Upcoming Events Calendar

Conferences

Mid-Atlantic Creative Nonfiction Summer Writers' Conference
August 11-16
Conference includes workshops and panels. Workshops are devoted solely to the art and craft of creative nonfiction. These sessions will engage you with many crucial elements of creative nonfiction—the building of scenes, dialogue, descriptions, and characterizations—all within the context of writing and critiquing essays, articles, and profiles. Workshops will never have more than 15 participants.

OnQ's 2nd Annual "Escape to the Mountains" Conference for Self-Publishers
August 20 - 22
If you are a self-publisher, or are thinking about it, OnQ has slated a fun and educational conference. The conference will have national publicists, literary agents, a Native American panel, lawyers and many more interesting speakers. There will also be some nightly entertainment events, including a "Cowboy Cookout" with hayrides and "spook stories" around the campfire.

1998 Maui Writers Conference
August 29th - September 3rd
Bringing together a long list of bestselling authors, award-winning journalists, top editors, agents, publishers, as well as the best in screenwriting and film, the Conference gives you the opportunity to meet the people who can make a difference in your writing career.

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers 15th Annual Conference
Sheraton Hotel, Lakewood, Colorado.
September 11-13
The conference offers workshops, speakers, and panels for unpublished and published novelists, including: fundamentals of fiction writing; genre-specific presentations on mystery, western, science fiction, and romance; police work; research; small press and alternative publishing; and promotion.

For a brochure visit the website at http://www.rmfw.org, or call (303) 331-2608 and leave your name and address, or write Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers (RMFW), P. O. Box 260244, Denver, CO 80226-0244.

Susquehanna Valley Writers' Workshop
Central Pennsylvania Romance Writers
September 12
SVWW is a multi-genre workshop, featuring twelves seminars, a one-hour critique session and a book sale. SVWW will be held at the Holiday Inn and Convention Center, New Cumberland, PA (near Harrisburg).

16th Annual Conference
Southwest Writers Workshop
September 18-20
The Saturday night Keynote speaker will be David Guterson, author of the bestseller Snow Falling on Cedars. Malcahy McCourt, the brother of Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes, will be the Saturday luncheon featured speaker. Malcahy's memoirs, A Monk Swimming, will be published in June 1998. On Sunday, the featured speaker is United States Poet Laureate, Robert Pinsky. In addition to these speakers, there will be approximately 20 more authors and some 20-25 editors and agents.

Virginia City Mother Lode Writers Workshop
September 18-20
Award winning writers Steve Chapple, Sue Hart, and Melinda Rucker-Haynes will offer courses, panels, and seminars which include: the art of lively non-fiction, creating compelling fictional characters, dialogue, plotting and setting, techniques for analyzing the markets, prospecting for editors and agents, creating winning query letters, synopses and proposals, tips on the art of self promotion and finding romance in Virginia City history. Tours to historic locations and museums are included.

Mother Lode Writers
Box 1255
Big Timber, MT 59011
Phone: 406-932-4227

Maple Woods Community College Writers' Conference
September 19th
The Maple Woods Community College Writers' Conference will be held at the American Heartland Theatre in the Westin Crown Center. The conference will open with Ann Rule, author of New York Time Bestseller, From the Cradle to the Grave. That presentation will be followed by several sessions covering all genres of writing, such as romance, mystery, science fiction, children's fiction, fiction and non-fiction. The closing will be presentations by two literary agents.

The 1998 Columbus Writers Conference
September 25th - September 26th
The 1998 Columbus Writers Conference, presenting a broad range of writing topics, will be held Friday, September 25 (afternoon and evening) and Saturday, September 26 (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) at the Fawcett Center for Tomorrow, 2400 Olentangy River Road, Columbus, Ohio. This sixth annual conference features sessions on the novel, the short story, the nonfiction book, the children's book, historical fiction, finding and working with an agent, book packaging, playwriting, poetry, marketing travel articles, humor writing, writing corporate histories, queries and submissions, authors promoting themselves, freelance writing, creativity, and networking.

To receive a brochure, call 614/451-3075 or e-mail the director, Angela Palazzolo, at AngelaPL28@aol.com.

WRWA 50th Anniversary 1998 Fall Conference
Wisconsin Regional Writers' Association
September 26 & 27
Dr. Richard Lederer, verbivore and true master of words, is the keynote speaker at the 50th Anniversary celebration of Wisconsin Regional Writers' Association. Authors Ben Logan, Laurel Yourke, Alan Martin and Patricia Lorenz round out the exciting weekend in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. The Saturday night banquet will feature Dr. Lederer as entertainment with Heels over Head with Language.

Contests

-- The 6th Annual West Coast 10-Minute Playwriting Contest is seeking entries. The first, second, and third place winners will receive $100, $75, and $50 respectively, as well as eight performances in the 6th Annual 10-Minute Playwriting Festival, "Six at Eight" in June of 1999. The fourth place winning play receives two staged readings during the Festival.

-- A songwriting contest with a July 4th theme has been announced by Eddy Raven and PLA Media. Winners of a the songwriting contest will receive an all expense paid trip in Nashville (airfare included), dinner with Eddy and a chance to have a song or part of an essay published. Songs or essays can be sent to PLA Media, ATTN: Eddy Raven Contest, 1303 l6th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212. The deadline for the contest is September 7th on Labor Day. For more information on the contest, call PLA MEDIA @ (615) 327-0100.

-- Goosebumps fans have a chance to write their own terrifying story with a chance to win the Creepstakes -- a nation-wide contest in which fans finish a story by R.L. Stine. The Grand Prize is a trip to New Orleans to visit graveyards, mansions, and swamps. Details can be found on the Goosebump website at: http://www.scholastic.com/goosebumps/.

Return to the August 1998 issue of The IWJ.