Bon us for "early bird" registrants:
\nIf you register in February for the conference\, you c an enter your name in the drawing for a free 15-minute editing session wit h editors Amy Dragga or Eryka Parker. If your name is chosen\, you will be contacted in early March.
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AGENDA
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9:00-9:30 AM / CHECK-IN\, LIGHT BREAKFAST\, COFFEE &\; TEA
Writers' Center
For anyone interested in h aving their work read anonymously at the First Page Critique Pane l at 1:45 PM: Drop off FOUR COPIES of the first page of your work-in-progr ess (prose only\, fiction or nonfiction) at the check-in table before noon . Your work must be double-spaced\, in 12-point Times New Roman font\, wit h Title and Genre written at the 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 p oint where they would stop reading and then comment on what stopped them. First Page Critique writers will remain anonymous.
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9:30 AM / WELCOME &\; CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
Meeting Room A/B/C
Deanna R. Adams\, Conference Coord
inator
Laurie Kincer\, William N. Skirball Writers' Center \;
9:40-10:20 AM / KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Meeting Roo
m A/B/C
What&rsquo\;s Best for Your Writing Right Now / Writer in Residence\, Brandi Larsen
\nBrandi Larsen\, th e 2024 Cuyahoga County Public Library Writer in Residence\, will keynote w ith a talk sharing how to weave in the threads of community\, craft\, and commerce to bring more joy and inspiration into your writing (and encourag e you to approach the writing desk with confidence).
\n\nNote: Sessions with an asterisk (*) include a writing exercise.
\n\n
10:30-11:30 AM / BREAKOUT SESSIONS\n
1. \;How to Write Memoir Without Alienating Your Entire Family: A Primer / Meg Thompson. Meeting Room A/B/C. Ha ve you ever stopped yourself from writing something personal \;because you were worried about how the audience would receive it? You are not alo ne. When it comes to personal \;writing\, there is always a way to tel l the story. Writing is such a powerful tool\, and while it does have the ability to hurt\, it also has the ability to heal. In this session\, write rs can explore techniques for writing the difficult stories of our lives t hat need to be told.
\n2. Self-Editing Tips for Writers of A ll Kinds / Rebecca Ferlotti. Writers&rsquo\; Center Meeting R oom. Hiring an editor is always a helpful decision when you're prepar ing your book\, blog\, or poetry chapbook for publication. Unfortunately\, many writers don't always have extra funds at the ready\, so Rebecca will give you great tips on how to edit your own work.
\n*3. Mak ing a Long Story Short / Shelley Costa. Student Success Cente r. In this short story workshop\, we will consider the elements of go od storytelling: What makes a good story? How do you transform your story idea into an actual plot? How far can you develop character in a short sto ry? What are the elements of a story arc? Who tells the tale? How do you b uild a scene? When do you use dialogue? When do you use description/exposi tion? What do we mean by &ldquo\;voice\,&rdquo\; and how do we find our ow n? Bring your paper or device for writing your response to a writing promp t we will then &ndash\; if you&rsquo\;re willing-- share and discuss.
\ n\n11:30-11:45 AM / BREAK &\; PREARRANGED EDITING SES SIONS
\nIndividual\, prearranged editing sessions with edit ors Amy Dragga or Eryka Parker. \;(T hese sessions will be scheduled before the day of the conference. If you r egister in February\, you can enter your name in the drawing for a free 15 -minute editing session.) \;
\n11:45 AM-12:45 PM / BREAK OUT SESSIONS
\n*1. Introduction to the Story Worksh op Method / Brandi Larsen. Meeting Room A/B/C. \;Bra ndi will introduce the Story Workshop Method as a generative technique to give writers confidence and trust in the writing process. Leaning into voi ce\, imagination\, and oral storytelling\, she&rsquo\;ll share the why beh ind this method and lead an exercise that can be incorporated into daily w riting practices. Please come prepared to write.
\n2. Writin g Your First Book: What You Need to Know / Deanna Adams. Writ ers&rsquo\; Center Meeting Room. Whether you decide to go the traditi onal route or self-publish your book\, you need to know the ins and outs o f the publishing world. Deanna will give you the dos and don&rsquo\;ts of the industry and share tips on achieving your 2024 writing goals! Come wit h questions as Deanna will conduct a Q&\;A where she will address all o f your concerns to help you navigate your own personal writing journey.&nb sp\; \;
\n3. \;Writing Children's Picture Books / Dr. Raquel M. Ortiz. \;Student Success Center. Join picture book author\, Dr. Raquel M. Ortiz\, as she discusses the step-by-s tep process of making a bilingual picture book\, the drafting and writing phase\, submission process\, revisions and edits\, sale and production. Sh e will also share her own bilingual picture books that depict culturally s pecific aspects of her heritage.
