CRAFT WORKSHOP | defiant forms: A generative cross-genre workshop

CRAFT WORKSHOP
defiant forms: A generative cross-genre workshop
with Matty Layne Glasgow
Friday, April 24 | 10 AM – 12 PM
Ames Writers Collective, Fifth Street Writers (612 Fifth Street)

In this generative workshop, we’ll consider and draw inspiration from approaches that delight in the blending and blurring of genre and tradition. Bring a draft of a piece in any genre that feels stuck for one reason or another, and we’ll try our hand at creating our own novel forms that play with mimetic representation of the systems our work engages with and, potentially, seeks to deconstruct. Pearl Hogrefe Visiting Writer Series Event.

This event is FREE and open to all writers and non-writers. For more information, click here.

Matty Layne Glasgow is the author of the award-winning poetry collection deciduous qween, published by Red Hen Press in 2019. He is an Assistant Professor of English at the College of Charleston where he teaches poetry and nonfiction. A 2022-2025 Black Earth Institute Fellow, Glasgow co-edited the About Place Journal’s “Strange Wests” and served as Editor of Quarterly West, as well as the coordinator of the Wasatch Writers in the Schools program in Salt Lake City.

A graduate of the MFA Program in Creative Writing and Environment at Iowa State, Glasgow also received a PhD in Creative Writing & English Literature from the University of Utah where he was awarded a Vice Presidential Fellowship, a Jeff Metcalf Humanities in the Community Fellowship, and a Fellowship from the Tanner Humanities Center. Matty’s poems and essays have appeared in or are forthcoming from Crazyhorse, Copper Nickel, Denver Quarterly, Ecotone, Gulf Coast, Houston Public Media, Kenyon Review, the Missouri Review, Pleiades, Poetry Daily, Third Coast, and elsewhere.

This program is sponsored by the Pearl Hogrefe Fund, Department of English, MFA Program in Creative Writing and Environment, Ames Writers Collective, Fifth Street Writers, Iowa State University Committee on Lectures (funded by GSB).

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Blog In The Media News

Beyond the Summit┃Above+Beyond Cancer Conference

Join Founder Ana McCracken at the upcoming “Beyond the Summit” conference, June 11, 2026.

Beyond the Summit is a one-day conference created for cancer survivors and caregivers seeking practical tools, inspiration, and connection during and after the cancer journey. Through expert-led sessions, attendees will explore whole-person approaches to healing that support the body, mind, and spirit.

Ana McCracken will speak on a panel with Dr. Richard Deming and Jana West during Session One: The Arts as Medicine. Discover how creative expression can support emotional healing, reduce stress, and foster meaning and connection. Dr. Richard Deming is Founder of Above+Beyond Cancer and Medical Director at the Richard Deming Cancer Center. Jana West is a singer/songwriter.

The conference will take place on Thursday, June 11, 2026, with sessions taking place from 9:00am – 4:00pm in West Des Moines. Click here for more information and to register.

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In The Media News

Publication of Writing Circle Mondays

Hot off the presses: Writing Circle Mondays Reflections on Life & Cancer. This anthology co-edited by Ames Writers Collective founder, Ana McCracken and Terri Dorothy, a John Stoddard Cancer Center patient, gathers together heartfelt stories from women who found strength, hope, and healing through writing.

Every author wants you to buy their book. Know that when you purchase Writing Circle Mondays Reflections on Life & Cancer, all royalties support the Charlie Cutler Healing and Wellness Program at John Stoddard Cancer Center. This program funds Writing Circle Mondays—a FREE resource for individuals living with cancer. Books can be purchased through your local independent bookstores such as Dog-Eared Books in Ames, Iowa, Beaverdale Books in Des Moines, Barnes & Noble, and off Amazon if no other resource is available for you.

This anthology would not have made it to publication without Ana’s co-editor Terri Dorothy, who writes with her and others on Mondays. Additionally this book was published with the assistance of Polly Letofsky of #mywordpublishing. Ana met Polly at the Okoboji Writers’ Conference (#okobojiwriters) in 2023, kept in touch and Polly shepherded Ana through the process of publishing this collection of stories and poetry. A resounding thank you to Terri, Polly, all those who contributed to the anthology, and the John Stoddard Cancer Center.

