AGEND A
\n\n
9:00-9:30 AM / CHECK-IN\, LIGHT BREAKFAST\, COFFEE &\; TEA
Writers' Center
For anyone interested in having their work read anonymously at the First Page Critique Panel at 1:45 PM: Drop off FOUR COPIES of the first page of your work-in-progress ( prose only\, fiction or nonfiction) at check-in before noon. Your work mus t be double-spaced\, in 12-point Times New Roman font\, with Title and Gen re written at the top of the page. Do NOT include your name anywhere o n the page. We'll randomly select first pages and read them aloud sta rting at 1:45 p.m. Each panelist will raise a hand at the point where they would stop reading and then comment on what stopped them. First Page Crit ique writers will remain anonymous.
\n\n
Meeting
Room A/B/C
Deanna R. Adams\, Conference Coordinator
Lau
rie Kincer\, William N. Skirball Writers' Center \;
9:
40-10:20 AM / KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Meeting Room A/B/C
Multi-published author Abby L. Vandiver speaks on Building a Writing Community.
\nWriting is not a solitary endeavor. F ellowship\, support and sharing with other writers is the foundation of wr iting success. \;
\n\nNote: Sessions with an asterisk (*) include a writing exercise.
\n\n
10 :30-11:30 AM / BREAKOUT SESSIONS
\n1. Publish Your Pain / Deante Young. Looking back on painful\, emotional traumas of the past\, it&rsquo\;s easy to feel resentment. What if you channeled t hat raw anger into something uplifting and life-changing? In this session\ , Young explores how you can write about setbacks and challenges with real world examples to illustrate his message of using life experiences to ser ve yourself and others in positive ways.
\n2. Publishing wit h Small Presses / Deanna Adams. Most writers harbor dreams of pub lishing with a big agent and publisher who will launch their book to the b est seller&rsquo\;s list. And yet\, it&rsquo\;s a hard dream to fulfill in today&rsquo\;s book industry. But that doesn&rsquo\;t mean you can&rsquo\ ;t be published through other means. Small presses are a great way to get many of the benefits of a big publisher and maintain more control over you r product.
\n*3. Building Your Natural Talent for Writing Pr ose or Poetry / Marion Starling Boyer. Gregory Orr proposes that writers are born with a natural gift for Music\, Structure\, Story\, or Im agination. In this session\, learn ways to complement your natural ability and gain practical ideas for making your writing more powerful\, alive\, and memorable.
\n\n11:30-11:45 AM / BREAK &\; PREA RRANGED EDITING SESSIONS
\nIndividual\, prearranged editing sessions with editors Amy Dragga or Eryka Parker .
\n11:45 AM-12:45 PM / BREAKOUT SESSIONS< /p>\n
1. Writing and Researching True Crime / James Renner. Are you fascinated by true crime and want to write a book about it? S hould you write it as a work of nonfiction or turn it into a novel? How do you approach a source for an interview? What do you need to know about th e law to protect yourself and your book? Crime writer James Renner shares his methods and experience writing about unsolved mysteries in Ohio.
\n2. Publishing Industry Insider / Julie Anne Lindsey. J oin award-winning and bestselling author Julie Anne Lindsey as she pulls b ack the curtain on the publishing industry and shares what it takes to mov e your story from pen to paperback. She'll answer questions\, bust some my ths\, and shed light on what you need to know about today&rsquo\;s traditi onal \;publishing.
\n*3. \;Honing Your Craft throug h Various Techniques / Kevin P. Keating. Most writers find someth ing deeply gratifying in the oftentimes arduous process of putting pen to paper\, and getting their characters to come to life on the page. During h is talk\, award-winning author Kevin Keating will examine craft techniques that will help give your fiction greater depth and meaning\, including a closer examination of character\, setting\, details and structure.
\n12:45-1:45 PM / LUNCH BREAK\, BOOK SALE &\; AUTHOR SIGNINGS
You may bring lunch and \;eat it in the Writers' Center. Y
ou may also picnic outdoors or in your car. Local restaurant map available
at check-in table.
1:30-1:45 PM / PREARRANGED ED ITING SESSIONS
\nIndividual\, prearranged editing sessions with editors Amy Dragga or Eryka Parker.
\n1:45-2:45 PM / FIRST PAGE CRITIQUE PANEL \;< br />Panelists Abby L. Vandiver\, Deanna Adams\, and Julie Anne Lindsey.
\nWe'll randomly s elect 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.
\n\n2:45-3:00 PM / BREAK &\; PREARRANG ED EDITING SESSIONS \;
\nIndividual\, prearranged edit ing sessions with editors Amy Dragga or Eryka Par ker.
\n\n3:00-4:00 PM / BREAKOUT SESSIONS
\n*1. From Idea to Story: Crafting the Personal Essay / Marsha McGregor. \;This hands-on workshop will guide you t hrough a step-by-step process that helps build your idea into a meaningful essay. You&rsquo\;ll discover the small details that bring your thoughts to life and lead you to bigger discoveries. As your story unfolds on the p age\, learn how to tell it with the candor and heart that connect to reade rs. \;
\n2. Writing a Book in 30 Days / Abby L. Vandiver . Writing a novel can be a daunting task. But it doesn't have to take years or unending drafts to get that manuscript finished. Learn what it takes to get a first draft completed in thirty days! This can help all writers\, aspiring or advanced.
