The Storied Imaginarium offers creative writing courses for the wicked, the damned, the curious, the wild and the strange.
In each of our courses, you will be supported in creating a suite of your own original short stories (or poems!) inspired by traditional tales from folklore, fairy tales, and mythology.
Guided by our experienced and passionate writers and teachers, you will read and discuss a range of traditional tales, alongside contemporary works that draw on those tales. Each tale is paired with a cultural or scientific concept to inspire your writing: anything from fatal fashion to mitochrondial DNA.
You will write your own original tales, and—within an intimate and supportive workshop setting—receive feedback on your work from the course facilitators, and the other people in your workshop group.
Image [header]: Poppy Mouth by Kim Myatt
"I love working with Carina and The Storied Imaginarium. The courses are carefully crafted, a blend of creativity and academia that makes a perfect storm for writing thoughtful, smart speculative fiction. The class format supports constructive criticism that helps me analyze my strengths and weaknesses as a writer, while pushing me to expand my horizons and write outside my comfort zone. More than that, Carina has in-depth knowledge of the various markets for speculative short fiction which she uses to help us revise our work. I am positive that without The Storied Imaginarium, I would not have the publication credits I have today. I look forward to our next class together!"
[Claire Eliza Bartlett, author of 'The Velvet Castles of the Night']
Image: Untitled work by Janie Olsen at The Storybook Studio.
The Storied Imaginarium is a Colorado-based nonprofit 501(3)(c).
PRESIDENT & DIRECTOR
Carina Bissett is a writer, poet, and educator working primarily in the fields of dark fantasy and fabulism. Her debut collection Dead Girl, Driving and Other Devastations was released by Trepidatio Publishing in 2024. Her short fiction and poetry have been published in multiple journals and anthologies including Weird Tales, Fantasy Magazine, The Dark, Into the Forest, Upon a Twice Time, Bitter Distillations: An Anthology of Poisonous Tales, Arterial Bloom, and the HWA Poetry Showcase Vol. V, VI, VIII, IX, and X. Her nonfiction has been published in several venues including Apex Magazine, Writing Poetry in the Dark, and The Evolution of Horror in the 21st Century and Beyond. She has also written stories set in shared worlds for RPGs at Green Ronin Publishing and Onyx Path Publishing. In addition to writing, she has edited several projects; the most recent is in the role as co-editor of STORYTELLER: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology. She is also the co-publisher, with Nike Sulway, of the literary, fairy-tale journal The Orange & Bee.
As an educator, Carina has taught at Pikes Peak State College, Glendale Community College, and Arizona State University. She also participated in the Colorado Writing Project and works with educators to develop writing instruction in college and secondary school classrooms. She currently offers workshops focused on story generation at the Storied Imaginarium. Her fiction has been nominated for the Sundress Publications Best of the Net Award and was a finalist for the Ron L. Hubbard Writers of the Future Awards. Her poetry has been nominated for the Rhysling Award, the Pushcart Prize, and the Sundress Publications Best of the Net Award. Her nonfiction was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Awards®. In her editorial capacity, she’s received recognition as a co-editor for Shadow Atlas: Dark Landscapes of the Americas, which won the 2022 Colorado Book Award (Anthology) and placed as a finalist at the 2022 International Book Awards (Fiction: Anthologies).