SOMOS executive director interviews the poets, writers and editors who will lead workshops this July.

Jan Smith, SOMOS ED, is also curator of the 2020 Taos Writers Conference that will be held online this year, July 24 through 26. She has met virtually with most of the faculty and recorded her conversations on Zoom (one business that has thrived in this time of COVID-19!).

Jan says of this group of writers: “The conference features twenty-two faculty members who, between them, have earned over twenty advanced degrees in creative writing and published sixty-five books and collections. They hail from the western states of Oregon, California, Colorado, and New Mexico as well as Florida, Virginia, and North Carolina. Workshop genres include screenwriting, playwriting, fiction, memoir, nonfiction, poetry, writing for children, editing and revision, and the art of blogging.”

We invite you to get to know the Taos Writers Conference 2020 faculty!

Bob Arellano, Oregon

An acclaimed novelist of seven in-print titles.
Friday Intensive, “Jumpstart Your Novel”
WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW (16:17 minutes)

 

Sallie Bingham

Sallie Bingham, Santa Fe

An author, playwright, poet, teacher, feminist activist, and philanthropist.
Saturday Morning Workshop, “Notching it Up”
WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW (21:09 minutes)

 


Ellen Brodsky, New Mexico

A blogger who watches Fox News––so you don’t have to.
Saturday Roundtable, “The Art of Blogging”
READ ELLEN’S BLOG

 

Dawn Davies, Florida

She loves to develop persona in creative nonfiction and teaches, sometimes.
Friday Intensive, “The Power of Emulation”
WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW (17:04 minutes)

 

Johanna DeBiase
Johanna DeBiase, Taos

A lifelong feminist who writes about women and their role in society.
Saturday Afternoon Workshop, “The Art of the Subplot”
WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW (15:41 minutes)

 

Ned Dougherty, Taos

A playwright, poet and teacher.
Saturday Afternoon Workshop, “Dialogue Bootcamp”
WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW (13:19 minutes)

 

Keiran Fitzgerald, California

A writer, director and award-winning filmmaker.
Saturday Morning Workshop, “Choosing Your Own Ending”
WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW (16:23 minutes)

 

Veronica Golos and Cathy Strisik, Taos

Published poets who together co-edit the Taos Journal of International Poetry & Art.
Friday Intensive, “Breaking Out!”
WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW (30:07 minutes)

 

Connie Josefs
Allegra Huston, Taos

Journalist, screenwriter, teacher and author of two books.
Saturday Morning Workshop, “Telling Your Story With Heart”
WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW (18:36 minutes)

 

Elizabeth Jacobson, Santa Fe

The poet laureate of Santa Fe.
Sunday Morning Workshop, “Eco Poetics”
WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW (18:55 minutes)

 

Connie Josefs
Connie Josefs, California and New Mexico

A writer, teacher and writing coach.
Friday Intensive, “Shaping Your Memoir”
WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW (15:18minutes)

 

Iris Keltz
Iris Keltz, Taos

Award winning author who came of age during the height of the counterculture.
Saturday Afternoon Workshop, “Our Dreams. Our Memories. Our Stories.”
WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW (16:56 minutes)

 

Jenny Kostecki-Shaw
Jenny Kostecki-Shaw, New Mexico

A national award-winning author and illustrator of children’s books.
Sunday Morning Workshop, “Writing Children’s Books”
WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW (10:39 minutes)

 

Juan Morales
Juan Morales, Colorado

A poet and teacher who won the 2019 International Latino Book Award.
Saturday Afternoon Workshop, “Thanks for the Ode”
WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW (14:40 minutes)

 

Sean Murphy
Sean Murphy, Taos

A National Endowment of the Arts Fellow and a fully-authorized Zen teacher.
Sunday Morning Workshop, “Dimension in Fiction, Creative Nonfiction and Memoir”
WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW (21:41 minutes)

 

James Navé
James Navé, North Carolina and Taos

A poet and teacher who’s proud to have memorized over 600 poems.
Saturday Morning Workshop, “Teaching a Successful Writing Workshop”
WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW (23:33 minutes)

 

Helen Rynaski, Taos

An award-winning writer and editor.
Saturday Roundtable, “Preparing Your Manuscript”
LEARN MORE ABOUT HELEN

 

Jean-Marie Saporito, Taos

A critical care nurse completing a novel based on her experiences.
Sunday Morning Workshop, “The Craft of Revision”
WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW (13:28 minutes)

 

Jenn Shapland, New Mexico

A nonfiction writer whose book, My Autobiography of Carson McCullers, published in February 2020.
Saturday Afternoon Workshop, “Autobiography to Autofiction”
WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW (18:35 minutes)

 

KT Sparks, Virginia

A farmer and a staff writer at The Southern Review of Books.
Friday Intensive, “Writing and Publishing Flash Prose”
WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW (25:04 minutes)

 

Deanne Stillman, California

A nonfiction author and prize-winning playwright.
Saturday Morning Workshop, “The Power of Place”
READ AN INTERVIEW WITH DEANNE

 

Learn more about Taos Writers Conference 2020.