Join Dilon Osleger, author of Trail Work: Restoring the Paths and Stories of America’s Public Lands (forthcoming from Heyday in 2026), and Sue Norman for a craft workshop at the Tahoe Literary Festival.

This workshop explores the work of authors/writers whose lives were transformed by deep connections to wild landscapes and outdoor adventure, and how that connection inspires their writing, and acts of resistance to the current assault on public lands.   Our vast system of protected diverse natural landscapes makes the United States unique in the world and provides an incalculable richness to every American’s life. This workshop would explore the experiences of the panel and the audience to build and maintain resilience through this deep connection to our public lands, and how to utilize that resilience to fuel the ‘Resistance’ through art and action.
Sue Norman is the author of Risk, a memoir published in June, 2025, about extreme whitewater competition and extreme parenting. She began writing soon after retiring from a hydrology career with the Forest Service and becoming guardian of her young nephew. A former National and World Champion in both whitewater kayaking and rafting, she continues to coach youth paddlers in whitewater raft racing. She lives in Lake Tahoe, California with her son/nephew, partner Lisa, and their two dogs.

Dillon Osleger is an earth scientist, writer, and mountain athlete drawn to stories anchored to the confluence of the outdoor industry and community’s relationship with natural and rapidly changing environments. Dillon lives in Truckee, California where he works in conservation science, public land advocacy, and trails with a focus on the American West. His stories and academic writing have appeared in Outside, LA Times, Patagonia’s Cleanest Line, and Earth and Planetary Science Letters. He was the 2024 Alexander Cushing Fellow at Community of Writers for the manuscript for his first novel – Trail Work – with Heyday, set for release May 2026.