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Thursday, August 6
 

6:00pm PDT

Finding the Right Literary Agent for You
Participants will gain insight on the role of agents and the best way approach them about representation. Over the past ten years as a conference planner and workshop organizer, Kerrie Flanagan has had the opportunity to meet, interview, and work with dozens of literary agents. During this session, she will share insider information about what agents are really looking for and what to avoid. The checklist she provides will increase your odds of finding the literary agent that is right for you.

Faculty
avatar for Kerrie Flanagan

Kerrie Flanagan

Kerrie Flanagan is the Director of Northern Colorado Writers, an accomplished freelance writer, instructor and author. Her work appears in six Chicken Soup for the Soul books, The Writer, Writer’s Digest, the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents, the 2015 Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s... Read More →


Thursday August 6, 2015 6:00pm - 7:20pm PDT
Morrison

6:00pm PDT

Conference Success Basics
Conference experts discuss ways to maximize your experience at the Willamette Writers Conference. Topics include: who’s who, networking strategies, preparing your dossier, pitch etiquette and technique, and post-conference checklists. Questions encouraged. Pitch practice, if time permits.

Faculty
avatar for Ann Buenzli

Ann Buenzli

Ann writes and publishes teen paranormal and teen paranormal romance books, novelettes, and short stories under the name Skye Genaro. Her book Echo Across Time, the first in The Echo Saga, was a #3 best seller on Amazon. Prior to writing fiction, Ann wrote feature lengthscreenplays... Read More →
avatar for Nancy Froeschle

Nancy Froeschle

Distraction Entertainment
A writer for hire since 2012, Nancy adapted Captain For Dark Mornings from book to screen for LA Director Scott McCullough. In 2013, she was hired by Insurrection Films LLC to adapt the book Odette, World War Two’s Darling Spy into a feature script titled My Lise’. Currently... Read More →


Thursday August 6, 2015 6:00pm - 7:20pm PDT
Weidler

6:00pm PDT

Perfect your Elevator Pitch
Have a project you're itching to tell people about (or better yet, pitch to a buyer) this weekend? Agent Jill Marr will help you hone your presentation skills, and prepare you to answer the inevitable question: "So, what's your story about?" 

Buyers
avatar for Jill Marr

Jill Marr

Acquiring agent, Sandra Dijkstra Agency
Jill graduated from San Diego State University with a B.A. in English and and emphasis on Creative Writing and a minor in History.  She has a strong internet and media background and nearly 15 years of publishing experience.  She wrote features and ads for Pages, the literary magazine... Read More →


Thursday August 6, 2015 6:00pm - 7:20pm PDT
Sellwood
  LITERATURE  Pitch / Query  VISUAL STORYTELLING

7:30pm PDT

Pitch for the Prize Competition ADAPTATION

Join our fun and fast-paced pre-conference event Thursday night. Before you head to the pitch rooms, practice your pitch and learn from experts and peers. 

Choose your room: Literature, Adaption or Visual Media.
$5 buys you a two-minute pitch in front of a panel of experts who will evaluate and make suggestions for improvement.

Best pitch of the night wins the cash! 

(Free to attend, $5 to pitch. You must be registered for the conference to pitch.)

Do you feel that your novel, memoir, or other nonfiction book has potential in the film, television, web or stage? Practice your pitch, have fun competing against your peers, and receive valuable feedback on how to improve your pitch to industry experts.


Moderators
Buyers
avatar for Joshua Leake

Joshua Leake

Portland-based producer and director Josh Leake is the founder and executive director of the Portland Film Festival, which MovieMaker Magazine named one of the world's "coolest" film festivals. He produced GLENA, a feature length documentary that premiered at Slamdance ’14 (now... Read More →
avatar for Jill Marr

Jill Marr

Acquiring agent, Sandra Dijkstra Agency
Jill graduated from San Diego State University with a B.A. in English and and emphasis on Creative Writing and a minor in History.  She has a strong internet and media background and nearly 15 years of publishing experience.  She wrote features and ads for Pages, the literary magazine... Read More →
avatar for Ken Sherman

Ken Sherman

Ken represents screen, television and book writers, and also sells film and television rights to books as well as life rights. Clients include David Guterson, author of Snow Falling on Cedars, Tawni O’Dell, whose first novel, Back Roads, became an international best seller and Oprah... Read More →


Thursday August 6, 2015 7:30pm - 9:30pm PDT
Mount Hood

7:30pm PDT

Pitch for the Prize Competition LITERATURE

Join our fun and fast-paced pre-conference event on Thursday night.

Choose your room: Literature, Adaption or Visual Media.
$5 buys you a two-minute pitch in front of a panel of experts who will evaluate and make suggestions for improvement.

Best pitch of the night wins the cash! 

(Free to attend, $5 to pitch. You must be registered for the conference to pitch.)   

Practice your pitch, have fun competing against your peers, and receive valuable feedback on how to improve your pitch to industry experts.  


Moderators
Buyers
avatar for Krista Ingebretson

Krista Ingebretson

Krista is looking for fiction and non-fiction that has a real point of view--books that make a reader take on a new perspective or are relevant to today's conversation. This includes literary fiction, especially debut novels, and the occasional upmarket commercial project--books like... Read More →
avatar for Holly Lorincz

Holly Lorincz

Literary agent, MacGregor Literary; Editor, Lorincz Literary Services
I work in the general market, currently focused on the mystery/suspense/thriller genre. I began working with MacGregor Literary a few years ago, mentored directly by the president, Chip MacGregor. I enjoy working with writers to develop their voice, and their career, either as clients... Read More →
avatar for Anna Michels

Anna Michels

Anna Michels is an Associate Editor at Sourcebooks, an independent publisher located outside of Chicago. Over the course of her three years at Sourcebooks she has worked on a wide variety of projects, most recently focusing on acquiring adult fiction and memoir. She is looking for... Read More →
avatar for Peter Senftleben

Peter Senftleben

Peter Senftleben is an associate editor at Kensington Books, where he is building his own varied and distinguished list.  He joined Kensington in 2006 after sharpening his editorial skills and red pencil while working at literary agencies.  A graduate of Tulane University with a... Read More →
avatar for Kisa Whipkey

Kisa Whipkey

Acquisitions & Editorial Director, REUTS Publications
Kisa Whipkey is a dark fantasy author, a martial arts demo team expert, and a complete sucker for Cadbury Mini-eggs. She's also the Editorial Director for YA/NA publisher, REUTS Publications. She developed a passion for storytelling at a young age and has pursued that love through... Read More →


Thursday August 6, 2015 7:30pm - 9:30pm PDT
Mount Bachelor

7:30pm PDT

Pitch for the Prize Competition LITERATURE 2

Join our fun and fast-paced pre-conference event on Thursday night.

Choose your room: Literature, Adaption or Visual Media.
$5 buys you a two-minute pitch in front of a panel of experts who will evaluate and make suggestions for improvement.

Best Pitch of the night wins the cash! 

(Free to attend, $5 to pitch. You must be registered for the conference to pitch.)   

Practice your pitch, have fun competing against your peers, and receive valuable feedback on how to improve your pitch to industry experts. 


Moderators
Buyers
avatar for Nancy Cleary

Nancy Cleary

Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing, Inc. in Deadwood, OR, is an award-winning indie publisher providing an unparalleled author experience since 1998. We strive to create books which will make our authors proud. Our positioning, branding, promotion, and publicity support exceeds expectations... Read More →
avatar for Kerry D'Agostino

Kerry D'Agostino

Kerry D’Agostino started working at Curtis Brown, Ltd. in 2011 as assistant to Tim Knowlton and Holly Frederick in the Film and Television Department. Before Curtis Brown, she received her certificate in publishing from the Columbia Publishing Course, her masters in Art in Education... Read More →
avatar for Claire Gerus

Claire Gerus

Owner, Claire Gerus Literary Agency
Claire Gerus has been Editor-in-Chief of two publishing houses, worked for seven major publishers, including Harlequin, Rodale, Random House, Doubleday, John Wiley, Kensington, and Adams Media, written articles for U.S. and Canadian magazines and newspapers, and taught corporate communications... Read More →
avatar for Kaitlin Ketchum

Kaitlin Ketchum

Kaitlin Ketchum is an editor at Ten Speed Press, part of the Crown Publishing Group that’s based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She primarily acquires and edits on art-driven gift/pop culture books such as Ella Frances Sanders’s New York Times-bestselling "Lost in Translation... Read More →


Thursday August 6, 2015 7:30pm - 9:30pm PDT
Three Sisters

7:30pm PDT

Pitch for the Prize Competition VISUAL STORYTELLING

Join our fun and fast-paced pre-conference event Thursday night.

Choose your room: Literature, Adaption or Visual Media.
$5 buys you a two-minute pitch in front of a panel of experts who will evaluate and make suggestions for improvement.

Best Pitch of the night wins the cash! 

(Free to attend, $5 to pitch. You must be registered for the conference to pitch.)

Practice your pitch, have fun competing against your peers, and receive valuable feedback on how to improve your pitch to industry experts. 


Moderators
avatar for Nancy Froeschle

Nancy Froeschle

Distraction Entertainment
A writer for hire since 2012, Nancy adapted Captain For Dark Mornings from book to screen for LA Director Scott McCullough. In 2013, she was hired by Insurrection Films LLC to adapt the book Odette, World War Two’s Darling Spy into a feature script titled My Lise’. Currently... Read More →

Buyers
avatar for Eddie Gamarra

Eddie Gamarra

A former college professor, Eddie Gamarra is a literarymanager/producer at The Gotham Group, a multi-faceted managementand production company representing some of the most creativeand successful screenwriters, directors, animators, authors, illustrators,publishers, and animation... Read More →
avatar for Daniel Inkeles

Daniel Inkeles

Daniel Inkeles is a development executive at Sony Pictures Animation where he is involved in the creative supervision of a number of upcoming features for the studio, from inception to script through production. Daniel’s current projects include THE UNTITLED SMURFS MOVIE with producer... Read More →
avatar for Joe Pool

Joe Pool

I've been working in film/tv development for over five years. I currently work for ReelFX, which produced FREEBIRDS and BOOK OF LIFE, and is currently producing the BOOK OF LIFE director Jorge Gutierrez's next film, KUNG-FU SPACE WESTERN among other projects that we're excited to... Read More →


Thursday August 6, 2015 7:30pm - 9:30pm PDT
Mount St. Helens
 
Friday, August 7
 

8:00am PDT

Conference Welcome and Convocation Address "The Power of Story"

An official welcome to all attendees to kick off the 2015 conference. 
Before you head out to breakout sessions, enjoy coffee, plan your day, and be inspired by storyteller, author, and writers’ advocate William Kenower as he talks about The Power of Story.


Faculty
avatar for William Kenower

William Kenower

William Kenower is the author of Write Within Yourself: An Author’s Companion, and is the Editor-in-Chief of Author magazine, an online magazine for writers and dedicated readers. He writes a popular daily blog for the magazine about the intersection of writing and our daily li... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 8:00am - 8:55am PDT
Lloyd Ballroom

9:00am PDT

Stories from the Road: The Art & Science of Describing Place
It can be said that all writing is about travel: the transportation between one place and another; between one state of mind and another place of being; or between hither and yon, then and there, or even between good and bad. And good travel writing is about much more than just travel. It’s about good writing, an extension of the writer’s own history that takes the reader to a new world and beyond.

This workshop will examine and discuss examples of effective writing and the mechanics and magic of describing place in both fiction and non-fiction to help participants improve their overall writing skills and powers of descriptive framing. Attendees with engage in exercises and group critiques that center on how to write about a place - fantasy or factual - and craft descriptions that lure, inspire, and take your reader on the intended journey. This workshop will help improve your powers of description; capture your reader in a web of words; and help your reader discover, move forward, and finish in a way that changes them.

Bring a short place description that curled your toes from a favorite writer – and be prepared to write a short transportive piece to share with the group!

Faculty
avatar for George Mason

George Mason

George Mason and Salli Slaughter are travelers and writers. Before they met, both had traveled the world. After they married they moved from San Francisco to Alaska, and later, with their two daughters, traveled the world for a year, becoming one of the first travel bloggers. When... Read More →
avatar for Salli Slaugher

Salli Slaugher

George Mason and Salli Slaughter are travelers and writers. Before they met, both had traveled the world. After they married they moved from San Francisco to Alaska, and later, with their two daughters, traveled the world for a year, becoming one of the first travel bloggers. When... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 9:00am - 10:00am PDT
Hawthorne/Sellwood

9:00am PDT

Moving Your Book to Film or Television
Once you've written your book or stageplay, there's the chance it will transfer well to film and television. This session will examine specific projects with this history and turn the focus to attendees' work, with the idea of taking it out of the theoretical and into the real. This course is for writers interested in the possibility of taking their work to the screen.

Buyers
avatar for Ken Sherman

Ken Sherman

Ken represents screen, television and book writers, and also sells film and television rights to books as well as life rights. Clients include David Guterson, author of Snow Falling on Cedars, Tawni O’Dell, whose first novel, Back Roads, became an international best seller and Oprah... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 9:00am - 10:00am PDT
Mount Hood

9:00am PDT

Five Steps for Adding Historical Elements to your Novel or Memoir
Historical research can add depth and dimension to your plot, but it can also place parameters on the world you create. How would your characters react to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, for example, or the French Revolution? Doing research doesn’t have to be daunting. In fact, the more information you collect in advance, the more easily your writing will evolve. Pam Binder will take you through the five steps that will guide you through the research process.

Faculty
avatar for Pam Binder

Pam Binder

Pam Binder is an award winning, New York Times and Amazon best-selling author. Publisher Weekly has said; “Binder gracefully weaves elements of humor, magic and romantic tensions into her novels.” Drawn to Celtic legends and anything Irish or Scottish, Pam blends historical events... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 9:00am - 10:00am PDT
Ross Island/Morrison

9:00am PDT

The Hierarchy of Story PART 1
This practical lecture and lab for advanced and beginning writers covers the essentials a writer needs to know in order to create quality memoir and fiction. We’ll discuss the seven basic plots, character, structure, and scene. The four-part pyramid will be supplied in handout form, including supporting documentation. There will also be interactive exercises so that writers can import their own projects into the handouts and examine their work more carefully. Writers should leave with a much clearer sense of their own plot, the roles of their characters, how to structure their project more effectively, and where they need some more work on their ratios of scene and exposition. This is an exciting and inspiring workshop that should spark those fires of creativity.

Faculty
avatar for Jennifer Lauck

Jennifer Lauck

Jennifer Lauck is the New York Times Bestselling author of four memoirs, including Blackbird.  She is a Senior Fellow at The Attic Institute where she teaches fiction and non-fiction, and also consults on independent projects with novelists and memoir.


