Weekend Festival Schedule
This is our programming schedule for 2019. Please check back later for our 2020 Writefest.
Friday, May 31st
Friday Programming Grid
|
Keynote Presentation |
Interactive Activity |
Hands-On Workshop |
Panel |
Friday Programming Descriptions
9:00 – 11:15
Texas Monthly Keynote | The Amherst Room (Commons) | Skip Hollandsworth, Mimi Swartz Join writer Skip Hollandsworth and editor Mimi Swartz for a lively, Texas Monthly-themed discussion about nonfiction publishing!
9:00 – 10:00
Around the Campfire: Storytelling Workshop with the Houston Storytellers’ Guild | The Hurston Room | Scott Hill Bumgardner We might call it “writing” these days, but for centuries, stories, myths, warnings, and more were shared verbally. Join Scott Bumgardner of the Houston Storytellers’ Guild as he shows you how to reignite the ancient art of telling stories--not just writing them.
10:15 - 11:15
The Perfect Sentence | The Hurston Room | Thomas McNeely This hands-on workshop focuses on writing active, vivid prose that grabs a reader and doesn’t let them go. Learn the basics of writing effective action, description, narrative summary, and other prose modes.
11:30 - 12:30
Genre Roundtables |The Amherst Room | Various Pick your favorite genre and chat with your fellow writers, including Writefest presenters, about all its ins and outs. Choose from children’s/middle grade, historical fiction, magazine features, memoir, mystery, novels, poetry, science fiction and fantasy, short fiction, and true crime.
Postcard Prose: Writing Flash Fiction | The Hurston Room | Kathryn Kulpa Postcard Prose is a generative flash fiction workshop using visual prompts (including photos, postcards, and found images or objects) to inspire stories. We will read and discuss some examples and write our own work from visual prompts.
12:30 - 1:30
Lunch Break Join Bubba’s Texas Burger Shack outside for a delicious lunch!
1:30 – 2:30
It’s Not the Size That Counts, It’s the Storytelling: The Strength and Glory of the Short Form | The Hurston Room | Chelsea Voulgares, Chloe N. Clark, Jody T. Morse (M), Kathryn Kulpa, Patricia F. Pagan Are you a writer that’s been stuck in a Nanowrimo 50K storytelling rut for years, unsure how to create memorable characters and satisfyingly completed arcs in the barebones length of flash fiction or short stories? Then join our panel of dedicated short form writers to learn more strengths of going short.
Small Presses vs. Self-publishing: As Easy as PIE? | The Chaucer Room | Ches Smith, D.L. Young, Jennie Bennett (M), Kate Martin Williams, Phuc Luu, Roger Leslie Is self-publishing a big slice of a small pie, or is publishing with a small press a small slice of a big pie? Or does it even matter because...PIE (Publishing Is Everything)? With e-books and print on demand, it’s never been easier to publish--but there’s more to publishing than putting your book out into the world. Join our panelists as they discuss whether self-publishing or pursuing a small press is the best option for your masterpiece.
Who Needs You? Why a Writing Community Is Not Optional | The LeGuin Room | Amir Safi, Denise Ditto Saterfield, Julie Herman, Rebecca Nolan, Andrea Sanchez, Tex Thompson (M) Although the act of writing is a solitary affair, you need community, whether you like it or not. There’s no better way to get the support, promotion, and feedback all writers crave. This panel will discuss how to build and maintain a writing community that helps you develop your writing craft and build your writing career.
Take a Stand: Activism through the Authorial Mask | The Lamott Room | Catherine Vance, Mack Little, Michael Deluca, Sage Webb (M) Activist fiction allows writers to explore issues of social justice, cultural epidemics, uncommon perspectives, and more. How do we take a stand in our writing in a way that reaches people without pushing them away? What place does this type of writing have in our communities? Join our panel to discuss the impact of activist fiction and how we can incorporate these reformative topics in our stories and poems.
2:45 – 3:45
Things that Go Bump In the Twilight: Fabulism, Strange Fiction, and the Fantastic | The Hurston Room |Chloe N. Clark, D.L. Young, Holly Walrath, Michelle Muenzler, William Ledbetter (M) As genre lines blur, more literary fiction writers are straying off the beaten path and into the realm of the fantastic. Join our panelists as they guide you through a crash course on imbuing your fiction with the uncanny. We’ll discuss the latest trends in speculative writing and popular authors who are bringing strange, wonderful, and magical worlds alive.
Beyond the Red Pen: Cultivating the Author-Editor Relationship | The Chaucer Room | Andrew Sullivan, Anthony Burnett, J. Bruce Fuller, Roger Leslie (M) Writers sometimes think of editors as people who just want to crush their words. But in reality, having an editor advocate for your work can change your career. A panel of authors and editors discuss professional courtesy and the behind-the-scenes of this valuable relationship.
A Beginner’s Styleguide to Crafting a Writing Brand | The LeGuin Room | B. Alan Bourgeois (M), Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, Cynthia Childress, Margo Catts, Tex Thompson As a new writer, it can be useful to explore how readers will see your work. Learn how to style yourself as a writer--either by picking a genre, establishing your voice, or developing the story of your personal writing journey. This discussion will touch on everything branding-related: from blogging to online marketing to planning for the future of your career.
Heroines’ Origins & Futures: Writing Women Well | The Lamott Room | Charlotte Wyatt, Kathryn Kulpa, Marianne Dysen, Patricia F. Pagan, Sharon Jenkins (M) What does “writing women well” even mean, and how do you do it? The writers of this panel successfully mix fact and fiction to create vivid heroines who are both powerful and relatable. Join them as they discuss how to respectfully create female characters by drawing inspiration from real women--famous, infamous, or wonderfully ordinary.
4:00 – 5:00
So You Want to Be a Publisher | The Hurston Room | Andrew Sullivan, J. Bruce Fuller, Roger Leslie (M), William Ledbetter Lots of writers never stop to consider how the other half lives: the other half of publishing, that is! Are you curious about what it’s like to walk a mile in the shoes of an editor or publisher? If so, you won’t want to miss this panel of superb small press and magazine staffers ready to share their secrets.
The Good, the Bad, and the Slushy: How to Save Your Story from the Slush Pile Neverland | The Chaucer Room | Anthony Burnett, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (M), Chelsea Voulgares, Kate Martin Williams, Phuc Luu This exciting interaction panel will show you how to get an editor past the first page of your submission! Panel attendees will anonymously submit the first page of a short story or novel to our panel of experienced editors, who will read the pages aloud and discuss whether they would continue to read the submission or dive back into the slush pile.
Preservation & Re-creation: Writing About Nature and the Environment | The LeGuin Room | Elizabeth White-Olsen, Jody T. Morse (M), Marianne Dysen, Michael Deluca Whether you love gardening in your backyard or traversing the trails of your imagination, writing down your experiences with nature helps preserve our environment. The writers on this panel will discuss writing that enriches, engages, and encourages readers to care about the worlds they recreate on the page, the world we share, and beyond.
Our Own Voices: The Importance of Making Marginalized Narratives Visible in Honest, Responsible Ways | The Lamott Room | Icess Fernandez Rojas, Lorenzo Martinez, Mack Little (M), Saba Razvi People long to see themselves reflected in the media they consume; representation is important. This panel will discuss the idea that it's especially important for people from within under-represented groups to be able to tell their own stories, highlighting ways to support and boost under-represented voices.
.
6:00 – 8:00
Keynote Reading with Phong Nguyen | Brazos Bookstore (offsite) Our keynote speaker Phong Nguyen reads from his work and answers questions from the audience.
Texas Monthly Keynote | The Amherst Room (Commons) | Skip Hollandsworth, Mimi Swartz Join writer Skip Hollandsworth and editor Mimi Swartz for a lively, Texas Monthly-themed discussion about nonfiction publishing!
9:00 – 10:00
Around the Campfire: Storytelling Workshop with the Houston Storytellers’ Guild | The Hurston Room | Scott Hill Bumgardner We might call it “writing” these days, but for centuries, stories, myths, warnings, and more were shared verbally. Join Scott Bumgardner of the Houston Storytellers’ Guild as he shows you how to reignite the ancient art of telling stories--not just writing them.
10:15 - 11:15
The Perfect Sentence | The Hurston Room | Thomas McNeely This hands-on workshop focuses on writing active, vivid prose that grabs a reader and doesn’t let them go. Learn the basics of writing effective action, description, narrative summary, and other prose modes.
11:30 - 12:30
Genre Roundtables |The Amherst Room | Various Pick your favorite genre and chat with your fellow writers, including Writefest presenters, about all its ins and outs. Choose from children’s/middle grade, historical fiction, magazine features, memoir, mystery, novels, poetry, science fiction and fantasy, short fiction, and true crime.
Postcard Prose: Writing Flash Fiction | The Hurston Room | Kathryn Kulpa Postcard Prose is a generative flash fiction workshop using visual prompts (including photos, postcards, and found images or objects) to inspire stories. We will read and discuss some examples and write our own work from visual prompts.
12:30 - 1:30
Lunch Break Join Bubba’s Texas Burger Shack outside for a delicious lunch!
1:30 – 2:30
It’s Not the Size That Counts, It’s the Storytelling: The Strength and Glory of the Short Form | The Hurston Room | Chelsea Voulgares, Chloe N. Clark, Jody T. Morse (M), Kathryn Kulpa, Patricia F. Pagan Are you a writer that’s been stuck in a Nanowrimo 50K storytelling rut for years, unsure how to create memorable characters and satisfyingly completed arcs in the barebones length of flash fiction or short stories? Then join our panel of dedicated short form writers to learn more strengths of going short.
Small Presses vs. Self-publishing: As Easy as PIE? | The Chaucer Room | Ches Smith, D.L. Young, Jennie Bennett (M), Kate Martin Williams, Phuc Luu, Roger Leslie Is self-publishing a big slice of a small pie, or is publishing with a small press a small slice of a big pie? Or does it even matter because...PIE (Publishing Is Everything)? With e-books and print on demand, it’s never been easier to publish--but there’s more to publishing than putting your book out into the world. Join our panelists as they discuss whether self-publishing or pursuing a small press is the best option for your masterpiece.
Who Needs You? Why a Writing Community Is Not Optional | The LeGuin Room | Amir Safi, Denise Ditto Saterfield, Julie Herman, Rebecca Nolan, Andrea Sanchez, Tex Thompson (M) Although the act of writing is a solitary affair, you need community, whether you like it or not. There’s no better way to get the support, promotion, and feedback all writers crave. This panel will discuss how to build and maintain a writing community that helps you develop your writing craft and build your writing career.
Take a Stand: Activism through the Authorial Mask | The Lamott Room | Catherine Vance, Mack Little, Michael Deluca, Sage Webb (M) Activist fiction allows writers to explore issues of social justice, cultural epidemics, uncommon perspectives, and more. How do we take a stand in our writing in a way that reaches people without pushing them away? What place does this type of writing have in our communities? Join our panel to discuss the impact of activist fiction and how we can incorporate these reformative topics in our stories and poems.
2:45 – 3:45
Things that Go Bump In the Twilight: Fabulism, Strange Fiction, and the Fantastic | The Hurston Room |Chloe N. Clark, D.L. Young, Holly Walrath, Michelle Muenzler, William Ledbetter (M) As genre lines blur, more literary fiction writers are straying off the beaten path and into the realm of the fantastic. Join our panelists as they guide you through a crash course on imbuing your fiction with the uncanny. We’ll discuss the latest trends in speculative writing and popular authors who are bringing strange, wonderful, and magical worlds alive.
Beyond the Red Pen: Cultivating the Author-Editor Relationship | The Chaucer Room | Andrew Sullivan, Anthony Burnett, J. Bruce Fuller, Roger Leslie (M) Writers sometimes think of editors as people who just want to crush their words. But in reality, having an editor advocate for your work can change your career. A panel of authors and editors discuss professional courtesy and the behind-the-scenes of this valuable relationship.
A Beginner’s Styleguide to Crafting a Writing Brand | The LeGuin Room | B. Alan Bourgeois (M), Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, Cynthia Childress, Margo Catts, Tex Thompson As a new writer, it can be useful to explore how readers will see your work. Learn how to style yourself as a writer--either by picking a genre, establishing your voice, or developing the story of your personal writing journey. This discussion will touch on everything branding-related: from blogging to online marketing to planning for the future of your career.
Heroines’ Origins & Futures: Writing Women Well | The Lamott Room | Charlotte Wyatt, Kathryn Kulpa, Marianne Dysen, Patricia F. Pagan, Sharon Jenkins (M) What does “writing women well” even mean, and how do you do it? The writers of this panel successfully mix fact and fiction to create vivid heroines who are both powerful and relatable. Join them as they discuss how to respectfully create female characters by drawing inspiration from real women--famous, infamous, or wonderfully ordinary.
4:00 – 5:00
So You Want to Be a Publisher | The Hurston Room | Andrew Sullivan, J. Bruce Fuller, Roger Leslie (M), William Ledbetter Lots of writers never stop to consider how the other half lives: the other half of publishing, that is! Are you curious about what it’s like to walk a mile in the shoes of an editor or publisher? If so, you won’t want to miss this panel of superb small press and magazine staffers ready to share their secrets.
The Good, the Bad, and the Slushy: How to Save Your Story from the Slush Pile Neverland | The Chaucer Room | Anthony Burnett, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (M), Chelsea Voulgares, Kate Martin Williams, Phuc Luu This exciting interaction panel will show you how to get an editor past the first page of your submission! Panel attendees will anonymously submit the first page of a short story or novel to our panel of experienced editors, who will read the pages aloud and discuss whether they would continue to read the submission or dive back into the slush pile.
Preservation & Re-creation: Writing About Nature and the Environment | The LeGuin Room | Elizabeth White-Olsen, Jody T. Morse (M), Marianne Dysen, Michael Deluca Whether you love gardening in your backyard or traversing the trails of your imagination, writing down your experiences with nature helps preserve our environment. The writers on this panel will discuss writing that enriches, engages, and encourages readers to care about the worlds they recreate on the page, the world we share, and beyond.
Our Own Voices: The Importance of Making Marginalized Narratives Visible in Honest, Responsible Ways | The Lamott Room | Icess Fernandez Rojas, Lorenzo Martinez, Mack Little (M), Saba Razvi People long to see themselves reflected in the media they consume; representation is important. This panel will discuss the idea that it's especially important for people from within under-represented groups to be able to tell their own stories, highlighting ways to support and boost under-represented voices.
.
6:00 – 8:00
Keynote Reading with Phong Nguyen | Brazos Bookstore (offsite) Our keynote speaker Phong Nguyen reads from his work and answers questions from the audience.
Saturday, June 1st
Saturday Programming Grid
|
Keynote Presentation |
Interactive Activity |
Hands-On Workshop |
Panel |
Saturday Programming Descriptions
9:00 – 11:15
Saturday Morning Keynote | The Amherst Room (Commons) | Deborah D.E.E.P Mouton, Phong Nguyen Join poet Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton and novelist and short fiction writer Phong Nguyen for a discussion about writing publishing.
9:00 – 10:00
Writing Excursion: The James Turrell Skyspace | Meet at Registration Take a walk with us and find writing inspiration waiting for you at your destination.
Feeling is Understanding: Writing Trauma Effectively| The Hurston Room | Thomas McNeely Trauma is sometimes defined as what is unspeakable. The best writing about trauma circles around the source of trauma itself without evading it. In this short workshop, you will read examples of how different authors approach what cannot be said directly, and then imitate their techniques. Workshop participants will NOT be required to share their writing in class.
10:15 – 11:15
Writing Excursion: The James Turrell Skyspace | Meet at Registration Take a walk with us and find writing inspiration waiting for you at your destination.
The Art of Hooking Readers for Essayists and Memoir Writers |The Hurston Room | Mark Dostert Hooking readers isn’t just for fiction writers! Learn how to apply five simple literary techniques on the first page of your memoir or personal essay in order to raise stakes and knock your opening out of the park.
11:30 – 12:30
Critique Group Speed Dating | Amherst Room (Commons) Looking for a critique group, writing buddy, or beta reader? Join us for a fun, interactive session in which you'll meet a wide range of writers over the course of an hour!
Writing Excursion: The James Turrell Skyspace OR Moody Center for the Arts | Meet at Registration Take a walk with us and find writing inspiration waiting for you at your destination.
Antiques Roadshow for Writers: Using Heirlooms and Keepsakes in Our Memoirs and Stories | The Hurston Room | Isobella Jade How is it that an everyday object can hold a much deeper meaning? This workshop will look at how we can use heirlooms, keepsakes, and other not-so-ordinary objects as a jumping off point for character, theme, and plot development in a piece of writing.
12:30 - 1:30
Lunch Break Join the Melange Creperie for savory crepes as well as FREE Nutella crepes until 3 PM (or supplies run out).
1:30 – 5:30
Literary Journal and Book Fair | Amherst Room (Commons) Peruse vendors’ tables at our Literary Journal and Book Fair.
1:30 - 2:30
Writing Excursion: The James Turrell Skyspace OR Moody Center for the Arts | Meet at Registration Take a walk with us and find writing inspiration waiting for you at your destination.
Dressing Our Darlings: Creating Rich, Believable Characters | The Hurston Room | Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, Charlotte Wyatt, Isobella Jade, Jess Capelle, Joy Kennedy-O'Neill, Patricia F. Pagan (M) Join a group of experienced fiction writers for a lively discussion about creating memorable characters in under 15 pages. Learn how you can achieve precision and complexity in your writing and bring your stories to life with creative, multi-faceted characters.
Publishing Online: Viral Stories and Why Print’s Not Queen Anymore | The Chaucer Room | Chelsea Voulgares (M), Georgia Pearle, Icess Fernandez Rojas, Joshua Foster, Michael Deluca Many authors choose to publish exclusively in print journals. But ignoring the world of online publishing can mean you lose out on major opportunities. Learn why you should be submitting to online publications and how they differ from print-only publications.
The Self Promotion Dance: How to Utilize Reviewers and Media | The LeGuin Room | Andreana Binder, B. Alan Bourgeois (M), Heather Lefebvre, Phong Nguyen, Roger Leslie Promotion for authors is a complicated process, but developing a relationship with media, bloggers, and reviewers can be a huge boon to your book release. In this panel, we’ll discuss tips and hints for reaching out to influencers, getting your book in the hands of reviewers, and acing media interviews.
Not Your Mama’s South: Writing the South in 2019 | The Lamott Room | Catherine Vance, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton (M), J. Bruce Fuller, Jody T. Morse, Johnnie Bernhard As southern writers, how do we negotiate our complicated past while acknowledging the new and diverse future of the south? Writers like Flannery O’Connor, William Faulkner, and Mark Twain may have forged our histories, but they are far from definitive. Southern writers explore the weird, mysterious, diverse, and complicated world of southern writing in this panel that shows how writing from and about the South is as unique and relevant as ever before.
2:45 – 3:45
Writing Excursion: The James Turrell Skyspace OR Moody Center for the Arts | Meet at Registration Take a walk with us and find writing inspiration waiting for you at your destination.
Mindfulness and the Poet: Drawing on Personal Experience in Poetry | The Hurston Room | Catherine Vance, Courtney O'Banion Smith (M), Elizabeth Mayorca, Georgia Pearle, Saba Razvi Writers are people who see the world in a different way. In this panel, we’ll discuss how you can build your awareness and mindfulness of your daily life--and how that can help fuel ideas for your poetry.
The Basics of Submitting: How to Publish in Literary Journals and Magazines | The Chaucer Room | Andrew Sullivan, Anthony Burnett, Chelsea Voulgares (M), Chloe N. Clark, Joshua Foster The submission process can be long and arduous, from clicking send to getting an acceptance and seeing your name in print (or pixels!). In this panel, we’ll explore the basics of submitting your work and how to up your ratio to increase your odds. Bring your questions and get answers on submission sites like Submittable, how to handle rejections, and finding editors who love your work.
How to Create an Online Impression Your Mama Would Be Proud Of | The LeGuin Room | B. Alan Bourgeois (M), Cynthia Childress, Margo Catts, Sharon Jenkins, Tex Thompson In this technological age, if you don’t have a website and social media accounts, then you pretty much don’t exist -- and this goes double for writers. Learn how to successfully navigate the perilous waters of Twitter, Instagram, Wordpress, and more in order to make an indelible online footprint that will have readers, agents, and editors knocking down your virtual front door.
You Win Or You Die: Writing Politics and War | The Lamott Room | D.F. Brown, Mack Little, Phuc Luu (M), Thomas McNeely From Hemingway to George R. R. Martin, war and politics have propelled plots and added depth to novels, poems, and short stories. Yet incorporating these complicated themes to your work can halt your progress. How can we incorporate the realities of war into our work in honest and accurate ways? How can we capture the convolutions of politics without losing our readers’ interest?
4:00 – 5:00
Writing Excursion: The James Turrell Skyspace OR Moody Center for the Arts | Meet at Registration Take a walk with us and find writing inspiration waiting for you at your destination.
A Convergence of Media: Visual Art, Music, Dance and the Written Word | The Hurston Room | Andreana Binder, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (M), Elizabeth Mayorca, Leslie Gaworecki, Marlo Saucedo More and more artists are joining forces to explore the world of mixed media. Literary journals are following this trend, from Apricity Press, with its inclusion of dance numbers, to The Birmingham Arts Journal, with its incorporation of visual art. On this panel, learn how different forms of creativity can work together to form an astounding exhibition of beauty, skill, and craftsmanship.
Grappling with Hooks and Pitches: What Agents Want in Queries | The Chaucer Room | Danielle Bukowski, Kurestin Armada, Léonicka Valcius (M), Nicole Payne, Rose Shimomura A great query letter often becomes the foundation for your book’s life beyond the page. But what do agents really want out of a query? A panel of agents discusses what they look for in query letters.
Social Media for Writers: Developing an Online Presence | The LeGuin Room | Cynthia Childress, D.L. Young (M), Icess Fernandez Rojas, Jess Capelle Most authors know that social media can help their career, but they’re not sure how to go about developing a voice online. In this panel, a group of established authors discuss their own online strategies for promotion from blogging to Twitter to websites. Learn how to fine-tune your social media presence and make the most of the online writing community.
Beyond Shoes and Cosmos: Writing for Women as an Audience | The Lamott Room | Charlotte Wyatt, Jennie Bennett (M), Margo Catts, Saba Razvi, Joy Kennedy-O'Neill, Sage Webb We’ve all heard the term “women’s fiction.” But what is women’s fiction, really? Our panel of feminist writers and editors will consider women’s fiction as a genre, how expectations differ for male and female writers, and ways we might subvert the genre’s expectations--or rewrite them entirely.
5:00 – 5:30
Literary Journal and Book Fair Don’t forget to check out the literary journal and book fair before it closes!
7:00 – 9:00
Saturday Night Social | The Black Labrador (offsite) Enjoy a glass of beer and traditional British pub fare while you mix and mingle with Writefest 19 attendees and presenters
Saturday Morning Keynote | The Amherst Room (Commons) | Deborah D.E.E.P Mouton, Phong Nguyen Join poet Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton and novelist and short fiction writer Phong Nguyen for a discussion about writing publishing.
9:00 – 10:00
Writing Excursion: The James Turrell Skyspace | Meet at Registration Take a walk with us and find writing inspiration waiting for you at your destination.
Feeling is Understanding: Writing Trauma Effectively| The Hurston Room | Thomas McNeely Trauma is sometimes defined as what is unspeakable. The best writing about trauma circles around the source of trauma itself without evading it. In this short workshop, you will read examples of how different authors approach what cannot be said directly, and then imitate their techniques. Workshop participants will NOT be required to share their writing in class.
10:15 – 11:15
Writing Excursion: The James Turrell Skyspace | Meet at Registration Take a walk with us and find writing inspiration waiting for you at your destination.
The Art of Hooking Readers for Essayists and Memoir Writers |The Hurston Room | Mark Dostert Hooking readers isn’t just for fiction writers! Learn how to apply five simple literary techniques on the first page of your memoir or personal essay in order to raise stakes and knock your opening out of the park.
11:30 – 12:30
Critique Group Speed Dating | Amherst Room (Commons) Looking for a critique group, writing buddy, or beta reader? Join us for a fun, interactive session in which you'll meet a wide range of writers over the course of an hour!
Writing Excursion: The James Turrell Skyspace OR Moody Center for the Arts | Meet at Registration Take a walk with us and find writing inspiration waiting for you at your destination.
Antiques Roadshow for Writers: Using Heirlooms and Keepsakes in Our Memoirs and Stories | The Hurston Room | Isobella Jade How is it that an everyday object can hold a much deeper meaning? This workshop will look at how we can use heirlooms, keepsakes, and other not-so-ordinary objects as a jumping off point for character, theme, and plot development in a piece of writing.
12:30 - 1:30
Lunch Break Join the Melange Creperie for savory crepes as well as FREE Nutella crepes until 3 PM (or supplies run out).
1:30 – 5:30
Literary Journal and Book Fair | Amherst Room (Commons) Peruse vendors’ tables at our Literary Journal and Book Fair.
1:30 - 2:30
Writing Excursion: The James Turrell Skyspace OR Moody Center for the Arts | Meet at Registration Take a walk with us and find writing inspiration waiting for you at your destination.
Dressing Our Darlings: Creating Rich, Believable Characters | The Hurston Room | Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, Charlotte Wyatt, Isobella Jade, Jess Capelle, Joy Kennedy-O'Neill, Patricia F. Pagan (M) Join a group of experienced fiction writers for a lively discussion about creating memorable characters in under 15 pages. Learn how you can achieve precision and complexity in your writing and bring your stories to life with creative, multi-faceted characters.
Publishing Online: Viral Stories and Why Print’s Not Queen Anymore | The Chaucer Room | Chelsea Voulgares (M), Georgia Pearle, Icess Fernandez Rojas, Joshua Foster, Michael Deluca Many authors choose to publish exclusively in print journals. But ignoring the world of online publishing can mean you lose out on major opportunities. Learn why you should be submitting to online publications and how they differ from print-only publications.
The Self Promotion Dance: How to Utilize Reviewers and Media | The LeGuin Room | Andreana Binder, B. Alan Bourgeois (M), Heather Lefebvre, Phong Nguyen, Roger Leslie Promotion for authors is a complicated process, but developing a relationship with media, bloggers, and reviewers can be a huge boon to your book release. In this panel, we’ll discuss tips and hints for reaching out to influencers, getting your book in the hands of reviewers, and acing media interviews.
Not Your Mama’s South: Writing the South in 2019 | The Lamott Room | Catherine Vance, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton (M), J. Bruce Fuller, Jody T. Morse, Johnnie Bernhard As southern writers, how do we negotiate our complicated past while acknowledging the new and diverse future of the south? Writers like Flannery O’Connor, William Faulkner, and Mark Twain may have forged our histories, but they are far from definitive. Southern writers explore the weird, mysterious, diverse, and complicated world of southern writing in this panel that shows how writing from and about the South is as unique and relevant as ever before.
2:45 – 3:45
Writing Excursion: The James Turrell Skyspace OR Moody Center for the Arts | Meet at Registration Take a walk with us and find writing inspiration waiting for you at your destination.
Mindfulness and the Poet: Drawing on Personal Experience in Poetry | The Hurston Room | Catherine Vance, Courtney O'Banion Smith (M), Elizabeth Mayorca, Georgia Pearle, Saba Razvi Writers are people who see the world in a different way. In this panel, we’ll discuss how you can build your awareness and mindfulness of your daily life--and how that can help fuel ideas for your poetry.
The Basics of Submitting: How to Publish in Literary Journals and Magazines | The Chaucer Room | Andrew Sullivan, Anthony Burnett, Chelsea Voulgares (M), Chloe N. Clark, Joshua Foster The submission process can be long and arduous, from clicking send to getting an acceptance and seeing your name in print (or pixels!). In this panel, we’ll explore the basics of submitting your work and how to up your ratio to increase your odds. Bring your questions and get answers on submission sites like Submittable, how to handle rejections, and finding editors who love your work.
