Events
Desire Lines hosts workshops, panel discussions, and community events designed to support and inspire mountain writers at every level. Our events are built around the belief that great storytelling shouldn't require an MFA, an industry connection, or a lifetime of access — just curiosity and a willingness to show up.
Upcoming events are listed below. Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know when new events are announced.
PANEL DISCUSSION
Writing in the Novacene
In 2020 scientist James Lovelock declared we were on the cusp of the “Novacene” (a future shaped by the rise of hyper-intelligent machines). Six years later, news about artificial intelligence increasingly dominates headlines, raising existential questions about our future and what it means to be human. As AI threatens to replace human writing with generative text, how can mountain storytellers help reaffirm the creative thinking needed to respond to the issues of our time?
For this online panel discussion, we’ve invited Heather Dawe — AI expert, founder of Little Peak Press, and recent author of Think Again: On AI, Mountains, and Intuition — to talk with Desire Lines cofounder Katie Ives — coeditor of The Himalayan Journal’s special edition on AI and the mountain world — about the potential impacts on human creativity, the publishing industry, and our connectedness with nature. We’ll also invite audience members to share their own stories, questions, and concerns. Moderated by Desire Lines editorial director and journalist Natalie Berry.
Date/Time: November 16, 11 am – 12:30 pm PT | Duration: 90 minutes | Audience: Open to all.
WORKSHOP
You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: Research Strategies for Narrative Nonfiction Writing
In this workshop, award-winning journalist, nonfiction author, and professor Annette McGivney will share her methodical strategies developed over decades for investigating difficult topics and producing engaging stories. Annette will offer tips on how to dig into a variety of important resources for nonfiction writers from accessing court documents to filing Freedom of Information Act requests. She will also discuss how to deal with sensitive sources including strategies she used when reporting on the convicted serial rapist and climber Charlie Barrett for a major investigative story in Outside magazine.
Date/Time: December 2, 4:30 pm PT | Duration: two hours | Audience: Women, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming writers only
PANEL DISCUSSION
Restoring Lost Histories
In recent years, writers have increasingly sought to create more accurate and inclusive histories of mountaineering, acknowledging the many significant contributions of underrepresented climbers — beyond the familiar roster of famous white men. Nandini Purandare and Deepa Balsavar (coauthors of Headstrap: Legends and Lore from the Climbing Sherpas of Darjeeling), Pasang Sherpa (University of British Columbia anthropologist), and Bernadette McDonald (author of Alpine Rising: Sherpas, Baltis, and the Triumph of Local Climbers in the Greater Ranges) will discuss how examining oral histories, mountain artifacts, desire paths, and other creative forms of research can highlight perspectives long relegated to the margins of mountain literature.
This event took place on August 6, 2026. The recorded version can be accessed here.
A Note on Participation
Desire Lines Collective is dedicated to elevating women, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming writers of mountain literature. The majority of our workshops are limited to self-identified members of these communities. We trust participants to honor this space and to uphold our value of fostering communities where women, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people feel safe taking imaginative risks. Disruptive behavior or violation of our community values will result in removal from the workshop without a refund. We expect all workshop members to uphold our values and are committed to addressing harm through honest conversation.
Fee Waivers
Desire Lines Collective believes in sharing knowledge about the craft and the business of writing as a means to break down barriers and subvert gatekeeping. To that end, a limited number of fee waivers are available for each class. We encourage applications from Black and Indigenous writers, writers of color, writers with disabilities, writers from LGBTQIA+ communities, and writers whose voices have been historically underrepresented in the outdoor publishing world.
Please fill out the fee waiver request no later than 10 days before the workshop start date. If granted a fee waiver, you will be responsible for a nominal fee (no more than $10).
Fee waivers are made possible by our supporting members. Join the movement and support our mission to keep workshops accessible.
Membership Discounts
Each of our workshops has discounts for our supporting members. Discount codes will be issued once the workshop registration goes live. Subscribe and save!
Basecamp: 5% off
Trail Buddy: 10% off
Alpine Ally: 15% off
Summit Team: 25% off
Refund Policy
If you are unable to attend a workshop for which you have registered please email us at hello (at) desirelinescollective.org
If you submit a request seven days before the workshop, you will receive a full refund. For cancellations received after this timeframe, a 50% refund will be issued. No refunds will be issued once the workshop begins.