October 2011, Centrum presents separate fiction workshops offered in both English and Spanish.

Novelist Kathleen Alcalá (in English) and novelist Maria Victoria (in Spanish) will offer workshops and discussions to help emerging or established writers explore literary fiction through the development of compelling storylines in either Spanish or English.  Registrants may choose to participate in either workshop, and will have an opportunity to create new work and explore form and technique during the intensive weekend.

Evenings will include optional social events, and feature faculty and participants from both workshops.

Registration for both workshops is now open.  For more information, or to register, please visit the home of Writing at Centrum on the web, or call 360.385.3102, ext. 131.

Kathleen Alcalá is the author of four works of fiction – “Mrs. Vargas and the Dead Naturalist,”  “Spirits of the Ordinary,” “The Flower in the Skull,” and “Treasures in Heaven,” and a collection of essays. Her work is the recipient of a Governor’s Writers Award, the Washington State Book Award, a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award, and a Western States Book Award, among others. Two of her stories are included in the recent Norton Anthology of Latino Literature.

Maria de Lourdes Victoria, originally from Veracruz, Mexico, has won international acclaim for her work, and has been published in Spain, Argentina, Mexico and the United States. Her first novel, “I leave the Sea” (Ediciones B, 2005) was honored at the Latino Book Fair in Washington, DC, as Butterfly Award finalist and the best historical novel in Spanish. Her second novel, “Beyond Justice,” placed third in the Premio Planeta 2010, in Barcelona, ​​Spain; and her short stories have been published in prestigious international literary journals such as Nimrod and Quercus Review. Victoria is currently writing her third novel, “The Daughters of the Clouds,” as well as a children’s series entitled, “Abuela Siempre se mete en Problemas.”