some of their works, and then participate in a lyrical death-match in which you, the audience, decide which poet walks away with a tinfoil crown and bragging rights. No Right Way to Write: Techniques for New Writers Room 370D Sunday May 12, 2019 12:00pm - 1:00pm There is no one correct way to write. One of the challenges of new writers is to find the way that works best for them. Some people require strict outlines. Others require just bullet points. And still others require nothing more than an idea and a few notes on a napkin. This panel is on writing techniques, from outline usage to writing organically, allowing your information to come out in a smooth fashion. Learn the way to write that is right for you! Beyond Earthsea: Ursula K. Le Guin's Writing Legacy Room 370E Sunday May 12, 2019 3:00pm - 4:00pm As one of the greatest science fiction writers, Ursula K. Le Guin explored politics, the environment, myth, gender, and their intersection with our reality. She was an advocate for social justice and women writers. Join us for a discussion celebrating and paying tribute to Le Guin's work and influence. I'm delighted that this year I'll be paneling at Readercon in Boston July 12-15! Here are the panels where you can come see me (Please say Hi if you do! I love meeting other writers and making new friends!): Anti-Worldbuilding Workshop Friday, July 13, 12:00pm - C Holly Walrath will present an alternative worldbuilding method called worldconjuring. Drawing on inspiration from fairy tales and ancient myths, worldconjuring creates liminal space or gaps in the world that the reader may fill in with their own imagination. Participants will explore contemporary authors who are using this method in short fiction and novels to create immersive worlds without the use of complex worldbuilding such as language creation or magic mechanics, and will get started worldconjuring with some creative prompts. In Memoriam: Ursula K. Le Guin Friday, July 13, 1:00pm - 6 Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018) was a powerhouse in American literature for over 50 years. She won countless awards, including the SFWA Grand Master Award and World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Her Hainish sequence, Earthsea novels, and Orsinia stories remain benchmarks of speculative fiction. Her feminist and utopian visions influenced generations, as did her essays, criticism, and educational writing. We were thrilled to make her a guest of honor at Readercon 7. Join us in celebrating her life and work. Speculative Poetry Deathmatch! Friday, July 13, 4:00pm - A This entertaining and interactive panel on science fiction, fantasy, and horror poetry will teach attendees a little about speculative poetry. Poets will read some of their works and then participate in a lyrical death match in which audience members decide which poet walks away with a tin foil crown and bragging rights. Here's my schedule for Comicpalooza 2018! The Uncanny Valley in Fiction: Writing the Nearly Human Friday, May 25 3:30-4:30pm - 370D Evoking the uncanny, as understood by Housman and Freud, is one of the most evocative ways to add a skin-crawling sense of horror to your fiction. This panel will focus on how the uncanny works, what its roots and motifs are, and how to use it. Examples will include works by Neil Gaiman, Salvador Dali, Susan Cooper and David Lynch. Poetry of the Imagination: Offsite Reading Friday, May 25 7:00-9:00pm - Kaboom Books 3116 Houston Avenue Houston, TX 77009 2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA). Join SFPA President Bryan Thao Worra, along with Houston residents Holly Walrath (author of Glimmerglass Girl), Saba Razvi (author of Of the Divining and the Dead), T. Haven Morse (Flooded By, Beam Me Up Yoda), Kate Pentecost (Elysium Girls), and Deborah L. Davitt (Ave, Caesarion), along with Dallas-area poets Michelle Muenzler (The Hills of Meat, the Forest of Bone) and Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Strange Monsters), and Iowa poet Karen Bovenmeyer (Swift for the Sun) for an evening of speculative poetry. This event is FREE and open to the public! Character Springboard Workshop Saturday, May 26 1:30-3:00pm - 370E Drawing from popular television, movies, and books, this workshop explores how to create in-depth characters in your novels and short fiction. Feel free to bring a piece you are working on, or start something new using exercises from the workshop. Writing Violence in Speculative Fiction Saturday, May 26 3:30-4:00pm - 370F Good writing involves conflict, and conflict can involve violence. How do writers create violent scenes effectively without sacrificing world building and characterization? When is the hint of violence scarier, and more effective, than a fully realized attack or battle? Should violence be handled differently for different audiences (such as YA and senior citizens)? Does the current international political and military climate affect the way that writers shape violent scenes? Our panel will discuss these crucial questions for the genre writer. Speculative Poetry Deathmatch! Saturday, May 26 4:30-5:30pm - 370E Join us for an entertaining and interactive panel on science fiction, fantasy and horror poetry. Learn a little about speculative poetry, hear poets read some of their works, and then participate in a lyrical death-match in which you, the audience, decide which poet walks away with a tinfoil crown and bragging rights. Below is a list of events I'll be participating in this year! Hope to see you around. Please come say hi - I love meeting other writers. May: Comicpalooza (Panelist and hosting the SFPA Poetry reading May 25th) June: I'm the 2018 SFPA Contest chair. Submissions open June 1! June 26, 6:30pm: Reading Fix Coffee Bar hosted by Mike Alexander July: Readercon (Panelist) August: Flash Fiction Retreat Breckenridge August 22nd-September 12: Writespace Writing Life 101 Workshop August 25: Writespace Poetry of the Fantastic Workshop September: September 29: Reading, Art & Words Show hosted by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam I'll be paneling at Writefest this year. Here's my schedule if you want to come say hi! I'm also volunteering so you'll probably see me around putting out fires. Check out the full schedule of events here and don't miss the Saturday night social! I'll be attending Illogicon January 12-14th in Raleigh this year. I'd love to meet you if you'll be there!
I have a few events I'll be participating in coming up, so here's where you can find me in the next couple of months. (I'll update this as new dates arise.)
See you soon friends! They wrote YA before YA was Cool 8-9 pm, Ballroom D Saturday, August 5th |
About the AuthorHolly Lyn Walrath is a freelance editor and author of poetry, flash fiction, and short fiction. Find her on Twitter @HollyLynWalrath
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