I’m an experienced speaker, teacher, and performer. I love sharing the joy and craft of writing, community building and organizing, zine making, advocating for equity in the arts, accessing creativity and your own practice, and supporting artists from marginalized communities. I’ve visited universities, non-profits, festivals, libraries, grade schools, and community centers, presenting my work to intimate audiences up to 1,500 people, in-person and online. I’m also a thoughtful moderator and conversation partner with an eye towards intersectionality and journalistic inquiry.
You can book me to speak or facilitate a workshop at your organization, campus, or company. Check out my Speaking and Workshop Kit for additional talks, workshops, travel terms, and more. Have questions about my story or how we might best collaborate? Get in touch with Emilly via email.
“Storytelling is incredibly important and validating. To have a local Latinx mujer visit our campus and shed light on an industry that has been historically white was truly inspiring for our community. Emilly left many folks inspired, motivated, and eager to reflect on their own story and journey.”
—Emmanuel Macias, Western Oregon
Sample Talks and Workshops
The Whole Truth, The Half Truth, and Something Like the Truth
This craft lecture, presented by author Emilly Prado, introduces her concept of the Truth Spectrum, inviting writers to draw their own lines when the space between fiction and fact feels blurry. We’ll examine the malleability of memory, bias in record keeping, and the privilege of believability.
Finding My Way to Funeral for Flaca
Author Emilly Prado will share the evolving nature of finding her path as a writer in this talk drawing upon her experiences as a first-generation Chicana and college student, and self-proclaimed troublemaker who struggled with school and mental health. Attendees will hear a reading from Funeral for Flaca and view archival childhood photographs to better understand how 13-year-old Emilly found strength through music and writing.
Seeding the Senses & Writing in Scene
In this generative writing workshop, we’ll leverage the senses to conjure the past and mine memories to create “seeds” from which further creative work may grow. This creative nonfiction workshop is open to all levels and genres, and will invite writers to invoke memories of smell, taste, touch, sight, and sound to enrich our scene writing. Come ready to write, converse, and share—without judgement and with the special community we’ll shape during our time together.
I recommend reading and collaborating with Emilly Prado as her work is a mirror that faces every reader. Diving into the topics of identity politics and belonging, we are invited to reflect on the oppression of society and cultures bestowed upon Emilly’s work and begin to bridge those connections to our own lives, giving us an opportunity to feel less alone in the aches of the world and come to a sense of compassion and understanding through these stories.
—KARLA CORDERO, AUTHOR OF HOW TO PULL APART THE EARTH AND PROFESSOR AT MIRACOSTA COLLEGE