Napa Valley Writers' Conference

Intimate Writing Workshops with a Focus on Craft

20+ public events offer opportunity to create, read, and engage July 30-Aug. 4

A free drop-in poetry writing workshop will join the lineup of public literary events featuring renowned authors at the 42nd Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, slated for July 30-Aug. 4 at Napa Valley College’s main campus in Napa.

Attendees of the daily morning poetry writing session taught by poet and translator Katie Farris will receive prompts and exercises to inspire creativity and feedback on drafts.

In addition, the conference will continue to offer free afternoon seminars exploring the works of visiting faculty authors, led by Bay Area poet and teacher Caroline Goodwin.

“We’re delighted to offer free programming that encourages the community to engage with literature – both as creators and as readers,” said Angela Pneuman, executive director of the conference. “Combined with our public daytime lectures and evening readings, our free classes offer attendees the flexibility to immerse themselves for the week, drop in for a full day of programming, or join for just a few hours.”

Farris is the author of Standing in the Forest of Being Alive, among other volumes, as well as essays about cancer, the body, and its relationship to writing for outlets including Oprah Daily and the New York Times. Goodwin’s most recent poetry collections are Madrigals and Old Snow, White Sun. She teaches writing at California College for the Arts and Stanford and UC Berkeley’s continuing education programs.

Farris’ class will be held Monday, July 31, through Friday, Aug. 4, at 10:30am. Goodwin’s seminar will be held Monday, July 31, through Thursday, Aug. 3, at 4:30pm. Both free classes will be held in the Community Room of the McCarthy Library at Napa Valley College, 2288 Napa-Vallejo Highway, Napa.

The free offerings complement public daytime lectures and evening readings featuring the conference’s renowned visiting faculty, which this year includes Pulitzer Prize winners, a former U.S. poet laureate, and a winner of the NAACP Image Award, among other distinctions and honors.

The visiting poetry faculty includes Carl Phillips, winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for Then the War: And Selected Poems, 2007-2020. Joining Phillips will be Victoria Chang, whose The Trees Witness Everything was selected as one of the Best Books of 2022 by The New Yorker and The Guardian, and Brenda Hillman, beloved Bay Area author of 11 collections of poetry and winner of the Griffin International Poetry Prize for Seasonal Works with Letters on Fire. Debut conference poet Ilya Kaminsky has authored three collections of poetry, including the widely acclaimed Deaf Republic, a finalist for the 2019 National Book Award for Poetry.

Crystal Wilkinson, a NAACP Image Award-winning poet for Perfect Black and the author of three works of fiction, most recently Birds of Opulence, will serve on the conference’s fiction faculty, along with three-time Pushcart Prize winner Peter Orner, author most recently of Still No Word from You, who has written two novels and three short story collections. The fiction faculty also includes Katie Crouch, author of four novels, including Embassy Wife, “a devilishly au courant satire” and nominee for the 2022 Joyce Carol Oates Literary Prize, and Lan Samatha Chang, author most recently of the acclaimed novel The Family Chao and director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

Robert Hass, former U.S. poet laureate and winner of the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for his collection Time and Materials, serves as the conference’s faculty member for poetry translation. Hass translated many of the works of Nobel Prize-winning Polish poet, Czeslaw Milosz, and he has edited The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson, and Issa, among other volumes.

“Our visiting faculty are among the very best writers and teachers working today, and we’re excited to offer in-depth lectures on the craft of poetry, prose, and translation as well as opportunities to hear the authors read from their works at our evening reading series,” said Pneuman.

For author bios and a detailed schedule of events, visit www.napawritersconference.org.

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Napa Valley Writers' Conference: Public Events

Daytime lectures, evening readings, and free morning and afternoon classes will be offered July 30-Aug. 4 during the 42nd Napa Valley Writers' Conference.

Evening readings will be held Sunday, July 30, through Thursday, Aug. 4, outdoors at the McCarthy Library Courtyard at Napa Valley College and at Silverado Winery. The cost is $20 per person, with free admission for students.

Free seminars prior to the readings will be held in the McCarthy Library Community Room on Monday, July 31, through Thursday, Aug. 3, at 4:30 p.m. Each day’s seminar will feature the authors slated to read that evening.

Free morning poetry workshops will be held in the McCarthy Library Community Room on Monday, July 31, through Friday, Aug. 4, at 10:30 a.m.

Daytime poetry, fiction, and translation lectures will be held at NVC’s Performing Arts Center. Admission to the daytime lectures costs $25 apiece, or $15 for students. 

Further details and author bios are available on the conference Web site, www.napawritersconference.org. The full lineup of public events and their campus locations:

 

Sunday, July 30

• 6:30 p.m.: Poets Ilya Kaminsky and Katie Farris and fiction writer Peter Orner will read following a half-hour wine reception to open the event; the evening's program will begin at 7. McCarthy Library Courtyard, Napa Valley College.

Monday, July 31

• 9 a.m.: Brenda Hillman will give a talk about poetry at the Performing Arts Center at Napa Valley College.
• 10:30 a.m.: Katie Farris will lead a free poetry writing workshop in the McCarthy Library Community Room at Napa Valley College.
• 1:30 p.m.: Lan Samantha Chang will give a talk about fiction at the Performing Arts Center at Napa Valley College.
• 3 p.m.: Robert Hass will give a talk about translation at the Performing Arts Center at Napa Valley College.
• 4:30 p.m.: Caroline Goodwin will lead a free seminar on the works of Carl Phillips and Katie Crouch in the McCarthy Library Community Room, Napa Valley College.
• 6:30 p.m.: Poet Carl Phillips and fiction writer Katie Crouch will read following a half-hour wine reception to open the event; the evening's program will begin at 7. McCarthy Library Courtyard, Napa Valley College.

Tuesday, Aug. 1

• 9 a.m.: Ilya Kaminsky will give a talk about poetry at the Performing Arts Center at Napa Valley College.
• 10:30 a.m.: Katie Farris will lead a free poetry writing workshop in the McCarthy Library Community Room at Napa Valley College.
• 1:30 p.m.: Peter Orner will give a talk about writing fiction at the Performing Arts Center at Napa Valley College.
•  4:30 p.m.: Caroline Goodwin will discuss the works of Major Jackson and Lan Samantha Chang at the McCarthy Library Community Room, Napa Valley College.
• 6:30 p.m.: Poet Victoria Chang and fiction writer Crystal Wilkinson will read following a half-hour wine reception to open the event; the evening's program will begin at 7. Silverado Winery, 6121 Silverado Trail, Napa.

Wednesday, Aug. 2

• 9 a.m.: Carl Phillips will give a talk about poetry at the Performing Arts Center at Napa Valley College.
• 10:30 a.m.: Katie Farris will lead a free poetry writing workshop in the McCarthy Library Community Room at Napa Valley College.
• 1:30 p.m.: Katie Crouch will give a talk about writing fiction at the Performing Arts Center at Napa Valley College.
•  4:30 p.m.: Caroline Goodwin will discuss the works of Brenda Hillman and Lan Samantha Chang at the McCarthy Library Community Room, Napa Valley College.
• 5:30 p.m.: Poet Brenda Hillman and fiction writer Lan Samantha Chang will read following a half-hour wine reception to open the event; the evening's program will begin at 6. McCarthy Library Courtyard, Napa Valley College.

Thursday, Aug. 3

• 9 a.m.: Victoria Chang will give a talk about poetry at the Performing Arts Center at Napa Valley College.
• 10:30 a.m.: Katie Farris will lead a free poetry writing workshop in the McCarthy Library Community Room at Napa Valley College.
• 1:30 p.m.: Crystal Wilkinson will give a talk about writing fiction at the Performing Arts Center at Napa Valley College.
•  4:30 p.m.: Caroline Goodwin will discuss the works of Brenda Hillman and Lan Samantha Chang at the McCarthy Library Community Room, Napa Valley College.
• 6:30 p.m.: On the closing night of the conference, Robert Hass will read poetry and translation and conference participants will present their best works at the McCarthy Library Courtyard, Napa Valley College.

Friday, Aug. 4

• 10:30 a.m.: Katie Farris will lead a free poetry writing workshop in the McCarthy Library Community Room at Napa Valley College.

 

For more about the conference's visiting faculty writers, and full details about the event schedule, visit napawritersconference.org. To join the conference community online, follow the conference at facebook.com/napawriters, instagram.com/napawriters, and twitter.com/napawriters.

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About the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference
Since 1981, the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference has given emerging and established writers the opportunity to convene for fellowship and serious work with a focus on craft. Faculty members have included Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winners, U.S. Poets Laureate and a winner of the Nobel Prize for Poetry. The conference is hosted by Napa Valley College and is a program of the college’s District Auxiliary Services Foundation. For more information, visit napawritersconference.org and join the community via social media at facebook.com/napawriters, instagram.com/napawriters, and twitter.com/napawriters.

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