Bon us for "early bird" registrants:
\nIf you register for the conference before March 1\, yo u can enter your name in the drawing for a free 15-minute editing session with editors Dayna Jackson or Eryka Parker. If your name is chosen\, you w ill be contacted in early March.\n
AGENDA
\n\n
9:00-9:30 AM / CH
ECK-IN\, LIGHT BREAKFAST\, COFFEE &\; TEA
Writers' Ce
nter
For anyone interested in having their work read anon ymously at the First Page Critique Panel at 1:45 PM: Drop off FOUR CO PIES of the first page of your work-in-progress (prose only\, fiction or n onfiction) at the check-in table before noon. Your work must be double-spa ced\, in 12-point Times New Roman font\, with Title and Genre written at t he top of the page. Do NOT include your name anywhere on the page. We'll randomly select first pages and read them aloud starting at 1:45 p .m. Each panelist will raise a hand at the point where they would stop rea ding and then comment on what stopped them. First Page Critique writers wi ll remain anonymous.
\n\n
9:30 AM / W
ELCOME &\; CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
Meeting Room A/B/C
Deanna R. Adams\, Conference Coordinator
Laurie Kincer\, Wi
lliam N. Skirball Writers' Center \;
9:40-10:
20 AM / KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Meeting Room A/B/C
The Long and Twisty Road: My Unconventional Journey to Publishing / \;Writer-in-Residence\, justin a. reynolds
\nJoin jus tin as he details his twisty\, unconventional road to publishing and share s his strategies to building a full-time writing career. Enjoy an encourag ing talk that highlights numerous ways to break into publishing and live t he creative life you crave.
\n\n
Note: Sessions w ith an asterisk (*) include a writing exercise.
\n1. Inside
the Industry: A Q&\;A with Veteran Independent Author and Publisher / J
. Thorn.
Meeting Room A/B/C
Join seasoned ind
ependent author J. Thorn for an eye-opening look at the realities of self-
publishing in today's digital marketplace. Whether you're just starting yo
ur writing journey or have a few books under your belt\, this Q&\;A ses
sion will demystify the business side of indie publishing and equip you wi
th practical strategies for building a sustainable career as an author.
*2. Using Loglines to Sharpen Your Novel / justin a. reynold
s.
Writers&rsquo\; Center Meeting Room
In thi
s session\, Justin will help you develop single-line\, engaging loglines c
apturing the heart of your work in progress\, or future work. Participate
in an exercise designed to help strengthen your own understanding of your
work and activate your plot's full potential.
*3. Finding
Your Voice / Kim Wuescher.
Student Success Center<
br />Your writing voice is unique\, a combination of your personality\, em
otion and values. It&rsquo\;s that blend that makes us pick up a favorite
author&rsquo\;s work regardless of his or her genre. How do you find your
own writing voice? This session will include examples and writing exercise
s to make your voice authentic. Bring paper and pencil and/or your device
of choice.
11:30-11:45 AM / BREAK &\; PREARRAN GED EDITING SESSIONS
\nIndividual\, prearranged editing ses sions with editors Dayna Jackson or Eryka Parker. \;(These sessions will be scheduled before the day of the co nference. If you register in February\, you can enter your name in the dra wing for a free 15-minute editing session.) \;
\n\n*1. The A
rt and Craft of Memoir Writing / Jill Grunenwald.
Meeti
ng Room A/B/C
This introduction to memoir will guide aspiring wr
iters through the genre\, including answering common questions such as &ld
quo\;What if I can&rsquo\;t remember everything?&rdquo\; and &ldquo\;How d
o I handle writing about real people?&rdquo\; A writing exercise will star
t you off to your finished memoir.
*2. Place-Based Storyte
lling /Charlotte Morgan.
Writers&rsquo\; Center Meeting
Room
Place-based storytelling can take many forms\, so writers
are often puzzled about how to use place\, confusing it with setting. Lear
n how to incorporate place and use it as a character to evoke emotion\, pr
ovide tension and create connections with readers. Writers will be provide
d with brief samples that use the craft of place as a character.
<
strong>3. Blending Fact with Fiction / Deanna Adams.
