1:00 - 2:00 PM

Cosplay - A Labor of Love: An Introduction to Cosplay and Its History with Francesca Terzano

Location: Building 410 (Student Center), Multicultural Center (Room 2030, 2nd Floor)

Join us for a multicultural experience in this workshop covering the history and concept of cosplay. Find out more about the Cosplay Contest happening at Mt. SAC, too!

BIO: Coming soon

12:00 - 2:00 PM

Culturama’s 2nd Annual Cosplay Contest

Location: Building 410 (Student Center), Multicultural Center (Room 2030, 2nd Floor)

Our Cosplay Contest is open to all ages. Come dressed as your favorite character and show off your cosplay aesthetic. You could even win prizes in these categories: Purchased Cosplay, Plainclothes Cosplay, and Constructed Cosplay! Register for the Cosplay Contest at www.mtsac.edu/culturama. 

1:30 - 2:30 PM

Poetry Comics with Robert Piluso and Lloyd Aquino

Location: Building 410 (Student Center), Multicultural Center (Room 2030, 2nd Floor)

Peanut butter and jelly, bacon and eggs, poetry and...comics? Professor and poet Lloyd Aquino (Once It's Over) and writer-illustrator Robert Piluso (Gangster Bat) will guide students to investigate the strong connection between pictures and words, studying a series of "poetry comics" before writing and drawing their own originals. Come have fun, learn a new dimension of your craft, and maybe even... find a new bestie?! 

BIOS: Robert Piluso, M.A., M.F.A., is a Professor of English at Mt. San Antonio College where he teaches composition, literature, mythology, cinema, and fiction writing. He earned his advanced degrees from C.S.U. Fullerton in English and University of Southern California in Writing for Screen and Television. Piluso's independent comic series Redemptor, Señor Zorro, and most recently Gangster Bat have all debuted on the best-selling list of Graphic Novel Adaptations on Amazon. Prior publications include over a decade of entertainment journalism and film criticism at Script Magazine, a chapter in The Essential Sopranos Reader (University of Kentucky Press), The Chaffey Review, and Dash. He lives with his wife Dani Gomez and daughter Madelyn in Southern California.

Lloyd Aquino is a Professor of English at Mt. San Antonio College. He teaches composition, literature, and creative writing - poetry. He has published several poetry collections: Madeline After the Fall, Concrete’s Song, and Once It’s Over.

3:00 - 4:00 PM

The Art of Haiku with Lloyd Aquino

Location: Building 410 (Student Center), Multicultural Center (Room 2030, 2nd Floor)

Do you enjoy communing with nature? Is there a longing within you to express yourself? Looking for simple ways to enjoy and celebrate life? In this generative workshop, we’ll learn how to write the Japanese poetic form of haiku, short poems bursting with the quiet, constant energy of human beings and the world all around us.

BIO: Lloyd Aquino is a Professor of English at Mt. San Antonio College. He teaches composition, literature, and creative writing - poetry. He has published several poetry collections: Madeline After the Fall, Concrete’s Song, and Once It’s Over

8:30 AM - 9:00 AM

Welcome to Culturama with Lloyd Aquino

Location: Building 410 (Student Center), Multicultural Center (Room 2030, 2nd Floor)

Start the morning off by enjoying some complimentary continental breakfast, getting to know your Culturama hosts and fellow attendees, and setting some goals for your day at Culturama. 

9:00 AM - 10:20 AM

Performing Voice on the Page and the Stage with CLS Sandoval

Location: TBA

In this workshop, participants will produce writing that they can perform live.  Techniques for writing, performing, practicing, memorizing, and types of notes to use will be explored.  Participants are encouraged to bring a piece or two that they are familiar with and would be comfortable reading aloud (whether written by the participant or someone else) and be ready to write something new.  We will move our bodies and use our voices (orally, written, and/or through sign) to each of our abilities.  This workshop privileges the mind/body connection over the mind/body separation.  Come play!

BIO: CLS Sandoval, PhD (she/her) is a pushcart nominated writer and communication professor with accolades in film, academia, and creative writing who speaks, signs, acts, publishes, sings, performs, writes, paints, teaches, and rarely relaxes.  She’s presented at communication conferences, served as a poetry and flash editor, published 15 academic articles, two academic books, three full-length literary collections, three chapbooks, and both flash and poetry pieces in literary journals, recently including Opiate Magazine, The Journal of Radical Wonder, and A Moon of One’s Own.  She is raising her daughter, son, and dog with her husband in Walnut, CA.

9:00 - 10:20 AM

Building a Second Brain: Methods for Organizing the Writer's Life with Yi Shun Lai

Location: TBA

Organization in a writer's life is an undersung commodity: When you have a clear desk, you can be more creative! I've used Tiago Forte's Building a Second Brain system for years now. This system allowed me to keep track of over 280 students, marketing for my third book, ideas and drafts for my fourth and fifth books, and my regular, non-working life. In this session, we'll build out the backbone of your own Second-Brain system and I'll give you resources to continue on outside of class.

Bio: Yi Shun Lai is the author of three books, the latest of which is A Suffragist’s Guide to the Antarctic (Simon & Schuster).

9:00 - 10:20 AM

Phoebe and Melissa Gallery

Location: TBA

10:30 - 11:50 AM

Getting the Word Out: Understanding Publicity in the Literary World with Monica Fernandez

Location: TBA

Whether you just published a book, or you're just starting to write, learn more about the publishing industry and process, and get some tips and tricks on how to market your work and yourself within the literary community to become a great literary citizen! You'll learn best practices, social media tips, and get a chance to create your own publicity plan and write mini-pitches for yourself and your work.

BIO: Monica Fernandez (she/her) is the Media Director at Red Hen Press. She graduated from the University of California, Irvine cum laude with a BA in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing, and from City University London with a MA in Creative Writing and Publishing. She has had several short fiction and creative nonfiction pieces published in The Chaffey Review, Rind Literary Magazine, Scribendi, The Left Coast Review, Creepy Gnome, and Pure Slush Magazine’s Envy anthology. She is Filipino-American and a film and theatre enthusiast.

10:30 - 11:50 AM

Writing Historical Fiction: Managing Your Research with Yi Shun Lai

Location: TBA

In this session, I'll give you the tools that helped me to stay on top of the mountains of research I amassed for my celebrated young adult historical fiction. I'll tell you how I found the sources I did, and how I worked those into the final draft. You'll walk away with good ideas of your own for your own research.

Bio: Yi Shun Lai is the author of three books, the latest of which is A Suffragist’s Guide to the Antarctic (Simon & Schuster).

10:30 - 11:50 AM

Printmaking with Jennifer Chen

Location: TBA

12:00 - 1:00 PM

LUNCH

1:00 - 2:20 PM

Storycraft Unlocked: Mastering the Seven-Point Plot with K. Andrew Turner

Location: TBA

Discover the art of storytelling with the seven-point structure! In this interactive class, you'll learn how to craft compelling narratives by breaking your story into seven essential beats—from the opening hook to the final resolution. Whether you're outlining a new idea or refining a draft, this framework will help you create stories that captivate and make readers turn the page.

BIO: K. Andrew Turner writes queer, literary and speculative fiction, poetry, and nonfiction in stolen weekday moments. In 2013, he founded East Jasmine Review—an electronic literary journal, with a focus on publishing diverse writers. He was a semifinalist for the 2016 Luminaire Award in poetry. His full-length poetry collection Heart, Mind, Blood, Skin is now available from Finishing Line Press. He also has a chapbook, “Gymlationship” from Arroyo Seco Press His work has also appeared in Chiron Review, LUMMOX, Carnival Literary, Sadie Girl Press, MUSE, Redshift, and other publications and anthologies. Find more at www.kandrewturner.com or follow him on X/Instagram/BlueSky @kandrewturner.

1:00 - 2:20 PM

Look Up!: Cloud Writing—Reflection, Prayer, and Using the Unconscious with Robert Piluso

Location: TBA

Ever been told, "Get your head out of the clouds!" But why would you want to? In this workshop, professor and comic writer-illustrator Robert Piluso (Amazon best-selling Redemptor series, Gangster Bat) will reveal the invisible super-structure of the conscious and unconscious mind, teach "inspiration-on-demand" through peaceful internal reflection, and show students how to draw inspiration for their craft literally "from out of thin air." Come chill, sky-gaze, and get your head IN the clouds (weather permitting). 

BIO: Robert Piluso, M.A., M.F.A., is a Professor of English at Mt. San Antonio College where he teaches composition, literature, mythology, cinema, and fiction writing. He earned his advanced degrees from C.S.U. Fullerton in English and University of Southern California in Writing for Screen and Television. Piluso's independent comic series Redemptor, Señor Zorro, and most recently Gangster Bat have all debuted on the best-selling list of Graphic Novel Adaptations on Amazon. Prior publications include over a decade of entertainment journalism and film criticism at Script Magazine, a chapter in The Essential Sopranos Reader (University of Kentucky Press), The Chaffey Review, and Dash. He lives with his wife Dani Gomez and daughter Madelyn in Southern California.