\n12:45-1:45 PM / LUNCH BRE
AK\, BOOK SALE &\; AUTHOR SIGNINGS
You may bring lunch an
d \;eat it in the Writers' Center. You may also picnic outdoors or in
your car. Local restaurant map available at check-in table.
1:30-1:45 PM / PREARRANGED EDITING SESSIONS
\nIn dividual\, prearranged editing sessions with editors Amy Dragga or Eryka Parker.
\n1:45-2:45 PM / FI
RST PAGE CRITIQUE PANEL \;
Panelists Brandi Lars
en\, Deanna Adams\, and Anastasia Hastin
gs.
We'll randomly select anonymous first pages of work-i n-progress and read them aloud. Each panelist will raise a hand at the poi nt where they would stop reading and then comment on what stopped them. Fi rst Page Critique writers will remain anonymous.
\nFor anyone intere sted in having their work read anonymously at the First Page Critique Pane l at 1:45 PM: Drop off FOUR COPIES of the first page of your work-in-progr ess (prose only\, fiction or nonfiction) at the check-in table before noon . Your work must be double-spaced\, in 12-point Times New Roman font\, wit h Title and Genre written at the top of the page. Do NOT include your name anywhere on the page. \;
\n2:45-3:00 PM / BREAK &\; PREARRANGED EDITING SESSIONS \;
\nIndividual\, prearra nged editing sessions with editors Amy Dragga or Eryka Parker.
\n\n3:00-4:00 PM / BREAKOUT SE SSIONS
\n1. Revision Reality for Novelists / Laura Walter. Meeting Room A/B/C. What does it really take to revise a novel in preparation for submission to agents or editors? This wo rkshop offers an honest view of today&rsquo\;s publishing landscape while covering practical tips and best practices for the novel-revision process.
\n*2. Creating Credible Characters / Anastasia Hastings. Writers Center Meeting Room. \;Plot drives your story\ , but characters drive your plot. \;Anastasia will discuss what makes characters come alive on the page and share how you can create story peopl e that your readers will care about. \; \;
\n*3. Breaking and Rearranging Linear Language Connections / Quart ez Harris. Student Success Center. Not every piece of wr iting needs to make sense or reveal its meaning clearly. You can create ga ps in language and that can make it playful. In this workshop\, we will ex plore exercises to break the constraints of straightforward description an d conventional meaning. This workshop can benefit writers in multiple genr es\, including fiction\, poetry\, and nonfiction. \;
\n4 :00-4:15 PM / PREARRANGED EDITING SESSIONS
\nIndividual\, p
rearranged editing sessions with editors Amy Dragga or Eryka Parker.
4:00-4:30 \;PM / DOOR PRIZES\, BOOK SALE &\; AUTHOR SIGNINGS
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TODAY&rsquo\;S PRESENTERS
\nDeanna Adams is a writer\, speaker\, and author of eight books\, both ficti on and nonfiction. She is the longtime coordinator of this conference\, th e &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 Your Book \, instructs aspiring writers on how to get their book written from b eginning to end. \;She&rsquo\;s available for personal critiques on qu eries and book proposals at her web site.
\nShelley Costa&rsquo\;s work has been no minated for both the Edgar and Agatha Awards and has received an Honorable Mention for The Pushcart Prize. She is the author of several amateur sleu th novels and many crime stories. Her latest mystery novel\, No Mistak ing Death (Level Best Books\, July 2023)\, marks the debut of her new soft-boiled private eye series. Shelley holds a PhD in English from Case Western Reserve University\, where she teaches topics in American literatu re and Literary Modernism through their Siegal Lifelong Learning program.< /p>\n
Amy Dragga is an experienced local editor who spe cializes in the Chicago Manual of Style. She helps aspiring and experience d authors polish their manuscript into one that they can be confident is r eady for submission\, with strong bones and free of style\, grammar\, and formatting gaffes. She holds an editing certificate from the University of Chicago and is a member of both ACES: The Society for Editing and the Edi torial Freelancers Association. Through her company\, Blue Hyphen Creative \, LLC\, she helps nonfiction and fiction authors polish their manuscript to get it ready for submission. \;
\nRebecca Ferlotti is an editor specializing in developmental editing and copy editing for non-fiction books. Her poetry has been published in a handful of lite rary magazines\; and she has presented her work at conferences\, coffee sh ops\, and libraries around the U.S. Rebecca also runs The Content Cornerst one\, an empathy-driven content marketing collective. When she&rsquo\;s no t at her home office\, she&rsquo\;s traveling the world\, which she uses a s fuel for her personal and professional writing.
