As a teaching artist in the Austin community, I work for/with organizations and offer workshops and series in various creative writing and cultural arts genres for youth and adults. I can plan and facilitate workshops both in-person and virtually (on Zoom, Google Meetings and Webex as needed). If you would like to book me to lead one of the following workshops, please go to the contact page and fill out your information. I will generally get back to you within the week. I am also happy to create a workshop that is responsive to your organization or community’s needs.
2023 Workshops
What Happens Inside: A Body Horror One Day Virtual Workshop with Austin Bat Cave on Thursday, October 12th from 6:30-8:30pm
When it comes to our bodies, there is little we fear more than the inevitability that our bodies will change, can fall ill and will die. Body horror helps us to write about the absurdity, beauty and horror of being corporeal. This one day virtual workshop will focus on reading and discussing stories of body horror that affect us and engage with stories of illness, trauma, loss, power, monstrousness and reclamation. We will also discuss how these stories can inspire our own. This generative workshop will provide space for us to engage with multiple writing activities that make space to write and share our own body horror stories.
Workshops for Adults
Writing the Weird one day workshop (virtual or in-person) or six-week series
Are you a storyteller? Have you ever considered how to push the boundaries of what storytelling could be? Ever wonder what blending genres of horror, folktales and traditional stories, as well as magical imaginings, could mean for your work? In this writing workshop for adults 16+, we will explore short stories, poems and hybrid pieces that help us reimagine realities and unlock the strange, the magical, the grotesque, and the beautiful that we find in our familial stories and our everyday lives..
Reconnecting to the Body workshop-a 6-week online workshop
The body carries our stories, but sometimes delving into these stories can be difficult and painful to navigate. We have to engage in acts of radical and deep reflection to fully embody and write about the traumas, beauty, pain and healing that our bodies are capable of holding. This online workshop will ask you to engage in these acts of radical reflection in order to explore your relationships to the body through free writing, memoir and poetry. We will explore how writers embody their experiences through poetry and prose by studying contemporary poets and writers who are engaging with discussions about the body and chronic illness, pain, trauma and healing. Participants will be given the opportunity to generate new work as well as to engage with their own work (or ideas) in progress. This workshop will also help participants to engage more deeply with their writing and to learn how to effectively respond to and critique the work of their peers.
Honoring Our Origin Stories
In this writer’s workshop, participants will read short pieces about the importance of honoring our ancestors and their influence on our current lives. They will respond to a prompt related to the readings as they address their ancestors and their hopes for their futures and will have the option to share their work at the end of the workshop.
Crafting persona: Creating Strong Voices for Historic Pieces
When crafting stories and narrative poems, creating compelling characters and voices is vital to bringing the reader into the story’s world. Writing in the voice of a historical character can add an even bigger challenge to creating your character’s persona in ways that are authentic and emotionally true to the story you are endeavoring to tell. In this workshop, we would discuss: The challenges associated with writing personas with the added weight of historical realities or biographies, how to write historical characters that are authentic and interesting, juggling historical settings, facts and dialogue with your original storytelling, and much more. We would also read poems and novel excerpts as mentor to show the range of possibilities when creating engaging personas.
Workshops for Youth
In my role as Programs Direcor for Austin Bat Cave and Program Co-Director for Barrio Writers in Austin and Pflugerville, we offer creative writing workshops for students and youth.
In addition, I can facilitate workshops for youth on the following topics or adapt one of the workshops listed above for youth:
Intro to Zine-making Workshop: This workshop will introduce creators to what zines are, an overview of zine history in the US, examples of my favorite zines as well as local Texas zine culture and will provide space for participants to make their own mini-zines, either individually or collaboratively.
Leticia Urieta 