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In The Media News

Auditions | The EcoTheatre Lab

EcoTheatre Lab’s PresentsIn Our Backyard Auditions

March 29th and 31st—6 to 9 PM

Auditions for The EcoTheatre Lab’s new eco-play festival, In Our Backyard. Auditions are open to the public, ages 18+. Please see ecotheatrelab.com for more information, and email [email protected] with questions.

Click here to check our calendar for specific times!

Rehearsals | The EcoTheatre Lab

The EcoTheatre Lab Presents—In Our Backyard Rehearsals

Rehearsals for The EcoTheatre Lab’s new eco-play festival, In Our Backyard. Rehearsals are reserved only for participating artists. The festival is May 1st-3rd and is free and open to the public! Check out ecotheatrelab.com for more information!

Rehearsals | The EcoTheatre Lab

The EcoTheatre Lab Presents—In Our Backyard Rehearsals

Rehearsals for The EcoTheatre Lab’s new eco-play festival, In Our Backyard. Rehearsals are reserved only for participating artists. The festival is May 1st-3rd and is free and open to the public! Check out ecotheatrelab.com for more information!

Rehearsals | The EcoTheatre Lab

The EcoTheatre Lab Presents—In Our Backyard Rehearsals

Rehearsals for The EcoTheatre Lab’s new eco-play festival, In Our Backyard. Rehearsals are reserved only for participating artists. The festival is May 1st-3rd and is free and open to the public! Check out ecotheatrelab.com for more information!

Rehearsals | The EcoTheatre Lab

The EcoTheatre Lab Presents—In Our Backyard Rehearsals

Rehearsals for The EcoTheatre Lab’s new eco-play festival, In Our Backyard. Rehearsals are reserved only for participating artists. The festival is May 1st-3rd and is free and open to the public! Check out ecotheatrelab.com for more information!

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Author

Acacia Coates

What’s your genre?
Journalism and fiction

Are you published?
Self published

What inspired you to become a writer?
I’ve been writing since I was four years old. I believe that stories have power to connect people and to shape history; that fiction reveals truths about human nature in ways other art forms can’t. So many books have influenced me over the years. There hasn’t been a single book I’ve read that hasn’t altered how I think or who I am in some small way. To write is to rub up against what makes us human and to display it for the world to see. That’s what inspires me to write; a fundamental desire to show the creativity of humanity and a belief that we are more than the organic material that we are made of.

What author do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
I deeply admire and respect Louisa May Alcott. She was able to weave truth and beauty into her narratives seamlessly. Her stories have substance without being “preachy” and they have value because they inherently give weight to the actions of the characters. Her novels are fun and engaging without being “fluffy” and lacking in depth. Her ability to communicate the human life across generations and through time is something I aspire to.

Name three of your favorite books and their authors
The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

What’s one thing readers should know about you?
My love for telling stories through art doesn’t just extend to writing; I love music and I think it grips people’s spirits. I’ve played classical piano since 2012 and some of my favorite composers are Debussy, Bach and Chopin. I think the sweeping lyrical melodies of Debussy and Chopin’s intricate polyrhythmic style create stunning tension in their respective pieces. Like writing, music inspires people, touching parts of their souls that are never stirred up without the influence of the arts.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to a budding writer?
Don’t let perfectionism paralyze you from writing. Mess up again and again and again, fighting for a piece of art that exists, not a product that’s perfect. Writing is about moving people – let that be your aim. Communicate who you are when you write, not what you think other people want to hear.

Author Bio
Acacia is a student at Iowa State University but with a deep love for writing and music. She’s completed several projects throughout the course of her studies, including podcast creation and social media production. She hopes to one day have a fulfilling career working for a company she can be passionate about.

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In The Media News

Five Tips to Help You Write in 2026

Check out our 1st blog post for 2026! Written by communications intern, Acacia Coates, the post offers up all sorts of ideas to move your 2026 writing goals forward. Click here to read Acacia’s suggestions which include joining groups, setting attainable goals, etcetera. Happy Writing!