talks
My talks focus on writing, editing, publishing, organizing for change, and the intersection of these themes. I speak in many formats including seminars, panel discusions, podcasts/media interviews, interactive workshops, and public readings. Please submit invitations through the Contact Form.
1. Fiction as Science Communication: The art and impact of featuring your scientific discovery in a story.
2. A Self-Publishing Case Study: How a student-led club created Caltech's first science fiction anthology.
3. Writing Revolutionary Fiction: What I've learned about how to change the world from my labor and tenant organizing work, and how I use this in my writing.
4. Co-writing: Benefits and best practices for writing short stories or novels with a co-author.
5. Writing Disabled Characters: Disability justice in fiction.
6. Editing and Co-Editing: The interactive art of giving constructive feedback.
7. Ecologically Rich World-building: How to design realistic and immersive alien ecosystems.
If you are interested in having me speak on a topic not described above, please don't hesitate to ask!
upcoming events
​​Spring Book Bash (April 26-27 - Colorado Springs)​
WorldCon (Aug 13-17 - Seattle)
Panels TBD!​​
past events
2025
Colorado Springs Science Fiction Convention (COSine) (Jan 24-26)
Panels:
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Romance in Sci-Fi
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My Character Knows More Than Me: Best Practices For Writing Research
2024
The Narrators (Oct 16 - Denver)
​I told a true, personal story on the theme "Long Lost" at the Buntport Theater in Denver.
Rachael Kuintzle telling a story at The Narrators in Denver -->
MileHiCon (Oct 25-27 - Denver)
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Book signing
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Panels: "Self-Care in a World Gone Wild" and "The Year in Science"​​
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Visioning Energy Workshop (Aug 28 - Golden, CO).
A positive futures brainstorming collaboration between NREL researchers and sci-fi authors.
Panel discussion with 8 participating sci-fi authors at the NREL Visioning Energy workshop. Photo courtesy of Mark Ruth.
​​Bubonicon (Aug 23-25 - Albuquerque)
Panels:
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Alien Contact in Fiction
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Changing Your Mind (Literally)​​
​The Moth StorySLAM Championship
(Aug 16 - Denver). I won!​
​​The SFWA Nebula Conference (June 6-9 - Pasadena, CA). Panel: "Putting Together a Short Fiction Collection"​
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Spring Book Bash (May 4 - Co. Springs)​
Authors sharing a laugh at the Bubonicon panel "Alien Contact: the Good, the Bad, the Funny." From left to right: Melissa Snodgrass, Joan Saberhagen, Rachael Kuintzle, and Connie Willis. Photo by Sharif Durzi.
Local Author Meet & Greet, Tattered Cover Bookstore (Apr 20 - Littleton, CO)
Guest speaking at college courses: ​
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Design Your Life course, Caltech (May 6)​
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Editing & Publishing course, Univ. of Denver (Mar 5)
<-- Rachael Kuintzle reading from INNER SPACE & OUTER THOUGHTS at the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Littleton, CO. Photo by Sharif Durzi.
Colorado Springs Science Fiction Convention (COSine), Panels:
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Hard Sci-Fi
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Writing Disabled Characters
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Women in Tech
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University Writing Club Visits
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CSU Fort Collins Creative Writer's Society (Apr 18)
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​Metropolitan State University Creative Writing Club (Apr 4)
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DU Writer's Club (Feb 21)​​
Rachael with the Univ. of Denver (DU) Writer's Club. Photo used with permission.
Rachael Kuintzle (far-left) moderating a Q&A with panelists Tatyana Dobreva, Richard Doyle, Ashish Mahabal, Olivia Pardo, and Ann Bernath (left to right) at the Caltech anthology launch event in Beckman Auditorium.
2023
Host, Caltech Anthology Reading and Q&A at the Historic Vroman's Bookstore (Aug 22 - Pasadena, CA)
Host, Caltech Anthology Launch Event (May 20):
INNER SPACE AND OUTER THOUGHTS Reading + Q&A
View event recording on Youtube
​
Host, Virtual Town Hall on Disability Justice in Higher Ed, presented by the Graduate Student Action Network at the 36th Annual National Association of Graduate & Professional Students (NAGPS) National Conference (Feb 25).
View event recording on Youtube
2022
Podcast guest on The Higher Ed Geek, recorded at the Panel on Graduate Student Wellbeing at the Times Higher Ed (THE) Campus Live US Conference (Nov 9)
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MC, Caltech Rally for Reproductive Justice (Oct 6)
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Panelist, Youth Organizing @ the Day Without Us National Teach-In (Sep 30)
View event recording on Youtube
Day Without Us National Teach-In, Panel on Youth Organizing.