Writing to Reclaim Our Attention
Writing is a powerful tool to step away from technology and reclaim our attention by connecting with nature. Author Morgan Sjogren finds her best writing happens away from a screen and in motion––and there is science and psychology behind this. When we approach our time in nature with curiosity, we can absorb micro and macro details that can both enrich our writing and well-being. We may even find the act of having a notebook and pen in hand can queue our curiosity, and memory, benefiting unexpected areas of our writing practice. This course will be held outdoors and includes free writing, generative prompts, group activities, readings, and a q&a. Light walking is an optional part of the course. Writers of all levels are invited to participate––from published authors, burgeoning freelancers, or anyone wishing to enrich their personal writing or journaling practice.
This workshop is taught by the 2026 Ellen Meloy Winner Morgan Sjogren
Morgan Sjogren is an award-winning author and journalist. An intrepid explorer, she writes about Western lands and water through a lens of history, culture, science, and adventure. Path of Light: A Walk Through Colliding Legacies of Glen Canyon won the 2025 Utah Book Award and Library of Congress “Great Reads” Utah selection. She is the winner of the 2026 Ellen Meloy Fund Desert Writer’s Award and the 2024 Entrada Institute Writer-in-Residence. Her forthcoming books include Riverside: Becoming a Citizen of the Colorado River Watershed (Torrey House Press, 2027) and Desert Maverick: The Life of Archaeologist Ann Axtell Morris (Lyons Press, 2028). Her stories and photographs are published in Adventure Journal, Archaeology Southwest, Arizona Highways, bioGraphic, Patagonia, Reasons to be Cheerful, and Sierra Magazine. Her reporting received a 2022 Water Desk Grant and a 2024 BYU Charles Redd Center Independent Research and Creative Works Award. She also shares stories and photos on Wild Words (Substack) and on Instagram @morgan.sjogren. Sjogren is the co-founder of Glen Canyon Backcountry Club hiking tours. She is based in Southern Utah’s canyon country and migrates seasonally throughout the Colorado River watershed.