Writing Workshop + Author Event with Mental Health Novelist Leanne T. Simpson!

Want to work on your personal story with a mental health novelist? Join us at Thunder Road Books on Saturday December 14 at 9:30 a.m. for a “hermit crab” style writing workshop with Leanne Toshiko Simpson.
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Hermit crab essays have emerged as exciting and generative containers for personal storytelling over the past two decades. As their popularity has grown, these creative pieces have taken the shape of family recipes, instructional manuals, obituaries and other familiar forms, offering a protective space to begin the writing process and a chance to reimagine the cultural expectations of each shape.
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For workshop facilitator Leanne, narrating her life has been challenging in that she is often writing emotionally difficult stories AND stories that may be less recognizable for those who don’t share her lived experience. She finds that working within a “shell” — as she did in her debut novel, Never Been Better, which uses the shape of a romantic comedy to explore mental illness — helps her understand and question the “rules of the game,” whether it’s the guiding structures of family, relationships, illness or even just the choreography of going on a date. It also makes for a very fun reading experience for those outside the story!
This writing workshop is open to anyone trying to tell a difficult story in a creative and nonlinear way (fiction or nonfiction). No writing experience required, just life experience that you’re interested in reframing creatively. Proceeds from registration will be donated to Fountain House, where Leanne is the Writer-in-Residence for 2025.
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Twenty spots available. Please RSVP on this FREE checkout for your spot!
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About the facilitator:
Leanne Toshiko Simpson is a Japanese Canadian writer, educator and psychiatric survivor from Toronto. She loves writing joyful, messy, laugh-out-loud stories about living with mental illness, and the moments of hope that help us get out of bed day after day. Her debut novel Never Been Better was released with Penguin this year and has been highlighted by CBC Q, Good Morning America, Electric Literature, Elle Canada and others. Leanne is currently the Writer-in-Residence for Fountain House NYC, the world's largest mental health clubhouse.