How to Create an Online Impression Your Mama Would Be Proud Of | The LeGuin Room | B. Alan Bourgeois (M), Cynthia Childress, Margo Catts, Sharon Jenkins, Tex Thompson In this technological age, if you don’t have a website and social media accounts, then you pretty much don’t exist -- and this goes double for writers. Learn how to successfully navigate the perilous waters of Twitter, Instagram, Wordpress, and more in order to make an indelible online footprint that will have readers, agents, and editors knocking down your virtual front door.
You Win Or You Die: Writing Politics and War | The Lamott Room | D.F. Brown, Mack Little, Phuc Luu (M), Thomas McNeely From Hemingway to George R. R. Martin, war and politics have propelled plots and added depth to novels, poems, and short stories. Yet incorporating these complicated themes to your work can halt your progress. How can we incorporate the realities of war into our work in honest and accurate ways? How can we capture the convolutions of politics without losing our readers’ interest?
4:00 – 5:00
Writing Excursion: The James Turrell Skyspace OR Moody Center for the Arts | Meet at Registration Take a walk with us and find writing inspiration waiting for you at your destination.
A Convergence of Media: Visual Art, Music, Dance and the Written Word | The Hurston Room | Andreana Binder, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (M), Elizabeth Mayorca, Leslie Gaworecki, Marlo Saucedo More and more artists are joining forces to explore the world of mixed media. Literary journals are following this trend, from Apricity Press, with its inclusion of dance numbers, to The Birmingham Arts Journal, with its incorporation of visual art. On this panel, learn how different forms of creativity can work together to form an astounding exhibition of beauty, skill, and craftsmanship.
Grappling with Hooks and Pitches: What Agents Want in Queries | The Chaucer Room | Danielle Bukowski, Kurestin Armada, Léonicka Valcius (M), Nicole Payne, Rose Shimomura A great query letter often becomes the foundation for your book’s life beyond the page. But what do agents really want out of a query? A panel of agents discusses what they look for in query letters.
Social Media for Writers: Developing an Online Presence | The LeGuin Room | Cynthia Childress, D.L. Young (M), Icess Fernandez Rojas, Jess Capelle Most authors know that social media can help their career, but they’re not sure how to go about developing a voice online. In this panel, a group of established authors discuss their own online strategies for promotion from blogging to Twitter to websites. Learn how to fine-tune your social media presence and make the most of the online writing community.
Beyond Shoes and Cosmos: Writing for Women as an Audience | The Lamott Room | Charlotte Wyatt, Jennie Bennett (M), Margo Catts, Saba Razvi, Joy Kennedy-O'Neill, Sage Webb We’ve all heard the term “women’s fiction.” But what is women’s fiction, really? Our panel of feminist writers and editors will consider women’s fiction as a genre, how expectations differ for male and female writers, and ways we might subvert the genre’s expectations--or rewrite them entirely.
5:00 – 5:30
Literary Journal and Book Fair Don’t forget to check out the literary journal and book fair before it closes!
7:00 – 9:00
Saturday Night Social | The Black Labrador (offsite) Enjoy a glass of beer and traditional British pub fare while you mix and mingle with Writefest 19 attendees and presenters
Sunday, June 2nd
NOTE: Sunday morning sessions will take place at the Writespace studio at Silver Street (2000 Edwards, #208, 77007). Detailed directions are available here.
9:30 - 10:00
Kolaches on the Patio| Writespace Studio Join us for a delicious breakfast at the Writespace studio.
10:00 - 12:00
YOU’RE the Panel | Writespace Studio | Various Join us for a roundtable discussion with remaining editors, agents, and writers. Rather than listening to a panel discussion, share your own thoughts on everything from writing session playlists to crafting the perfect villain.
Kolaches on the Patio| Writespace Studio Join us for a delicious breakfast at the Writespace studio.
10:00 - 12:00
YOU’RE the Panel | Writespace Studio | Various Join us for a roundtable discussion with remaining editors, agents, and writers. Rather than listening to a panel discussion, share your own thoughts on everything from writing session playlists to crafting the perfect villain.
