Welcome to the Veterans Writing Workshop
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 spring, Ross Atkinson will be facilitating the workshop and organizing meetings each Wednesday from Feb. 22 to April 19 (except during spring break on 3/15). Meetings will be held at CSU from 5:15-7 p.m., Education building, Room 234.
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.
Participating writers can upload submissions at the weekly meetings or by using the digital form, which appears on this page and on the workshop writing prompts page by clicking here.
Questions? Contact Ross Atkinson at ross.atkinson@colostate.edu
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.
Charlie Mike, Volume 1
To download a free PDF of the first volume of the workshop’s journal, click below!
Workshop Sessions Calendar
Click an event in the calendar below for details about each Veterans Writing Workshop Session. If no event entries appear, the workshop is on break and will resume with the new semester at CSU. Please check back regularly for new sessions of the workshop and related special events.