Friday August 7, 2015 9:00am - 10:00am PDT
Mount St. Helens

9:00am PDT

Do It Yourself: Three Case Studies in Successful Self-Publishing.

Being published by a traditional publishing house is no longer the only path to a successful career as an author. But self-publishing is not an easy route, and many who try do not find the level of success they hope to achieve. In this workshop, three authors who have found success through self-publishing share the details of their own strategies and methods, offering practical tips and the benefit of their experience with what worked for them and what did not.


Moderators
avatar for Carla King

Carla King

Self Publishing Boot Camp
Carla King self-published a guidebook to bicycling the French Riviera in 1994, was turned down by big publishing, and self-published. She made enough money to return to France twice more. With a career in technical writing and an adventurous spirit, she was perfectly positioned to... Read More →

Faculty
avatar for Annie Bellet

Annie Bellet

Annie Bellet is the author of The Twenty-Sided Sorceress, Pyrrh Considerable Crimes Division, and the Gryphonpike Chronicles series. She holds a BA in English and a BA in Medieval Studies and thus can speak a smattering of useful languages such as Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Welsh.  Her... Read More →
avatar for William Hertling

William Hertling

Wired called William Hertling's debut novel Avogadro Corp "chilling and compelling". His second novel, A.I. Apocalypse, was nominated for the Prometheus Award for Best Novel.  And his best-selling self-published Singularity series has sold over 50,000 copies. Before turning... Read More →
avatar for Judson Roberts

Judson Roberts

author of The Strongbow Saga, a historical fiction series set in the 9th century world of the Vikings which has been acclaimed for its depth of research and historical accuracy. The first three books in the Strongbow Saga series were originally published by HarperCollins, but the... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 9:00am - 10:00am PDT
Jefferson/Adams

9:00am PDT

Agents' Tips for Successful Queries and Proposals
[check back for complete description]

Moderators
avatar for Ooligan press

Ooligan press

Ooligan Press is a general trade publisher with national distribution rooted in the rich literary tradition of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 2001, Ooligan is a teaching press dedicated to the art and craft of publishing. Affiliated with Portland State University, the press is... Read More →

Buyers
avatar for Claire Gerus

Claire Gerus

Owner, Claire Gerus Literary Agency
Claire Gerus has been Editor-in-Chief of two publishing houses, worked for seven major publishers, including Harlequin, Rodale, Random House, Doubleday, John Wiley, Kensington, and Adams Media, written articles for U.S. and Canadian magazines and newspapers, and taught corporate communications... Read More →
avatar for Jill Marr

Jill Marr

Acquiring agent, Sandra Dijkstra Agency
Jill graduated from San Diego State University with a B.A. in English and and emphasis on Creative Writing and a minor in History.  She has a strong internet and media background and nearly 15 years of publishing experience.  She wrote features and ads for Pages, the literary magazine... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 9:00am - 10:00am PDT
Mount Bachelor/ Three Sisters

9:00am PDT

Web Series Frontier: Success Stories
The Web has revolutionized the gateways for writers to the industry. Professional screenwriter Randall Jahnson and commercial and web series director Martin Vavra discuss one facet of this revolution: the realistic option for writers to produce their own web series content! In this introductory session, meet some local web celebrities who've done just that. This panel discussion covers lessons and inspiration from these Web success stories.  

Moderators
avatar for Randall Jahnson

Randall Jahnson

Randall Jahnson has been a professional screenwriter for 30 years. He's worked with such diverse filmmaking talent as Steven Spielberg, Penelope Spheeris, Alec Baldwin, Spike Lee, and Jonathan Demme. His credits include The Doors (as “J. Randal Johnson”), Dudes, The Mask of... Read More →
avatar for Martin Vavra

Martin Vavra

Galaxy Sailor
Martin Vavra is the creator of three web series, as well as multiple short films and over 100 commercials. He has worked with Intel and Microsoft and his award winning films have played all over the world.

Faculty
avatar for Nick Hagen

Nick Hagen

Filmmaker NICK HAGEN is the co-creator of the successful YouTube web series, "The Haunting of Sunshine Girl," which is produced in the Portland area.  Heading into its 7th season, the series has blossomed into a franchise, including its own network and a bookseries/media deal with... Read More →
avatar for Alyssa Roehrenbeck

Alyssa Roehrenbeck

\Writer-actor-producer ALYSSA ROEHRENBECK is the co-creator of "Mad House," a comedy web series set in Portland that premiered on YouTube's The Haunting of Sunshine Girl Network last October.https://www.youtube.com/user/madhousewebseries http://madhousewebseries.com/creators/... Read More →
avatar for Chris Wilson

Chris Wilson

Chris Wilson is a Vancouver-based writer-director, whose film "James vs. Reality" screened at the 2012 FiLMLaB.  In 2014, his short sci-fi spoof, "Star Drunk," went viral and has accumulated upwards of 1.3 million YouTube views to date.   Chris and his team have also helmed multiple... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 9:00am - 10:00am PDT
Weidler

9:00am PDT

Pitch Marketplace
Where the commerce happens.  Sign up ahead of time for a pitch session, confirm the appointment time with the Pitch Marketplace staff, and sit down with the Buyer of your choice.  One-on-one pitch sessions last up to 8 minutes, and are scheduled "on the :10's" of the hour. 

Your project is ready. Share it with the Marketplace!  

 

Friday August 7, 2015 9:00am - 12:00pm PDT
Pacific NW Ballroom

10:30am PDT

Fearless Writing
Learning the craft is only the beginning of a writer’s journey. After your story is told you must share your work with friends, classmates, agents, editors, and readers. This is what we call being an author, and it is what beginning and experienced writers alike find most challenging in their working lives. Drawing upon twenty-five years as a writer, as well as his conversations with hundreds of bestselling and award-winning writers, AuthorEditor-in-Chief Bill Kenower leads a guided roundtable discussion where participants can talk candidly about the real barriers to writing success – questions of voice, intelligence, time, money, and talent.

Faculty
avatar for William Kenower

William Kenower

William Kenower is the author of Write Within Yourself: An Author’s Companion, and is the Editor-in-Chief of Author magazine, an online magazine for writers and dedicated readers. He writes a popular daily blog for the magazine about the intersection of writing and our daily li... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Ross Island/Morrison
  A Writer's Life

10:30am PDT

Give a Good Reading
It's time to come out from behind the desk and meet the audience. In this lively, hands-on workshop, writers learn 10 tips for giving an outstanding reading, whether to a small gathering or an auditorium of listeners. Discover how to read work aloud with confidence, enjoy the limelight, and connect with an audience. Come prepared to practice with a supportive coach who provides practical advice for taking your writing into the world through stellar public readings. Bring up to five pages of writing to read. No experience necessary.

Faculty
avatar for Gigi Rosenberg

Gigi Rosenberg

author and artist coach. Her writing has been published by Seal Press, Poets & Writers, Parenting and Writer’s Digest. She's performed her monologues at On the Boards in Seattle, been a guest commentator on Oregon Public Radio and wrote The Artist’s Guide to Grant Writing (Watson-Guptill... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Jefferson/Adams

10:30am PDT

Bringing the Past to Life: Research Strategies and Methods for Writing Historical Fiction
For authors of historical fiction, challenges include not only crafting a compelling story, but also accurately capturing and invoking for the reader the time and place within which the story is set. Judson Roberts, the author of The Strongbow Saga, a historical fiction series set in the 9th century world of the Vikings, will draw on his own experiences in researching a people, culture, and historical events that occurred over one thousand years ago in teaching this workshop. Topics covered in the workshop will include:  1)  Understanding the perceptions and beliefs of the peoples who are subjects of the story, to help the reader see the world and events in the story as they would have. What types of source materials can help the author get inside the heads of those long dead?  2)  Language and dialect: achieving a balance between creating an authentic-to-the- period sound and feel to characters’ speech versus smooth flowing, easy-to-read  writing.  3)  Historical accuracy versus artistic license.  4)Examples of source materials for major historical events that frame the story, as well as for the little details that can bring a period story to life.  5) How are hands-on and on-the-ground research helpful? When are they necessary?

Faculty
avatar for Judson Roberts

Judson Roberts

author of The Strongbow Saga, a historical fiction series set in the 9th century world of the Vikings which has been acclaimed for its depth of research and historical accuracy. The first three books in the Strongbow Saga series were originally published by HarperCollins, but the... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Weidler
  Craft

10:30am PDT

Do You Speak Mandarin?
How do you bring authenticity to characters that might be foreign to you, be it a novel or memoir? When should you or should you not make use of ethnic characters? Do you necessarily have to travel abroad? Examples from published fictions and lecture-discussions will clarify these questions. In the classroom, we will each come up with one such character and (as much as time allows) delve into the details.

Faculty
avatar for Bharti Kirchner

Bharti Kirchner

Bharti Kirchner is the author of nine books—five critically acclaimed novels, four cookbooks, and hundreds of short pieces for magazines and newspapers. Her next novel, Goddess of Fire, a historical novel set in India in the 17th century, is due out in 2015. Shiva Dancing, her first... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Hawthorne/Sellwood
  Craft  LITERATURE

10:30am PDT

The Hierarchy of Story PART 2
.This is a practical lecture and lab for advanced and beginning writers covering the story essentials a writer needs to know in order to create quality memoir and fiction.  We’ll discuss the seven basic plots, character, structure and scene.  The four-part pyramid will be supplied in handout form including supporting documentation.  There will also be interactive exercises as part of this class so that writers can import their own projects into the handouts and examine their work more carefully. Writers should leave with a much clearer sense of their own plot, the roles of their characters, how to structure their project more effectively and where they need some more work on their ratios of scene and exposition.  This is an exciting and inspiring workshop that should spark those fires of creativity.  

Faculty
avatar for Jennifer Lauck

Jennifer Lauck

Jennifer Lauck is the New York Times Bestselling author of four memoirs, including Blackbird.  She is a Senior Fellow at The Attic Institute where she teaches fiction and non-fiction, and also consults on independent projects with novelists and memoir.


Friday August 7, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Mount St. Helens

10:30am PDT

Logline Lab

This workshop will cover different strategies and formulas for constructing proper loglines, what to include and what not to include, the difference between loglines and taglines, and how to write ones that grab attention and sell! We'll go over loglines from Hollywood hits and writers
should be sure to bring their own loglines which we will workshop and rework in class!


Faculty
avatar for Danny Manus

Danny Manus

CEO, No BullScript Consulting
Danny Manus is one of the most in-demand script consultants as CEO of No BullScript Consulting (www.nobullscript.net) and author of “No B.S. for Screenwriters: Advice from the Executive Perspective.” He was ranked one of the Top 15 “Cream of the Crop” script consultants in... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Mount Hood
  FILM  Pitch / Query  VISUAL STORYTELLING  WEB

10:30am PDT

Self-Publishing Crash Course: Introduction
Join Self Publishing Boot Camp founder Carla King as she introduces and outlines the Crash Course curriculum planned for this weekend.  Are you interested in learning about your publishing options?  Learning the truth about self-publishing strategies, and about what works, and what doesn't?  The Crash Course is designed to answer those questions and get you ready to publish your own projects on Day 1! 

Moderators
avatar for Carla King

Carla King

Self Publishing Boot Camp
Carla King self-published a guidebook to bicycling the French Riviera in 1994, was turned down by big publishing, and self-published. She made enough money to return to France twice more. With a career in technical writing and an adventurous spirit, she was perfectly positioned to... Read More →

Friday August 7, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Mount Bachelor/ Three Sisters

12:00pm PDT

Visual Storytelling Lunch Panel

If you are a screenwriter or an author, you do not want to miss this opportunity to hear from the people in the industry who champion the written word to the visual mediums of Film, Television, Web Streaming and Stage. 

TWEET your questions to our moderator.


Moderators
avatar for Randall Jahnson

Randall Jahnson

Randall Jahnson has been a professional screenwriter for 30 years. He's worked with such diverse filmmaking talent as Steven Spielberg, Penelope Spheeris, Alec Baldwin, Spike Lee, and Jonathan Demme. His credits include The Doors (as “J. Randal Johnson”), Dudes, The Mask of... Read More →

Buyers
avatar for Sean Bartemes

Sean Bartemes

CREATIVE EXECUTIVE, HUTCH PARKER ENTERTAINMENT. Prior to joining Hutch Parker last year, Sean was a Development Assistant to Jim Miller, EVP Production & Development at Lionsgate, where he worked on THE HUNGER GAMES and CATCHING FIRE. As an Executive Assistant to David Thwaites, EVP... Read More →
avatar for Eddie Gamarra

Eddie Gamarra

A former college professor, Eddie Gamarra is a literarymanager/producer at The Gotham Group, a multi-faceted managementand production company representing some of the most creativeand successful screenwriters, directors, animators, authors, illustrators,publishers, and animation... Read More →
avatar for Alison Haskovec

Alison Haskovec

Alison Haskovec has over 10 years of feature film and TV industry experience as a development and production executive. Currently working as a Development Consultant at Brookstreet Pictures, a feature film production and finance company, Alison is looking for dramas, thrillers, crime... Read More →
avatar for Daniel Inkeles

Daniel Inkeles

Daniel Inkeles is a development executive at Sony Pictures Animation where he is involved in the creative supervision of a number of upcoming features for the studio, from inception to script through production. Daniel’s current projects include THE UNTITLED SMURFS MOVIE with producer... Read More →
avatar for Shari Smiley

Shari Smiley

Manager of Literary and Book, The Gotham Group. Prior to joining, Shari spent 19 years at CAA and has operated her own business, The Smiley Group. She is best known for negotiating the studio deal with Fox for Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, which David Fincher directed with Ben Affleck... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 12:00pm - 1:30pm PDT
Lloyd Ballroom
  Lunch

1:30pm PDT

Storytelling: Beyond Process
If we write, then by definition we have a "process."  Sometimes we control it, sometimes it controls us.  In either case, it's easy to adopt habits, rituals and belief systems that actually compromise both our creativity and our productivity, in ways that are at once insidious and cloaked beneath the warm embrace of our comfort level. This class does not advocate one process over another, but it will focus on the story targets and criteria that any and all processes ultimately seek to achieve, allowing you to assess your "how" in context to accepted professional benchmarks of your "what" relative to effective storytelling.

Faculty
avatar for Larry Brooks

Larry Brooks

Storyfix
Larry Brooks is the author of six critically-acclaimed thrillers, and the guy behind www.storyfix.com, one of the fastest-growing and most respected writing sites on the internet.  His latest novel is DEADLY FUAX, released by Turner Publishing, who will also be publishing his four... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Mount Bachelor/ Three Sisters

1:30pm PDT

The Wonder of World Building
World building is an art that sets fantasy, science fiction and historical fiction writers apart from all other genres. We long to create a world of wonder that will enchant and enthrall our readers, but how do we make these worlds believable, and how do we keep from drowning in the details? Explore the key elements of world building and gain tips for making these elements real in your writing. Learn a unique method to determine which elements will best enhance your story and showcase your characters. This interactive class starts with practical examples from Tolkien, Avatar, Shogun, and the author's own works and then has a 'lab' portion where the participants use a unique method to determine which world building elements are most important to their own books.

Faculty
avatar for Karen Azinger

Karen Azinger

Karen L Azinger is the epic fantasy author of The Silk & Steel Saga. The first six books of the saga, The Steel Queen, The Flame Priest, The Skeleton King, The Poison Priestess, The Knight Marshal, and The Prince Deceiver, are all published. The seventh and final book of the saga... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Hawthorne/Sellwood

1:30pm PDT

Write and Publish Your Book-Length Memoir PART 1
Have a life-story just begging to be told? This fun and lively workshop will guide participants in identifying a particularly compelling life event or era and using it to shape their book-length memoir. In studying excerpts of published memoir, we’ll discuss plot and narrative arc, characterization, dialogue, setting, historical details, the importance of research, and the ethics involved in writing memoir that includes family members and friends.

Faculty
avatar for Melissa Hart

Melissa Hart

Melissa Hart is the author of the memoirs, Wild Within: How Rescuing Owls Inspired a Family (Lyons, 2014) and Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood (Seal, 2009). She's a contributing editor at The Writer Magazine; her essays have appeared in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Mount St. Helens
  Craft  LITERATURE

1:30pm PDT

Knock Em Out: Writing Action Scenes
How do you write action and fight scenes that are gripping and realistic? How do you convey the pulse-pounding experience of combat if you’re not the sort of person with experience throwing punches or firing guns? Fonda Lee, author of Zeroboxer, and a black belt with over fifteen years of martial arts experience, offers guidelines and tips for writing edge-of-your-seat fights that feel real. The audience will come away with an understanding of 1) what makes action scenes effective using examples from both prose fiction and film 2) cliches and mistakes to avoid and 3) how to use writing techniques such as point of view, tone, and sentence construction to enhance the effectiveness of action scenes. This workshop will be of particular use to genre writers (thrillers, fantasy/science fiction) as well as more advanced writers.

Faculty
avatar for Fonda Lee

Fonda Lee

Fonda Lee writes science fiction and fantasy for teens and adults. She is the author of Zeroboxer (Flux/Llewellyn, 2015). Fonda brought her manuscript to the Willamette Writers Conference in 2013; she received three agent offers and sold the book to a publisher that December. Fonda... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Jefferson/Adams

1:30pm PDT

Optimizing Your Online Presence for Sales (Intermediate Marketing)
Learn how to market your books and optimize your online presence. William Hertling, previously a social media strategist for a Fortune 50 company, has sold more than 50,000 copies of his self-published novels. He'll provide a framework for holding a successful launch, getting initial sales and reviews, and increasing your credibility and social network.

Faculty
avatar for William Hertling

William Hertling

Wired called William Hertling's debut novel Avogadro Corp "chilling and compelling". His second novel, A.I. Apocalypse, was nominated for the Prometheus Award for Best Novel.  And his best-selling self-published Singularity series has sold over 50,000 copies. Before turning... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Weidler

1:30pm PDT

Creating and Distributing Your Print Book
Join Self-Pub Boot Camp founder Carla King in this workshop that shows you how to create and distribute your print book. Options include using print-on-demand (POD) vendors like Amazon CreateSpace and IngramSpark, and traditional solutions with print brokers, domestic or overseas printing companies, and traditional distribution companies. You’ll learn how to get your
book formatted and printed for distribution to all the important online retailers, brick-and-mortar bookstores, and libraries, with special editions to sell directly to your readers.

Faculty
avatar for Carla King

Carla King

Self Publishing Boot Camp
Carla King self-published a guidebook to bicycling the French Riviera in 1994, was turned down by big publishing, and self-published. She made enough money to return to France twice more. With a career in technical writing and an adventurous spirit, she was perfectly positioned to... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Ross Island/Morrison

1:30pm PDT

Web Series Frontier: Ideation and Creation
What do “Orange Is the New Black,” “Gary Saves the Graveyard,” and “The Haunting of Sunshine Girl” have in common (besides long titles)? They’re all successful web series - that is, episodic content that has been intentionally created for and to be delivered over the Internet. Web series are fast-proving to be the most exciting narrative platform in the new postHollywood paradigm - and the most effective way for aspiring screenwriters, content creators, and film makers to break into the entertainment industry. Compared to the traditional networks, producing a web series is extremely affordable and egalitarian. With little more than a smartphone and a computer, you, too, can become a showrunner. This two-part workshop - plus a panel discussion - focuses on the essential ingredients for writing and producing your own series for the wild wild web. Part 1 will be a step-by-step examination of the process from concept ideation to delivery. We’ll discuss the creative, practical, and logistical challenges that face every production no matter what the scale and budget. Designing a doable series, webisode and season length, the duties of a showrunner, assembling a crew, and getting the most production value are just a few of the topics that will be covered.

Faculty
avatar for Randall Jahnson

Randall Jahnson

Randall Jahnson has been a professional screenwriter for 30 years. He's worked with such diverse filmmaking talent as Steven Spielberg, Penelope Spheeris, Alec Baldwin, Spike Lee, and Jonathan Demme. His credits include The Doors (as “J. Randal Johnson”), Dudes, The Mask of... Read More →
avatar for Martin Vavra

Martin Vavra

Galaxy Sailor
Martin Vavra is the creator of three web series, as well as multiple short films and over 100 commercials. He has worked with Intel and Microsoft and his award winning films have played all over the world.


Friday August 7, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Mount Hood

1:30pm PDT

Pitch Marketplace
Where the commerce happens.  Sign up ahead of time for a pitch session, confirm the appointment time with the Pitch Marketplace staff, and sit down with the Buyer of your choice.  One-on-one pitch sessions last up to 8 minutes, and are scheduled "on the :10's" of the hour. 

Your project is ready: share it with the Marketplace!  

 

Friday August 7, 2015 1:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Pacific NW Ballroom

3:30pm PDT

Today, We Write
At a conference the size and scope of the Willamette Writers Conference it’s easy to get so caught up in “gathering information” you might need later that you can lose touch with what drew you to be a writer in the first place. For writers who want to enjoy the experience of writing in community with other writers and reading new work aloud in a supportive setting, please join this writing circle at the conference. Author and Artist Coach Gigi Rosenberg will provide prompts, we’ll do several timed writes and then practice a feedback and writing technique that can help you find your most honest writing voice. You’ll leave the conference not only with information you can use later but with fresh writing you can use now.

Faculty
avatar for Gigi Rosenberg

Gigi Rosenberg

author and artist coach. Her writing has been published by Seal Press, Poets & Writers, Parenting and Writer’s Digest. She's performed her monologues at On the Boards in Seattle, been a guest commentator on Oregon Public Radio and wrote The Artist’s Guide to Grant Writing (Watson-Guptill... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 3:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Hawthorne/Sellwood

3:30pm PDT

Rewrite Rescue Workshop
For the first time at WWC, join Danny Manus for a hands-on rewrite workshop where he will go through the keys to approaching rewrites and polishes and what to look for when tightening your script. Then Danny will rewrite/polish submitted pages of attendees' script LIVE in class. Writers will be able to see how their own projects can be tweaked and rewritten. 

All writers submitting work must be willing to have their pages reviewed in class and must submit their pages before the conference.

Faculty
avatar for Danny Manus

Danny Manus

CEO, No BullScript Consulting
Danny Manus is one of the most in-demand script consultants as CEO of No BullScript Consulting (www.nobullscript.net) and author of “No B.S. for Screenwriters: Advice from the Executive Perspective.” He was ranked one of the Top 15 “Cream of the Crop” script consultants in... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 3:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Mount Hood

3:30pm PDT

Plotting Novel-Length Fiction Lab
Participants must have a completed novel-length manuscript that they are willing print out, bring to the class, and analyze for its overall structure on a scene by scene basis. More and more, agents and publishers are looking, not for a diamond in the rough, but a fully formed story that will need minimal editing to bring it to market. Give your manuscript an edge against the competition by exploring the deeper structure of your full draft and considering the range of options that will make your plot memorable and your conflicts so deep and rich they will command the attention of agents and editors. Participants will come away with 1) An understanding of what makes a scene work in the context of their book. 2) A method for laying out scenes for book length fiction 3) Several strategies for analyzing the plot arc, character development, theme development, and emotional strength of their story 4) A file folder with the first 10 scenes of their novel laid out in post-its ready for further revision This workshop is designed to feed into the following proposal for a workshop though the two can be taken separately

Faculty
avatar for Rosanne Parry

Rosanne Parry

Rosanne Parry is the author of the award winning books Written in Stone, Second Fiddle and Heart of a Shepherd. In addition to middle grade novels she has written poetry, short stories, non-fiction, essays, and a screenplay. She lives with her family in Portland and writes in a  treehouse... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 3:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Mount Bachelor/ Three Sisters

3:30pm PDT

Time Travel Do's and Don’ts
Although it might feel that the idea of time travel is a modern concept, humans have spoken, written and dreamed of the idea for thousands of years. The 1895 novel The Time Machine by H. G. Wells was instrumental in moving the concept of time travel to the forefront of the public imagination, The Clock That Went Backward by Edward Page Mitchell was published in 1881 and involves a clock that allowed three men to travel backwards in time. Non-technological forms of time travel have appeared in a number of earlier stories such as Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Historically, the concept dates back to the early mythologies of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam through ancient folk tales.  And of course there is Star Trek.  But what really goes into making sure your time travel plot works?  Join Pam Binder as she teaches the time travel dos and don’t’s.

Faculty
avatar for Pam Binder

Pam Binder

Pam Binder is an award winning, New York Times and Amazon best-selling author. Publisher Weekly has said; “Binder gracefully weaves elements of humor, magic and romantic tensions into her novels.” Drawn to Celtic legends and anything Irish or Scottish, Pam blends historical events... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 3:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Weidler

3:30pm PDT

Write and Publish Your Book-Length Memoir PART 2
The second part of this workshop provides information on how to sell a book-length memoir to traditional publishers. We'll talk about how to write the all-important book proposal and how to identify literary agents and editors best suited to your work. By the end of the workshop, participants will understand how to plan out and write a memoir, and how to submit the manuscript for publication. We'll talk about how to work with your editor in shaping the final draft. Briefly, we'll discuss the decision to self-publish and strategies for success. A bibliography will offer participants a wealth of online and print resources on writing and selling book-length memoir.

Faculty
avatar for Melissa Hart

Melissa Hart

Melissa Hart is the author of the memoirs, Wild Within: How Rescuing Owls Inspired a Family (Lyons, 2014) and Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood (Seal, 2009). She's a contributing editor at The Writer Magazine; her essays have appeared in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 3:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Mount St. Helens
  Craft  LITERATURE

3:30pm PDT

Beyond Book Signings; Making Book Promotion Fun
Participants will learn fun ways to promote their books that fit well with their personality type. Presentation and activities. You’ve written and published a book, now how do you get it into the hands of readers? There are many options from an extravagant book launch to an effective Facebook campaign that can increase the sales and success of your book. It doesn’t matter if you are an extrovert or introvert, by catering to your personality and preferences, you can create a promotion plan that will work for you. This workshop will provide you with tools to identify your strengths and share ideas for promotion that are tailored to those.

Faculty
avatar for Kerrie Flanagan

Kerrie Flanagan

Kerrie Flanagan is the Director of Northern Colorado Writers, an accomplished freelance writer, instructor and author. Her work appears in six Chicken Soup for the Soul books, The Writer, Writer’s Digest, the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents, the 2015 Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 3:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Jefferson/Adams

3:30pm PDT

Securing an Agent for your Self-Published Book
Here's one of the best-kept secrets in publishing: Self-publishing your book can jumpstart your writing career and be a powerful tool in finding an agent! Whether you're a successful self-publisher just starting to think about expanding your readership by partnering with a traditional publisher, or just starting out and wondering whether or not to self-publish, you'll find this brass-tacks instructional webinar invaluable. To get the attention of a traditional publisher, you need a literary agent—but many self published authors believe that agents don't respect self published books and, in fact, may dismiss them out of hand. Jody Rein sets the record straight, tells you what agents really think, and how your self published book might just be the key to getting representation.

Buyers
avatar for Jody Rein

Jody Rein

PRESIDENT, JODY REIN BOOKS, INC. Jody has garnered more than a million dollars in advances for her self-published clients. She is highly respected for her expertise in gauging the marketability of self-published books, and in successfully representing them to major publishers. Jody... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 3:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Ross Island/Morrison

5:00pm PDT

Conference Welcome Reception
This is our "Welcome" to new and returning writer family members.  Come and wind down after the first day of the conference, and meet up with old friends and new.  Enjoy hors d'oeuvres and a no-host bar.  

Friday August 7, 2015 5:00pm - 7:00pm PDT
Lloyd Ballroom

6:30pm PDT

The Art of Seduction: Marketing to the Subconscious Mind
Harvard Business School professor Gerald Zaltman says that 95 percent of our purchase decision making takes place in the subconscious mind. When marketing, the goal is to “charm” our audience to purchase our wares. In order to do this correctly it’s a good idea to take a close look to the workings of the subconscious mind to see how we can “seduce” and speak to it directly. There are many ways to doing this. As an author, and certainly as an “authorpreneur”,getting a deeper insight in human behavior could make the difference between a successful and not successful book marketing campaign

Faculty
avatar for Lieve Maas

Lieve Maas

Owner, Bright Light Graphics
Lieve Maas is a transplant from Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She moved for love to the USA in 2006, and is grateful that beautiful Oregon has become her new home because of it.Lieve is fascinated by human behavior and loves nothing more than digging into people’s minds. Unsure whether... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 6:30pm - 8:00pm PDT
Mount St. Helens

6:30pm PDT

Improv Your Writing: Lessons Writers Can Learn from Improvisers
Attendees will learn improv principles and techniques that will help them develop story ideas, improve dialogue, create and deepen characters, add spark to plots, and get unstuck when they have writer’s block. Basic principles and techniques will be briefly introduced and demonstrated, after which attendees will have opportunities to try them out for themselves. No previous stage or improv experience required. Attendees will be on their feet and participating in hands-on exercises for a good portion of this workshop. Expect playfulness and fun – this one will get the creative juices flowing!

Faculty
avatar for Gary Corbin

Gary Corbin

Writer/actor/playwright Gary Corbin’s work has appeared in Brainstorm Northwest magazine, The Oregonian, the Portland Tribune, and Global Envision, as well as on several Portland-area stages. Serendipity Players produced his first full-length comedy “Happy Anniversary” in 2011... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 6:30pm - 8:00pm PDT
Mount Hood

6:30pm PDT

Make Them Melt: Mechanics and Metaphor of Writing Steamy Scenes
Whether you intend your writing to be blush-worthy or smokin’ hot, this workshop will add spice to your characters’ love lives as we explore the physical mechanics of a great love scene and how language elevates “Insert Tab A into Slot B” to a emotional, satisfying ride for a reader. We tackle the mechanics that make a great sex scene work, calling out common and cringe-worthy mistakes that kill the mood for readers. This workshop focuses on creating an “intimacy ladder” of physical experiences that draw the characters together, heightening sexual tension and satisfaction at each encounter. Great romantic and erotic scenes rely on the five senses, incorporating the environment, the body, and external forces such as power dynamics and timing. Emotional investment by the characters directly translates to emotional investment by the reader. In the metaphor portion of the workshop, we’ll discuss specific words and phrases associated with writing sexy scenes, how to avoid both overly clinical terms and giggle-inducing purple prose (throbbing pillar of love, anyone?). We’ll also explore opportunities to weave book themes and unique character attributes into metaphorical descriptions of intimacy, emotion and climax. Finally, we’ll look at how the male and female point of view differ in describing romance scene specifics in pacing, word choice, emotional and physical descriptors. This workshop is accompanied by a worksheet on building an intimacy ladder, key questions to consider before writing each scene, and a suggested reading list.

Faculty
avatar for Heidi Joy Tretheway

Heidi Joy Tretheway

Heidi Joy Tretheway is author of seven books, including the Tattoo Thief new adult romance series and The Phoenix Candidate adult erotic romance. She is also co-founder of Jasper Ridge Press, which published four erotic romance collections featuring more than 20 New York Times and... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 6:30pm - 8:00pm PDT
Mount Bachelor

6:30pm PDT

Tips for Terror, Hints for Horror

Writing the macabre involves a strange brew of dread, the unnatural and revulsion. Horror is more about the What than the How or the Why but it doesn’t work without the common maxim, “Show don’t Tell.” We’ll examine masters of communicating the dark and learn techniques of horror writing


Faculty
avatar for Debby Dodds

Debby Dodds

Author, journalist, actor and comedienne Debby Dodds received her BFA from NYU in Drama and her MFA from Antioch University in Creative Writing. Debby has a story in the NY Times best-selling anthology, My Little Red Book published by Twelve Press in 2009. She’s been published in... Read More →


Friday August 7, 2015 6:30pm - 8:00pm PDT
Three Sisters
 
Saturday, August 8
 

8:00am PDT

Wakeup Willamette!
Before the day's workshops gear up, come to the Big Room, grab a cup of joe, and mingle. "Wakeup" is our own morning-show, complete with news (well, housekeeping announcements), weather (not really) and some light entertainment to start your day with a spring in your step. Wakeup, Willamette! 

Moderators
avatar for Stefan Feuerherdt

Stefan Feuerherdt

Conference Chair, Willamette Writers Conference
Stefan Feuerherdt has been the Conference Chair since 2009.  He's a freelance commercial writer, screenwriter, and an attorney whose practice focuses on working with writers, filmmakers, and other creative professionals to bring their art to the marketplace. Acting and photography... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2015 8:00am - 8:25am PDT
Lloyd Ballroom

8:30am PDT

Development 101 & The Note Behind The Note
This class will give writers direct insight into the development process from the executive perspective. They’ll learn what to expect from the development process, how to deal with executives, their most common notes given, what they REALLY mean, how to address them, options and attachment agreements and working for free, and how development has changed since in the last decade. Writers will be better prepared for the next step in their screenwriting career.

Faculty
avatar for Danny Manus

Danny Manus

CEO, No BullScript Consulting
Danny Manus is one of the most in-demand script consultants as CEO of No BullScript Consulting (www.nobullscript.net) and author of “No B.S. for Screenwriters: Advice from the Executive Perspective.” He was ranked one of the Top 15 “Cream of the Crop” script consultants in... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am PDT
Jefferson/Adams

8:30am PDT

Drafts One: Novel or Memoir
If you have written ten, twenty and even more drafts of a project, you likely know the utter frustration that comes with overworking the material. Are you stuck in a deep rut and don’t know it? And if yes, how do you get out? This workshop teaches the two-draft formula for creating a final solid manuscript that you can submit to your editor. With support teachings from the work of Jane Smiley, Stephen King and Robert McKee, I’ll be providing a break down of the tools that a writer needs to apply to each draft. We will spend the first 90 minutes on Draft One and in this segment, break out a pyramid of writing priorities that the writer needs to know (punctuation, grammar, spelling, diction, story, character, plot, setting, theme and complexity), and practical strategies for getting the climax and ending within a reasonable time frame.

Faculty
avatar for Jennifer Lauck

Jennifer Lauck

Jennifer Lauck is the New York Times Bestselling author of four memoirs, including Blackbird.  She is a Senior Fellow at The Attic Institute where she teaches fiction and non-fiction, and also consults on independent projects with novelists and memoir.


Saturday August 8, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am PDT
Ross Island/Morrison
  Craft  LITERATURE

8:30am PDT

First Paragraph Lab
How do you fine-tune the first paragraph of your novel so that it sings? We’ll first discuss many sure-fire ways of beginning. Then we’ll constructively workshop as many first paragraphs from the attendees as possible. Bring several printed copies of your first page with you. Also the first eight attendees, who e-mail their first paragraph to the instructor on or before July 18, 2015 (bhartik@aol.com), will receive a short printed evaluation in class.

Faculty
avatar for Bharti Kirchner

Bharti Kirchner

Bharti Kirchner is the author of nine books—five critically acclaimed novels, four cookbooks, and hundreds of short pieces for magazines and newspapers. Her next novel, Goddess of Fire, a historical novel set in India in the 17th century, is due out in 2015. Shiva Dancing, her first... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am PDT
Mount Hood
  Craft  LITERATURE

8:30am PDT

Storyfixing: The Pursuit of a True Final Draft
You wrote a draft that you once labeled "final." Now you have it back, either with a rejection slip or your own inspired verdict that it needs further work. This moment is at once a crossroads and a crisis, one you need to negotiate with the realization that who you are as a writer, combined with the standards and practices you applied to that draft, are what got you into this fine mess in the first place. 
Successful revision is as much an elevation of skills and the refining of story elements as it is a response to feedback and, too often, guessing at what should change. This workshop seeks to take the guesswork out of the story fixing proposition by turning crisis into opportunity, empowered by a higher understanding of what may have gone wrong, dancing with the availability of better narrative execution arising from it. 

Faculty
avatar for Larry Brooks

Larry Brooks

Storyfix
Larry Brooks is the author of six critically-acclaimed thrillers, and the guy behind www.storyfix.com, one of the fastest-growing and most respected writing sites on the internet.  His latest novel is DEADLY FUAX, released by Turner Publishing, who will also be publishing his four... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am PDT
Mount Bachelor/ Three Sisters

8:30am PDT

Fantasy: Make It Feel Real
Realism isn’t something most people associate with the fantasy genre, yet it’s an essential element of great fantasy writing.  Writers want to whisk readers to an alternate world filled with dazzling wonders.  Not only do readers need to be engaged and entranced, but they must be convinced.  It’s your job as a writer to nurture that willing suspension of disbelief.  Pam Binder combines elements of fantasy in every book she writes.  Join her in this interactive workshop were you will learn how to make the fantasy feel real.

Faculty
avatar for Pam Binder

Pam Binder

Pam Binder is an award winning, New York Times and Amazon best-selling author. Publisher Weekly has said; “Binder gracefully weaves elements of humor, magic and romantic tensions into her novels.” Drawn to Celtic legends and anything Irish or Scottish, Pam blends historical events... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am PDT
Weidler

8:30am PDT

Achieving Authenticity in Fiction
Jam-packed with engaging anecdotes, advice and humor, this session promotes putting authenticity in your fiction through researching the topic, interviewing experts and “doing it” where possible. Example: To write an adventure novel involving snowboarders, I took up the sport, interviewed avalanche survivors and studied helicopter accident reports. To set an adventure in Colombia, I used books, You-Tune, a video, the internet, specialized map services and a student from the region to gather information on flora, fauna, native peoples, the politics and much more. (I also offer anecdotes from other authors’ research methods.). How and why to conduct research that will make your fiction writing more authentic; know when to stop researching and start writing; how to find, approach and glean information from experts

Faculty
avatar for Pam Withers

Pam Withers

author, www.pamwithers.com
Pam Withers is an award-winning author of 17 bestselling young-adult books and co-author of an acclaimed book on boys and literacy. She speaks to more than 15,000 schoolchildren per year as well as at librarians’ and writers’ conference, including the Willamette Writers Conference... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am PDT
Sellwood/ Morrison
  Craft  LITERATURE  YOUNG ADULT

8:30am PDT

The Indie Author’s Launch Kit: Best practices in packaging your self-published book
What makes readers wild to one-click? This example-driven self-publishing workshop focuses on three key elements of packaging a book for sale: cover, blurb, and branding. First, participants will learn to identify the cues in cover design for genre fiction, including typography, design treatment, and photography. This can help self-publishers select or direct a cover design that not only fits their story, but best appeals to their target readers. Design considerations for ebooks vs. print covers are also explored. Next, participants will dig into the issue of book blurbs to craft sharp, punchy copy that hooks the reader without giving away spoilers. A key mistake many self-publishers make is failing to take advantage of platform-specific blurb formatting, such as Amazon product pages fed both by the KDP and Author Central platforms. Heidi offers an easy recipe accompanied by a web tool to improve the professionalism and readability of blurbs. This workshop also considers author branding including biography, photography, and integration with the author’s website, mailing list and trackable links. Finally, formatting and layout are discussed both for ebooks and print, highlighting frequent self-publishing mistakes, and techniques authors can use to increase their conversion rate from samples to sales, and from one book in a series to the next. This workshop is accompanied by a handout with a diagnostic self-assessment, actionable best practices with “recipes” to improve ebook packaging, and links to supporting online tools and resources.

Faculty
avatar for Heidi Joy Tretheway

Heidi Joy Tretheway

Heidi Joy Tretheway is author of seven books, including the Tattoo Thief new adult romance series and The Phoenix Candidate adult erotic romance. She is also co-founder of Jasper Ridge Press, which published four erotic romance collections featuring more than 20 New York Times and... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am PDT
Mount St. Helens

9:00am PDT

Pitch Marketplace
Where the commerce happens.  Sign up ahead of time for a pitch session, confirm the appointment time with the Pitch Marketplace staff, and sit down with the Buyer of your choice.  One-on-one pitch sessions last up to 8 minutes, and are scheduled "on the :10's" of the hour. 

Your project is ready: share it with the Marketplace!  

 

Saturday August 8, 2015 9:00am - 12:00pm PDT
Pacific NW Ballroom

10:30am PDT

Own your time like a boss
Whip your writing career into high gear with these secrets of the trade.  A lively and interactive discussion of productivity apps, software and time management processes. We’ll cover every aspect of your career: writing, editing, business, accounting and marketing. You’ll be surprised how taking time initially to streamline one or more of your work processes will maximize your work time and help you produce more with less hassle.

Faculty
avatar for Cheri Lasota

Cheri Lasota

Founder, Stirling Editing / AudaVoxx
Cheri Lasota’s techno-dweeb tendencies have led her into an eleven-year career as an author, editor, marketer and designer. She is also founder of audio book newsletter service, AudaVoxx.com. Her debut novel, Artemis Rising is a Cygnus Awards First Place Winner. She has also published... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Sellwood/ Morrison

10:30am PDT

Dramatic Dialogue: Choreographing for Action, Emotion, and Place
Nervous about writing fight scenes? Struggle with adding visual references to dialogue? Learn how to use theatrical techniques to turn dialogue into drama. Dramatic Dialogue is an active ninety-minute writing workshop that helps prose writers learn to choreograph dialogue the same way a director would choreograph a scene in a play. Participants will practice incorporating setting, action, and emotion within a group activity and an individual written dialogue. They will use setting and props within the scene to tell the story of the dialogue, add actions that build the excitement of the scene and support the dialogue, and incorporate emotional highs and lows as well as character relationships within dialogue.

Faculty
avatar for Anne Osterlund

Anne Osterlund

Anne Osterlund is the author of four young adult novels—Salvation, Aurelia, Academy 7, and Exile—all published by Penguin Books. Salvation is the first-place winner of two International Latino Book Awards, including Most Inspirational YA and Best Latino Subject Focused YA in... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Mount Hood

10:30am PDT

The Anchor Scenes
The task of a novelist or screenwriter is to tell a story so riveting that it will hold a reader’s attention for hundreds of pages or a viewer’s attention for several hours in a theater. This requires an intimate knowledge of your characters and thorough understanding of plot, the sequence of events that take readers from beginning to end. Your structure will reveal the protagonist’s struggles to solve problems and achieve goals. This in turn brings emotions to life and explains the importance of what a character is trying to achieve and what stands in his way. These events won’t hang together without a compelling structure that underlies the whole—the essential scenes that every story needs to create drive, tension, conflict, climax, and resolution. We’ll illustrate and come to understand the anchor scenes needed in fiction and film: Inciting Incident, First Plot Point, Mid-point Reversal, Point of No Return, Dark night of the Soul, Climax, and Resolution. We’ll discuss how the protagonist stars in these scenes, how they’re emotionally-charged, build the plot, and illustrate character growth. By the end of the workshop participants will have outlined these crucial scenes and know how change is the basis for scene writing.

Faculty
avatar for Jessica Morrell

Jessica Morrell

Jessica Page Morrell understands both sides of the editorial desk–as an editor and author. She writes with depth, wit and clarity on topics related to writing and creativity along with other topics and is the author of Thanks, But This Isn’t For Us, A (Sort of) Compassionate Guide... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Mount Bachelor/ Three Sisters

10:30am PDT

Eleven Rules for Writing Science Fiction
In 1953, Isaac Asimov stated that every science fiction plot ultimately falls into one of three categories: Gadget, Adventure, or Social. When you establish your plot you then must build your world and it’s not as simple as knowing about warp drive and black holes. You should know the difference between light and hard science fiction or the rules that govern alternate history, alien invasion, Christian science fiction, time travel, steampunk, science fantasy and on and on. In other words: you must know what you are writing.  Pam Binder will explore the eleven rules of writing science fiction in this interactive workshop.

Faculty
avatar for Pam Binder

Pam Binder

Pam Binder is an award winning, New York Times and Amazon best-selling author. Publisher Weekly has said; “Binder gracefully weaves elements of humor, magic and romantic tensions into her novels.” Drawn to Celtic legends and anything Irish or Scottish, Pam blends historical events... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Weidler

10:30am PDT

How to Write and Sell Magazine Articles PART 1
Participants will understand all the components of writing for magazines and will have all the necessary tools to begin the process of submitting queries.  Presentation and writing activities. Through lecture, discussions and activities, this class will show writers that with the right tools, knowledge and understanding of how the magazine world works, having articles published and being paid for them, is definitely possible. Participants will leave knowing what it takes to become successful magazine writers.

Faculty
avatar for Kerrie Flanagan

Kerrie Flanagan

Kerrie Flanagan is the Director of Northern Colorado Writers, an accomplished freelance writer, instructor and author. Her work appears in six Chicken Soup for the Soul books, The Writer, Writer’s Digest, the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents, the 2015 Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Mount St. Helens
  Craft  LITERATURE

10:30am PDT

How to Write to Please an Editor

An editor is usually the first person in a publishing house to get excited about a potential acquisition, and it's the editor's responsibility to rally everyone else (from the marketing
department to the accountants) around the cause. So, how does an author appeal to an editor? What does an editor look for in terms of big-picture stuff but also the finer details of copyediting? And what can turn an editor off to a manuscript?

 

Moderators
avatar for Bess Pallares

Bess Pallares

Bess Pallares is a graduate student in the Book Publishing and Comics Studies programs at Portland State University. She has worked as an editor for newspapers and educational institutions since 2006, and now serves as acquisitions co-manager for Ooligan Press and editor of the comics... Read More →

Faculty
avatar for Anna Noak

Anna Noak

Acquiring Editor, Beyond Words Publishing
Acquiring Editor of such best selling books as Emergence by Derek Rydall and EverydayAmbassador by Kate Otto, Anna Noak works at Beyond Words Publishing, a partner imprint of Atria Books Simon & Schuster. An alum of the graduate program in Book Publishing at Portland State University... Read More →
avatar for Abby Ranger

Abby Ranger

Senior Editor, HarperCollins Children's Books.
Abby Ranger is a senior editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books. She acquiresmiddle grade and young adult novels as well as picture books. She has beenlucky enough to work with such acclaimed authors as Cinda Williams Chima, AmieKaufman and Meagan Spooner, Linda Sue Park, and Victoria... Read More →
avatar for Adam O’Connor Rodriguez

Adam O’Connor Rodriguez

Senior Editor, Hawthorne Books
Adam O’Connor Rodriguez is an editor, writer, and teacher based in Portland, Oregon. He works as Senior Editor of Hawthorne Books and teaches editing in the master’s in Book Publishing program at Portland State University.


Saturday August 8, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Jefferson/Adams

10:30am PDT

All Eyes on Your EBook: Discovery strategies for search engines, readers, and retailers

Wondering how to help your work be discovered among TENS of MILLIONS of Books???

This class will cover how to help ebook retailers and customers discover your  book, with advice from a Kobo expert on putting your most professional foot forward. What makes an eye-catching cover? What are effective pricing and metadata strategies? What are the benefits of wide distribution to multiple retailers? This session will benefit both newcomers and established indie authors


Faculty
avatar for Christine Munroe

Christine Munroe

US Manager, Kobo
Christine Munroe is the US Manager for Kobo Writing Life (KWL), Kobo's free and easy-to-use self publishing platform. She helps authors reach millions of readers in over 190 countries. She brings to Kobo years of experience as a literary agent and foreign book scout.


Saturday August 8, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Ross Island/Morrison

12:00pm PDT

New York Times Bestseller Authors Lunch Panel

It's indisputable - Oregon is bursting with talent. Join us to learn more about local authors who hold this prestigious honor.   

During this moderated lunch panel, you may TWEET your questions and pick their brains as you plan your future among them. 


Moderators
avatar for Chip MacGregor

Chip MacGregor

Chip MacGregor is the president of MacGregor LIterary, Inc., a full-service literary agency located on the left coast. He has been working in the publishing industry for three decades, and made his living as a freelance writer and editor for several years. He is the author of numerous... Read More →

Faculty
avatar for April Henry

April Henry

April Henry is the New York Times-bestselling author of over a dozen mysteries and thrillers for teens and adults. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her family. April Henry knows how to kill you in a two-dozen different ways. She makes up for a peaceful childhood in an intact home... Read More →
avatar for Jennifer Lauck

Jennifer Lauck

Jennifer Lauck is the New York Times Bestselling author of four memoirs, including Blackbird.  She is a Senior Fellow at The Attic Institute where she teaches fiction and non-fiction, and also consults on independent projects with novelists and memoir.
avatar for Phillip Margolin

Phillip Margolin

New York Times Bestselling Author
Since 1996, I have been writing full-time. All of my novels have been New York Times bestsellers. Heartstone, my first novel, was nominated for an Edgar for best original paperback mystery of 1978 by the Mystery Writers of America. My second novel, The Last Innocent Man, was made... Read More →
avatar for Laurie Notaro

Laurie Notaro

New York Times Bestselling Author
Laurie Notaro was born in Brooklyn, New York, then spent the remainder of her formative years in Phoenix, AZ, where she created something of a checkered past. She is the New York Times Best-selling author of the humor memoirs The Idiot Girls Action Adventure Club, Autobiography of... Read More →
avatar for Daniel H. Wilson

Daniel H. Wilson

New York Times Bestselling Author
Daniel H. Wilson is the author of the New York Times bestselling Robopocalypse and its sequel Robogenesis, as well as seven other books, including How to Survive a Robot Uprising, A Boy and His Bot, and Amped. In 2008, he hosted The Works on the History Channel. He earned a PhD in... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 12:00pm - 1:30pm PDT
Lloyd Ballroom
  Lunch

1:30pm PDT

Get Your Story a Stage
This workshop will provide the how’s and why’s of giving a story a stage treatment – i.e., turning it into a play – and getting it performed in front of live, paying audiences. We will explore: The differences between the novel/short story, screenplay, and stage play in terms of format, expectations, skills required (and developed) and the strengths and weaknesses of each from a story-telling perspective, with examples from the Instructor’s own work. Stage play genres and how they compare to the fiction and screenplay worlds; How to structure a play for the modern stage: one, two, or three acts? How to get your story onto a stage; Why to write your story as a play – even if you don’t want to write a play; Exercises in transforming narrative into stage dialog

Faculty
avatar for Gary Corbin

Gary Corbin

Writer/actor/playwright Gary Corbin’s work has appeared in Brainstorm Northwest magazine, The Oregonian, the Portland Tribune, and Global Envision, as well as on several Portland-area stages. Serendipity Players produced his first full-length comedy “Happy Anniversary” in 2011... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Mount Bachelor
  Adaptation  Craft  STAGE

1:30pm PDT

Subtext: What Lies Beneath
Hidden agendas, danger and menace, sexual attraction, and symbolism can be forms of subtext. They telegraph change, enhance themes, and hook readers’ anticipation. Your point-of-view character may not even see what’s coming. Subtext is such a powerful technique, no scene is fully complete without it. How do you write “between the lines” and develop what isn’t obvious? You have to be crafty. The workshop will combine instruction and very short in-class exercises.

Faculty
avatar for Elizabeth Lyon

Elizabeth Lyon

Elizabeth Lyon, a book editor, teacher, and conference presenter since 1988, is the author of a new booklet series, Writing Subtext, and Crafting Titles. Former books include Manuscript Makeover, The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit, Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write, and... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Ross Island/Morrison
  Craft

1:30pm PDT

The Essentials of Comedy Writing

Comedy has long been one of Hollywood’s most popular genres, but also one of the most challenging to do well.  As a comedy writer you’re charged with the task of not only creating a story that can sustain itself over 90 minutes, but one that also keeps your audience laughing for 90 minutes.  This workshop will cover story and character design, setup/payoff relationships, set pieces and runners, what Hollywood is currently looking for, and over 20 techniques that can be used in designing hilarious beats and sequences.  A must for comedy writers of all levels and styles.


Faculty
avatar for Luke Ryan

Luke Ryan

PRODUCER. Luke began at New Line Cinema, where he shepherded cult comedy hit HAROLD & KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE. As Vice President of Production for Paramount Pictures-based MTV Films, he oversaw transition of MTV Films to a fully functioning studio division. Luke joined MGM as Senior... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Mount St. Helens

1:30pm PDT

Draft Two: Novel or Memoir
In Draft Two, we cover your approach to the draft, including how you need to develop a detached perspective that allows you to ask important questions about the exposition, rising and falling action and the climax. We’ll also be talking about the need to deepen your second draft through something know as the negation of negation, where a writer applies a specific formula of increased drama for an improved impact on the reader. Writers will leave this workshop with a comprehensive plan for the first two drafts that works. Watch your confidence as a writer soar with this vital information and get back to enjoying the process of creation rather than being buried by it.

Faculty
avatar for Jennifer Lauck

Jennifer Lauck

Jennifer Lauck is the New York Times Bestselling author of four memoirs, including Blackbird.  She is a Senior Fellow at The Attic Institute where she teaches fiction and non-fiction, and also consults on independent projects with novelists and memoir.


Saturday August 8, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Mount Hood
  Craft  LITERATURE

1:30pm PDT

Having a Blast With the Past: Researching and Writing Historical Fiction
Whether you start with a terrific story line, a favorite historical character, or just wanting to delve into the period you love, you will run into the dilemmas every historical novelist faces: How to start the research. When to suspend the research and start writing. How to create a sense of place, when the place no longer exists. How to make the setting and characters come alive without being anachronistic. How far to stretch the facts of history to get at a larger truth. This workshop will offer resources and strategies to overcome these dilemmas and write an engaging historical novel.

Faculty
avatar for Barbara Pope

Barbara Pope

Barbara has written three critically acclaimed historical novels set in late 19th-century France: Cézanne’s Quarry (2008), The Blood of Lorraine (2010) and The Missing Italian Girl (2013). This March her 10-minute play, based on an incident in 1980’s Poland, was performed at... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Weidler

1:30pm PDT

Hook, Line, and Sinker: How Successful Novels Hook and Hold Their Readers from the Very First Page
In this class, we’d examine openings in successful contemporary novels, both literary and commercial, paying special attention to the lure, the hook, characterization, and implication. In doing so, we’ll drawing upon teachings on this subject from various well-known authors as well as from the emerging body of neuroscience as it applies to fiction. Participants will leave with a stronger sense of how to create an opening that will suck readers in, whether they’re just starting off with a new project or preparing to send out a manuscript in the hopes of securing an agent or publisher.

Faculty
avatar for Susan DeFreitas

Susan DeFreitas

Susan DeFreitas is a Portland-based writer and editor. Her work has appeared in The Utne Reader, The Nervous Breakdown, Southwestern American Literature, Fourth River, Weber—The Contemporary West, and Bayou Magazine, among other publications. She is the author of the fiction chapbook... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Hawthorne/Sellwood
  Craft  LITERATURE

1:30pm PDT

How to Develop an Author Platform
"Author platform." “Personal branding.” “Social media presence.” These phrases strike fear in the hearts of many writers, but it doesn't have to be that way. Our panelists will provide tips on how to market yourself, create enthusiasm around your work, and stand out from the pack.

Moderators
avatar for Kelllie Doherty

Kelllie Doherty

Ooligan Press
.Kellie Doherty is a graduate student at Portland State University’s Book Publishing program. She is in her second year at PSU and plans to graduate in the spring of 2016. She is currently a Write to Publish co-manager for Ooligan Press, organizing Ooligan’s largest fundraiser... Read More →
avatar for Ooligan press

Ooligan press

Ooligan Press is a general trade publisher with national distribution rooted in the rich literary tradition of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 2001, Ooligan is a teaching press dedicated to the art and craft of publishing. Affiliated with Portland State University, the press is... Read More →

Faculty
avatar for Mary Bisbee-Beek

Mary Bisbee-Beek

READ A Unique Perspective
Mary Bisbee-Beek began a publishing career in 1979 in San Francisco, California. She has been the owner and Director of Beeksbee Books, an independent publicity and marketing consulting office, 1992–2003 in St. Paul, MN. In 2003 she joined the University of Michigan Press, where... Read More →
avatar for Todd Sattersten

Todd Sattersten

Astronaut Projects
Todd Sattersten is the publisher at Astronaut Projects and the author of three books including Every Book Is a Startup. He has worked in nonfiction publishing for the last 12 years as publisher,agent, editor, foreign rights scout, and bookseller. He has coachedauthors on book... Read More →
avatar for Karelia Stetz-Waters

Karelia Stetz-Waters

Ooligan Press
Karelia Stetz-Waters is an English professor by day and writer by night (and early morning). She has a BA from Smith College in Comparative Literature and an MA in English from the University of Oregon. Other formative experiences include a childhood spent roaming the Oregon woods... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Jefferson/Adams

1:30pm PDT

Print Design: You Got This
A step-by-step walk-through of design for print in Adobe InDesign and Microsoft Word. Come away from this workshop with practical knowledge, new skills and best practices for streamlining your workflow. Bring your questions and your laptop loaded up with your latest work in progress if you’d like to follow along.

Faculty
avatar for Cheri Lasota

Cheri Lasota

Founder, Stirling Editing / AudaVoxx
Cheri Lasota’s techno-dweeb tendencies have led her into an eleven-year career as an author, editor, marketer and designer. She is also founder of audio book newsletter service, AudaVoxx.com. Her debut novel, Artemis Rising is a Cygnus Awards First Place Winner. She has also published... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Three Sisters

1:30pm PDT

Pitch Marketplace
Where the commerce happens.  Sign up ahead of time for a pitch session, confirm the appointment time with the Pitch Marketplace staff, and sit down with the Buyer of your choice.  One-on-one pitch sessions last up to 8 minutes, and are scheduled "on the :10's" of the hour. 

Your project is ready: share it with the Marketplace!  

 

Saturday August 8, 2015 1:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Pacific NW Ballroom

3:30pm PDT

Titles Do Sell Books
You probably have a “working title” that you think is a winner, but maybe it’s not. It's challenging to find a title that captures your novel’s essence and genre, while also attracting readers. In this session, attendees will explore title creation based on character names, roles, settings, themes or symbolism, quotations, and more. You’ll learn how to add flair and originality, and how to create a brand.

Faculty
avatar for Elizabeth Lyon

Elizabeth Lyon

Elizabeth Lyon, a book editor, teacher, and conference presenter since 1988, is the author of a new booklet series, Writing Subtext, and Crafting Titles. Former books include Manuscript Makeover, The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit, Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write, and... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 3:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Ross Island/Morrison

3:30pm PDT

Negotiate the Best Book Contract
You’ve done it: you’ve found a publisher for your book! But before you can spend your advance,
you must first navigate the jargon-filled waters of your contract. Our panelists will discuss the ins and outs of book contracts, what kind of rights publishers ask for, and what rights authors should keep.

Moderators
avatar for Molly K. B. Hunt

Molly K. B. Hunt

Molly K. B. Hunt is a freelance editor and second-year graduate student in Portland State’s Book Publishing program. She serves as acquisitions co-manager for Ooligan Press and interns for Chatwin Books, a Seattle-based publisher. On behalf of Ooligan Press, she’s always on the... Read More →
avatar for Ooligan press

Ooligan press

Ooligan Press is a general trade publisher with national distribution rooted in the rich literary tradition of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 2001, Ooligan is a teaching press dedicated to the art and craft of publishing. Affiliated with Portland State University, the press is... Read More →

Faculty
avatar for Mary Bisbee-Beek

Mary Bisbee-Beek

READ A Unique Perspective
Mary Bisbee-Beek began a publishing career in 1979 in San Francisco, California. She has been the owner and Director of Beeksbee Books, an independent publicity and marketing consulting office, 1992–2003 in St. Paul, MN. In 2003 she joined the University of Michigan Press, where... Read More →
avatar for Tina Ricks

Tina Ricks

Managing Acquisitions Editor, Trial Guides
Tina Ricks is the managing acquisitions editor at Trial Guides, a Portland-based law publisher that specializes in law books realpeople can understand. Before working at Trial Guides, Tina wrote manuals,online help systems, and conducted usability studies for several software companiesin... Read More →
avatar for Todd Sattersten

Todd Sattersten

Astronaut Projects
Todd Sattersten is the publisher at Astronaut Projects and the author of three books including Every Book Is a Startup. He has worked in nonfiction publishing for the last 12 years as publisher,agent, editor, foreign rights scout, and bookseller. He has coachedauthors on book... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 3:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Jefferson/Adams

3:30pm PDT

Why One Book? Make It a Series

Writers are often told not to pitch a book as the first in a series. Good thing no one told me that, as my pitch landed me a ten-book series. This session reveals hilarious and instructive anecdotes, historical perspective and up-to-date information on many kinds of series – fiction and nonfiction for all ages. It also details the advantages and disadvantages of series writing.


Faculty
avatar for Pam Withers

Pam Withers

author, www.pamwithers.com
Pam Withers is an award-winning author of 17 bestselling young-adult books and co-author of an acclaimed book on boys and literacy. She speaks to more than 15,000 schoolchildren per year as well as at librarians’ and writers’ conference, including the Willamette Writers Conference... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 3:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Three Sisters

3:30pm PDT

Dreamworld: The Irreducible Image in Fantasy and Horror
One of the chief pleasures of speculative fiction lies in those images that appear in the mind’s eye and nowhere else (except, perhaps, the movies): dragons and phantasms, ghouls and gremlins, cities built among the treetops and the spooky ruins of civilizations buried deep underground. In this class, we’ll examine the ways that certain images in the work of speculative authors like Jeff Vandermeer, George R.R. Martin, Ursula K. Le Guin, Angela Carter, and Stephen King come to acquire an almost dreamlike significance, drawing upon elements of our shared human history and the work of psychologist Carl Jung. Participants will leave with tools for excavating their own dreams, fantasies, and fears for “irreducible” images they can use to strengthen their own fiction.

Faculty
avatar for Susan DeFreitas

Susan DeFreitas

Susan DeFreitas is a Portland-based writer and editor. Her work has appeared in The Utne Reader, The Nervous Breakdown, Southwestern American Literature, Fourth River, Weber—The Contemporary West, and Bayou Magazine, among other publications. She is the author of the fiction chapbook... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 3:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Hawthorne/Sellwood

3:30pm PDT

How to Write and Sell Magazine Articles PART 2
Participants will understand all the components of writing for magazines and will have all the necessary tools to begin the process of submitting queries. Through lecture, discussions and activities, this class will show writers that with the right tools, knowledge and understanding of how the magazine world works, having articles published and being paid for them, is definitely possible. Participants will leave knowing what it takes to become successful magazine writers.

Faculty
avatar for Kerrie Flanagan

Kerrie Flanagan

Kerrie Flanagan is the Director of Northern Colorado Writers, an accomplished freelance writer, instructor and author. Her work appears in six Chicken Soup for the Soul books, The Writer, Writer’s Digest, the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents, the 2015 Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 3:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Mount St. Helens
  Craft  LITERATURE

3:30pm PDT

Revising Novel-Length Fiction Lab 
Participants must have a completed novel-length manuscript they are willing to print out, bring to class, and revise in a series of exercises. Every writer has that bottom drawer manuscript—a diamond in the rough that just needs a little something to bring out its best qualities and give it the edge in a competitive market place. This workshop will help you look with fresh eyes on a full manuscript and consider a range of possibilities to strengthen the plot, clarify the characters’ voices, enrich the setting and develop the theme. Participants will come away with 1) An understanding of the underlying structure of their story 2) A scene written from an alternate point of view 3) A list of potential new plot complications based on the stetting of their story 4) A list of potential new plot complications based on the theme of the story 5) A map for a potentially different structure for the story.

Faculty
avatar for Rosanne Parry

Rosanne Parry

Rosanne Parry is the author of the award winning books Written in Stone, Second Fiddle and Heart of a Shepherd. In addition to middle grade novels she has written poetry, short stories, non-fiction, essays, and a screenplay. She lives with her family in Portland and writes in a  treehouse... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 3:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Mount Hood

3:30pm PDT

Podcasting 101 - Producing Your Own Audiobook
The audience will go away with greater confidence that they could produce an audio recording of their work and get it out there. Content covers: - Why do you want to podcast? How do you know you're ready? - Basic technical pointers for getting a mic, software, recording, editing, and mastering - Acting/vocal techniques - How to get it out there? Putting your work on ACX or iTunes - In-class exercises - reading aloud in small groups. - Not for you? What to expect if you decide to hire someone else to read your book.

Faculty
avatar for Tina Connolly

Tina Connolly

Tina Connolly's first fantasy novel, IRONSKIN, was a finalist for the Nebula award, and the complete trilogy is now out from Tor. Her next novel is SERIOUSLY WICKED from Tor Teen in May 2015. Her stories have appeared in Women Destroy SF, Tor.com, Lightspeed, and more, and her play... Read More →


Saturday August 8, 2015 3:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Weidler

3:30pm PDT

WebSeries Frontier: Marketing and Production
What do “Orange Is the New Black,” “Gary Saves the Graveyard,” and “The Haunting of Sunshine Girl” have in common (besides long titles)? They’re all successful web series - that is, episodic content that has been intentionally created for and to be delivered over the Internet. Web series are fast-proving to be the most exciting narrative platform in the new postHollywood paradigm - and the most effective way for aspiring screenwriters, content creators, and film makers to break into the entertainment industry. Compared to the traditional networks, producing a web series is extremely affordable and egalitarian. With little more than a smartphone and a computer, you, too, can become a showrunner. This two-part workshop - plus a panel discussion - focuses on the essential ingredients for writing and producing your own series for the wild wild web.   Less sequel and more parallel course, Part 2 of the workshop will survey methods ofbranding and marketing your series; of identifying your audience and using social medialike Instagram to reach it and expand it. Delivery and distribution of serial content willalso be addressed, plus monetizing possibilities in a marketplace that includes Amazon,Crackle, Hulu, Netflix, Vimeo, Yahoo, and YouTube among others.

Faculty
avatar for Randall Jahnson

Randall Jahnson

Randall Jahnson has been a professional screenwriter for 30 years. He's worked with such diverse filmmaking talent as Steven Spielberg, Penelope Spheeris, Alec Baldwin, Spike Lee, and Jonathan Demme. His credits include The Doors (as “J. Randal Johnson”), Dudes, The Mask of... Read More →
avatar for Martin Vavra

Martin Vavra

Galaxy Sailor
Martin Vavra is the creator of three web series, as well as multiple short films and over 100 commercials. He has worked with Intel and Microsoft and his award winning films have played all over the world.


Saturday August 8, 2015 3:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Mount Bachelor

5:00pm PDT

Success Reception/Award Winners Panel/Timberline Review Launch Party
Every success deserves a celebration - so here's ours.  We honor this year's Willamette Writers writing competition winners, as well as their major award recipients, who'll be on hand as a panel to interact with the audience.  Another reason to celebrate?  The launch of Willamette Writers' new literary journal, The Timberline Review, whose inaugural issue will be available on site.  Still need more to celebrate?  Raise a toast to your own successes thus far this weekend!  .   

Saturday August 8, 2015 5:00pm - 6:15pm PDT
Lloyd Ballroom

6:15pm PDT

FiLMLaB
The culmination of our annual Script-to-Screen Competition, where Willamette Writers, in conjunction with local professional directors and crew, produces the winning screenwriter's short film.  Enjoy the premiere screening of our 2015 film, before it heads off to the film festival circuit.  Afterwards, stay for a "Q & A" session with the filmmakers and our winning writer! 

Saturday August 8, 2015 6:15pm - 7:00pm PDT
Lloyd Ballroom

7:00pm PDT

Conference "Write-In"
Looking to get some writing done?  Drop in for an informal writing session with your conference mates.  Work out trouble spots with other writers or our facilitators on hand, or just bask in the collective creativity, and pound out that next chapter/scene.  

Moderators
avatar for Gigi Rosenberg

Gigi Rosenberg

author and artist coach. Her writing has been published by Seal Press, Poets & Writers, Parenting and Writer’s Digest. She's performed her monologues at On the Boards in Seattle, been a guest commentator on Oregon Public Radio and wrote The Artist’s Guide to Grant Writing (Watson-Guptill... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2015 7:00pm - 9:00pm PDT
Ross Island/Morrison

7:00pm PDT

50th Anniversary Gala
Can you believe Willamette Writers has been serving writers for half a century? 

Far from showing its age, it’s becoming more youthful and vibrant as it evolves to serve the changing needs of its members.  Come celebrate this tremendous achievement with current and past members  and other VIPs at this gala celebration to help us plot the next 50. 

Indulge in a festival buffet featuring Portland-style cuisine, libations and entertainment.  $50 ticketed event.


Find out more about Willamette Writers and its storied history.   


Saturday August 8, 2015 7:00pm - 10:00pm PDT
Cascade Ballroom
  Social event

9:00pm PDT

Open Mic Nite
Up for some late-night fun?  Bring your original slam poetry, song, flash-fiction story, or comedy routine (and your friends to cheer you on) to our first-ever Open Mic Nite!  Cash prizes (and bragging rights) to the winners- but this event is all in the spirit of fun!  Don't like microphones?  No worries!  "Rent-a-Voice" actor talent will be available to step in and do it for you!  

Moderators
avatar for Debby Dodds

Debby Dodds

Author, journalist, actor and comedienne Debby Dodds received her BFA from NYU in Drama and her MFA from Antioch University in Creative Writing. Debby has a story in the NY Times best-selling anthology, My Little Red Book published by Twelve Press in 2009. She’s been published in... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2015 9:00pm - 11:00pm PDT
Multnomah Grille
 
Sunday, August 9
 

8:00am PDT

Wakeup, Willamette!
Start your day with some caffeine, information and entertainment. Willamette WakeUp offers the
morning conference news and announcements followed by short entertaining speaker
presentations. Learn a little — just enough to wake up that sleepy brain.

Moderators
avatar for Stefan Feuerherdt

Stefan Feuerherdt

Conference Chair, Willamette Writers Conference
Stefan Feuerherdt has been the Conference Chair since 2009.  He's a freelance commercial writer, screenwriter, and an attorney whose practice focuses on working with writers, filmmakers, and other creative professionals to bring their art to the marketplace. Acting and photography... Read More →

Faculty
avatar for Matthew Bernstein

Matthew Bernstein

Matthew Bernstein is a writer, musician, a staff writer to the Oregon Music News- and a 2015 high school graduate.  


Sunday August 9, 2015 8:00am - 8:25am PDT
Lloyd Ballroom

8:30am PDT

Winning the Battle: Social Media vs Writing Time
Being an author is a small business, and social media is a small business owner’s best friend. However, without time management social media can be overwhelming. How does a busy writer who wants to spend time actually writing, manage it all? This class demonstrates how to harness the key tools, and strategies of time management and take charge of the social media vs writing, battle. Students will learn the secrets of organizing social media that will allow them to finish that next novel, screenplay, book of poems, or just ponder the mysteries of their belly button–either way, these practical skills will free up valuable time.

Faculty
avatar for Mindy Halleck

Mindy Halleck

Mindy Halleck is a Pacific Northwest author and instructor. Her novel Return to Sender, was a featured debut novel in Kirkus Review Magazine, January 2015. As an inspirational instructor, she urges writers to embrace social media early in their professional endeavors, and skillfully... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am PDT
Sellwood

8:30am PDT

Crowdfunding Books

Discover how crowdfunding can successfully launch a book by providing unique avenues for market testing, pre-publication sales, and building an audience for this book (and your next!). Course includes a review of crowdfunding platforms (including Kickstarter, Indiegogo and PubSlush).  Learn what to do before you start, the critical role of socail media, example timelines and budgets, ideas to reward backers, tips on how to deliver your book and then follow up after the campaign is completed.  Features case studies of successfully crowdfunded books with insights from publishers who have done the work to succeed (one earning over $150,000 from over 2,000 backers in a month).  Includes proven tips to engage and enhance funder excitement.  Bring your burning questions: we will make time for Q&A.


Faculty
avatar for Shannon Bodie

Shannon Bodie

Partner and Art Director, Bookwise Design
Shannon has worked in the publishing industry for over 20 years.  She has enjoyed sharing her knowledge of the industry as a speaker, consultant and design judge for the past 15 years. Shannon has a reputation for outstanding service and award-winning design.  She specializes in... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am PDT
Mount Bachelor

8:30am PDT

Settings That Pop!
Every scene requires a place, but readers have no patience for lengthy or flowery descriptions of setting. So what is an author to do? Settings that Pop! is a ninety-minute workshop that helps writers learn to grab their audience through character-based descriptions. Participants practice writing setting descriptions based on the mood of the narrating character, then flip that skill around and write a description of the same setting from a character with a different mood. Participants also have the opportunity to learn how to incorporate small passages of historical, realistic, and/or mythological exposition into a high-interest description of setting.

Faculty
avatar for Anne Osterlund

Anne Osterlund

Anne Osterlund is the author of four young adult novels—Salvation, Aurelia, Academy 7, and Exile—all published by Penguin Books. Salvation is the first-place winner of two International Latino Book Awards, including Most Inspirational YA and Best Latino Subject Focused YA in... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am PDT
Weidler
  Craft  LITERATURE

8:30am PDT

The Essay in 8 Steps
Many writers have a difficult time balancing exposition with forward moving action,
especially with the rumination required in creative non-fiction.  This class is a hands-on writing class where I will teach the eight-step concept and then prompt writers to follow it on the subject of their own choice. This class teaches how to get into a rhythm of detailed setting observation, physical observation, and internal observation—touching on each for a beat—while also moving the essay forward in time.  Writers will leave with a new formula for writing that allows more balance of the external with the internal, and an understanding of the methodology behind this formula.  This workshop allows writers to immediately learn and then apply the technique to their own projects.  Your creativity sparks will fly!

Faculty
avatar for Jennifer Lauck

Jennifer Lauck

Jennifer Lauck is the New York Times Bestselling author of four memoirs, including Blackbird.  She is a Senior Fellow at The Attic Institute where she teaches fiction and non-fiction, and also consults on independent projects with novelists and memoir.


Sunday August 9, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am PDT
Ross Island/Morrison
  Craft  LITERATURE

8:30am PDT

Social Media for YA Authors
Become a social media pro in this workshop. Learn to use popular platforms like twitter, tumblr, youtube and instagram to your advantage, gain the tools necessary to successfully attract and interact with readers, and discover where the YA community hangs out online. Discover how to make your own marketing and quote graphics for free, when to use GIFs, and the best strategies for hosting contests and giveaways.

Faculty
avatar for Robyn Schneider

Robyn Schneider

Robyn Schneider is the author of the internationally bestselling young adult novel THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING, published by HarperCollins, which has been translated widely and has received major critical acclaim as an iTunes Editor’s Pick, a B&N Teen Buyer’s Pick, an Amazon Best... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am PDT
Jefferson/Adams

8:30am PDT

Design & Upload Your E-book: Turning your words into income
Beginner to advanced e-book creation from basics to coding. Plus, learn how to upload to Kindle, Kobo, iBooks and Nook. You’ll leave this workshop with a solid knowledge base. You’ll also have access to three hours of free tutorials in the form of a video course that mirrors the workshop content.

Faculty
avatar for Cheri Lasota

Cheri Lasota

Founder, Stirling Editing / AudaVoxx
Cheri Lasota’s techno-dweeb tendencies have led her into an eleven-year career as an author, editor, marketer and designer. She is also founder of audio book newsletter service, AudaVoxx.com. Her debut novel, Artemis Rising is a Cygnus Awards First Place Winner. She has also published... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am PDT
Mount Hood

8:30am PDT

You’re Doing It Wrong: How to Make the Most of Working With an Editor
In this engaging conversation between an author and editor who have worked together on six novels, find out how to maximize the value you can get from an editor’s work. Jim and Heidi use their work together as a virtual punching bag to tackle writing mistakes and solutions. The presentation includes real before-and-after examples of the editing process. Jim and Heidi first discuss various stages of editing—developmental, line editing, copy editing and proofreading. They dig into what an author should expect from each phase, and how he or she should prepare their manuscript. The presenters explain the business side of the author/editor relationship and how to manage time and expectations to make the most of editing. In the craft portion of this discussion, this author/editor team reveals how writers can take a fresh, critical eye to their work before passing it to an editor. From big-picture issues on conflict and character development, to a line-edit level discussion on dialogue tags and how to avoid “info dump” backstory or superfluous description, Jim and Heidi hang out all the dirty laundry to give participants new insights to hone their craft. Kick back with Jim and Heidi, your red pen, and your work in progress, and enjoy plenty of first-, second- and third-draft laughs. The workshop includes handouts with the editor’s and author’s expectations for the editing process, questions to ask editors before hiring, and key issues for authors that can improve their work before it lands on an editor’s desk.

Faculty
avatar for Jim Thomsen

Jim Thomsen

Jim Thomsen owns and operates Desolation Island Editing Services, which he launched in 2010 following a 24-year career in newspapering as a reporter and editor. He has provided all levels of editing—from developmental work to proofreading—for more than 500 manuscripts from nearly... Read More →
avatar for Heidi Joy Tretheway

Heidi Joy Tretheway

Heidi Joy Tretheway is author of seven books, including the Tattoo Thief new adult romance series and The Phoenix Candidate adult erotic romance. She is also co-founder of Jasper Ridge Press, which published four erotic romance collections featuring more than 20 New York Times and... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am PDT
Mount St. Helens

8:30am PDT

Master Class: Advanced Story Engineering
Sometimes the conventional wisdom of storytelling - the core competencies and elements and skills and story physics that conspire to shape our stories -can feel like a generic pile of theory and standards. It's like reading about how to do something few others can do... nothing clarifies those principles quite like being alone on the wire without a net, applying those theories and standards to your own work, using tools and parameters that allow you to assess how closely you are truly abiding by the principles (narrative forces that result in reader response)... or not. This workshop will offer an interactive experience that uses your story as an unflinching window into craft, as its own case study, exposing strengths and weaknesses through an enlightened understanding of what resulted in either, and where to go from there using your newly empowered understanding. 

NOTE:  There is no additional fee for this class, but class size is limited, and the workshop is intended and designed for experienced writers, who have published (either self or traditionally) their work, or failing that, to at least have finished manuscripts which have been submitted to publishing houses previously.  Familiarity with Larry's "StoryFix" books/seminars/methods is also preferred.  

Sign up at the door on Sunday morning prior to class, and bring a copy of your previously published book or manuscript- if there are more attendees than seats, preference will be given to published authors, and then those with finished manuscripts (seriously, bring the book/manuscript-  our poor volunteer is not allowed to take your word for it).  

Faculty
avatar for Larry Brooks

Larry Brooks

Storyfix
Larry Brooks is the author of six critically-acclaimed thrillers, and the guy behind www.storyfix.com, one of the fastest-growing and most respected writing sites on the internet.  His latest novel is DEADLY FUAX, released by Turner Publishing, who will also be publishing his four... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 8:30am - 3:00pm PDT
Hawthorne

8:30am PDT

Other-Based Writing
Once asked to provide a male perspective on writing male characters, Eric Witchey had to laugh out loud. After all, writing the male perspective came to him naturally. He didn't have to think about it. Writing the female perspective was something he had to learn. Writing from another cultural perspective was something he had to learn. The two learned sets of techniques had a lot in common. This seminar examines techniques for developing narrative verisimilitude when working outside of our personal lives and experiences. Whether you're non-Anglo trying to develop white bread and mayonnaise characters, an Anglo writing outside the white-bread world, a man writing a female character, or a woman writing a male character, the techniques described in this session will help you make the leap to another perspective

Faculty
avatar for Eric Witchey

Eric Witchey

Eric M. Witchey has made a living as a freelance writer and communication consultant for over 25 years. In addition to many contracted and ghost non-fiction titles, he has sold more than 100 stories, including 4 novels. His stories have appeared in nine genres and on five continents... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 8:30am - 10:00pm PDT
Three Sisters

9:00am PDT

NaNoWriMo for Teachers and Parents

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), is an annual international literary sensation that inspires people from all walks of life to dust off their literary ambitions and finally write that novel they’ve always dreamed of. Participants are challenged to write a 50,000 word novel, start to finish, in the month of November. Whether you’re a novice writer or a well-published professional, NaNoWriMo offers you a great way to jump-start your writing life, or zap new energy into one that’s been stalled. Wherever you are in your writing journey, NaNoWriMo can help you tell your story!

Fostering the writing dreams of Young Writers and helping them reach their writing dreams is no small task! That why NaNoWriMo offers amazing resources and lesson plans to help you inspire the Young Writers in your classroom or at home! Experienced English teacher and NaNo expert Kim Switzer will show you all the goodies offered by NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers.

Program including:
     Free classroom kits
     Downloadable noveling lesson plans
     Virtual Classrooms
     Connect with other educators
     How to publish students' manuscripts

Get great tips and expert advice on integrating NaNoWriMo’s tools into your classroom!


Moderators
avatar for Ann Buenzli

Ann Buenzli

Ann writes and publishes teen paranormal and teen paranormal romance books, novelettes, and short stories under the name Skye Genaro. Her book Echo Across Time, the first in The Echo Saga, was a #3 best seller on Amazon. Prior to writing fiction, Ann wrote feature lengthscreenplays... Read More →
avatar for Daryll Lynne Evans

Daryll Lynne Evans

Dayll Lynne began her writing career as a playwright with the Performing Arts Conservatory in Colorado, where she also taught theatre and playwriting to youth.  She has an MFA in fiction from Purdue University, where she taught creative writing and worked with Sycamore Review... Read More →
avatar for Kim Switzer

Kim Switzer

Head Muse, writing coach, teacher, MuseCraft Coaching for Writers
I write paranormal, horror (more the spooky kind rather than the bloody kind), and urban fantasy, so I love to talk about all of that. I'm also obsessed with learning about ways to build stories, ways to develop writing practices, all the tools of a writing life, so let's talk about... Read More →

Sunday August 9, 2015 9:00am - 10:00am PDT
Lloyd Ballroom

9:00am PDT

NaNoWriMo For Young Writers
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), is an annual international literary sensation that inspires people from all walks of life to dust off their literary ambitions and finally write that novel they’ve always dreamed of. Participants are challenged to write a 50,000 word novel, start to finish, in the month of November. Whether you’re a novice writer or a well-published professional, NaNoWriMo offers you a great way to jump-start your writing life, or zap new energy into one that’s been stalled. Wherever you are in your writing journey, NaNoWriMo can help you tell your story!

Teens and Tweens: Are you serious about writing? Join us for a jam-packed session of writing games and inspiration!  You’ll meet other young WriMos (NaNo Speak for fellow participants) and discover  all the great stuff for young writers to guide you NaNoWriMo and the rest of your novel journey. We’ll have a surprise NaNoWriMo author stop by to share tips and

tricks for writing your novel!


Moderators
avatar for Daryll Lynne Evans

Daryll Lynne Evans

Dayll Lynne began her writing career as a playwright with the Performing Arts Conservatory in Colorado, where she also taught theatre and playwriting to youth.  She has an MFA in fiction from Purdue University, where she taught creative writing and worked with Sycamore Review... Read More →
avatar for Kim Switzer

Kim Switzer

Head Muse, writing coach, teacher, MuseCraft Coaching for Writers
I write paranormal, horror (more the spooky kind rather than the bloody kind), and urban fantasy, so I love to talk about all of that. I'm also obsessed with learning about ways to build stories, ways to develop writing practices, all the tools of a writing life, so let's talk about... Read More →

Sunday August 9, 2015 9:00am - 10:00am PDT
Halsey

9:00am PDT

Pitch Marketplace
Where the commerce happens.  Sign up ahead of time for a pitch session, confirm the appointment time with the Pitch Marketplace staff, and sit down with the Buyer of your choice.  One-on-one pitch sessions last up to 8 minutes, and are scheduled "on the :10's" of the hour. 

Your project is ready: share it with the Marketplace!  

 

Sunday August 9, 2015 9:00am - 12:00pm PDT
Pacific NW Ballroom

10:00am PDT

NaNoWriMo for Every Writer

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), is an annual international literary sensation that inspires people from all walks of life to dust off their literary ambitions and finally write that novel they’ve always dreamed of. Participants are challenged to write a 50,000 word novel, start to finish, in the month of November. Whether you’re a novice writer or a well-published professional, NaNoWriMo offers you a great way to jump-start your writing life, or zap new energy into one that’s been stalled. Wherever you are in your writing journey, NaNoWriMo can help you tell your story!

From the novice writer to the professional novelist,  NaNoWriMo offers something for every writer. Whether you’re seeking a writing community, inspiration, writing tips and tricks, a firm deadline (or a crazy one!), or just permission to focus on your writing for 30 days, you’ll find it
and more when you participate in NaNoWriMo. Regional Municipal Liaisons (NaNoSpeak for the hardworking souls who coordinate events during NaNo) will take you on a fun-filled, hands-on tour of NaNoWriMo, including: NanoNuts and Bolts; Writers Relay Races; GPS for the NaNoWriMo's Soul; The Plotters vs. Pantsers Smackdown; and more! Suprise Novelists and NaNoWriMo inspirators will stop by to sprinkle a little writerly inspiration!


Moderators
avatar for Daryll Lynne Evans

Daryll Lynne Evans

Dayll Lynne began her writing career as a playwright with the Performing Arts Conservatory in Colorado, where she also taught theatre and playwriting to youth.  She has an MFA in fiction from Purdue University, where she taught creative writing and worked with Sycamore Review... Read More →
avatar for Kim Switzer

Kim Switzer

Head Muse, writing coach, teacher, MuseCraft Coaching for Writers
I write paranormal, horror (more the spooky kind rather than the bloody kind), and urban fantasy, so I love to talk about all of that. I'm also obsessed with learning about ways to build stories, ways to develop writing practices, all the tools of a writing life, so let's talk about... Read More →

Sunday August 9, 2015 10:00am - 11:30am PDT
Lloyd Ballroom

10:30am PDT

Revision in 3-D: Tackling One of Fiction Writing’s Hardest Jobs
Most fiction writers love drafting and hate revision, mostly because they don’t know how to tackle it. 3D revision is a systematic way to move through resolving glitches in Dilemma (plot arcs), Dialog, and Description. You’ll apply the 3D system to several case studies and some pages of your own writing. Please bring a plot outline and two pages each of dialog and description. May also be of interest to screenwriters and playwrights.      



Faculty
avatar for Jill Kelly

Jill Kelly

Jill Kelly, PhD, has 18 years experience editing for fiction writers. She leads writing retreats nationally and teaches writing improvement in several universities. She has self-published three books; her memoir was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. She has traditionally published... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Jefferson/Adams

10:30am PDT

How High Concept Really Works
High concept is a Hollywood term that refers to a premise that has pizzazz and instant appeal. It also means the story idea is easy to boil down in a sentence or two; it involves high stakes; it’s written in a discernible genre; it’s entertaining and visual; It’s original, and while the concept pushes boundaries, it also has wide appeal. We’ll discuss some famous high concept novels and films, creating media buzz, and how you can apply the principles to your pitch, synopsis, and storyline. We’ll also discuss how high concept can attract more than one age group. Some of the stories under discussion: The Fault in our Stars, Gone Girl, The Princess Diaries, Star Wars, Hunger Games, the Bourne and Harry Potter series.

Faculty
avatar for Jessica Morrell

Jessica Morrell

Jessica Page Morrell understands both sides of the editorial desk–as an editor and author. She writes with depth, wit and clarity on topics related to writing and creativity along with other topics and is the author of Thanks, But This Isn’t For Us, A (Sort of) Compassionate Guide... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Ross Island/Morrison

10:30am PDT

Snap, Crackle, Pop Dialogue: How to Write Banter That Sizzles Off the Pages
Dialogue is the gateway to character—it’s the ultimate “show, don’t tell.” Join an author/editor team as they unpack advanced techniques on crafting dialogue that drives a stronger narrative. Author Amy Bloom points out that “dialogue isn’t conversation; dialogue is conversation’s greatest hits.” Jim and Heidi discuss when to quote and when to paraphrase, as well as how to weed out tedious interactions in favor of the juiciest soundbites. You’ll learn how to weave characterization into dialogue, and borrow the concept of “callbacks” from screenwriting to build character catchphrases. Banter can also capitalize on words with varying connotations to reveal characters’ differing points of view. With more thirty years of journalism experience between them, Heidi and Jim offer insights into how to give your dialogue more natural flow and pacing, mirroring how people really talk. Dialogue offers a rich opportunity to add feisty or colloquial words to your narrative. Finally, Jim and Heidi slip into line-edit mode to discuss how to artfully weave action into dialogue, eliminate unnecessary tags, and ensure the speaker is unambiguous. They’ll discuss when it is appropriate to use words beyond said and says, and how to handle reaction beats as characters banter. This workshop includes a handout with examples of dialogue that advances characterization and action, and an exercise on creating appropriate action tags.

Faculty
avatar for Jim Thomsen

Jim Thomsen

Jim Thomsen owns and operates Desolation Island Editing Services, which he launched in 2010 following a 24-year career in newspapering as a reporter and editor. He has provided all levels of editing—from developmental work to proofreading—for more than 500 manuscripts from nearly... Read More →
avatar for Heidi Joy Tretheway

Heidi Joy Tretheway

Heidi Joy Tretheway is author of seven books, including the Tattoo Thief new adult romance series and The Phoenix Candidate adult erotic romance. She is also co-founder of Jasper Ridge Press, which published four erotic romance collections featuring more than 20 New York Times and... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Three Sisters
  Craft  LITERATURE

10:30am PDT

The Live Editing Lab
This is a “lab-style” workshop emphasizing a hands-on approach for attendees. Writers ranging from rank beginners to seasoned pros have an opportunity to learn some basic (and invaluable) principles behind the three stages of editing: developmental, line, and copy editing. Writing samples will be culled from the workshop attendees, either via pre-conference submission or via samples I receive at the start of class itself, chosen randomly. The workshop will test the editing skills of participants through reading and discussion while offering insight into the ways in which editors approach the process of strengthening a manuscript at the level of the line, paragraph, and scene.

Faculty
avatar for Susan DeFreitas

Susan DeFreitas

Susan DeFreitas is a Portland-based writer and editor. Her work has appeared in The Utne Reader, The Nervous Breakdown, Southwestern American Literature, Fourth River, Weber—The Contemporary West, and Bayou Magazine, among other publications. She is the author of the fiction chapbook... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Mount St. Helens
  Craft  LITERATURE

10:30am PDT

La Cultura: Developing Vibrant, Multicultural Characters
What is culture? And how do writers find the guts to cross cultural boundaries to create rich, vibrant, and diverse characters? Participants are invited to an open-ended discussion on the challenges and pitfalls of writing within and across cultural boundaries. The instructor will present a practical look at different elements that impact the culture of literary characters, share materials and lead hands-on activities to help participants develop their own insights, and present a realistic pathway into developing culturally rich characters. Participants are encouraged to share their own queries, concerns, and insights throughout the course of the workshop.

Faculty
avatar for Anne Osterlund

Anne Osterlund

Anne Osterlund is the author of four young adult novels—Salvation, Aurelia, Academy 7, and Exile—all published by Penguin Books. Salvation is the first-place winner of two International Latino Book Awards, including Most Inspirational YA and Best Latino Subject Focused YA in... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Weidler

10:30am PDT

Sibling Relationships the Heart of Children’s Fiction
Sibling relationships are the primary engine of emotional conflict and growth in a young person’s life. It is a uniquely intense and enduring relationship and can do much to propel your story's plot and deepen its themes. This workshop will help you find a dozen concrete ways think about how the sibling dynamic will work in your particular family constellation and three exercises to help you harness the power of the sibling relationship to enhance your story.  Participants will come away with 1) an understanding of the factors that influence the sibling dynamic 2) The role of power in sibling relationships and a plan for making that dynamic serve the arc of your story 3) an outline for a scene where the characters underlying struggle is magnified by sibling rivalry 4) An outline for a scene where the character’s loyalty to a sibling moves the story in a new direction or adds depth to an existing scene.

Faculty
avatar for Rosanne Parry

Rosanne Parry

Rosanne Parry is the author of the award winning books Written in Stone, Second Fiddle and Heart of a Shepherd. In addition to middle grade novels she has written poetry, short stories, non-fiction, essays, and a screenplay. She lives with her family in Portland and writes in a  treehouse... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Sellwood

10:30am PDT

Blog Your Way to Authority

Blogging can be a powerful way to get deeply informed about a topic––while developing your expertise. In this interactive workshop for blogging beginners, participants will map out a plan for establishing a blog that helps you grow your platform. Through a series of prompts and exercises, you will develop an executable blueprint for launching and sustaining your online authority that includes: 

1. Foundation: Blog mission, name, and tag line
2. Momentum: An editorial calendar that includes a year’s worth of themes and topics to be covered;
3. Growth and visibility: A strategic map for building your audience and influencing the conversation in your field

I have applied this strategy in developing my pathofpossibility.com and radicaldivorce.com blogs where I have gained an international presence in the conversations about writing as a life practice and divorce as a spiritual practice.


Faculty
avatar for Sage Cohen

Sage Cohen

Sage Cohen is the author of the nonfiction books Fierce on the Page (forthcoming),Writing the Life Poetic and The Productive Writer, all from Writer’s Digest Books, and the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World from Queen of Wands Press. She has won first place in the... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Mount Bachelor
  LITERATURE  Marketing

10:30am PDT

Book Covers that Connect
Covers are crucial to book sales, but what makes a "good" cover? How can you
work with a designer to make sure you get the right cover for your book? Is
designing your own book cover always a terrible idea? Discover insider secrets
from two of the industry's best cover designers in this crash course on book
cover design. You'll learn universal principles and easy tricks that work on
all genres, as well as common design mistakes that will kill book sales.

Faculty
avatar for Shannon Bodie

Shannon Bodie

Partner and Art Director, Bookwise Design
Shannon has worked in the publishing industry for over 20 years.  She has enjoyed sharing her knowledge of the industry as a speaker, consultant and design judge for the past 15 years. Shannon has a reputation for outstanding service and award-winning design.  She specializes in... Read More →
avatar for Derek Murphy

Derek Murphy

Creative Indie Covers
Derek Murphy has been a book cover designer, writing coach and publishing consultant for almost a decade, working behind the scenes with hundreds of indie and self-publishing authors to make their books more successful. In another life, he was a national representative of Amnesty... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 10:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Mount Hood

12:00pm PDT

Networking Power Lunch
Another opportunity to network with industry influencers.  Relax, Eat and informally Socialize with the distinguished guests of the conference.  Editors, Agents, Faculty and Bestselling Authors will be seated throughout the ballroom providing the opportunity to learn more about them, ask questions and gain valuable insight into the current trends from people in the know.

Sunday August 9, 2015 12:00pm - 1:30pm PDT
Lloyd Ballroom
  Lunch

1:30pm PDT

Care and Feeding of Your Writing Group
We all want a great critique group, a place where insightful, accomplished people will help us take our craft to the next level. Unfortunately, most critique groups have several fatal flaws built into them. This seminar will expose drawbacks and obstacles created by normal critique group organization. It will then present solutions and techniques to help you take your craft to the next level whether you have a group or not.

Faculty
avatar for Eric Witchey

Eric Witchey

Eric M. Witchey has made a living as a freelance writer and communication consultant for over 25 years. In addition to many contracted and ghost non-fiction titles, he has sold more than 100 stories, including 4 novels. His stories have appeared in nine genres and on five continents... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Ross Island/Morrison

1:30pm PDT

How Objects Help Tell the Story
What is Lord of the Rings without the RING, Cinderella without GLASS SLIPPERS? These iconic objects are shorthand for legendary stories that could not be told without them. Objects (sometimes called a plot-devices) in fiction writing can be overly done, however a well-crafted plot device, or one that emerges naturally from the setting or characters of the story, can enrich the story and provide an added layer of reader satisfaction. Objects can help establish a character’s values, which informs their choices. Students will learn to create a narrative for an object in a character’s life, how that object can be backstory shorthand, enhance storytelling, help eliminate pages of narration and aid in telling a more layered tale. In this workshop we will use lots of visuals to help students get started, real life examples from literature to recognize how often this plot device is skillfully used, and how one can utilize vision-boards in story creation. Vision boards can keep your images/objects alive in your mind as you write.

Faculty
avatar for Mindy Halleck

Mindy Halleck

Mindy Halleck is a Pacific Northwest author and instructor. Her novel Return to Sender, was a featured debut novel in Kirkus Review Magazine, January 2015. As an inspirational instructor, she urges writers to embrace social media early in their professional endeavors, and skillfully... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Sellwood
  Craft

1:30pm PDT

Sharper Focus: Write Visually
It’s no secret novelists and journalists are writing their books with Hollywood in mind. More and more they infuse their work with cinematic cues to increase the chance for it being sold to the movies or to position themselves to score a lucrative screenwriting gig. But not all writers are cinematic by nature. In fact, many struggle to think and write in visual terms. If you’re one of them - and want to transition to a more image-driven style - this class is for you. It will introduce a number of filmic tricks and techniques employed by directors and screenwriters to heighten and sharpen the visual quotient of your prose. Also, the externalizing of internal character conflicts will be discussed.

Faculty
avatar for Randall Jahnson

Randall Jahnson

Randall Jahnson has been a professional screenwriter for 30 years. He's worked with such diverse filmmaking talent as Steven Spielberg, Penelope Spheeris, Alec Baldwin, Spike Lee, and Jonathan Demme. His credits include The Doors (as “J. Randal Johnson”), Dudes, The Mask of... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Weidler
  Craft  FILM  VISUAL STORYTELLING

1:30pm PDT

Advanced Marketing Techniques
Want to take your online marketing to the next level? Want to understand why certain techniques aren't working for you? Want to understand what makes a website tick? In this advanced marketing class, William Hertling will go beyond the basics to explain how marketing works and how to diagnose and fix marketing and online presence problems.

Faculty
avatar for William Hertling

William Hertling

Wired called William Hertling's debut novel Avogadro Corp "chilling and compelling". His second novel, A.I. Apocalypse, was nominated for the Prometheus Award for Best Novel.  And his best-selling self-published Singularity series has sold over 50,000 copies. Before turning... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Three Sisters

1:30pm PDT

Editors' First Page "Gong Show"

Do you wonder what goes through editors' minds as they read new material? 
Do you ponder how to avoid being tossed into the dreaded "slush pile"?  

Meet out our newest experiment:   In the vein of TV's classic "Gong Show," this fun
game-show-styled session turns YOU into a competitor and puts your opening page
to the test!

Be prepared with 5 printed copies of your project's first page. 

Our moderator will dramatically read your anonymous masterpiece aloud to our panel
of publishing editors.  When our panelists are no longer riveted, they
will indicate (LOUDLY) that their interest has begun to wane.  

After each entry is presented, our panel will offer their experienced insights for the benefit of everyone in attendance – all in good fun, of course.  

Prizes for best “First Pages” and entertainment and learning for all!  


Moderators
avatar for Orion Bradshaw

Orion Bradshaw

Actor, Educator
Orion is an actor and educator originally from from Ashland, Oregon.  An accomplished stage actor, he spent three seasons as a member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and has starred with Portland's Artists' Reperatory Theater, Milagro, as well as Post5 Theatre, which he co-founded... Read More →

Buyers
avatar for Emily Murdock Baker

Emily Murdock Baker

Emily Murdock Baker is an Associate Editor at Penguin Books, where she edits a broad range of fiction and nonfiction, and produces enhanced e-books. She also coordinates media tie-ins for Penguin. Her past titles include Paul French’s New York Times bestseller and Edgar Award-winner... Read More →
avatar for Claire Gerus

Claire Gerus

Owner, Claire Gerus Literary Agency
Claire Gerus has been Editor-in-Chief of two publishing houses, worked for seven major publishers, including Harlequin, Rodale, Random House, Doubleday, John Wiley, Kensington, and Adams Media, written articles for U.S. and Canadian magazines and newspapers, and taught corporate communications... Read More →
avatar for Kaitlin Ketchum

Kaitlin Ketchum

Kaitlin Ketchum is an editor at Ten Speed Press, part of the Crown Publishing Group that’s based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She primarily acquires and edits on art-driven gift/pop culture books such as Ella Frances Sanders’s New York Times-bestselling "Lost in Translation... Read More →
avatar for Lucia Macro

Lucia Macro

Vice-President, Executive Editor for William Morrow/Avon Books
Lucia Macro is a Vice-President, Executive Editor for William Morrow/Avon Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers. She made her mark editing the best in romantic fiction as well as smart, commercial women’s fiction. Recently, she has also edited including the New York Times... Read More →
avatar for Peter Senftleben

Peter Senftleben

Peter Senftleben is an associate editor at Kensington Books, where he is building his own varied and distinguished list.  He joined Kensington in 2006 after sharpening his editorial skills and red pencil while working at literary agencies.  A graduate of Tulane University with a... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Mount Hood
  _Event

1:30pm PDT

Pitch Marketplace
Where the commerce happens.  Sign up ahead of time for a pitch session, confirm the appointment time with the Pitch Marketplace staff, and sit down with the Buyer of your choice.  One-on-one pitch sessions last up to 8 minutes, and are scheduled "on the :10's" of the hour. 

Your project is ready: share it with the Marketplace!  

 

Sunday August 9, 2015 1:30pm - 4:00pm PDT
Pacific NW Ballroom

3:00pm PDT

Keynote Sendoff - Letting Go to Write Your Story
We reconvene in The Big Room for one last toast, and closing remarks.  

Faculty
avatar for Sheila Hamilton

Sheila Hamilton

Five-time Emmy-winner Sheila Hamilton began her career in documentary film before producing and reporting two-decades of television investigative news for such television stations as Portland’s KATU and Salt Lake City’s KTVX. She has been a weekly political columnist for the Portland... Read More →


Sunday August 9, 2015 3:00pm - 3:30pm PDT
Lloyd Ballroom

3:30pm PDT

Sendoff Social
Not ready to say goodbye?  Gather and linger at the Sendoff Social to swap stories, insights and contacts with old friends and new.  We'll be set up to accommodate
impromptu gatherings of writer/critique groups, both for existing groups to meet up and plan, and for new groups to form, based on shared interests and experiences over the weekend!  
Feast and toast (okay, well, it's cookies and soft drinks, but still), and resolve to meet back up with your "writer tribe'" next August.  

Thanks for helping to make this a great weekend experience, and See you Aug 6-8, 2016 for the 47th Annual Willamette Writers Conference!   

Sunday August 9, 2015 3:30pm - 4:30pm PDT
Lloyd Ballroom
 
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