2024 Conference Speakers
Keynote Speaker
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2024 Keynote Topic
TRIBE & FIRE: Abolishing the Myth of the ASPIRING Writer There is no such thing as an aspiring writer. If we write, we are writers. There is nothing aspiring about it. We can aspire to be doctors. We can aspire to greatness. We can even aspire to be better writers. But no matter what anyone’s current place in the industry is, even if they aren’t in it yet at any level, the pen to the page makes us writers. Period. So instead of seeking out validation about how we define ourselves, it’s much more important to seek out and find our people (our tribe) and ignite each other to tell our stories (our fire). |
Workshop Intensive Panel
Talking About Self-Publishing
The panel will discuss paths to self-publishing and the help you need to do it, from prepping the manuscript to submissions to publicizing and selling your work. They will cover working through Amazon, working with a book publishing company, and making the jump from self to traditional publishing. Panel members will each do a short presentation in the morning, followed by a brief break for lunch and breakout groups with each speaker.
Talking About Self-Publishing
The panel will discuss paths to self-publishing and the help you need to do it, from prepping the manuscript to submissions to publicizing and selling your work. They will cover working through Amazon, working with a book publishing company, and making the jump from self to traditional publishing. Panel members will each do a short presentation in the morning, followed by a brief break for lunch and breakout groups with each speaker.
angela
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Angela DeCaires is the CEO of BookLogix. She has previously held positions as the Director of Publishing and Marketing & Communications Manager with the Atlanta-based publisher. Angela’s background includes experience in public relations, writing, broadcasting, and journalism, having spent several years as a TV news producer and news writer in New York state, followed by public relations work for health systems in both Florida and New York. She holds a BA degree in Communication/Journalism from St. John Fisher University.
Intensive Topic: Angela DeCaires will walk participants through best practices and mistakes to avoid in the self-publishing process, the services available to self-publishing authors, and how to navigate the process. |
danny
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In 2014 Danny, along with his wife, Wanda, released Out of the Depths, their first Davis Morgan mystery which grew to be a four- book series. Additionally, they have completed two books in the Adairsville Heritage Mystery Series. Danny’s first book was traditionally published, the next two were self-published, while the last six were published by traditional publisher, CrossLink.
Danny received a BA from Atlanta Christian College (now Point University) and a Masters from Kentucky Christian University. He spent many years serving churches in several states. His writing endeavors, sparked by his wife’s love of the craft, include more than fifty articles for various publications and a weekly newspaper column. His first book, published in 1991, was One-Way Choices in a Wrong-Way World. He has authored two other non-fiction books, Life in Adairsville, a history of his hometown, and Whatever Happened to Evangelism? Intensive Topic: Danny Pelfrey will discuss the creative decisions that led him to both self and traditional publishing in his writing life. |
Sandy
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Session Topics
Creating a Film Deck: The First Step from Page to Screen Every novelist or even nonfiction author sees their work as a movie or made-for-TV documentary. But how do you envision your project as episodes? And how do you put it into a document to present to producers? This session will walk writers through the creation of a film deck and how to take your written project to the screen. Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Writers Everyone is talking about AI and how to use AI for writing. This session will give an overview of the dos and don'ts of using AI in your writing project, the legal ramifications and how to use AI and still maintain copyright of your intellectual property! |
Julie Gwinn is Vice President and Agent at The Seymour Agency. Julie has a background in editorial, launching the Pure Enjoyment line at B&H Publishing Group where she served as Fiction Publisher and was awarded Editor of the Year and Agent of the Year finalist by the American Christian Fiction Writers.
Julie also has more than 25 years of public relations and marketing experience and has worked in marketing for several Nashville nonprofit organizations, including the Tennessee Association for the Education of Young Children, the Nashville Area Red Cross, and the YWCA. She puts that marketing expertise to use in working with her authors. Julie is actively looking for diverse voices in both fiction and non-fiction and is currently looking for romance, mystery/true crime, historical and speculative/ fantasy novels. In non-fiction she is looking for self-help, lifestyle, motivational and sports related books. Julie is no longer accepting email queries and has started using Query Manager to manage this part of the business. Please visit her Query Manager portal at the link below where you will find instructions on the process and how to upload your materials. Query: https://querymanager.com/JulieGwinn Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julie.gwinn.5 Twitter: @JulieGwinn |
Session Topics
Writing Middle Grade How is writing a novel for an intended audience of 8- to 12-year-olds any different than writing any other novel? What are the most important decisions to make and elements to get right? Chris Negron, author of three such novels for the middle grade audience, will explore these topics and reveal some secrets using his current novel in progress as an example. For those not writing in the middle grade space, this session will cover basic concepts of plot, structure and voice that apply to all genres and age groups. Tips and Tricks for Introducing Your Characters It's that all important "first look" - the moments early in your story where the reader "sees" your character for the very first time. Not merely physical, external descriptions (though we'll discuss that, too) but who they are inside, important characteristics that foreshadow everything else to come. Themes, plot points, motivations, all of it often comes directly out of those first few pages. What are some elegant, unique ways you can reveal these characteristics in the context of forward moving action? We'll dive into several examples from the stories you love, whether they be modern novels, classics or even films, to show the multitude of options you have to choose from. |
Chris Negron is the author of several novels for children, including Georgia Author of the Year finalist and Sakura Medal nominee Dan Unmasked. His latest novel, Underdog City, was released in the fall of 2023, again from HarperCollins. He holds a Computer Science degree from Yale University, but it was his years of playing Dungeons & Dragons in friends' basements that inspired him to write stories about the things he loves, including comic books, baseball, competitive cooking shows, and dogs.
Visit him at chrisnegron.com. |
Session Topic
To Tell and Retell in Poetic Form This workshop will examine how poets use their craft to tell their own stories, along with the retelling of common narratives such as Biblical stories or Greek myths. Special attention will be given to form, allusion, epigraphs, and point of view. This class is also ideal for the writer who wishes to include artifacts or drawings within their poetry collection, and examples of strong hybrid collections will be shared. All levels are welcome, and prompts will be provided for in class writing. |
Rosemary Royston, artist and poet, is the author of Second Sight (2021, Kelsay Press) and
Splitting the Soil (Finishing Line Press, 2014). She resides in the northeast Georgia mountains with her family. Her writing has been published in journals such as POEM, Split Rock Review, Southern Poetry Review, Poetry South, Appalachian Review, and *82 Review. She is a former Assistant Professor of English, and currently serves as Main Street Director for the City of Young Harris. https://theluxuryoftrees.wordpress.com/ |
Session Topics
Failing Your Way to Writing Success Writers often face rejection. John will explore methods to handle failure and deal with the discouragement that comes along with rejections in your inbox. Drawing from his writing journey and the life-changing wisdom of Eudora Welty, James Baldwin, and Stephen Marche, he will talk about ways to keep moving forward with your writing life. The Quest and the Story: Turning Your Travel Adventure into a Successful Narrative Whether you have just returned from summiting Everest or that long road trip across America in that ancient VW bus with the peace signs painted on the side, you've got a story itching to be told! We will explore the genre of travel narratives, dive into the mechanics of structure, the details of being a reporter in the field as well as the protagonist of the story. I'll share some of my adventures hiking the Appalachian Trail and how I turned those long months and miles into a published book. |
John Turner is a Hiking Enthusiast, Appalachian Trail Ambassador and Trail Maintainer. He is the author of Killing the Buddha on the Appalachian Trail: Walking on through Self-Doubt and Aging, to be published in late 2024 by the University of Georgia Press, and he is currently working on a book that will tell the story of the men and women who built and then hiked the Appalachian Trail in the South.
After retiring from a state agency in Atlanta where he was instrumental in founding The Martin Luther King, Jr. Advisory Council, John Turner began hiking the Appalachian Trail near his home in north Georgia. Those short hikes for exercise and relaxation soon evolved into a second career of volunteer work as a member of the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club, where he was elected to its board of directors, and he became a Trail Ambassador, a maintainer of a short section of the A.T. in Georgia, and editor of club’s flagship publication, The Georgia Mountaineer Quarterly. His previously published work includes an essay on archeology in The Chattahoochee Review and a history of the Ku Klux Klan published by the Southern Poverty Law Center. He began his career in journalism as a reporter first for The Macon Telegraph and then The Atlanta Journal, followed by a short stint as editor of a small-town weekly newspaper in north Georgia. His commitment to public service included directing an AmeriCorps program focused on improving the educational level of struggling children and several years as a mentor for high school students. He currently lives in Blue Ridge, an hour’s drive from the Appalachian Trail in Georgia, where he can often be found walking in all seasons, improving the trail, connecting with other hikers, and pondering the mysteries, beauty, and peaceful solitude of the north Georgia mountains. |
linda sandsSpeaker Panel Moderator
Named Georgia Author of the Year for her novel, 3 Women Walk into a Bar, Linda Sands has published five books in four genres and is the creator of The Cargo Series featuring Jojo Boudreaux, the world’s only female truck-driving sleuth. Her award-winning short stories, flash fiction and essays have appeared in numerous publications, from the AJC to international anthologies. Hunkered down in her modern mountain house in Blue Ridge, she’s currently putting the final touches on two books, Get Cozy and Bad Faith while writing poetry inspired by her art and weird, wild, Mother Nature.
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