The Loft Blog

It's a strange time to be a writer. At a quick glance, it seems like we should all be getting so much done because we're home all the time. But in reality, there are approximately one hundred thousand other things to do at home, and if you have kids/jobs/pets, those may all come first.

I AM (Artist in Motion) is an interview series meant to spotlight indigenous artists and artists of color in the Twin Cities. The tenth in the series, this interview is with Gabriella Sierra Bedon, a Latina painter studying art and finance at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

We're in the final stretch of Wordplay, but never fear—all of our webinars are recorded and ready to be consumed at your convenience. So sit back, order up a complimentary treat, and enjoy these groupings of Wordplay events.

Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee, is a novel that spans generations—an incredibly difficult thing to do! 

I’d like to talk about how the style of narration and the careful way it is filtered through various characters helps Lee to a create story that moves through long periods of time with elegance.

These artists truly embody what it means to be a young person growing up in 2020. Wordplay is for everyone, and these authors and their books are not just for young adult readers. These books explore themes of gender, sexuality, race, immigration, and other topics that are universal and powerful.

I AM (Artist in Motion) is an interview series meant to spotlight indigenous artists and artists of color in the Twin Cities. The ninth in the series, this interview is with Rhiana Yazzie, a Navajo playwright, all-around theatre maker, filmmaker, and founder of New Native Theatre.

An accompaniment to her reading, this post pulls out popular listener questions—Can you talk about the process and the experience of researching for this collection? Do you collaborate across media as an artist? What does collaboration bring to your work?—and Lara's responses to them.

Wordplay author Hilary Leichter brings us super-short stories based on author work-from-home views! Hilary's debut novel, TEMPORARY, follows a young woman's quest for permanence through a series of bizarre temp jobs.

Works of fiction often reflect parts of ourselves and show the emotions that we thought no one else felt or even knew about. It offers us the opportunity to escape into daring adventures, to gain perspective and grow, to feel giddy when the lovers finally meet, or, simply, to laugh and cry.

I AM (Artist in Motion) is an interview series meant to spotlight indigenous artists and artists of color in the Twin Cities. The eighth in the series, this interview is with Nicola Koh, a Malaysian Eurasian fiction and nonfiction writer.

With Virtual Wordplay 2020 quickly approaching, I bet you’re itching to get a closer look into all the amazing authors and their works coming to your screens in a matter of weeks! Therefore, I have brought to you a breakdown of all the beautiful and intriguing fiction works coming to Wordplay 2020! 

Welcome to a week's worth of writing prompts! If you read our very first roundup, you know this is a new venture to try and increase community in a time of social distancing. Each day, we post a writing prompt on Twitter and Instagram that we're encouraging you all to interact with.