Teaching & Speaking - Dr. Lara Ameen

Teaching and Speaking

Learn From Lara

Lara is a writer, educator, and speaker who shares her expertise on storytelling, disability representation, and the craft of writing through workshops, conference presentations, university lectures, and podcasts.

Whether she's teaching fantasy writing, discussing authentic representation, or speaking on publishing and accessibility, Lara is passionate about helping writers create stronger, more inclusive stories.

Lara has taught in person and online writing workshops with the Writer's Digest Novel Writing Conference, BinderConLA, Lambda Literary, Clarion West, and PocketMFA. She has also been invited to guest lecture at various universities including UC Berkeley, Chapman University, and online with Georgetown University. In addition to teaching, she was also a Round Table Mentor from 2023-2025 where she helped two different mentees with their contemporary fantasy manuscripts featuring disability representation.

Upcoming Classes

Ready to level up your writing? Explore Lara’s courses on fantasy fiction, character development, and disability representation.

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Panels, Lectures, and Presentations

Dive into Lara’s talks on writing, accessibility, and the importance of representation.

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Podcast Appearances

Listen to Lara’s podcast appearances featuring writing, disability, and pop culture.

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Dissertation

Explore Lara’s research into disability representation through literature, television, and creative practice.

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Upcoming Classes

Writing Fantasy Fiction

Do you love fantasy? Have you always been captivated by magic and fantastical themes in novels? Do you have an idea for a young adult or adult fantasy novel, but are unsure where to start?

In this eight-week course, screenwriter and novelist Lara Ameen will take you through the process of writing a young adult or adult fantasy novel.

Eight-week course through Women on Writing - October 6 – November 24 (Zoom)

Tuesdays, 4 pm - 6 pm PST

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Writing Disabled Characters in Fiction

Six-week course through Women on Writing (Returning in early 2027)

Previous Panels, Lectures, and Presentations

2026 WriteHive Panels
Check Your Bias: Reading and Editing Mindfully
Aspec Love: Putting the A in Romance

2025 WriteHive Panels: Accessibility and Publishing: Removing Barriers for Professionals with Disabilities
Accessibility and Publishing: Removing Barriers for Professionals with Disabilities | WriteHive 2025

TV Writing Workshop
TV Writing Workshop

Autism Rep in the Writing Industry
Autism Rep in the Writing Industry | WriteHive 2025 Conference

2024 WriteHive Panels: Disability Representation in Fiction
Disability Representation in Fiction | WriteHive 2024 Conference

2024 Women Who Submit Conference

2023 WriteHive Panels: Publishing Short Stories
Publishing Short Stories

How LGBTQ+ Rep Has Changed Fiction
How LGBTQ+ Rep has Changed Fiction

2022 Lambda Literary Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ+ Voices Reading (Screenwriting Fellow)
Lara Ameen 2022 Lambda Literary Writer's Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices Reading

2014 Writing Characters with Disabilities Lecture at California State University, Northridge
Writing Characters With Disabilities | Videos & Movies on Vimeo

Clarion West (Workshop Leader)
Led a one-day workshop on writing disabled characters in speculative fiction, including a lecture, curriculum design, and Q&A. • Remote • February 2025

Lambda Literary (Workshop Leader)
Led a one-day workshop on writing disabled characters in TV, film, and young adult fiction, including a lecture, curriculum design, and Q&A. • Remote • May 2023

Georgetown University – Disability Studies Program (Guest Lecturer)
Presented "My Journey through Academia and Writing Disabled Characters." • Zoom • January 2024

PocketMFA (Workshop Leader)
Led a workshop on sensitivity reading and disability representation • Zoom, April 2026

Voices in Spec Fic, Word for Diversity (Margins Conference) (Moderator)
Moderated a panel with published speculative fiction authors • Zoom • August 2020

Deconstructing Biases in Fiction (Panelist)
Discussed sensitivity reading alongside published young adult authors • Zoom • May 2020

Disabled Artist Panel (Beyond Conversation) (Panelist)
Joined TV writer Lauren Muir for a discussion on disability and the arts • Skylight Theatre, Los Angeles, CA • October 2019

Inclusion in the Arts (Panelist)
Discussed inclusion in the arts with Ben Lewin, CJ Jones, and Karolyn Gehrig • CalArts, Valencia, CA • May 2017

Disability As Spectacle Conference (Panelist)
Presented "Writing Disabled Characters" with Amy Brenneman and Scott Silveri • UCLA, Los Angeles, CA • April 2017

BinderCon Los Angeles (Panelist)
Presented "Writing Without Pity: Disability, Illness and Our Bodies." • UCLA, Los Angeles, CA • March 2016

University Film and Video Association (UFVA) Conference (Panelist)
Presented "Addressing Media Representations of Persons with Disabilities Both In and Out of the Classroom." • American University, Washington, D.C. • August 2015

Chapman University – Medical Sociology (SOC 385) (Guest Lecturer)
Writers Guild of America West (Presenter)
Presented "Disability Portrayals in the Media" for the Writers with Disabilities Committee • Los Angeles, CA • February 2015

Chapman University – Medical Sociology (SOC 385) (Guest Lecturer)
Presented "Disability Portrayals in the Media." • Chapman University • April 2016

California State University, Northridge – Screenwriting Pedagogy (CTVA 595H) (Guest Lecturer)
Presented "Disability Representation in TV, Film, and New Media." • Northridge, CA • April 2015

University of California, Berkeley – Women and Disability in Film and Stories (UGIS 112) (Guest Lecturer)
Presented "Disability Representation in the Media." • Berkeley, CA • August 2011