KaRyn Lay

Wednesdays 7-9 pm MT or Saturdays 10 am-12 pm MT

This course will be survey in nature and will explore how to develop your strategy and align to find your audience.

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KaRyn Daley Lay is a writer, storyteller, gatherer, media producer, and content strategist. She was the developing producer and strategist for LDS Living Podcasts, including All In, Sunday on Monday, and Joseph. She hosted and produced the award-winning storytelling podcast This Is the Gospel, reaching over 3 million downloads during its four seasons. KaRyn currently works as the lead content strategist for the digital channels of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She loves thrift stores and organizing writing retreats, and she hopes to someday finish the 2022 NYT crossword-a-day calendar. 

Michelle Wilson

Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday 7-9 pm MT

The Complete Guide to Writing Inspirational Nonfiction/Memoir 

WEEK 1 – Intro to creative nonfiction- getting to know me and you

WEEK 2 – Structuring your inspirational nonfiction or memoir

WEEK 3 – Honing your authentic voice

WEEK 4 – Teach it, don’t preach it. (more for inspirational nonfiction)

WEEK 5 – Storytelling keys in nonfiction

WEEK 6 – Healing through writing

WEEK 7 – Self and professional editing 

WEEK 8 – Publishing

Michelle Wilson has published inspirational nonfiction books with Deseret Book, Covenant Communications, and Cedar Fort since 2013. She is a popular speaker and writer conference instructor. Michelle also writes fiction and children’s books and is represented by literary agent Marisa Corvisiero. She values quality mentorship, good writing, strong messages, light humor, and warm cookies.

Kiri Jorgensen

Mondays 7-9 pm MT

In this class, writers will learn the ins and outs of the kidlit world, the story elements that are vital for these ages, and how to craft their own stories to connect with their readers. We’ll deeply explore voice, motive, and plot, plus a dive into how to pitch your story to agents or publishers. Classes will include instruction, lots of examples, worksheets for practice and application, and opportunities to submit your own writing for analysis. To get the most out of the class, participants should have a partial or completed manuscript. Students in planning stages of writing will also benefit, and can use the course to push them in writing a first draft.

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Kiri Jorgensen is the Publisher and Senior Editor at Chicken Scratch Books. She is also a writer, teacher, entrepreneur, wife, and mother. Her involvement in the world of children’s literature spans almost three decades from several different angles. She taught school for 16 years where she created writing curriculums for elementary and middle school students. She has written and produced over 30 stage plays for children, and taught writing to kids, teens, and adults in multiple settings and genres. As a sought-after editor, she also served as the Regional Advisor for SCBWI Montana where she organized physical and online learning opportunities for writers across the nation. Since starting Chicken Scratch Books in 2020, her varied skillset has been put to good use. Her passion is all books middle grade and she loves to work with authors to bring their vision to its strongest form.

Sam Payne

No matter your creative endeavor, you can build a robust conversation around the things you hope to share with an audience by creating a podcast. Podcasts are easier than ever to create and have a larger audience than ever before. But in a field that contains millions of podcasts, how can you make yours an effective communication tool? This course will help you refine the things you want to say and give you the tools you need to build a community around your work.

Sam Payne is a national and international musician and storyteller. He hosts The Apple Seed, the long-running BYUradio podcast featuring stories for families, and was part of the Peabody-nominated team that created Treasure Island 2020, the serial podcast based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel. As a live performer, Sam has brought his stories and songs to halls in Canada, Bulgaria, Tokyo, and from coast to coast in the United States, including performances at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the nation’s capital, the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, and the Timpanogos Storytelling festival in Lehi, Utah.

Sam serves as the Weber State University Storytelling Fellow and has written books and stage pieces including Sanctuary: The Story of Zion for the centennial of the National Parks Service, Echoes of Hammers and Spikes (With Suzanne Christensen) for the sesquicentennial of the completion of the first transcontinental railroad, and One of a Million Stars, commemorating the 14-year mission of the Mars rover Opportunity.