American Prophets Writing Workshop - R. O. Kwon

In this generative writing workshop, you'll be inspired to write about your own relationship with religion and your journey toward, away from, or within your traditions. Hosted by award-winning author R. O. Kwon (The Incendiaries, Exhibit). Co-presented by .

This is the first writing workshop presented in conjunction with our upcoming special exhibit , opening November 2025. American Prophets is supported by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative.

R. O. KWON is the author of the nationally bestselling novel , a New York Times Editors' Choice. Kwon's bestselling first novel, , was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Award and the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Prize. With Garth Greenwell, Kwon co-edited , a New York Times Notable Book. Kwon’s books have been translated into seven languages and named a best book of the year by over forty publications.

Kwon's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Time, Vanity Fair, The Guardian, and elsewhere. She has received fellowships and awards from MacDowell, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Yaddo. Kwon was the Stein Visiting Writer at Stanford University and the Mary Routt Chair of Writing at Scripps College, and has taught at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the Tin House Workshop, and the University of San Francisco. Born in Seoul, Kwon has lived most of her life in the United States.

StoryStudio Chicago is a nonprofit literary arts organization focused on building a writing community. They offer more than 200 online and in-person creative writing classes and events each year, which include everything from single-session classes focused on one aspect of craft to multi-session weekly classes to full year-long programs. They nurture writers of all ages and all skill levels, and their programming covers all genres, from short stories and novels, to creative nonfiction like memoirs and essays to poetry, screenwriting, satire, and just about anything you can imagine.

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