Creature Creation

What makes a monster truly terrifying? In this interactive workshop, we’ll dissect classic monsters, explore monster theory, and uncover what our creatures of the night reveal about society’s deepest fears, cultural anxieties, and biases.
Together, we’ll examine how monsters are created, why certain things frighten us, and how horror reflects the world we live in. Then, we’ll put theory into practice, experimenting with the elements that make a monster deeply unsettling before unleashing our imaginations to create our own terrifying creatures.
Whether you’re a horror enthusiast, a writer, an artist, or simply fascinated by the things that go bump in the night, come ready to get creative, think critically, and discover what makes a monster truly monstrous.

ABOUT CALE PLETT
CALE PLETT is a nonbinary, genderfluid writer who lives on Treaty One Territory in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Their YA novels span everything from high school rock bands to nightmares in the woods to reality TV gone wrong, and their poetry and short fiction can be found in a whole variety of journals. Whatever genre they’re writing, they try to create spaces where queer characters can exist safely within their identities. Their debut novel, Wavelength, a runaway pop star YA romance from Groundwood Books, is an Indie Next pick and winner of the Manitoba Book Award for Best First Book. Their second YA novel, The Saw Mouth, came out in spring 2026 from Delacorte Press, to be followed by another standalone YA horror novel, Stranglehold, in fall 2027. Cale Plett is represented by Amy Tompkins at Transatlantic Agency. Follow on Instagram @caleplett