2023 Conference Schedule

THURSDAY EVENING, Nov 9, 2023

CHECK-IN @ 6:30 PM

7:00 – 9:00 PM   Nailing the Ten-Minute Author/Agent Pitch—Steven Salpeter

7:00 – 9:00 PM   Screenwriting—Dr. Dennis Bounds

7:00 – 9:00 PM   Mythic Structure for Writers: The Craft of Plotting—Karen Jones

 

9:00 – 10:00        OPTIONAL Meet and Greet Happy Hour near Blue Bar

 

FRIDAY, Nov 10, 2023

7:30 – 8:30 AM Check-in/Continental Breakfast

8:30 – 9:45       Welcome/First 10 lines critique session

9:45 – 10:15     Keynote Address by Amy Collins

10:15 – 10:30   Contest Awards

 

10:45 – 12:15  Ingredients of a Successful Novel—Karen Jones

10:45 – 12:15  Making Sci/Fi Digestible—Erin Beaty

10:45 – 12:15  Scrivener Basics—Dr. Dennis Bounds

10:45 – 12:15  Strategies to Successfully Query, Pitch, and Talk about Your Writing—Steven Salpeter

10:45 – 12:15  Take your Dialogue Deeper—Dani Pettrey

10:45 – 12:15  Ekphrasis—Bill Glose

 

12:15 – 1:15    Lunch Buffet

 

1:25 – 2:25     Writing Multiple Genres in a Story or Novel—Erin Beaty

1:25 – 2:25     Advanced Scrivener—Dr. Dennis Bounds

1:25 – 2:25     The Dreaded Comp Titles: A necessary Evil that can Launch Your Career—Amy Collins

1:25 – 2:25     Creating Strong, Appealing Women for Your Historical Novel in Spite of the History—Mary Miley Theobald

1:25 – 2:25     Making the Most of Amazon Author Central—Keri-Rae Burnum

1:25 – 2:25     Picking Concepts that Sell: Finding the Overlap between Your Writing Interests and the Market—Steven Salpeter

 

2:35 – 3:35      Making and Keeping Promises to Your Reader—Erin Beaty

2:35 – 3:35      Hook ‘em with a Hook Line and Reel ‘em in with the Query—Lori Colvin

2:35 – 3:35      Screenwriting Techniques for Novelists—Dani Pettrey

2:35 – 3:35      Plotting Strategies—Karen Jones

2:35 – 3:35      Point of View: Whose Story is this?—Emily Williamson

2:35 – 3:35      That’s a Wrap—Charlotte Matthews

 

3:45 – 4:45      Borrowing from Real Life—Bill Glose

3:45 – 4:45      Times is on Your Side—Erin Beaty

3:45 – 4:45      First Aid for Historical Fiction—Mary Miley Theobald

3:45 – 4:45      Pitch V Synopsis—The Differences and an Easy Way to do Both without Losing Your Mind—Amy Collins

3:45 – 4:45      Amazon Algorithms 101: Get More Traffic to Your Book Sales Page for Free—Keri-Rae Barnum

3:45 – 4:45      Generative Hour—Charlotte Matthews

 

5 – 6:30            Networking Social/Silent Auction Fundraiser; heavy hors d'oeuvres served

7 – 9:00 PM     OPTIONAL Open Mic

 

SATURDAY, Nov 11, 2023

7:30 – 8:30 AM Check-in/Continental Breakfast

8:30 – 9:45        Welcome/First 10 lines critique session

9:45 – 10:15      Keynote Address by Dani Pettrey

10:15 – 10:30    Readings of first pages of first place winners

 

10:45 – 11:45   Short Stories: Crafting a Cohesive Collection—Bill Glose

10:45 – 11:45   Where Does My Story Start?—Erin Beaty

10:45 – 11:45   Memoir, Femoir, and Himoir: How to Craft and Publish Your Life Story—Katharine Sands

10:45 – 11:45   High-Octane Pacing—Dani Pettrey

10:45 – 11:45   Blood on the Page—Lori Colvin

10:45 – 11:45   Prosody—Charlotte Matthews

 

11:45 – 12:45   Lunch Buffet

 

12:55 – 1:55     Revising a Novel—Erin Beaty

12:55 – 1:55     How Short Fiction Writing Can Improve Your Career—Steven Salpeter

12:55 – 1:55     Successful Novel = Compelling Story + Excellent Writing—Mary Miley Theobald

12:55 – 1:55     Seriously Social—Lori Colvin

12:55 – 1:55     Writing for Magazines—Bill Glose

12:55 – 1:55     Writing as Healing—Charlotte Matthews

 

2:05 – 3:05      Writing the Suspense Thriller—Dr. Dennis Bounds

2:05 – 3:05      Characterization Strategies—Karen Jones

2:05 – 3:05      Find Your Readers—Amy Collins

2:05 – 3:05      Get Your Book on Their Shelves: How to Work with Book and Retail Stores—Keri-Rae Barnum

2:05 – 3:05      Use Mice to Recruit Your Most Valuable Asset: An Agent—Katharine Sands

2:05 – 3:05       Poetry on the Go—The Power of Haiku—Michael Khandelwal

 

3:15 – 4:15     The Categories of Children’s Books—Erin Beaty

3:15 – 4:15     Why the Writing Your Do About Your Writing is as Important as the Writing Itself—Katharine Sands

3:15 – 4:15     Using Facebook to Grow Your Audience and Sell More Books—Keri-Rae Barnum

3:15 – 4:15     Marketing Before & After Publication—Dani Pettrey

3:15 – 4:15     Making Your First Impression Count—Emily Williamson

3:15 – 4:15      Let’s Get These Drafts in Order—Charlotte Matthews

 

4:25 – 5:25     Make Your Characters Come to Life—Karen Jones

4:25 – 5:25     Social Media for People Who Hate Social Media—Amy Collins

4:25 – 5:25     Imagery: Can Your See What I mean?—Emily Williamson

4:25 – 5:25     Help! Resources that Help Your Create Authentic Historical Characters, Scenes, and Stories—Mary Miley Theobald

4:25 – 5:25     Elements of High Concept Writing for Film/TV—Steven Salpeter