*If the parking lot is full\, there's free parking available on side streets (Gre enway and Golfway)\, two doors north of the library.*
\nAGENDA
\n9:00-9:3
0 AM - \;CHECK-IN\, LIGHT BREAKFAST\, HOT DRINKS
OPTIONA
L/FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN THE FIRST PAGE CRITIQUE AT 1:45 PM: Drop off FO
UR COPIES of the first page of your work-in-progress at check-in. (See gui
delines below\, under FIRST PAGE CRITIQUE at 1:45 PM.)&nb
sp\;
\n
9:30 AM - \;WELCOME &am
p\; CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
Deanna R. Adams\, C
onference Coordinator
Laurie Kincer\, William N. Ski
rball Writers' Center \;
\n
9:4
0-10:20 AM - KEYNOTE SPEAKER: David Giffels\, Writer in Residence
at the William N. Skirball Writers' Center on "Writing <
strong>When You Think You Have No Ideas"
David Giffels is th
e author of the critically acclaimed memoir Furnishing Eternity: A Fat
her\, a Son\, a Coffin and a Measure of Life. His previous books incl
ude The Hard Way on Purpose: Essays and Dispatches from the Rust Belt
and All the Way Home: Building a Family in a Falling-Down House. \;A former Akron Beacon Journal columnist\, Giffels is a
n associate professor of English at the University of Akron\, where he tea
ches creative nonfiction in the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts in Crea
tive Writing program.
Note: Sessions with an asterisk (*) include a writing exercise.
\n10:30-11:30 \;AM - \; BREAKOUT SESSIONS\, choose one:
\n1. *Writing Like Mr. Potato Head / David Giffels. In Meeting Room ABC. Participant s learn techniques to engage all the senses in observing\, drafting and re fining their creative nonfiction prose. \;
\n2. *Kiss\, Marry\, Kill: How to Create Compelling Characters / Bree Barton. In Writer s' Center Meeting Room. Learn \;to craft the kind of irresist ible characters who set your book apart\, people who leap off the page\, l ie and cheat\, enchant and beguile&mdash\;and make your book unputdownable . Come with a character (or two) in your back pocket to use in a fun\, han ds-on writing prompt.
\n3. Drafting the Nonfiction Book Prop osal / Deanna Adams. In Homework Center. \;Learn step-by-step how to put together your book proposal so you can win over the agent or p ublishing company of your choice.
\n\;
\n11:30-11
:45 AM - \;BREAK &\; PREARRANGED EDITING SESSIONS. In Writers&rsquo
\; Center Writing Rooms.
During four breaks today\, winners
whose names were drawn April 1st will meet with editors Judy Allen
or Lex Hupertz \; for 15-minute individual
editing sessions.
\;
\n11:45 AM-12:45 PM - BREA KOUT SESSIONS\, choose one:
\n
1. *Writing His
torical Fiction: Avoid Tumbling Down the Research Rabbit Hole / Marin McGi
nnis. In Homework Center. Delve \;into the issues writers sho
uld consider when writing historical fiction\, and find out answers to que
stions you&rsquo\;ll ask yourself as you plot and write. \;
2. \;*The Situation and the Story / Charlotte Morgan. In Meetin g Room ABC. Learn about memoir and essay writer Vivian Gornick&rs quo\;s theory on writing less about the situation and more about the story . There will be time for attendees to work on this strategy. \;
\n< p>3. The Legal Matters in Publishing / Steve Grant. In Writers' Ce nter Meeting Room. Learn how to deal with the traditional publish ing world\, and how to protect yourself from unscrupulous companies in the self-publishing world. \;\n\;
\n12:45-1:45
PM - \;LUNCH BREAK PLUS BOOK SALE &\; AUTHOR SIGNINGS
Brown bag or go out. Restaurant map available at check-in table. Lunches
may be eaten in the Writers' Center main room today but not elsewhere in t
he library.
1:30-1:45 PM - \;PREARRANGED EDIT ING SESSIONS. In Writers&rsquo\; Center Writing Rooms.
\n&n bsp\;
\n1:45-2:45 PM - FIRST PAGE CRITIQUE: Panelis ts David Giffels\, Bree Barton and \ ;Deanna Adams. Submit FOUR COPIES of the first page of yo ur work in progress (prose only\, fiction or nonfiction) at the check-in t able until 12:00 noon. Submissions must be double-spaced\, Times New Roman -12\, with title and genre indicated at the top of the page. DO NOT INCLUD E YOUR NAME. Each panelist will raise a hand at the point where they would stop reading and will comment on what stopped them. Pages will be randoml y selected.
\n\n2:45-3:00 PM - \;BREAK &\; PRE ARRANGED EDITING SESSIONS. In Writers&rsquo\; Center Writing Rooms. \;
\n\n3:00-4:00 PM - \;BREAKOUT SESSIONS \, choose one:
\n1. *The Art of the Short Story / S cott Lax. In Writers' Center Meeting Room. Take the leap&mdash\;l earn about dialogue\, character\, setting\, and plot and write that short story you&rsquo\;ve been thinking about.
\n2. \;Selling Without Being Sales-y / J. Thorn. In Meeting Room ABC. Tradition ally published authors and independents alike must learn how to effectivel y get their book in front of the right people. J. Thorn shows you how to e ngage online\, and in real life\, without feeling like a salesperson.
