Name: Confronting the System, Reclaiming the Self: Fiction as Liberation
Start: 2026-10-10T12:30:00-0700
End: 2026-10-10T13:30:00-0700

Confronting the System, Reclaiming the Self: Fiction as Liberation

Saturday October 10, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm PDT

Gatekeeper's Museum Upstairs (no elevator)

This panel discussion examines how genre fiction can serve as a catalyst for personal and collective redemption.

Join authors Miles Whitney (Midlife Musical) and Dr. Nicholas Louis Baham III (The People’s Detective) with moderation by Afro-surrealist writer and revolutionary thinker, CJ Spears for an engaging session demonstrating how writers can use external conflicts to map out internal character reawakenings, Midlife Musical and expose under-reported societal injustices.

Attendees will hear about the Authors narrative techniques for creating the psychology of their characters. Writers will learn how to embed themes of resilience, and identity directly into readable plots.

Speakers

Nicholas Baham III

Dr. Nicholas Louis Baham III, Ph.D. is a Professor of Ethnic Studies at California State University, East Bay and an internationally recognized scholar of Black Studies. He has appeared in such wide-ranging publications and media outlets as Esquire magazine; BBC world service documentary... Read More →

CJ Spears

Creative Writer & Somatic Yoga Instructor, Bootstrap Publications

Chasejamison (CJ) Akilah Manar-Spears is an imaginative Bay Area writer, yoga instructor, and educator crafting ancestrally informed stories where ecology, emotion, and speculative fiction blend. Inspired by Afro-futurisms and nature, CJ writes to build mental refuges from dystopian... Read More →

Miles Whitney

Miles Whitney is a queer, trans, Jewish attorney based in Sacramento, California. As a research attorney for the trial court, Miles channels his passion for justice into both his legal work and his creative writing. After the unexpected loss of his daughter, Isabel, in 2022, Miles... Read More →

Saturday October 10, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm PDT
Gatekeeper's Museum Upstairs (no elevator) 130 W Lake Blvd, Tahoe City

Craft Talk, Fiction

Tickets

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Tahoe Literary Festival

Nicholas Baham III

CJ Spears

Miles Whitney

Attendees (2)

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Success you have shared X tickets.

Tahoe Literary Festival

Nicholas Baham III

CJ Spears

Miles Whitney

Attendees (2)

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