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Join the SLCC Community Writing Center (CWC) and the Utah Arts Festival for three days packed with fun writing activities for all, from workshops for kids and adults to the annual Wasatch IronPen competition.
For information on performing literary artists, visit the Literary Performances page.
Schedule
All events listed below are in the SLCC Community Writing Center unless noted.
Thu, June 19
- 6pm: Dungeoneers’ Tabletop Clinic
- 7pm: Ecohorror: Sporror—Fungi as Metaphor for Humanity's End OR Future
Fri, June 20
- 12:30pm: Exploring the Senses Workshop for Kids
- 2pm: Pen Pal Revival: Handwritten Letters
- 4pm: Reclaiming Cosmic Horror
- 6pm: IronPen Writing + Crafting Stories Using Visual Inspiration Workshop
- 7pm: Summer Solstice Tarot Storytelling
Sat, June 21
- 12:30pm: Welcoming Summer: Children's Writing Activities
- 2pm: Intro to Graphic Novel Writing/Creating
- 4pm: Unusual & Engaging Poetic Forms
- 4:30pm: What a Time to Be Alive Anthology (at The Round)
- 5:30pm: Writing as Resistance Through Zines
- 5:30pm: She Said Anthology (at Plaza Stage)
- 6pm: Wasatch IronPen Literary Marathon & Ultramarathon Ends!
- 7pm: Travel Writing
Sun, June 22
- 12pm: IronPen Winners (at Plaza Stage)
- 1pm: Strange Known & Unknown Worlds: World Building in Sci Fi
- 2:30pm: Memory & Meaning Making: The Art of Memoir Writing
- 4pm: Molotov Mocktails: Writing as Rebellion in Utah
- 5:30pm: Making Monsters
- 7:00pm: Impossible Worlds: World Building in Fantasy
- 8pm: Gathering in Community to Share Our Stories: Open Mic
Have Your Say!: Gigantic Magnetic Poetry Walls
Everyone can be a poet, especially with gigantic magnetic words! Come share your words on the CWC’s magnetic poetry walls.
Write Fest Activities
Stop by the Community Writing Center any time to participate in a variety of fun writing activities.
Thu, 5pm-9pm
Fri-Sun, Noon to 9pm
- Exquisite Corpse Poems (Community Poetry Writing): Collaborate with others to create surprising, surrealist poetry. Each participant writes a word or line without seeing what’s come before, resulting in a fun and unique community collaboration.
- Flash Fiction: Learn how to break down big ideas into tiny, impactful, and compelling stories with Flash Fiction. This is a perfect, short writing activity for writers who want to master the art of very, very short storytelling.
- Flash, Blackout, & Other Fun Poetic Forms: Do you have a love of playing with words? Join us to try your hand at poetry that breaks the rules! Experiment with flash poetry, blackout poetry, and other inventive styles to create something uniquely yours!
- Gratitude Letters & Postcards: Spread joy by writing short, heartfelt notes of appreciation. Decorate postcards or letters to brighten someone’s day—whether for a friend, family member, or yourself!
- Sun & Star Fold Crafts: Fold paper into radiant celestial shapes! Come learn the star and sun fold to create beautiful suns and stars that can be used for notes, decorations, or delightful handmade gifts.
- Letters for the CWC's Letterbox: Come and contribute messages of hope, solidarity, humor, or love to our community letterbox. You never know; the words you share could be the boost someone’s needs on a hard day.
- Summer Solstice Spells: Celebrate the longest day of the year through spell-crafting. Come enjoy the sunshine, set new intentions, and honor new beginnings along with the fresh start ahead.
- Pride Letters: Share your story or uplift others in our Pride Letters workshop. Whether you’d like to celebrate your identity, reflect on the past, open up about fears, or share hopes for the future, this space is for you.
- Mushroom Paper Folds + Messages: Are normal envelopes just a little too boring? Come learn how to fold paper mushrooms that you can tuck notes into instead!
- Spinny Wheel Writing: Let chance (or is it fate??) guide your creativity! Spin a wheel of prompts or genres to inspire spontaneous creative writing adventures.
- Zines: DIY your own mini-magazine! Combine art, writing, and collage to create a pocket-sized zine on a topic you are passionate about, or just something fun!
Wasatch IronPen Competition
Registration
Writers of all experience levels can register for the marathon at the SLCC Community Writing Center (located at Library Square, Suite 8) or register online for either the IronPen or Ultra Marathon.
- Participants must register by Friday, June 20, at 6pm.
- Registration for the IronPen is $10 for one genre (Fiction, Non-fiction, or Poetry) or $15 for the IronPen Ultra (all three genres).
Visit the CWC website or call 801-957-2192 for more details.
Prompt & Deadlines
- On Friday, June 20, 2025 at 6pm, a prompt will be posted on the CWC’s Facebook (@CommunityWritingCenter) and Instagram (@slcc_cwc) feeds. Participants must meaningfully incorporate the prompt into their submission.
- After receiving the prompt on Friday, June 20th at 6pm, writers will have exactly 24 hours to write.
- Submissions are due via Submittable by 6:00pm on June 21, 2025.
Winners & Honorable Mentions
- IronPen Winners: Sun, June 22, 12pm at Plaza Stage
- Winners will receive a gift card to the King’s English bookstore and a CWC gift bag.
- Honorable Mentions will receive a gift bag of CWC swag.
- Competition Winners and Honorable Mentions will be announced and invited to read from their IronPen works on June 22 during the Utah Arts Festival.
Program Sponsor
