Workshops Showcase Writers, Give Pointers

Aspiring writers should save the date, April 12, for Hawaii Pacific University’s 17th annual Koolau Writing Workshops, which will run from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. that day at HPU’s Hawaii Loa campus in Kaneohe.

Former Honolulu Star-Bulletin senior editor John E. Simonds is this year’s winner of the James M. Vaughan Award for Poetry, and he will be recognized at the event. The Aina Haina resident’s poem Happy Hours will appear in an upcoming issue of Hawaii Pacific Review.

As usual, the workshops are divided into both morning and afternoon sessions, and attendees can choose to attend seminars on a number of topics ranging from creative nonfiction to screenwriting.

This year’s keynote speaker is Kristina Kahakauwila, assistant professor of creative writing at Western Washington University and author of the critically acclaimed collection of stories, This Is Paradise.

Interested applicants can register early for $30 (students pay $20) until March 31 at koolauwriterswork-shop.eventbrite.com. Prices rise $10 from April 1-12.

For more information, visit koolauwritersworkshop.com.