1:00 - 2:20 PM

Drawing with Shari Wasson

Location: TBA

2:30 - 3:50 PM

Memory as Material: Crafting Image-Driven Creative Nonfiction with K. Andrew Turner

Location: TBA

Memory is both a treasure and a trickster—fragmented, selective, and sometimes unreliable. This workshop explores how to use memory’s imperfections as creative fuel to write vivid, image-driven nonfiction that captures the essence of moments, emotions, and experience in short-form narrative. Participants will examine how memory shapes storytelling, practice mining sensory details, and learn techniques to write with honesty, depth, and imaginative clarity.

BIO: K. Andrew Turner writes queer, literary and speculative fiction, poetry, and nonfiction in stolen weekday moments. In 2013, he founded East Jasmine Review—an electronic literary journal, with a focus on publishing diverse writers. He was a semifinalist for the 2016 Luminaire Award in poetry. His full-length poetry collection Heart, Mind, Blood, Skin is now available from Finishing Line Press. He also has a chapbook, “Gymlationship” from Arroyo Seco Press His work has also appeared in Chiron Review, LUMMOX, Carnival Literary, Sadie Girl Press, MUSE, Redshift, and other publications and anthologies. Find more at www.kandrewturner.com or follow him on X/Instagram/BlueSky @kandrewturner.

2:30 - 3:50 PM

Songwriting: Basics for Beginners with Michelle Dougherty

Location: TBA

This workshop is for beginning songwriters or anyone who has ever wanted to write a song but is unsure of how and where to start. Presenters will cover basic song structure and some brainstorming techniques as well as strategies for how to move from an idea to a finished song. This session will also include some time for participants to work on their own ideas, so feel free to bring a guitar or other acoustic instrument if you would like to!

BIO: Michelle Dougherty is an English Professor at Mt. SAC and a singer-songwriter. 

2:30 - 3:50 PM

Drawing with Shari Wasson

Location: TBA

4:00 - 5:00 PM

Open Mic and Gallery Walk

Location: Building 410 (Student Center), Multicultural Center (Room 2030, 2nd Floor)

Join your Culturama hosts as we close the day with a celebration of all the amazing art you’ve created. We want to honor and admire your accomplishments! 

10:30 - 11:50 AM

Journey Inward: The Convergence of Poetry and Dreams with Betsy Mars

Zoom Link: https://mtsac-edu.zoom.us/j/6777468613

Many writers have found it useful to keep a dream journal as a prompt or to aid them in their craft. Our dreams, like poetry, often rely on symbolism and metaphor and both are ways of exploring the unconscious. We will look at some examples which illuminate this relationship and discuss how to incorporate dream imagery in our poetry. In preparation for the workshop please record a few dreams (if possible) to refer to in the writing portion of the class.

BIO: Betsy Mars is a prize-winning poet, photographer, and an assistant editor at Gyroscope Review. Recent poems can be found in One Art, Quartet, Sheila-Na-Gig, and Autumn Sky. Her photos have appeared online and in print, including one which was a Rattle Ekphrastic Challenge prompt in 2019. She has two books, Alinea, and her most recent, co-written with Alan Walowitz, In the Muddle of the Night. Betsy is currently working on a full-length manuscript titled Rue Obscure.

1:00 - 2:20 PM

The Eternal Maternal with Betsy Mars

Zoom Link: https://mtsac-edu.zoom.us/j/6777468613

Depictions of mothers in literature are plentiful. Together we will read and discuss some examples of how poets have tackled this subject with time allotted to write your own musings on the subject. Hopefully you will come away with new insights, approaches to writing about a universal topic in fresh ways, and maybe even healing as we head into the holidays.

BIO: Betsy Mars is a prize-winning poet, photographer, and an assistant editor at Gyroscope Review. Recent poems can be found in One Art, Quartet, Sheila-Na-Gig, and Autumn Sky. Her photos have appeared online and in print, including one which was a Rattle Ekphrastic Challenge prompt in 2019. She has two books, Alinea, and her most recent, co-written with Alan Walowitz, In the Muddle of the Night. Betsy is currently working on a full-length manuscript titled Rue Obscure.

2:30 - 3:50 PM

On Prompting: New Approaches to Your Life Stories with Michael Torres

Zoom Link: https://mtsac-edu.zoom.us/j/6777468613

In this generative workshop, we'll talk about how to begin writing our life stories (creative nonfiction) by using various ways to tell them. We'll look at examples of non-traditional approaches and use them as launching pads for our own writing. 

BIO: Michael Torres was born and brought up in Pomona, California. His debut collection of poems, An Incomplete List of Names (Beacon Press, 2020) was selected by Roque Raquel Salas Rivera for the National Poetry Series. He teaches in the MFA program at Minnesota State University, Mankato and through the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop. Visit him at: michaeltorreswriter.com