CONFERENCE SPONSORS
Great Lakes Ficti
on Writers (GLFW) was founded in Cleveland\, Ohio in 1986 by a group of de
dicated writers to provide support and encouragement. We welcome fiction w
riters in any genre\, at any point in their career\, especially those who
wish to explore writing romance or including romantic elements in their st
ories. As a member of GLFW\, you can join our critique group\, be featured
in member spotlights in our newsletter and across our social media platfo
rms\, participate in community anthology projects\, and have access to an
array of other resources. In addition to the annual conference\, we host m
onthly meetings with guest speakers\, a fall get-away-and-write retreat\,
and a holiday gathering. Whether you&rsquo\;re a newbie just starting out
or a veteran author with multiple publications to your name\, we invite yo
u to stop by and check us out. \; We look forward to meeting you.
Great Lakes Fiction Writers is thrilled to be partnering with the Cuya hoga County Public Library&rsquo\;s Writers&rsquo\; Center to host this ev ent.
\nAGENDA
\nALL DAY / MAC'S BACKS
BOOKS
Meeting Room A/B/C
Browse and buy books
by today's presenters and GLFW authors. Mac's also has a selection of wri
ting books to inspire and guide your writing practice. \;
Writers' Center Meeting R
oom
Meet GLFW authors who have published books\, which are avail
able for purchase.
9:00 - 9:45 AM / CHECK-IN\, LIGHT
BREAKFAST\, NETWORKING
For anyone interested in having thei
r work read anonymously at the One Page Critique Panel at 2:15 PM: Drop of
f FOUR COPIES of the first page OR inciting event of your work-in-progress
(fiction only) at check-in before noon. Your work must be double-spaced\,
in 12-point Times New Roman font\, with Title\, Genre\, and "First Page"
or "Inciting Event" written at the top of the page. Do NOT include your na
me anywhere on the page. We'll randomly select first pages and read them a
loud starting at 2:15 PM. Each panelist will raise a hand at the point whe
re they would stop reading and then comment on what stopped them. One Page
Critique writers will remain anonymous.
9:45 - 10:00 AM /
WELCOME &\; CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
Barbara Howard\, President\, Great Lakes Fiction Writers
\n
10:00 - 11:00 AM / SPEAKER
Amy Saf
ford\, "Make your Book Launch Fun\, Creative\, and Memorable"
â— \; \; \; \; The basic and critical elements o f organizing a successful book launch.
\nâ— \; \; \ ; \; How to target and entice your audience.
\nâ— \;&nb sp\; \; \; Why branding is important for your overall marketing ef fort.
\n\n
11:00 - 11:15 AM / MORNING BREAK
\n
11:15 AM - 12:15 PM / SPEAKER
Nicole D. Miller\, "Manifest Your Book!"
â— \; \; \; \; Tips on completing your unfinished man uscript.
\nâ— \; \; \; \; Vital steps to becomi ng a self-published author.
\nâ— \; \; \; \; Cl arity on the types of book publishing options available.
\n\n
12:15 - 1:15 PM / LUNCH BREAK\, BOOK SALE &\; AUTHOR SIGNINGS
You may bring lunch and eat it in the Writers' Center. You ma
y also picnic outdoors or in your car. Local restaurant map available at c
heck-in table.
Book sales courtesy of Mac's Backs Book s of Cleveland Heights.
\n\n1:15 - 2:15
PM / SPEAKER
Chuck Augello\, "Making Your
Mark in Literary Magazines"
â— \; \; \; \; Le arn about the benefits of publishing in literary magazines.
\nâ— \; \; \; \; Learn to evaluate the pros and cons of a jo urnal.
\nâ— \; \; \; \; Learn how to create a s ubmission strategy and identify which journals are a best fit for your wor k.
\n\n2:15 - 3:00 PM / BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Choose one:
Networking
P
articipants are encouraged to adjourn to the common seating areas and auth
or tables to mix and mingle.
