Pathway: Expand & Discuss

Expand & Discuss Offerings

For readers and writers who love digging in, this pathway offers rich conversations and craft-focused discussions centered around books and big ideas. Grow, question, and engage with others who love to think critically about stories and storytelling.

Poster reading “Minnesota Writers Respond,” a public literary event featuring Curtis Sittenfeld, Sarah Ghazal Ali, Michael Kleber-Diggs, Chaun Webster, Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay, Claire Wahmanholm, Halee Kirkwood, Lara Mimosa Montes, and Jessica Nordell. In partnership with The Loft Literary Center and Milkweed Editions, benefiting the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. Thursday, Feb 26 at 6:30 PM at Open Book, Minneapolis.
Minnesota Writers Respond | Feb 26

Join us in community for Minnesota Writers Respond, an evening of reading and fellowship in response to the current moment featuring Curtis Sittenfeld, Michael Kleber-Diggs, Sarah Ghazal Ali, Chaun Webster, Claire Wahmanholm, Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay, Lara Mimosa Montes, Halee Kirkwood, and Jessica Nordell.

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Christine Day Mcknight Author Reading
Christine Day Author Talk | Mar 7

Join us for a special reading with acclaimed middle grade and YA author Christine Day, the 2025 McKnight Judge in Children’s Literature (ages 8 and up). Day will share from her award-winning work and will be joined in conversation by the Loft’s Partnerships Program Manager, Cristeta Boarini.

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Multigenre Graphic
Writing Nature in Literary Fiction with Tara Menon | Mar 21

In this class, we will discuss how to transform research about the details of plant and animal life into descriptive prose, with a special focus on marine life and the plants and animals of tropical rainforests. 

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Expand & Discuss Classes
Expand & Discuss
In-Person
Single Session
To Market, To Market: How Professionals Look at Your Manuscript
Date
Time
Saturday, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Price
$55.50
$49.95 (Friend)
Jennie Goloboy
Photo of Catherine Lundoff - middle-aged woman with graying dark hair and glasses
Catherine Lundoff
Expand & Discuss
Online
Single Session
Poetics of Place: Writing at the Intersection of Nature & Queerness
Date
Time
Saturday, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Price
$74.00
$66.60 (Friend)
KD Hack in garden
KD Hack
Expand & Discuss
Online
6 Week
Fiction in Your Fact: Experimenting and Playing with Nonfiction
Date
Mar 3, 2026 - Apr 7, 2026
Time
Tuesday, 10 a.m. - Tuesday, 12 p.m.
Price
$222.00
$199.80 (Friend)
Andy Dehnart
Expand & Discuss
Online
Single Session
You Don’t Have to Tell the Truth: Omission, and Speculation in Poetry
Date
Time
Saturday, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Price
$55.50
$49.95 (Friend)
Asa Drake
Expand & Discuss
In-Person
Single Session
Craft Seminar: Writing Nature in Literary Fiction
Date
Time
Saturday, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Price
$37.00
Tara Menon
Tara Menon
Expand & Discuss
Online
Single Session
You've Finished Your Book—Now What?
Date
Time
Saturday, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Price
$111.00
$99.90 (Friend)
Savannah Brooks
Expand & Discuss
In-Person
Single Session
Powerful First Pages: Pro Tips, Pitfalls, and Practical Advice
Date
Time
Saturday, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Price
$74.00
$66.60 (Friend)
Tamara Hogan sits on a couch, holding a cup of coffee
Tamara Hogan
Expand & Discuss
Online
Single Session
Worldbuilding: The Keys to Writing Immersive Setting
Date
Time
Saturday, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Price
$74.00
$66.60 (Friend)
Jackie Cangro
Expand & Discuss
In-Person
Single Session
Crafting Powerful Scenes—The Building Blocks of Story
Date
Time
Saturday, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Price
$55.50
$49.95 (Friend)
NIgar Alam headshot
Nigar Alam
Expand & Discuss
Online
Single Session
Stand by Your Plan: Practices for Sticking with Manuscripts
Date
Time
Saturday, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Price
$37.00
$33.30 (Friend)
Kelly Foster Lundquist
Kelly Foster Lundquist
Expand & Discuss
Online
Single Session
Divinatory Poetics: Using Tarot and Images to Generate Poems Intuitively–A Class for Writers of Color and Indigenous Writers
Date
Time
Saturday, 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Price
$37.00
$33.30 (Friend)
신 선 영 Sun Yung Shin
Expand & Discuss
Online
8 Week
Writing the Illness Memoir: A Diversifying Writers Class
Date
Jun 15, 2026 - Aug 3, 2026
Time
Monday, 7 p.m. - Monday, 9 p.m.
Price
$296.00
$266.40 (Friend)
woman with multi-colored books surrounding her portrait
Marianne Manzler
Expand & Discuss
Online
4 Week
Healing Through Writing
Date
Jun 16, 2026 - Jul 7, 2026
Time
Tuesday, 4 p.m. - Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Price
$148.00
$133.20 (Friend)
Shama Shams headshot
Shama Shams