St
udent Success Center
Historical fiction is a genre that combine
s historical time periods\, events\, and real people with fictional elemen
ts\, such as characters\, conflict\, and storyline. You need to immerse yo
urself in the period\, know the social customs and vocabulary\, but also h
ave a sense of how people truly lived in that time. Research is paramount\
, but how much is too much? Deanna will guide you on all of that.
\n
12:45-1:45 PM / LUNCH BREAK\, BOOK SALE &\; AUTHOR SIG
NINGS
You may bring lunch and \;eat it in the Writers' C
enter. You may also picnic outdoors or in your car. Local restaurant map a
vailable at check-in table.
1:30-1:45 PM / PREARR ANGED EDITING SESSIONS
\nIndividual\, prearranged editing s essions with editors Dayna Jackson or Eryka Parke r.
\n\n1:45-2:45 PM / FIRST PAGE CRITIQUE PA
NEL \;
Meeting Room A/B/C
Panelists
We'll randomly select anonymous first pages of work-in-progress and read them aloud. Each panelist will raise a hand at the point where they would stop reading and then comment on what stopped them. First Page Critique writers will remain anonymous.
\nF or anyone interested in having their work read anonymously at the First Pa ge Critique Panel at 1:45 PM: Drop off FOUR COPIES of the first page of yo ur work-in-progress (prose only\, fiction or nonfiction) at the check-in t able before noon. Your work must be double-spaced\, in 12-point Times New Roman font\, with Title and Genre written at the top of the page. Do NOT i nclude your name anywhere on the page. \;
\n\n2:4 5-3:00 PM / BREAK &\; PREARRANGED EDITING SESSIONS \;
\nIndividual\, prearranged editing sessions with editors Dayna Jackson or Eryka Parker.
\n\n*1. Training A
I to Become Your Publishing Assistant / Eryka Parker.
M
eeting Room A/B/C
Discover how to leverage Artificial Intelligen
ce tools to streamline your publishing journey and boost productivity. Lea
rn how to train AI to assist with essential tasks such as creating sticky
marketing copy\, creating a publishing strategy\, analyzing market trends\
, and even generating creative writing prompts to assist with those edge-o
f-your-seat plot twists.
2. Writing Children's Picture Boo
ks / Quartez Harris.
Writers' Center Meeting Room<
br />Writing children's literature requires careful attention and leaps of
imagination. In this craft workshop\, we will explore the magic of langua
ge\, surprising word choices\, and how to tighten sentences to make them s
ing in the hearts and minds of children.
*3. Writer&rsquo\
;s Block Doesn&rsquo\;t Exist! A Poetry Workshop / Patrick Culliton.
Student Success Center
The goal of this workshop i
s to generate new poems or the beginnings of new poems while leaving atten
dees confident that writer&rsquo\;s block doesn&rsquo\;t exist. This works
hop will challenge the idea of &ldquo\;writer&rsquo\;s block&rdquo\; throu
gh collaboration with other humans (bring a friend!) or other texts (books
\, manuals\, spam emails). Attendees will generate new poems or the beginn
ings of new poems.
\n
4:00-4:15 PM / PREARRANGED EDITING SESSIONS
\nIndividual\, prearranged e diting sessions with editors Dayna Jackson or Ery ka Parker.
\n\n4:00-4:30 \;PM / DOOR PRI ZES\, BOOK SALE &\; AUTHOR SIGNINGS
\n\;
\nTODAY&rsquo\;S PRESENTERS
\ nDeanna R. Adams is an award-winning writer\, speaker\ , and instructor. She is far too interested in books of all genres to stic k to just one and so she writes both fiction and nonfiction. Her nonfictio n books include several rock history books\, a memoir collection\, and a b ook for aspiring writers\, The Writer&rsquo\;s GPS: Guide to Writing & amp\; Selling Your Book. Her young adult crossover novel\, The Tr uth about Justyce\, debuted #1 on Amazon&rsquo\;s New Releases in 202 0. Her latest novel is A Place We Belong\, a historical novel.