\n3. Picture Books from Star t to Finish / Lindsay Ward. Join picture book author and illustra tor Lindsay Ward as she discusses the step-by-step process of making a pic ture book. She will discuss ideas\, where hers come from\, the drafting an d writing phase\, submission process\, revisions and edits\, sale and prod uction\, and finally \;the finished product&mdash\;a book!
\nIndividu al\, prearranged editing sessions with editors Amy Dragga or Eryka Parker.
\n\n4:00-4:30 \;PM / DOOR PRIZES\, BOOK SALE &\; AUTHOR SIGNINGS
\n&nb sp\;
\nTODAY&rsquo\;S PRESENTER S
\nDeanna A dams is a writer\, speaker\, and author of eight books\, both fiction and nonfiction. She is the longtime coordinator of this conferenc e\, the &ldquo\;Book Whisperer&rdquo\; for Cuyahoga County Public Library\ , and teaches online writing courses for the Pennwriters organization. Her book\, The Writer&rsquo\;s GPS: A Guide to Writing &\; Selling You r Book\, instructs aspiring writers on how to get their book written from beginning to end. \;
\nMarion Starling Boyer \; is \;a professor emeritus and author of five poetry collectio ns. Her most recent book\, Ice Hours\, won the 2021 Wheelbarrow B ooks Poetry Prize\, sponsored by Michigan State University Press. Boyer li ves in Twinsburg\, Ohio and leads workshops for Lit Cleveland and Lit Youn gstown.
\nAmy Dragga is an experienced editor who s pecializes in the Chicago Manual of Style (the style guide used by most tr ade publishers in the US)\, and a member of both ACES: The Society for Edi ting and the Editorial Freelancers Association. Through her company\, Blue Hyphen Creative\, LLC\, she helps nonfiction and fiction authors polish t heir manuscript to get it ready for submission.
\nKevin P. K eating is a writing instructor who has taught fiction at Clevelan d State University\, Baldwin Wallace University\, and others. His first no vel\, The Natural Order of Things (Vintage Contemporaries)\, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes First Fiction Award. His second novel\, The Captive Condition (Pantheon)\, was launched at the San Diego Comic Con. He&rsquo\;s received numerous awards\, including the Cleveland Arts Prize\, and was a James Thurber House Writer-in-Reside nce. \;
\nJu lie Anne Lindsey \;is an award-winning and bestselling au thor of mystery and romantic suspense. She&rsquo\;s published more than fi fty novels since her debut in 2013 and currently writes as herself\, as we ll as under multiple pen names. She&rsquo\;s represented by Erin Niumata a t Folio Literary Agency. When Julie's not creating new worlds\, she can be found plotting murder with her shamelessly enabling friends.
\nMarsha McGregor&rsquo\;s personal essays have been published in BrainChild< /em>\, Zone 3\, Kenyon Review Online\, Fourth Genre< /em>\, Literary Mama\, and four anthologies. Her work most recent ly appeared in A Harp in the Stars: \;An Anthology of Lyric Essays . More than 30 of her first-person essays have appeared in Clevel and Magazine. She leads writing workshops for Literary Cleveland and The International Women&rsquo\;s Writing Guild (iwwg.org). \;
\nEryka Parker is a book coach and award-winning developmen tal editor at Legacy Book Coaching &\; Consulting. She believes in simp lifying the independent publishing process\, helping authors maximize book sales\, and generating reader engagement. Eryka has partnered with librar ies\, writing groups\, and independent publishing companies to facilitate custom writing and book marketing workshops. She is a freelance journalist for Indie Author Magazine and is currently working on her third novel under the pen name\, Zariah L. Banks.
\nJames Renner is a local journalist and author of several works of nonfiction\, including True Crime Addict and the upcoming book\, Little\, Crazy Children\, based on the unsolved murder of Lisa Pruett. He curr ently hosts two podcasts: "True Crime This Week" and "The Philosophy of Cr ime."
\nAbby L. Vandiver is the William N. Skirball Writers' Center's Writ er in Residence\, and a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author. The prolific Abby writes under several pen names. As \;Abby L. Vandiver\, she has approximately 20 self-published books as well as the traditionally published Romaine Wilder Mysteries from Henery Press. As Cade Bentley\, she debuted her novel\, Where Wild Peaches Gr ow. And as \;Abby Collette\, she has two mystery series and a cri me trilogy. Her latest novel is \;Soul of a Killer\, released in 2022. \;
\nLindsay Ward is the author and illustrator of over two dozen picture books for children. She is also the founder of Critter Lit\, a fr ee critique service for up-and-coming authors and illustrators. Lindsay li ves in Peninsula\, Ohio with her family. Her latest books are The Capi tol: A Meet the Nation&rsquo\;s Capitol Book (Harper Collins) and Jessie: Queen of the Road. \;
\nDeante Young is founder and Chief C reative Architect at Dirty Truth Publishing\, LLC\, as well as its head au thor. He is the author of seven nonfiction books\, including co-writer of Wayne Dawson&rsquo\;s memoir. \;He specializes in writing and speakin g about personal development and has twenty years of multi-media experienc e\, as well as filmmaking and podcast production. He is also the executive producer and host of the digital series\, &ldquo\;Deante Speaks to Clevel and.&rdquo\; \;
\nhttps://cuyahoga.libnet.info/event/7598025 URL;VALUE=URI:https://cuyahoga.libnet.info/event/7598025 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR