Thursdays at 7pm CT: April 1, 8, and 15

The hermit crab essay is a term originally coined by Brenda Miller and Suzanne Paola in their craft book Tell It Slant: Creating, Refining, and Publishing Creative Nonfiction. Like its namesake, the hermit crab essay borrows an existing container, such as a list, set of directions, tarot card reading, or real estate listing, and makes it its own.

In this workshop, we’ll explore how different authors use the Hermit Crab Essay as a creative vehicle for approaching topics that may feel too difficult, vulnerable, or traumatic to write about directly. I’ll share writing exercises, practical tools, and techniques that you can take with you to experiment with this form and begin crafting your own next essay.

About Veronica:

Summer A.H. Christiansen (she/they) is a queer writer, mother, and Alaskan currently living on the unceded lands of Snuneymuxw First Nations in British Columbia, Canada. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the Rainier Writing Workshop and her Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Alaska Southeast. Her work has been published in Minerva Press Rising, Bell Press Anthologies, Silver Rose Magazine, Tidal Echoes, Alaska Women Speak, and Drizzle Review. You can find out more about her work at sahchristiansen.com.