Western Colorado Writers Podcast: Recent Episodes
Western CO Writers Podcast
Hosts Avery Brooks and Christie Matherne interview local, regional, national, and international writers, with the goal of empowering listeners to find power and truth in writing. New episodes drop the second Tuesday of each month. Episode transcripts here.
Christie talks to award-winning poet and social media expert, Melody Jones, about all things social media as it pertains to writers. Melody's knowledge spans the basics for beginners, as well as the deeper questions about the use of social media, how to measure success with it, and what on earth to do with it now that we are stuck with it. She also discusses picking which platform to use based on your audience and how e-newsletters can help you keep in touch with your readers.
Melody Jones is an award-winning poet, social media manager, writing and creativity coach, and the President of the Western Colorado Writers' Forum. Learn more about her on her website, MelodyJonesAuthor.com.
John and Christie interview Rick Kempa about the new issue of the literary journal, Deep Wild: Writing From the Backcountry. Rick talks about the ins and outs of running a literary journal, how Deep Wild fills a need in the literary landscape, whether or not Deep Wild could be considered "regional literature," and the importance of writing communities. John and Rick talk shop about their experiences teaching college students to write, and Rick also reads a selection from his own latest book of poetry, Too Vast for Sleep. Rick Kempa is a poet, former instructor at Western Wyoming College, and avid backpacker, who founded Deep Wild five years ago. The annual literary journal is headquartered in Grand Junction and gets submissions from all over the world.
Dr. John Lanci and Christie Matherne tackle something every writer likely has to do at some point: Public speaking. Award-winning Toastmaster Director and co-founder of TEDx Grand Junction, Mary Watson, joins us in the studio to talk about dealing with stage fright, avoiding (and counting!) filler words, President Obama's public speaking style, the difference between writing for publication and writing a speech, and how anyone - anyone! - can become a great public speaker. Listen to the episode for a ton of great opportunities to practice public speaking, including local Toastmaster meetings, open mic standup comedy, and open mic storytelling events.
Aerik Francis and Nico Wilkinson, two Colorado-based award-winning poets who performed at the Slamming Bricks poetry slam competition in Grand Junction this month, chat with Avery about the power of poetry in their lives, what thrills them about Grand Junction’s Pride Week and the Slamming Bricks event, and slam poetry as an art form. Aerik is a Queer Black and Latinx poet and a teaching artist based in Denver. He is also a Canto Mundo poetry fellow and a The Watering Hole fellow and coordinates events for Slam Nuba in Denver. His latest poetry EP, Syzygy, is available on Bandcamp and his forthcoming chapbook, Miseducation, won New Delta Review’s 2022 chapbook contest in May and will be published in 2023. Nico Wilkinson is a poet, organizer, and artist based out of Colorado Springs whose book, Inauguration, won the Pikes Peak Arts Council 2017 award for Best Publication. They organize an LGBTQ+ monthly open mic event, Keep Colorado Springs Queer; and founded the Quaill Club, a homestead co-op of queer artists in Colorado Springs. They enjoy writing tender poems about the apocalypse for their Substack, Poems for the Apocalypse, and most recently, poems about chickens. Aerik Francis: phaentompoet.com / instagram @phaentompoet / Slam Nuba / phaentompoet.bandcamp.comNico Wilkinson: nicowilkinson.com / instagram @nicothepoet / Quaill Club / Keep Colorado Springs Queer / nicothepoet.substack.com
Emilie Stickley, local comedian and cofounder of Joke Junction, chats with Avery about writing and performing comedy. She discusses her process for turning life experiences into comedy material, how to craft a funny character in your writing, and the importance of having a goldfish memory. No matter what you may be writing, Emilie covers tips for bringing in your audience, making your work relatable, and building tension to keep them hooked. Follow Joke Junction on Facebook by searching for Joke Junction Standup. Catch Joke Junction’s monthly comedy nights: Open Mic: Every first Thursday at Cavalcade Theater (Fruita), 7:30 pm, freePints & Punchlines: Every second Thursday at Base Camp Beer Works (formerly Monumental Beer Works), 7:30 pm, freeComedy on the Fly: Every second Saturday at Gemini Brewing, 7 pm, $5Open Mic Night: Every third Thursday at Charlie Dwellington’s, 7 pm, free
Avery and Christie talk poetry with two incredible published Western Colorado poets. The first half is our chat with award-winning poet and Ouray County’s Poet Laureate, Beth Paulson, who co-founded and co-directed the Open Bard Poetry Series in Ridgway, CO and leads the Ridgway workshop group, Poetica. The second half of the episode features Grand Valley poet and U.S. Army veteran, Lisa Wence Connors, who hosts a monthly Poetry Night at the downtown Grand Junction library, facilitates creative workshops for the VA in Grand Junction, and is a member of the Rock Canyon Poets group. Both poets talk about their creative processes and read their work for us.
Find Beth Paulson’s work, events, and other information on her website, WordCatcher.org. Information about the Open Bard Poetry Series can be found on Facebook.
To find more about Lisa Wence Connors, including her work, visit RockCanyonPoets.com. Poetry Night events, hosted by Lisa, meet in the Mesa Room at the Grand Junction Central Library at 6 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month. Visit MesaCountyLibraries.org for more information, or visit mesacountylibraries.libcal.com/event/8661615 for July’s event.
Two award-winning LGBTQ+ authors from our Pride episode - Finnian Burnett & Kimberly Cooper Griffin - give us their list of tips and tricks for new writers, especially LGBTQ+ writers. Also in this episode: Finn & Kim's thoughts on the recent massive sales uptick in the LGBTQ+ romance novel market, and Avery discusses how even independent booksellers pass over smaller LGBTQ+ publishers in favor of bigger publishing houses.
Avery and Christie interview local LGBTQ+ slam poet, Caleb Ferganchick, to discuss poetry and activism. Caleb is the founder and organizer of Slamming Bricks: A Riot on 1st Street, the largest LGBTQ+ slam event in the state of Colorado. The second part of the episode features award-winning LGBTQ+ authors Finnian Burnett and Kimberly Cooper Griffin. They talk about flash fiction, novel writing and publishing, and how their Denver-based Inkstacks platform helps writers get from idea to polished manuscript. Finn’s also working on a queer retelling of Shakespeare and Kim’s newest sapphic romance, Sol Cycle, releases today, June 14th! Happy Pride Month everyone!
Find Caleb online at his website – calebferganchick.com. Finnian Burnett and Kimberly Cooper Griffin can be found at finnburnett.com and kimberlycoopergriffin.com, respectively, and at inkstacks.com. We’re on Instagram @Western_CO_Writers_Podcast and on Facebook. Get in touch with us at WesternColoradoWritersPodcast@gmail.com.
Our first episode features Grand Valley science fiction author, James Van Pelt, as he discusses his writing process across genres from sci-fi to horror, the odd places he finds inspiration, what he has taught his students about writing during his years teaching English at Fruita Monument High School, and how writing streaks have motivated him to reach some impressive publishing goals. Jim also reads a piece of short fiction called "Everything's Unlikely." Transcript available here.
Find Jim online at his website - JamesVanPelt.com - and on Facebook.
We're on Instagram @Western_CO_Writers_Podcast and on Facebook at facebook.com/WesternColoradoWritersPodcast. Get in touch with us at WesternColoradoWritersPodcast@gmail.com.