Let’s Get Weird: Reading and Writing Non-Normative Nonfiction
Aug
8

Let’s Get Weird: Reading and Writing Non-Normative Nonfiction

Sign up here!

Let’s Get Weird: Reading and Writing Non-Normative Nonfiction with KB BrookinsSaturday, August 8
9 AM – 12 PM PST / 12 PM – 3 PM ET
Online

Have you found yourself stuck on exactly how to write an essay or memoir? Have you felt hung up on the form, or felt bored by your own language?

In this generative craft intensive, we’ll read excerpts from writers like Damon Young, Kiese Laymon, and Vanessa Angelica Villareal to see how they defy traditional CNF “rules” in order to write exciting, unique personal narratives. What happens to an essay when you eliminate all punctuation? What if the essay is not in first person POV? We’ll look closely at WHAT these writers have said and HOW they decided to say it — learning the reasons for and benefits of non-normative storytelling techniques in CNF. We will then try their techniques ourselves. Writers will leave with at least three pieces in varying levels of doneness.

CNF writers of all subgenres and those writing for all age levels are welcome. A brief packet of readings will be shared before class, though there’s no need to read them beforehand. Writers should come to the session ready to write and/or revise.

Scholarship We have one scholarship available for this intensive. Scholarships are awarded via a random lottery drawn at least a week before the intensive. Please submit your name here to enter.

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Pride Everlasting: The History of Trans Joy Outlasting Oppression
Jun
20
free, virtual

Pride Everlasting: The History of Trans Joy Outlasting Oppression

RSVP for this event here!

A One-Hour Pride Panel on Trans History and Perseverance

Trans and gender-diverse people have been fighting for rights and equality well before this era of widespread acknowledgement of trans identities and the prejudice emerging from that. Seattle Voice Lab is bringing together three specialists in trans and gender-non conforming history to discuss the many ways our elders and ancestors persevered through hardship and discrimination and set the template for radical trans joy that exists today in both euphoria and resistance.

This panel will draw from our past and present to help us wade through the darkness and uncertainty of our times and put our struggles into the context of a lineage of success and resilience – we are here, now, despite it all, and we should not lose hope because we will continue to be here, no matter what. Additionally, the panelists will give us action points so we can cultivate and spread joy in our own lives, as well as recommendations on how to cut back doomed thinking.

(Video of this event cannot be uploaded or used on any AI platform whatsoever and posting of the event will be subject to takedown request.)

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Pathways to Poetry
Apr
19

Pathways to Poetry

Are you a poet in Las Vegas and looking for a stage to share your work? Or are you looking for an avenue for connecting with other poets with diverse experiences? Whatever you may be searching for as a poet, we aim to provide a pathway to that destination.

This is why UNLV Poetry Club is excited to bring you Pathways To Poetry, a night of performances and a mixer created for local poets of ALL levels and expertise.

  • Location: The Writer’s Block

  • Date & Time: April 19, 6-8pm PT

  • Special Guests: KB Brookins, Ashley “Ms. AyeVee” Vargas, and the Spotlight Poetry slam team!

This is a community partnership with the Black Mountain Institute.

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An Intimate Conversation with George M. Johnson
Feb
28
free, in-person

An Intimate Conversation with George M. Johnson

Join George M. Johnson at The LGBTQ+ Center for an intimate conversation about their work in partnership with the Black Mountain Institute (BMI). Moderated by KB Brookins (BMI), the discussion will invite attendees to ask the author questions about their books, as well as about the art and craft of writing.*

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Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writer's Conference
Oct
9
to Oct 10
in-person

Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writer's Conference

  • Virginia G Piper Center for Creative Writing (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

You can grab a ticket here: https://piper.asu.edu/conference

At Desert Nights, Rising Stars (DNRS) Writers Conference you will find a nurturing caring community of writers and stellar faculty to help you discover and tell your story.

The 2025 keynote speaker is legendary author Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street.

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Neon Lit Reading ft. KB Brookins
Sep
12
free, in-person

Neon Lit Reading ft. KB Brookins

Join us for our first live reading of the season: Friday, Sep 12 at Segue - the rooftop venue at the @beverlytheater. Admission is always FREE! Everyone who attends will get a complimentary drink ticket upon entry. 🍸Come check out a brand new lineup of readers, including a handful of first year MFA students who just arrived in Las Vegas! 🎤✨️👏🏻

Readers: @wordsmithpraise @sumayya_jaeh @jskin94 @poeta.paz @yo.its_linds and BMI Shearing Fellow: @earthtokb @blackmtninst

Live Music: Dave Wright
Doors / Live Music: 6:30 pm PT
Showtime: 7 - 9 pm PT

#neonlit #neonlitlv #lasvegaslit #livereading #unlvmfa
Poster by: @taylorbradley91
A Variation on "The Son of Man" by Rene Magritte

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Bloodmercy: The Online Launch
Sep
9
free, virtual

Bloodmercy: The Online Launch

September 9, 2025 • 8 PM CT 🐐🌿✨

This is a free, virtual event celebrating the release of the monumental debut poetry collection Bloodmercy from poet I.S. Jones. The lineup features Sarah Ghazal Ali, Gabrielle Bates, Jari Bradley, KB Brookins, Kameryn Alexa Carter, Ajanae Dawkins, Séamus Fey, Brittany Rogers, & I.S. Jones.

RSVP here: http://tinyurl.com/isjones

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