‘Wilderness’ theme for 2023 CC Literary Conference

“Wilderness” is the theme for the 37th annual Casper College Literary Conference. Natrona County and Wyoming writers are urged to save the date for the 37th Annual Casper College Literary Conference, Nov. 7-9.

This year’s theme will look at wilderness as an idea that shapes our daily actions, how wild landscapes inform artists, and “ … how artists use the natural world as a springboard to explore ideas and create art,” said David Zoby, conference director and English instructor.

Workshops for this year’s conference will be led by writer and naturalist Elizabeth Bradfield, nonfiction writer Christine Peterson, fiction writer Rich Chiappone, and photojournalist Natalie Behring.

Bradfield, the author of “Toward Antarctica,” “Once Removed,” “Approaching Ice,” and others, is the founder and editor-in-chief of Broadsided Press. Winner of the Audre Lorde Prize from the Publishing Triangle, a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award and the James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets, Bradfield’s honors also include a Stegner Fellowship and a Bread Loaf Scholarship.

As a journalist, Peterson has covered wildlife, the environment, and outdoor recreation in Wyoming and the West for over a decade. She began her writing career at the Casper Star-Tribune and is now a full-time freelancer. Her writings about the wild include stories about grizzly bears, wolves, elk, and insects. Peterson’s words and photos have graced the most widely read outdoor journals and magazines, including National Geographic, Wyoming Wildlife, and Cool Green Science.

Fiction writer Chiappone, the winner of the 2021 Alaska State Foundation for the Arts and Culture Award and grant, an Edible magazine award, and an Alaska Press Club Award, is the author of three short story collections and the recent novel “The Hunger of Crows.” His stories have appeared in Playboy, The Sun, The Catamaran Literary Review, Missouri Review, ZYZZYVA, and many other magazines and have been featured on BBC radio.

Behring said she “ … became a photojournalist by lucky accident in China in 1996.” She walked into the Reuters Beijing Bureau, asked if they might want to buy a photo, and walked out with a job. The first major story she covered was the Hong Kong Handover. Since then, Behring has made a name for herself in photojournalism, covering the war in Afghanistan and tensions in the Middle East. “I have shot disasters, wars, celebrities, presidents, Olympics, food, and, most recently, the interplay between people and wildlife in the Grand Teton area,” she said. Behring’s work frequently appears in The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Each presenter will offer two free workshops in the Goodstein Foundation Library during the conference. In addition, on Wednesday, Nov. 8, Bradfield and Chiappone will meet with 10 readers at a local coffee shop. Casper College will provide books for the discussion. Those interested in participating in the book discussion should contact the Goodstein Foundation Library at 307-268-2367.

All workshops and the book discussion event are free and open to all. Additional details on the conference will be released closer to the actual event. For more information, contact Zoby at 307-268-2379 or dzoby@caspercollege.edu.

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