Fiction is inspired by life, and the people in our lives often make the most alluring characters. How do we write about the people close to us? How do we lift characters from real life and turn them into fiction? With help from Eudora Welty, we’ll tackle these questions and examine how real life offers a useful entry point into a story, and how we can take the familiar and guide it gradually into the unknown.

Cecily Wong is the author of three books. Her debut novel, Diamond Head, was a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection and the recipient of an Elle Readers' Prize. Her second novel, Kaleidoscope, was a best book of the month at Buzzfeed, Apple Books, and Today.com. Cecily is also the co-author of the New York Times bestseller Gastro Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to Food. A 2024 MacDowell Fellow and the recipient of a 2023 Oregon Literary Fellowship, Cecily lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and daughter.

This event is presented by Kundiman Southwest and will take place virtually on Wednesday, July 30th from 5:30–6:30 PM MT. The event is free and open to all writers of color. Register here for the Zoom link.