\nPatrick Culliton is the author of the full-length b ook Sam's Teeth (Subito Press) and the chapbook Hornet Homily (Octopus Books). His poems have appeared in Court Green\, < em>Cutbank\, Gordon Square Review\, Indiana Review\ , and elsewhere. He was the recipient of a 2018 Ohio Arts Council Individu al Excellence Award and serves as the Marketing &\; Public Relations Ma nager for Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library.
\nJill Grunenwald is the bestsell ing author of Reading Behind Bars: A True Story of Literature\, Law\, and Life as a Prison Librarian (Skyhorse\, 2019)\, which was a finali st for the Ohioana Book Awards and In the Margins Social Justice and Advoc acy Book Award. Other writing has appeared in Cleveland Magazine. \;
\nQuartez Harris is a poet\, teacher\, and author. He was a Baldwin Hou se fellow and named Ohio Poet of the Year for his book\, We Made It to School Alive\, and his poetry has garnered numerous accolades. He sp ent many years as a second-grade teacher in the Cleveland public school sy stem and currently spends his time writing and teaching poetry workshops. He is the author of the recently published \;Go Tell It\, a l yrical picture book biography that chronicles James Baldwin's childhood.\n
After nearly a decade in professional theater\, Dayna Jackson began her car eer in editing in 2017\, bringing her passion for storytelling into the wo rld of the written word. Dayna edits a wide range of fiction works\, thoug h she has a special place in her heart for all things fantasy. Her focus i s copyediting (e.g.\, grammar\, hyphenation\, spelling\, punctuation\, and formatting). She received her BA in English from Truman State University and a certificate of editing from the University of Chicago.
\nCharlo tte Morgan is a writer\, journalist\, and educator. She teach es non-fiction writing and English Composition\, creates community journal ism curricula\, and contributes to place-based projects such as Clevel and Stories\, Neighborhood Voices\, and Mantles and Make rs. Her forthcoming memoir\, Glenville: My Side of Paradise\ , explores her connection to her Cleveland neighborhood.
\nEryka Parker is a bo ok coach\, writing instructor\, and developmental editor at Legacy Book Co aching &\; Consulting. With nearly 20 years of experience as a publishi ng consultant\, Eryka serves on several boards and programming committees for writer groups and conferences. Eryka is also an award-winning contempo rary romance author\, using the pen name Zariah L. Banks.
\njustin a. reynolds \, Cuyahoga County Public Library's 2025 Writer in Residence\, has always wanted to be a writer. \;Opposite of Always\, his debut YA no vel\, was an Indies Introduce Top Ten Debut\, a \;School Library J ournal \;Best Book of 2019\, translated in 19 languages\, is bein g developed for film by Paramount Players\, and was recently adapted into a popular Webtoon. His second YA novel\, \;Early Departures\, published to critical acclaim and was a \;Kirkus Reviews \;Best of 2020. His Marvel graphic novel debut featuring Brooklyn&rsquo\; s Spider-Man\, \;Miles Morales: Shock Waves\, was an ABA Indi e Bestseller. justin is also the co-founder of the CLE Reads Book Festival \, a Cleveland Book Festival for middle-grade and young adult readers and writers.
\nJ. Thorn has published more than two million words and has sold over 200\,00 0 books worldwide since 2009. He has been an official member of the Scienc e Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and the Great Lakes Association o f Horror Writers\, and is currently a member of the Horror Writers Associa tion. He is co-founder of the Writers\, Ink podcast and has interviewed so me of today&rsquo\;s most successful authors. He is currently teaching ent repreneurship at John Carroll University.
\nKim Wuescher\, writing as Mae McGraw\, recently published \;Bitter Medicine\, a historical mystery set in 1865 and the first in a Katie Harris series. Recently retired after years of teaching English at a local public school\, Mae is happy to have more time now to write and attend conferences\, serve as president to the Northeast Ohio chapter of Sisters in Crime\, and participate in several b ook clubs. She lives with her husband in Medina\, Ohio\, and has two grown children.
\nhttps://cuyahoga.libnet.info/event/12459561 URL;VALUE=URI:https://cuyahoga.libnet.info/event/12459561 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR