Lorna Landvik
Presenter:
“Don’t Be Afraid of Your Imagination”
Writing and theater were Lorna Landvik’s twin passions when she was growing up in her home town of Minneapolis, Minnesota. After graduating from high school, she and her best friend traveledin Europe, settling in Bavaria where they supported themselves as hotel chamber maids and English tutors. When she returned to the States, Landvik briefly attended the University of Minnesota before moving to San Francisco, where she performed stand-up and improvisational comedy.
Another move took her to Los Angeles, where she worked as a stand-up comic at the Comedy Store and The Improv, supplementing her income with a variety of temp jobs—including one at the Playboy Mansion (“I felt like Margaret Mead studying a secret society”) and working for Atlantic Records.
Landvik has continued to nurture her interest in theater, appearing with the nationally-acclaimed improvisational group, “Duddly Riggs,” and acting in plays such as Bad Seed, Lunatic Cellmates, Valley of the Dolls and My Backyard Party. She often performs a one-woman, all-improvised show entitled Party in the Rec Room.
Landvik made her debut as a novelist with the critically acclaimed Patty Jane’s House of Curl. She is also the best-selling author of twelve other novels, including Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, The View From Mount Joy, Mayor of the Universe, Best To Laugh, Once in a Blue Moon, and Chronicles of a Radical Hag (With Recipes).
Regarding her presentation, Lorna said "What stops you or blocks you from writing? Do you get stuck on dialogue, scene-work, character development? What prevents you from putting words on the page? In my sessions, I will share what works for me as well as lead you through some fun exercises that’ll loosen up your tight writing muscle!”