\nQuartez Harris\, \;the Ohio Poetry Association's 2021 Poet of the Yea r\, is the author of two books of poetry\, \;Nothing\, But Skin&nb sp\;and the much celebrated We Made It to School Alive. He w as the first recipient of the Barbara Smith Writer-In-Residence at Twelve Literary Arts and a 2020 Baldwin House Fellow. He is represented by McKinn on Literary Agency and has been featured in the \;Plain Dealer\, \;IdeaStream\, and a talk for the City Club of Cleveland. His work s in progress are a picture book biography and middle grade children's nov el. Learn more at \;quartez harris.com. \;
\nAnastasia Hastings has pub lished more than 70 novels\, under different pen names. Her newest\, O f Hoaxes and Homicide\, is the second in the Dear Miss Hermione histo rical mystery series. The first book in that series\, Of Manners and M urder\, \;was praised by The Wall Street Journal as evok ing "...the shocking revelations of Wilkie Collins\, the social acuity of Jane Austen and the comic melodrama of Oscar Wilde." As Kylie Logan\, she has written the Jazz Ramsey mysteries and\, as Casey Daniels\, the Pepper Martin mysteries. Both those series are set in Cleveland. You can find all her pen names and book titles at www.mystery-book-series.com.
\nBrandi Larsen\, Cuyahoga County Public Libr ary&rsquo\;s 2024 Writer in Residence\, \;is a writer\, speaker\, and coach building a more inclusive publishing landscape. Her work at Penguin Random House helped create New York Times bestsellers and her jou rnalism pieces earned Emmy nominations. Her talks about publishing\, leade rship\, and purpose inspire audiences from Zoom to Harvard. She serves as President Emeritus for Literary Cleveland and writes books and essays. Bra ndi is the co-writer of NYT-recommended Uncultured: A Memoir< /em>\, from St. Martin's Press. \;
\nDr. Raquel M. Ortiz is an Emmy-nominated award-winning writer\, anthropologist\, sto ryteller\, educator\, lyricist\, and children&rsquo\;s book author. Ortiz is the 2023 Cleveland Public Library Artist-in-Residence. Ortiz wrote a so ng and the script for Cucarachita Martina&rsquo\;s Musical Adventure\, whi ch was nominated for a 2021 Emmy. Her first picture book\, Sofi and the Ma gic\, Musical Mural (Arte Pú\;blico Press\, 2015)\, was named to the 2016 Tejas Star Reading List. When Julia Danced Bomba (Arte Pú\;bli co Press\, 2019)\, is a Junior Library Guild Golden Selection. \;
\nEryka Parker \;edits both nonfiction and fiction . Her category preferences are self-help\, women&rsquo\;s fiction\, romanc e\, and thriller. \;As a book coach and award-winning developmental ed itor\, Eryka Parker helps \;prepare polished\, professional stories fo r publication. She simplifies the publishing process by helping authors cr eate detailed business plans and marketing strategies to maximize impact a nd book sales. Eryka&rsquo\;s literary agency\, Legacy Book Coaching &\ ; Consulting\, also offers publishing consults and \;writing \;wor kshops. \;
\nMeg Thompson's most recent book of poems\, Eruption Sequence (Another New Calligraphy\, 2023)\, is a memoir in verse. She spent over a decade teaching English\, living in pl aces such as Oklahoma and South \;Korea. Her work has appeared in Best of the Net\, McSweeney's\, and The Sun. She now \;resides in Wellington with her husband and two children.
\nLaura Mayle
ne Walter is the author of the novel\, \;Body of Stars \;(Dutton\, 2021)\, an Ohioana Book Awards Finalist and a UK Bookse
llers Association Fiction Book of the Month selection. Her work has appear
ed in \;The Sun\, Ninth Letter\, Slate\,