Final Piper Writers Studio Classes Focus on Reader Engagment, Dynamic Characters and Creating a Sense of Place

LAST CHANCE to register for a Piper Writers Studio class! One-day classes will be held on Saturday, October 22nd from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Piper Writers House on the ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY Tempe Campus.


1. Josh Rathkamp poetry course, "Engaging the Reader with Fact," will focus on fictional techniques and universal facts to explore new ideas to grasp the reader's attention. Josh is the author of Some Nights No Cars at All and the book of poems was published in Ausable Press in 2007. He is now the creative writing director at Mesa Community College.

"Once a woman and I made promises and love in every state between Michigan and Arizona. Once in the car, once in a patch of pines that grew crooked and out of place, once I thought I was romantic, taking her to the roof in the rain..."

-- Josh Rathkamp

2. Winner of the 2009 Hudson Prize and The Best American Short Stories in 2008, Patrick Michael Finn will be teaching a fiction writing course, "Tools for Writing Dynamic Characters." Patrick founded and currently directs the creative writing program at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. This course will focus on developing techniques that will bring the characters on paper to life.

3. "Are We There Yet? Yes We Are!" This writing course will be instructed by best-selling author Mary-Rose Hayes. The focus of this class is to describe in detail the fives senses, vision, touch, sound, taste, and smell all of which gives detail to the sense of place and creation.

For more information about registering for a Piper Writers Studio course, visit the Piper Center website.