“incapable of writing a dull sentence”
—Lynn Barber, Sunday Telegraph
Allegra Huston
Read my latest press release
Meet Allegra Huston
Author, Editor, & Co-Founder of the Imaginative Storm Writing Method…
… and amateur interior decorator, desultory piano player (Satie and Chopin), mother of a cat whisperer, appreciator of anyone who does anything well, aficionado of Premier League football (Liverpool, if you’re wondering, though the cat you see here is called Bukayo), enthusiastic dilettante.
I’m the co-author of the book of the Imaginative Storm method, Write What You Don’t Know: 10 Steps to Writing with Confidence, Energy, and Flow. I’m the author of Love Child: A Memoir of Family Lost and Found, the novel A Stolen Summer, and How to Edit and Be Edited.
I also wrote and produced the award-winning short film Good Luck, Mr. Gorski.
What am I most excited about?
The Imaginative Storm! What began as a book to help writers write better has become a window into the workings of the imagination, and a method that doesn’t merely improve writing, it improves the quality of your life.
We’ve just launched the audio course of “Write What You Don’t Know”: listen anywhere, in your own time, and transform your approach to your writing.
Please visit the Imaginative Storm website, and join us on Zoom, free, any/every Saturday and Thursday, for the Writing Prompt of the Week.
A Revolutionary Approach to Writing
The Imaginative Storm method is the culmination of 20 years of teaching writing workshops with my creative collaborator James Navé. This is the method that got me out of my head and into my heart. It will do the same for you—I promise.
Writing Workshops
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"Write Without Limits" 4-Day Writing Transformation
In legendary artists’ colony Taos, New Mexico
April 20–24, 2025 ONE SPOT LEFT!
In four enjoyably intense days, you’ll use the Imaginative Storm method to take yourself to a level of writing you didn’t know you could reach.
You’ll throw off the shackles of “should” and the anxiety of “Is it good enough?”
You’ll learn how to push deeper into your imagination and bring playfulness and freshness to your writing.
You’ll see your story taking shape organically.
You’ll finish the week with a powerful set of tools to take into the rest of your writing life.
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"Write What You Don't Know" 3–Day Intensive
In gorgeous Paonia, CO
May 28–30, 2025
Limited to 10 participants
Spend three enjoyable, exciting days explorng the riches of your imagination, and discovering the story that’s yours alone to tell.
This thrilling introduction to the Imaginative Storm method will equip you with a powerful set of tools to take into the rest of your writing life—and change your approach to writing forever.
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Imaginative Storm Weekend
In historic La Veta, CO
June 21–22, 2025
Limited to 12 participants
Spend a weekend with me and my collaborator James Navé in the shadow of the Spanish Peaks, in the welcoming environs of the Estelle Retreat Center.
This quick immersion into the Imaginative Storm method will have you writing material that amazes you. You’ll learn how to invite your imagination to play, and you’ll leave with a powerful set of tools that will build your confidence and power up your writing to a level you never thought possible.
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Taos Writers Conference
July 25–27, 2025
In Taos, NM, my home town
Limited to 12 participants
I’ll be teaching a half-day memoir workshop titled “Tell Your Story with Heart.” My workshop has sold out the last few years, so if you’re interested, register early!
The Taos Writers Conference is organized by SOMOS, the Society of the Muse of the Southwest. This year’s keynote speaker is Nick Flynn, author of the absolutely terrific memoir Another Bullish*t Night in Suck City.
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5-Day Memoir Intensive
In UN World Heritage Site Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
October 7 – 12, 2025
Limited to 8 participants
Spend five days in beautiful Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, a UN World Heritage Site, and discover the possibilities for what your memoir might be. Return home energized and inspired by five intensive days of exploration, insight, and revelation.
We’ll spend the mornings in a group writing to “Write What You Don’t Know” prompts specifically tailored for memoir. In the afternoons, I’ll meet with everyone individually for an hour, twice. If you’re not meeting with me, you are free to spend your afternoon writing or exploring this beautiful part of the world, at the most beautiful time of year!
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"Write Without Limits" 4–Day Writing Transformation
At the Lake Eden Retreat Center in Asheville, NC
November 3–8, 2025
Limited to 12 participants
In four enjoyably intense days, you’ll use the Imaginative Storm method to take yourself to a level of writing you didn’t know you could reach.
You’ll throw off the shackles of “should” and the anxiety of “Is it good enough?”
You’ll learn how to push deeper into your imagination and bring playfulness and freshness to your writing.
You’ll see your story taking shape organically.
You’ll finish the week with a powerful set of tools to take into the rest of your writing life.
If you’d like to speak with me before signing up for a workshop, please click below and fill out the form.
Memoir
Love Child
When I was four years old, my mother was killed in a car crash. Soon afterward, I was introduced to an intimidating man wreathed in cigar smoke and told, “This is your father.” Seven years later, I was introduced to another man: my biological father.
"...fluent, vivid and gripping.” —Caryn James, Huffington Post
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..."part mystery, part journey, part heartbreak.” —Liz Smith, Variety
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"Excels at capturing a child’s-eye view of the chaotic adult world." —Sunday Times
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"...fluent, vivid and gripping.” —Caryn James, Huffington Post | ..."part mystery, part journey, part heartbreak.” —Liz Smith, Variety | "Excels at capturing a child’s-eye view of the chaotic adult world." —Sunday Times |
NOVEL
A Stolen Summer
Wife, mother, friend—Eve Armanton is all of these things. But who is she really? Now that her son has left home, Eve no longer recognizes the middle-aged woman staring back at her each morning—or the cold, loveless marriage she finds herself left in.
"It can make you brave. Make you want to try what you’ve wanted to do, but feared.” —Cloverling, Amazon review
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"It’s so true and so excellent and kick-ass.” —Kate Christensen, PEN/Faulkner Award-winning author
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"Like having a friend guide you through the process of getting in touch with your own creativity." —Nicole Perlman, screenwriter of Guardians of the Galaxy
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"It can make you brave. Make you want to try what you’ve wanted to do, but feared.” —Cloverling, Amazon review | "It’s so true and so excellent and kick-ass.” —Kate Christensen, PEN/Faulkner Award-winning author | "Like having a friend guide you through the process of getting in touch with your own creativity." —Nicole Perlman, screenwriter of Guardians of the Galaxy |
The Imaginative Storm
Writing Method
Discover a level of creativity and self-expression you’ve never experienced before.