2026 Inklings Festival (Storytelling Workshop with Clare Vanderpool)
Study creative writing with a Newberry Award-winning author and workshop your story-in-progress like a real member of the Inklings.
Much beloved local author and educator, Clare Vanderpool, is hosting the 1st Annual Inklings Festival Storyteller Workshop. In this intimate small group, capped at 20 participants, Clare will lead a lesson on writing craft and each participant will have the opportunity to share their story, receiving feedback from Clare and the other workshop participants.
Below is a message from Clare Vanderpool on what to expect at this workshop:
(First, an excerpt from Moon Over Manifest)
The Baptist church, normally home to the purest of Manifest citizens—meaning the ones who had parents and grandparents and even great-grandparents born in this country—was suddenly filled with strangers. Each held his or her own jar or jug of either Velma T.’s elixir or Shady’s whiskey.
Casimir Cybulskis spoke first. “This seems such a solemn moment. I think it calls for a prayer.”
Everyone looked to Shady, as, standing at the head of the baptistry, he seemed to be in the place of the minister.
Shady held his hat in his hands, rotating it in a slow circle. “I don’t spend much time in church, but I do recall a story my mother used to tell me. Some folks had a wedding and they ran out of wine. The bartenders brought out big jugs of water. But lo and behold, out poured wine, the best they ever tasted.” He looked at the faces around him. I reckon that’s something akin to what we’re doing here.”
Everyone nodded, waiting for the prayer.
Shady shifted from one foot to the other. Jinx nudged him in encouragement.
“All right, then.” Shady cleared his throat and began what sounded more like a toast than a prayer. “Lord, here’s hopin’ that what lies ahead is the best we ever tasted.”
“Amen,” they said in unison, these citizens of the world, and they held their breath as the many and varied ingredients that had been simmered and stewed, distilled and chilled, were combined to make something new. Something greater than the sum of its parts.
I chose the excerpt above because in the words of Shady Howard, I reckon that’s akin to what we’ll be doing in the Storyteller’s Workshop. As writers and storytellers, we bring our own ingredients of life experience, memory, imagination and exploration. And we come with our own hat in hand to share our writing with others—an act of both humility and bravery. So consider this an invitation to the humble and brave, to bring your own ingredients to add to the story pot. To simmer and stew. To make something new.
Something greater than the sum of its parts.
Each participant needs to bring a story-in-progress between 1,000 and 2,500 words to read aloud to the workshop. And don't worry! Your manuscript doesn't need to be at a certain level to be included. We don't expect experts, and we all have something to learn from each other.
Registration for the Storyteller Workshop is $150/person. If cost is prohibitive for you, please contact Eighth Day Institute to inquire about a scholarship.
Much beloved local author and educator, Clare Vanderpool, is hosting the 1st Annual Inklings Festival Storyteller Workshop. In this intimate small group, capped at 20 participants, Clare will lead a lesson on writing craft and each participant will have the opportunity to share their story, receiving feedback from Clare and the other workshop participants.
Below is a message from Clare Vanderpool on what to expect at this workshop:
(First, an excerpt from Moon Over Manifest)
The Baptist church, normally home to the purest of Manifest citizens—meaning the ones who had parents and grandparents and even great-grandparents born in this country—was suddenly filled with strangers. Each held his or her own jar or jug of either Velma T.’s elixir or Shady’s whiskey.
Casimir Cybulskis spoke first. “This seems such a solemn moment. I think it calls for a prayer.”
Everyone looked to Shady, as, standing at the head of the baptistry, he seemed to be in the place of the minister.
Shady held his hat in his hands, rotating it in a slow circle. “I don’t spend much time in church, but I do recall a story my mother used to tell me. Some folks had a wedding and they ran out of wine. The bartenders brought out big jugs of water. But lo and behold, out poured wine, the best they ever tasted.” He looked at the faces around him. I reckon that’s something akin to what we’re doing here.”
Everyone nodded, waiting for the prayer.
Shady shifted from one foot to the other. Jinx nudged him in encouragement.
“All right, then.” Shady cleared his throat and began what sounded more like a toast than a prayer. “Lord, here’s hopin’ that what lies ahead is the best we ever tasted.”
“Amen,” they said in unison, these citizens of the world, and they held their breath as the many and varied ingredients that had been simmered and stewed, distilled and chilled, were combined to make something new. Something greater than the sum of its parts.
I chose the excerpt above because in the words of Shady Howard, I reckon that’s akin to what we’ll be doing in the Storyteller’s Workshop. As writers and storytellers, we bring our own ingredients of life experience, memory, imagination and exploration. And we come with our own hat in hand to share our writing with others—an act of both humility and bravery. So consider this an invitation to the humble and brave, to bring your own ingredients to add to the story pot. To simmer and stew. To make something new.
Something greater than the sum of its parts.
Each participant needs to bring a story-in-progress between 1,000 and 2,500 words to read aloud to the workshop. And don't worry! Your manuscript doesn't need to be at a certain level to be included. We don't expect experts, and we all have something to learn from each other.
Registration for the Storyteller Workshop is $150/person. If cost is prohibitive for you, please contact Eighth Day Institute to inquire about a scholarship.
Clare Vanderpool is the award-winning author of two novels, Moon Over Manifest and Navigating Early. Moon Over Manifest, her debut novel, was awarded the prestigious 2011 John Newbery Award, the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. Clare’s books have both hit the New York Times best seller list as well as the Book Sense best seller list. Interviews with Clare have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, and almost all of the media outlets across the nation have covered her writing career. Clare has been making appearances at schools, libraries, and conferences around the country and abroad. She lives in Wichita, Kansas in the same zip code where she grew up.
