SLF Writing Workshop with Ken Liu: Stories About Technology

This event is a fundraiser for the 2026 Salem Literary Festival; all proceeds will be used to fund festival programming.

This workshop will train you to see and think about “technology”—both fictional and nonfictional forms—in new ways that help you tell compelling stories. We’ll examine a broader definition of technology and take on the perspective of a worldbuilder, someone who must conjure a novel and concrete vision for others. Writing exercises will allow participants to put these new ways of seeing and thinking into practice. In addition to fiction writers, this course is also suitable for journalists, technologists, gamemasters, sales and marketing staff, activists—anyone who wants to communicate more effectively about technology. The workshop is intended for writers of all levels. Please come to the workshop with a piece of technology (existing or invented) in mind you’d like to feature in a story.

Prerequisites: Since this workshop is suitable for writers at all levels of expertise, there are no requirements per se. However, prior to attendance, it would be helpful for you to think about a piece of technology that you wish to feature in a story. This can be something real (a new programming language you’re excited about; an old gadget that you love; a new startup idea; a hand tool that you know intimately …) or something fictional (a web site you wish someone would make; a program that you want to craft; a new method of space travel; a boat powered by phlogiston in a parallel universe  …). You don’t have to think much—a vague idea in mind is enough.

Ken Liu (http://kenliu.name) is an American author of speculative fiction. A winner of the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy awards, he wrote the Dandelion Dynasty, a silkpunk epic fantasy series, as well as the short story collection The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories. His latest book is All that We See or Seem, a techno-thriller starring an AI-whispering hacker who saves the world.

Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Liu worked as a software engineer, corporate lawyer, and litigation consultant. Liu frequently speaks on a variety of topics, including futurism, the history of creative technologies, bookmaking, and the mathematics of origami.

Tuition: $200.00