Welcome to the Military-connected Writing Workshop
The Military-connected Writing Workshop (formerly the Veterans Writing Workshop) welcomes military members and affiliates to make their voices heard by submitting works of creative writing.
Submissions will be compiled into an annual literary journal titled Charlie Mike, to be published by the College of Liberal Arts and the Department of English at Colorado State University.
“This is a place where veterans and military affiliates can share their stories and be heard,” said Ryan Lanham, U.S. Army veteran and former graduate student in the English department.
This fall, Ben Schrader will be facilitating the workshop and organizing meetings every Monday (Sept. 8 - Dec. 15, 2025) from 3-5 p.m.
Meetings will be held in the Lory Student Center, ALVS Main Conference Room 381A.
The judgement-free sessions welcome active military, veterans, military families and affiliates to write about any subject matter, and, while most submissions reflect on military experiences, prompts are not restricted to military subject matter.
Questions? Contact Ben Schrader by email.
The Journal
Charlie Mike — the title of the workshop's culminating journal — comes from military use of the NATO phonetic alphabet designations for the letters C and M, which, for service members, mean “continue mission.”
It is a call to action for pressing on in the face of military impacts on daily life.
Charlie Mike will be distributed throughout the community surrounding CSU, and Lanham plans to organize public readings.
“In unveiling the journal when it’s ready,” he said, “we want to have some of the writers in the group speak in the community and have it read in their voices.”
Want to donate toward our next publication?
Your gift to Veteran's Support will be used to meet the greatest needs of the Veteran's Support Fund, including this writing program. At the link below, search "Veteran's Support" to make a donation to our program.