Workshop Title: Turning Local History Into Compelling Storytelling
What if some of your most compelling story ideas are already waiting where you live?
Notorious Bakersfield began as a passion project fueled by Robert Petersen’s love of true crime and local history. In this talk, he’ll explore how revisiting forgotten headlines became a way to tell meaningful stories, preserve local memory, and find a unique narrative voice by writing about the place he knows best.
Attendees will learn how real events—especially those drawn from history and true crime—can be shaped into responsible, engaging stories without sensationalism. The session also offers a practical look at how personal curiosity can become an ongoing creative project, developed one story at a time.
Perhaps most importantly, this talk gives writers permission to begin. You don’t need special credentials, a large platform, or a perfect plan to tell meaningful stories. You just need curiosity, attention, and the willingness to start—right where you are.
Robert’s Bio:
Robert Petersen is a Bakersfield native who spent much of his childhood living abroad after his family moved overseas when he was five. Though he lived in several countries, Bakersfield was always home, with summers spent returning before his family resettled permanently in the mid-1980s. During the COVID pandemic, Robert began reading archived issues of The Bakersfield Californian, discovering forgotten stories about his hometown. That curiosity led to the launch of the Notorious Bakersfield podcast in June 2021 and the publication of two companion books in 2023 and 2024.
Notorious Bakersfield website: https://www.notoriousbakersfield.com
Meeting on Saturday, February 21, 2026
Breakfast begins at 8:30 am
The general meeting begins at 9:15 am
Hodel’s at 5917 Knudsen Dr, Bakersfield