The Philadelphia skyline, 6-8-19
I spent last weekend at the Philadelphia Writers’ Conference with fellow Author Chronicler Kerry Gans. The perfect weather—no rain, no heat wave, no humidity—made it tempting to spend the days outside, but attending the conference was well worth the time spent indoors.
Kerry and I registered separately and, by chance, chose most of the same sessions. Since Kerry did such a fine job of summing up Day One, Day Two, and Day Three of the conference, I’m going to give you a pictorial overview.
Guest speakers:
Asali Solomon, Opening Remarks, 6-7-19.
Jonathan Maberry, Keynote Speech, 6-8-19
Workshop leaders with their participants:
Session I: The Elements of Plot with Shirley Hailstock, 6-7-19
Session I: The Writer’s Business Plan – The Art of the Pitch with Jonathan Maberry, 6-7-19
Workshop: Should You Self Publish with Karen Schobel-Maneely, 6-9-19
Workshop: The Hermit Crab Essay with Randon Billings-Noble, 6-9-19
Jonathan Maberry presents the keynote speech, 6-8-19
Workshop leaders:
Shirley Hailstock, The Elements of Plot, 6-8-19
Jonathan Maberry, The Writers’ Business Plan: Social Media and Personal Branding, 6-8-19
Kathryn Craft, Setting Story Fuel Aflame in the Here and Now, 6-8-19
Gail Priest, Characterization from an Actor’s Perspective, 6-7-19
Lauren Sharkey, Building a Platform, 6-8-19
Donna Galanti, Foundations of World Building for Tweens and Teens, 6-8-19
Jonathan Maberry, Master Class: Writing an Action Scene, 6-9-19
Ferida Wolff, The Personal Essay, 6-8-19
Karen Schobel-Maneely, Should You Self Publish, 6-9-19
Randon Billings-Noble, The Hermit Crab Essay, 6-9-19
I really enjoyed this conference–making connections with new writer friends and renewing connections with long-time friends, as well as learning more about the craft and business of writing. I left the conference Sunday with reluctance at parting from friends and with sorrow that there will be no conference to attend next year. At the same time, I felt relieved to finally have time to process the wealth of information (and to sleep off the exhaustion), while also full of eagerness to get back to writing.
If you’ve never attended a writers’ conference, find one near you and give it a try.
For some more conversation about writing, check out The Liars Club Oddcast #074–Philadelphia Writers Conference Roundtable–recorded during the conference.
Liars Club cohosts Merry Jones, Kelly SImmons, Greg Frost, Keith Strunk, and Jon McGoran interview conference president Autumn Konopka on their Oddcast, 6-8-19
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