In Person at Beyond Baroque

In this three-hour generative workshop, we'll examine how contemporary writers evoke the eerie and create emotional tension through absence, memory, and longing. Drawing on the work of Carmen Maria Machado, Angela Carter, Helen Oyeyemi, and their reimaginings of familiar folktales, we'll translate literary theory into practical craft techniques through close reading, discussion, and a sequence of interconnected writing exercises. Designed for writers of all genres and experience levels, each prompt builds upon the last, allowing participants to leave with the beginnings of a new story or a deeper understanding of an existing project while discovering new craft tools for creating atmosphere, emotional resonance, and narrative tension.

Atina Hartunian is a writer, independent scholar, educator, and first-generation Armenian American based in Los Angeles. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing from Pacific University in 2023. Her honors include a Teaching Fellowship from Anaphora Arts (2024), the Pacific University MFA Merit Scholarship (2021), and residencies with the Cambridge Writers' Workshop, Rockvale Writers' Colony (2025), and the Carolyn Moore Writing Residency (2026). Hartunian's work explores horror, perception, memory, diasporic identity, and the unseen through fiction, flash nonfiction, and craft scholarship. Her talks have been presented through ThunderDome Conference, The Writer's Center, CALYX Press, Anaphora Arts, and Portland Community College. She serves as Editor-in-Chief of PACT DeskSet Substack, an independent literary arts community dedicated to craft, conversation, and creative experimentation.