Schedule

REGISTER HERE

All day book sale in the childrens room courtesy of Gibson’s Bookstore

Meet and Greet and book signings will immediately follow each session.

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10:00-10:05

Welcome

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10:05-10:50

Keynote

Writing from the In Between: Navigating Identity as a Writer Between Worlds

with Ann Dávila Cardinal

So much of our identity as people bleeds through to our identity as writers. We’re told, “write what you know,” and we want to honor the own voices movement, but what if you don’t feel you belong to any particular group? Ann will examine her own experiences of identity and writing as someone of mixed ethnicity. She’ll explore how these issues appear in her work as well as examine a selection of other writers’ books, including Randy Ribay’s Patron Saint of Nothing, Ayanna Lloyd Banwo’s When We Were Birds, and Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime.

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11:10-11:55

Genre: To Blend or Not to Blend?

with Erin Bowman

Join Edgar Award-nominated author Erin Bowman for a crash course in genre. Learn why publishers insist on defining stories by genre, what each genre strives to teach readers about humanity and life, and how writers can benefit from playing with genre expectations. Using examples from popular fiction and some of her own novels, Erin will showcase the perks and joys of genre blending while also highlighting the unique challenges that come with writing stories that don’t fit neatly into one box.

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12:15-12:55

Lunch Break

Bring your favorite lunch and sit at a themed table to make some new friends – or grab a pack of friends and head to a local eatery! We also welcome attendees to sit on our patio if the weather is nice.

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12:55-1:40

Stories Out Loud

with Rebecca Rule, JerriAnne Boggis and Anne Jennison

Moderated by Adi Rule

 Join three seasoned public speakers to  talk about the fine craft of oral storytelling. Want to dive into that Ted Talk you’ve been thinking about? Ready to craft a story to pitch to The Moth, the local library or a community group? Not sure where to get started? This is the panel for you. We’ll discuss the craft of oral storytelling, delve into skills for public speaking and mull how to best find and build an audience.

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2:00-2:45

Saying More With Less: Description and Setting in Verse

with Kip Wilson

Novels in verse are more popular than ever these days, but how is it possible to create such rich atmospheres with the much lower word count often found in verse novels? In this session, verse novelist Kip Wilson will share some tips and tricks poets use to capture setting and description without using up too much real estate.

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3:05-3:50

Publishing This Way Or That Way

with Julie Bliven, Jason D. McIntosh, E. Pryblyski

Moderated by Adi Rule

The landscape of publishing is constantly changing. It’s difficult to know where or how to begin. Join us for a publishing panel and get insight into traditional, indie and self publishing from three people who know the biz.

All day book sale in the childrens room, courtesy of Gibson’s Bookstore.

Meet and Greet and book signings will immediately follow each session. 

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