Huntington University to Host Sixth-Annual StoryCon
Indiana Poet Laureate Curtis Crisler and novelist Larry Sweazy highlight speaker lineup
HUNTINGTON, Ind. — Huntington University will host its sixth-annual StoryCon on Saturday, February 22, from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., highlighted by award-winning writers Indiana Poet Laureate Curtis Crisler and novelist Larry Sweazy.
StoryCon is operated by the HU English department and is designed for high school and university students who love to read and write.
“StoryCon reminded me that no matter your qualification or age, your story deserves to be heard,” said Annie Seboe, a 2024 HU graduate, of her experience at StoryCon. “I found a new sense of confidence in myself and my writing, and taking constructive criticism from others was now easier, as I saw it as an opportunity to grow.”
Highlighting this year’s StoryCon lineup are workshops from Crisler and Sweazy about “finding your voice through the epistolary poem” and “starting and finishing your novel,” respectively.
Crisler, an award-winning poet and author, has written six poetry books, two YA books and five poetry chapbooks. Crisler has earned a Library Scholars Grant Award, a RHINO Founder’s Award, Indiana Arts Commission Grants, Eric Hoffer Awards, the Sterling Plumpp First Voices Poetry Award and he was nominated for the Eliot Rosewater Award and a Jessie Redmon Fauset Book Award. He is the co-poetry editor for “the museum of americana.” Crisler created the Indiana Chitlin Circuit and a new poetry form called the sonastic. He’s the Indiana Poet Laureate and is a Professor of English at Purdue University Fort Wayne.
Sweazy is a multiple-award-winning, critically acclaimed author of 19 novels, 34 short stories and over 60 non-fiction articles and book reviews. Larry has been awarded eight national writing awards, including two Western Writers of America Spur Awards, Best Books of Indiana Award, two Will Rogers Medallion Awards, the Elmer Kelton Book Award, the Willa Award and the Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award. He has served on the faculty and board of directors for the Midwest Writers Workshop, the faculty for the Indiana Writers Center and teaches writing workshops around the country. Larry lives in Noblesville, Indiana, with his wife, Rose, and is hard at work on his next writing project.
For those on the fence about if StoryCon is for them, Seboe had advice about taking that leap to participate.
“Be bold, step out of your comfort zone and unlock all your creative writing power, knowing that every story, including your own, matters.”
Students can register for StoryCon by visiting huntington.edu/ForesterCamp/StoryCon. Questions about the event can be directed to Dr. Todd Martin at tmartin@huntington.edu.
