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Best-selling Fantasy Authors Lead Creative Writing Event at SLU-Madrid

by Isaiah Voss

Saint Louis University-Madrid's departments of English and communication co-hosted "Using Fantasy Literature to Build Critical Thinking" on Thursday, Nov. 13, featuring bestselling fantasy authors Fonda Lee and P. Djélì Clark as part of the Sui Generis Madrid literary festival.

The event opened with a roundtable moderated by SLU-Madrid English professor Timothy Ryan Day, Ph.D., and continued with a creative writing workshop that gave students the chance to learn under two established voices in contemporary fantasy.

Anne Mulhall, Ph.D., director of the English program at Saint Louis University-Madrid, said planning for the event had an appropriately dramatic beginning. The initial Zoom meeting in June took place on the same day as a national blackout in Spain, "a good foreshadowing of the fantasy element," she said.

Mulhall said the English department was eager to participate in the festival. "We're delighted to be involved. We're flattered to be part sponsoring."

A panel of three speakers sits at a wooden table in front of an audience in a lecture hall. Behind them is a large screen displaying event artwork. The speaker on the left wears a cap and sweatshirt, the middle speaker rests his hand on his chin, and the speaker on the right smiles.

P. Djélì Clark (left), Timothy Ryan Day (center) and Fonda Lee (right) during panel discussion in the San Ignacio Hall Auditorium. Photo by Fernando Béjar.

Students from short story, creative writing and news writing courses attended the session, which drew significant interest across campus. Communication majors also engaged with discussions that touched on the gothic and cinematic aspects of fantasy storytelling.

The roundtable focused on how fantasy and speculative fiction can sharpen analytical skills, covering themes such as dystopian worlds, narratives rooted in historical events and future-oriented storytelling. The workshop and Q&A emphasized writing craft, organization and the realities of publishing.

Mulhall noted that the visit generated "a lot of buzz" among students, many of whom stayed after the workshop to ask questions and share their own writing experiences.