This class invites writers to step beyond human-centered storytelling and explore the vibrant presence of the more-than-human world in realist fiction. Through reading and analyzing recent works that challenge the publishing status quo, participants will learn not to self-censor based on outdated ideas of “what will sell” and will experiment with techniques for granting agency to animals, plants, and other nonhuman beings. We'll study fabulous examples from modern literary stars like Talia Lakshmi Kolluri and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. Collaborative writing exercises and group discussions will encourage playfulness, curiosity, and respect across species and cultures, while affirming each writer’s commitment to more inclusive, ecologically aware narratives. By the end of the session, participants will leave with new creative tools, inspiration for further research, and a deeper awareness of storytelling’s role in reconnecting humans with the living world.


Living just west of the Continental Divide, in the traditional homeland of Shoshone and Bannock peoples, sid sibo has won the Neltje Blanchan Memorial Writing Award, and has work selected for the Best Small Fictions 2022 anthology, along with excerpts highlighted in the craft book Reader Centered Writing. In 2019, sibo earned an MFA from Stonecoast low-residency program at Univ. of Southern Maine. Published stories can be found in the charity anthology Maine Character Energy, honoring victims and survivors of a 2023 mass shooting, as well as Fourth River (Tributaries), The Hopper, Orca, The Literary Hatchet, Cutthroat, Cardinal Sins and Brilliant Flash Fiction, among others.  Bison Books published debut novel, The Scent of Distant Family, in 2024. Positive news about people and planet can be found on the Acoustic Burro blog at sidsibo.com.

Beyond Human: Including Perspectives from our Planetary Cohabitants

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  • Saturday Nov 22 2025, 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM
  • Zoom (register for link)
    United States