2022 Writer in Residence: Rob Walker
April 1, 2022
The High Plains Library District Foundation is proud to announce the 2022 Writer in Residence. Rob Walker was selected by a volunteer committee to serve as the Foundation’s seventh Writer in Residence.
Rob Walker is a former funeral D.J., failed birthday magician, and future ghost. He is also a writer who has written for 5 of Paste Magazine’s 7 Humor Sites You Should Be Reading, including The Hard Times, Points in Case, and SlackJaw, among other outlets. His short stories are featured in the anthology series Crash Philosophy by Nerdy Things Publishing and Ahoy Comics. Rob’s scripts have also been Official Selections at FilmQuest, Mile High Horror Film Festival, Paragon Science Fiction and Fantasy Play Festival, and the Austin Comedy Short Film Festival. He lives in Greeley with his family in a 110-year-old house with monsters in its walls (probably).
Rob will spend his residency working on his playscript, Utopia!. The playscript asks the question, “What happens when the future comes to Weld County?!”. Utopia! is a theatrical playscript comprised of a collection of vignettes and one-act plays set in Weld County, Colorado. These scenes take place in government and industrial space, the Eastern plains, and in the homes of the people who live here.
The playscript is a mix of science fiction, comedy, and drama. It takes inspiration from such media as Parks & Recreation, Avenue 5, Rutherford Falls, Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, and Resident Alien. Utopia! uses genre to examine local issues like cultural differences, expanding industry, and how these things interact.
For more information about the Writer in Residence, as well as updates on Rob’s writing project and upcoming library programs, visit mylibrary.us/writer-in-residence.