\ n3. *Poetry Matters / Damien Ware. In Homework Center. Poetry\, in its many forms\, should inform and inspire. In this workshop\ , Damien will enlighten the poet in you.
\n\n4:00-4:1 5 PM - \;PREARRANGED EDITING SESSIONS. In Writers&rsquo\; Center Writi ng Rooms.
\n\n
4:00-4:30&nbs p\;PM - DOOR PRIZES\, BOOK SALE &\; AUTHOR SIGNINGS
\nTODAY&rsquo\;S PRESENTERS
Deanna Adams is an award-winning writer\, speaker\, essayist\, and author of six b ooks\, both fiction and nonfiction. She is the longtime coordinator of thi s conference\, the &ldquo\;Book Whisperer&rdquo\; for Cuyahoga County Publ ic Library\, and teaches online writing courses for the Pennwriters organi zation. Her book\, The Writer&rsquo\;s GPS: A Guide to Writing &\; Sell ing Your Book\, instructs aspiring writers how to get their book written f rom beginning to end. Her website is www.deannaadams.com. \;
\n< strong>Judith Allen \;has worked as a copywriter and freelanc e writer for fifteen years\, editing manuscripts for fiction\, nonfiction\ , young adult\, children's\, and other genres. She instructs business writ ing for colleges and corporations. Visit her website at www.zoneexcel.com/ editing for more information on her editing services.
\nBree Barton is a writer and dance teacher in Los Angeles. Heart o f Thorns\, the first novel in her YA fantasy trilogy\, came out from HarperCollins in 2018\, and has been published in seven countries and tran slated into Spanish\, Polish\, and Italian. \;She has \;published op-eds in \;USA Today\, The \;Los Angeles Times\ , Huffington Post\, and short fiction in \;The Iowa Revie w and McSweeney's.
\nDavid Giffels is the author of five books\, including the critically acclaimed memoirs\, < em>Furnishing Eternity: A Father\, a Son\, a Coffin\, and a Measure of Lif e (Scribner\, 2018) and All the Way Home (William Morrow\, 2 008)\, and the essay collection The Hard Way on Purpose (Scribner \, 2014). His writing has appeared in the New York Times Magazine \, The Atlantic\, Parade\, The Wall Street Journal\, Esquire\, and other publications. He is a professor of Engl ish at the University of Akron\, where he teaches creative nonfiction and is currently Writer in Residence at the Cuyahoga County Public Library&rsq uo\;s William N. Skirball Writer&rsquo\;s Center.
\nSteve Gr ant \;is an \;intellectual property \;attorney with S tandley Law Group\, where he practices patent\, trademark and copyright la w. \;Additionally\, Steve is an adjunct professor at the Capital Unive rsity Law School\, where he teaches intellectual property law and copyrigh t law. \;A popular and frequent speaker at this conference\, Steve dra ws on over thirty years of experience in addressing issues concerning writ ers.
\nLex Hupertz has her BA in English with a Con centration in Writing from Denison University\, and her Master's in Creati ve Writing from the Solstice MFA Program at Pine Manor College in Massachu setts. She has a background in both traditionally and self-published works \, which she uses to help her clients succeed. Lex has developed a wide an d varied group of associates\, from content editors to graphic designers a nd photographers.
\nScott Lax is an award-winning n ovelist\, screenwriter\, short story writer\, journalist\, essayist\, play wright\, and movie producer. A graduate of Hiram College\, a Bread Loaf Wr iters&rsquo\; Conference Scholar in Nonfiction\, and a Sewanee Writers Con ference Fellow in Fiction\, Scott teaches creative writing at the Clevelan d Institute of Art. His works include novels\, The Year That Trembled< /em>\, named one of &ldquo\;1998&rsquo\;s Milestones in Fiction\,&rdquo\; by the Denver Post\, and Vengeance Follows.
\nA la wyer in real life\, Marin McGinnis feeds her soul by writ ing Victorian era romance and mystery. She has four historical romances pu blished with the Wild Rose Press and is hard at work on a new cozy mystery series set in the English Lake District\, one of her favorite places on e arth. She lives in a drafty 105-year-old Cleveland Heights house with her husband\, son\, and poodles\, Larry and Sneaky Pete.
\nCharl otte Morgan is a longtime journalist and nonfiction writer based in Cleveland\, Ohio where she teaches Composition and Rhetoric\, as well a s Intro to Fiction at Cleveland State \;University. From time to time\ , she leads workshops in nonfiction writing in the hopes of helping others find their creative voice. Her upcoming memoir\, Glenville: My Side of Pa radise\, is in revision. \;
\nJ. Thorn has publ ished two million words and has sold more than 185\,000 books worldwide. H e is an official member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Amer ica\, the Horror Writers Association\, and the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers. He is a full-time writer\, part-time professor at John Car roll University\, co-owner of Molten Universe Media\, podcaster\, FM radio DJ\, musician\, and a certified Story Grid nerd.
\nDamien W are is a poet\, literacy advocate and literary artist. Since 2010 \, he has used love for the literary arts as means to bring community toge ther through the arts. \; He developed and leads a weekly creative wri ting workshop called &ldquo\;Veterans&rsquo\; Voice\,&rdquo\; designed to encourage and support US military veterans to write and share their milita ry experience as a community.
\nhttps://cuyahoga.libnet.info/event/1383 513 URL;VALUE=URI:https://cuyahoga.libnet.info/event/1383513 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR