Fishtrap is again offering the Yearlong Writers’ Program, led by Karen Auvinen, that will begin and end with gatherings at Summer Fishtrap.

Applications for this program are open now at www.fishtrap.org/karen-auvinen-yearlong-workshop/.

Mike Midlo, Fishtrap program director, said the year-long writing workshops began in 2008 “as an opportunity for writers to devote a year to their work at about half the cost of a master’s in fine arts degree in creative writing.”

The cost is $7,250 — or $6,750 if paid in full by July 11, 2022. Tuition includes registration and workshop instruction for the 2022 and 2023 Summer Fishtrap Gathering of Writers, and all individual monthly instruction during the year.

Auvinen describes it as “a 13-month intensive distance-learning program that focuses on one-on-one instruction to help you reach your goals as a writer.”

She said participants will meet at Fishtrap in July 2022 “to get grounded and begin thinking about book length projects. Then everyone will retreat to home to write.”

Throughout the year, each writer will share pages with a workshop partner, as well as Auvinen who will offer written feedback and also schedule Zoom meetings.

“Each writer will determine their goal for the year, but getting through a good first draft of a book-length work is what I will encourage through big-hearted support,” she said. “Writing is so solitary and it’s really helpful to know there are a few people out there keeping track of your progress, helping you when you get stuck and cheering you on — people who understand what you are trying to do and where you are going, people who appreciate your voice and want to help you cultivate it and shape a narrative that others will want to read.”

Summer Fishtrap

During the Summer Fishtrap 2022 portions of the workshop, participants in Auvinen’s program will meet in the mornings to work on developing their writing project, then attend other activities.

“Including readings and just soaking up being a part of one of the best writing communities in the U.S. — certainly the best in the West,” Auvinen said.

At Fishtrap 2023, she said the participants will meet again “for final considerations, some workshopping and a BIG celebration for a first draft, which will include next steps.”

About the instructor

Auvinen lives in Rollinsville, Colorado, and is on the faculty at the Low-Residency MFA in Nature Writing at Western College University in Gunnison. She started out as a poet and also writes nonfiction (her memoir, “Rough Beauty: Forty Seasons of Mountain Living,” was published by Scribner in 2018). She’s also taught writers and writing at Fishtrap and the Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver.

She is a former artist-in-residence for the State of Colorado and her work has won two Academy of American Poets Awards and two Pushcart nominations. Her book was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award and the Willa Award. Get acquainted at www.karenauvinen.com and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/KarenAuvinenAuthor).

About Summer Fishtrap

The 35th Summer Fishtrap Gathering of Writers is set for July 11-17, 2022, at Wallowa Lake Lodge. Adult workshops are $895 or $805 for Fishtrappers. Youth workshops are $550. Registration opens Feb. 1, 2022.

Genres include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, memoir, short story and children’s literature. Each workshop is limited to 13 participants. The week will include craft talks, discussions, open mics, readings and a special 35th anniversary celebration. For information, visit www.fishtrap.org.