Ramona Emerson, Diné writer and filmmaker

UNO Writer’s Workshop Reading Series

Ramona Emerson is a Diné writer and filmmaker originally from Tohatchi, New Mexico. She received her degree in media arts in 1997 from the University of New Mexico and her MFA in creative writing (fiction) in 2015 from the Institute of American Indian Arts. She has worked as a professional videographer, writer and editor for more than 20 years and is currently working on her eighth film project, Crossing the Line. She is a Sundance Native Lab Fellow, a Time-Warner Storyteller Fellow, a Tribeca All-Access Grantee and a WGBH Producer Fellow. Ramona just finished her first novel, Shutter, the first of a trilogy, and is now working toward publishing and adapting the series into a screenplay. Through her storytelling, Emerson looks at contemporary stories about her people and aims to question and redefine the expectations of Native cultural identity, highlighting stories that are not a part of mainstream media. She currently resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she and her husband/producer, Kelly Byars, run their production company, Reel Indian Pictures.

The Reading Series

For 40-plus years, the Writer’s Workshop Reading Series has featured free public readings and discussions by nationally renowned authors. Authors share about their own books and expertise on the craft of writing itself.