Haunted by Futility or Saving the World: Writing Climate Change with Erica Watson
October 18, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Linda Rapp Landing Room, Robert Service Campground
120 Robert Service Way, Whitehorse, Yukon
Whether climate change is the primary subject or serves as a backdrop, it can infuse our writing with urgency, anger, or grief, sometimes all at once.
Join author Erica Watson for a three-hour craft workshop examining the challenges and possibilities writers face when making meaning of a rapidly changing world, whether we intend to bear witness, demand action, or evoke an emotional response.
We’ll spend our time together reading, writing, and in conversation. Readings will include examples of climate writing across genres, from journalism to science fiction, while considering how different structures, tropes, and techniques shape the reader’s experience.
Writing prompts can be used as a starting point for new work or to reawaken a work in progress. We may come away with more questions than answers, but hopefully those questions will help us approach climate writing with greater awareness and intention.
Writers of all genres and experience levels are welcome. Sharing work is encouraged, but not required.
Registration is $15 and advance registration is required. Participation is limited to 20 people.
About Erica Watson
Erica Watson is an essayist, writing instructor, knitter, and occasional community organizer living on the boundary of Denali National Park, Alaska. Her experiences in conservation advocacy, tourism, and environmental education inform her writing, which has appeared in Terrain.org and About Place Journal, among others.
Her book, Ghosts of Distant Trees, was published by Porphyry Press in fall 2025. Erica is a graduate of the University of Alaska Anchorage MFA program and a recipient of an Alaska Literary Award.
Thank you to the Yukon Arts Fund for supporting this workshop and helping make accessible literary programming possible in the Yukon.