One Page Critique Panel: Writ
er&rsquo\;s choice of First Page or Inciting Event
We'll ran
domly select an anonymous one page of work-in-progress and read them aloud
. Each panelist will raise a hand at the point where they would stop readi
ng and then comment on what stopped them. Writers will remain anonymous.\n
3:00 - 3:15 / AFTERNOON BREAK
\n\n3:15 - 4:15 PM / SPEAKER
Krista Hammon
ds\, "Problematic Protagonists\, a Point of View Guide to Propel
Your Novel Forward"
â— \; \; \; \; A reminder of first\, second\, and third-person viewpoints plus unreliable narrators \; a better understanding of POV impacts\,
\nâ— \; \;&n bsp\; \; An action plan to use point of view to their advantage\,
\ nâ— \; \; \; \; A physical guide (in the form of a handout) to pick the right POV and get started.
\n\n4:15 - 4:30 PM / WRAP-UP
\n
THE PRESENTERS
Chuck Augello is the author of the no
vels A Better Heart and The Revolving Heart\, a Best Boo
ks of 2020 selection by Kirkus Reviews. His work has appeared in One Story
\, Ghost Parachute\, Smokelong Quarterly\, and over fifty literary magazin
es. His most recent book is Talking Vonnegut: Centennial Interviews an
d Essays\, an exploration of the life and art of Kurt Vonnegut. He is
an Associate Fiction Editor for Identity Theory and a Contributing Editor
for Cease\, Cows. \; Learn more at chuckaugello.com.
K rista Hammonds (she/her) has a BA in history and an MFA in writin g popular fiction. Under her pseudonym Iris Matthews she writes reimagined fairytales\, sweet contemporary short stories set around the Great Lakes\ , and sweeping historical romance novels set in 1785 London. She hails fro m northeast Ohio where she lives with her partner\, two children\, and min i Aussiedoodle rescue pup. When she isn&rsquo\;t writing\, you can find he r in the garden\, playing board games\, traveling\, or giving presentation s on her favorite nerdy craft writing topics such as objective correlative s. Learn more about her and her stories at irismatthews.com.
\nNicole D. Miller is an award-winning\, 6x&rsquo\;s self-published author\, who takes immense pleasure in crafting stories tha t intertwine Black culture and faith. Owner of ND Miller Publishing LLC\, she specializes in assisting debut authors with manifesting their book pub lishing dreams. Nicole personally provides beta reading\, ghostwriting and one-on-one coaching services. To further assist authors\, she conducts wo rkshops and educates audiences on the nuances of self-publishing via podca st interviews and speaking engagements. In addition to her writing endeavo rs\, Nicole is the host for the female-led\, panel discussion\, Girl Talk\ , featuring high-achieving women leaders in the community and beyond. Addi tionally\, in 2025\, she hosted the first CLE Indie Author Expo\, featurin g 20+ local authors and partnering with the literary community in Clevelan d to honor Cleveland&rsquo\;s self-published authors. Learn more about Nic ole and her publishing services at nicoledmiller.com and ndmiller.pub.
\nAmy Safford\, MFA\, is an award-winning Maine author. Her debut novel\, Goode Vibrations of the Wresting Place \, won three international literary awards: the 2025 Eric Hoffer Spir itual Fiction and First Horizon Book Awards\, and the Independent Publishe rs IPPY Silver Medal for Visionary/New Age Fiction. She was also named a f inalist in the 2025 Independent Author Network\, 2024 American Book Fest\, and 2025 Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance Fiction Awards. Her storie s blend historical and literary fiction\, suspense and paranormal\, for an enticing\, thought-provoking reflection on New England history that shape s our lives today. Amy taught English composition at the University of New England and was a contributing writer to Coastal Fish of Southern Maine a nd New Hampshire. Her alma maters are Boston University and USM Stonecoast MFA Program. The former executive director of the Maine Psychological Ass ociation\, Amy lives in Saco\, Maine with her husband\, Jon.
\nhttps:// cuyahoga.libnet.info/event/15973762 URL;VALUE=URI:https://cuyahoga.libnet.info/event/15973762 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR