Conference Workshops - Topics and Presenters

Twelve workshops offered - you'll choose three to attend with each workshop lasting one hour.

Alice Acheson The "Today" Show Is Calling - Perfect Your Pitch Why is the verbal pitch so difficult? You know too much about your project, and no one likes a braggart. This workshop will help! Alice Acheson shares what works, what doesn't, and why. Don't risk meeting an agent, publisher, bookseller, or future reader and being caught off guard when someone says, "Tell me about your book." Come prepared to stand in front of the group and provide your MEMORIZED 45-second pitch. We all will comment on its strengths and weaknesses. Due to time constraints all can't pitch, but all will learn how to create a description that is "spontaneous," articulate, and sparkling—while demonstrating your passion for your topic. Don’t miss this opportunity to work with one of the best. Alice Acheson has 30 years' experience verbally "pitching" books, including handling publicity for four books that simultaneously landed on The New York Times Bestseller List. She is a Marketing Specialist and Publishing Consultant with decades of experience. Acheson has negotiated book contracts, sold subsidiary rights, and edited and publicized books. She is the recipient of the Literary Market Place Outside Services Award for Advertising, Promotion, and Publicity. As an editor at a major New York City publisher, she read the "slush" pile and spotted the "go/no-go" elements of a project. Nationally, she has taught workshops on marketing tools, pitching manuscripts, and publishing choices. She lives in Friday Harbor.

Bruce Barcott The Sacrificial Rite of Self Editing It's one of the toughest tasks a writer faces: confronting what you've just written, and lopping off some—or many—of those hard-earned words. In this workshop, nonfiction writer and editor Bruce Barcott explores a little of the purpose of self editing and a lot of the brass-tack tricks and tactics that will help you get the job done. Writing is revising, and revising means editing yourself. Split personalities welcome. Guggenheim Fellow Bruce Barcott is the author of The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw, named one of the best books of 2008 by Library Journal, and The Measure of a Mountain: Beauty and Terror on Mount Rainier (1997/2007), which received the Washington State Governor's Award. Barcott is an award-winning environmental journalist whose articles on humans and wildlife appear in National Geographic, The New York Times Magazine, Outside Magazine, and numerous national publications. He lives on Bainbridge Island. www.brucebarcott.com

Sage Cohen Top Ten Success Strategies for Writing More and Selling More Successful writers accomplish what they set out to do by living and writing in alignment with their aspirations. By putting solid systems, strategies and attitudes in place, you can keep moving toward what you value most. Author Sage Cohen shares the top ten ways to exponentially increase the results and rewards of your writing life—no matter what your genre, level of experience, or time limitations. You’ll come away with ideas, inspiration, and a large packet of planning tools to help you make the most of your writing life today and tomorrow. Sage Cohen is the author of The Productive Writer: Tips & Tools to Help You Write More, Stress Less & Create Success (2010) and Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry (2009). Her poetry collection is Like the Heart, the World (2007). Cohen’s most recent articles about the writing life appear in 2012 Writer’s Market and 2012 Poet’s Market. She resides in Portland, Oregon. www.pathofpossibility.com

Langdon Cook Books and Bytes: Using Social Media, Blogs, and the Internet The Internet is a game-changer for writers. Author Langdon Cook writes about age-old skills such as wild food foraging, cooking, and woodcraft, but uses the latest tools and technology to cultivate his audience. Cook discusses why it's imperative that today’s writers learn new tricks. His presentation includes basic how-to information on the “new media,” as well as the do’s and don’ts of blogging, tweeting, and navigating the current fast-paced “Infobahn.” Langdon Cook is the author of Fat of the Land: Adventures of a 21st Century Forager (2009), which The Seattle Times called “lyrical, practical and quixotic." He writes a popular award-winning blog of the same title and has finished another book to be published in 2013. Cook worked at Amazon as a senior books editor before moving with his family to a cabin off the grid. He is a columnist for Seattle Magazine and a frequent speaker about wild foods and the outdoors. His writing has appeared in Sunset, Outside, and other journals. Cook is a graduate of Middlebury College and UW’s MFA program. He lives in Seattle.

Lyanda Lynn Haupt Nature Writing in a Changing Landscape Nature writing is a beautiful, varied genre, but as the human relationship to nature changes in the new millennium, so does the place of the nature writer. Lyrical descriptions of nature are no longer enough. What is the role of the modern nature writer, and how do we cultivate the craft of nature writing in this changing landscape? Can a nature writer live in a city? In this session, we explore tools for deepening our voices as writers who inspire connection with a wilder, natural world. Lyanda Lynn Haupt is an award-winning author, speaker, teacher, and naturalist based in Seattle. Her latest book, Crow Planet: Essential Wisdom from the Urban Wilderness (2009), was awarded the 2010 Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award. Haupt’s fourth book, The Urban Bestiary, will be out in early 2013. Her writing has appeared in a variety of publications, including Utne Reader, Los Angeles Times, Image, Open Spaces, Wild Earth, and Conservation Biology Journal. Haupt has led educational programs for Seattle Audubon Society, and worked as a seabird researcher for the Fish and Wildlife Service in the remote tropical Pacific. www.lyandalynnhaupt.com

Judith Kitchen Personal Essays - Short Can Be Sweet   In this session we consider short personal nonfiction pieces—how they can stand alone or be combined to build a memoir. We review some characteristics of “shorts,” and how to personalize our pieces without having to kiss and tell. We explore the way length and depth play off each other, how the “lyric” or the “hybrid” works on the reader, and ways to unlock material. Participants will receive a handout with many examples, and an exercise guaranteed to encourage more writing. Judith Kitchen is the author of three collections of essays, most recently Half in Shade: Family, Photography, Fate (2012). In addition, she has published a novel, poetry, and criticism. She has edited three collections of short nonfiction pieces (In Short, In Brief, and Short Takes) for W. W. Norton. Her work has won the Lillian Fairchild Award, two Pushcart Prizes, and the S. Mariella Gable Award. She is the regular poetry reviewer for The Georgia Review. Kitchen lives in Port Townsend, WA and serves on the faculty of the Rainier Writing Workshop MFA at Pacific Lutheran University. www.judithkitchen.com

Isaac Marion Journey of a First Novel The paths to publication for first novels are as varied as the novels themselves. Writer, blogger, musician, painter, and photographer Isaac Marion discusses his writing and the publishing process that led to the release of his debut novel, Warm Bodies, by Atria/Simon & Schuster last fall. The Guardian writes that Warm Bodies is “a slacker-zombie novel with a heart,” and SeattlePi.com describes it as “fun, surprising, thoughtful, and—incredibly—optimistic.” Eagle Harbor Book Company’s Kristy Webster leads the session, leaving time for questions from the audience. Isaac Marion was born in 1981 in Mount Vernon, Washington, and moved to Seattle in 2005. He burned through a variety of unrelated jobs—from doing construction work, to delivering death beds for hospice patients, to supervising foster children at parental visits—before finding success with his first published novel, Warm Bodies, in 2011. The novel has been adapted into a feature film releasing this summer. Marion is also a musician and visual artist who has released two albums and shown paintings at local galleries. www.isaacmarion.com

Erica Miner Journaling: The “Write Way” for Writers In this two-part workshop, Erica Miner brings an expertise developed over a near-lifetime of journaling, and illustrates how writers can mine their experiences to shape their works. In Part 1 Miner discusses how she uses journaling in her fiction and nonfiction, as well as specific techniques to enhance the journaling journey. In Part 2 she leads participants in a hands-on journaling session. All attendees will receive a copy of Miner’s well-researched Journaling Resource Sheet. Former Metropolitan Opera violinist Erica Miner’s recent novel, Murder in the Pit (2010), takes place at the Met Opera and has earned rave reviews. Miner has won awards for her screenplays, novels and poetry, including the fiction prize in the Direct from the Author Book Awards for Travels with My Lovers (2002). She has become well known through radio and online interviews, book signings, articles, and speaking engagements. Miner has also been named a “top-rated” lecturer for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. www.ericaminer.com

Jessica Page Morrell Mastering Narrative Connections Every story needs connections that propel readers through a story, providing a map of sorts as the narrative progresses. In this workshop, we discuss how foreshadowing and backstory create these connections for readers so that the main events deliver a wallop of emotion, the whole contains resonance, and character arcs are credible. We also explore how transitions bridge the key moments and changes in a story so that readers are never lost or disoriented. Jessica Page Morrell lives in Portland, Oregon where she is surrounded by writers. She works as a developmental editor and is the author of Thanks, But This Isn’t for Us: A (Sort of) Compassionate Guide to Why Your Writing Is Being Rejected (2009); Bullies, Bastards & Bitches: How to Write the Bad Guys in Fiction (2008); and The Writer’s I Ching: Wisdom for the Creative Life (2007), along with other books. Morrell began instructing writers in 1991. She now teaches workshops in the Pacific Northwest and at conferences throughout North America, and lectures to writing organizations. www.jessicamorrell.com

Margaret Nevinski (with Margaret Trent) Writing Groups and the Craft of Critique Would you like to make your writing group experience more productive? Margaret Nevinski and Margaret Trent—both veterans of several writing groups—discuss various aspects of successful groups, including how to focus on constructive critique and how to keep meetings on topic. They also cover common problems and pitfalls, and share some pet peeves. There will be plenty of time for discussion, so bring your questions. Who knows, you may meet your new writing group member at this session! Margaret Nevinski has participated in writing groups in person, online, and by Skype. She has published children’s books for the school market and a young adult story in Hunger Mountain (2010). Currently she’s writing a middle-grade novel. Nevinski received her MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and teaches writing and creativity workshops for young authors and adults. She lives on Bainbridge Island, where her current writing group meets every other week. www.margaretnevinski.com

Susan Rich The Poet in the World: Using Travel to Write Our Poems When we travel we exist on a different level. Away from our daily lives, we wade into the world of unusual food and trust in a new bed each night. But how do we write good poems about places and people we hardly know? How can we appreciate newness without falling into abstract language? Whether travel means a weekend in the Olympics or a boat ride down the Niger River, we’ll explore new ways to use these experiences in our work. Examples of successful poet-travelers will lead to our own writing. Please bring a pen and notebook; be ready to go traveling. No passport required. Susan Rich is the author of three collections of poetry: The Alchemist’s Kitchen (2010), named a finalist for the ForeWord Prize and the Washington State Book Award; Cures Include Travel (2006); and The Cartographer’s Tongue (2000), which won the PEN Award for Poetry. She has received awards from Peace Corps Writers and the Fulbright Foundation, and appeared at venues in Ireland and Bosnia. Recent poems have been published in Harvard Review, The Southern Review, and other journals. Born and educated in Massachusetts, Rich now makes her home in Seattle. www.susanrich.net

Sheila Roberts How to Write a High Concept Novel High concept books are big sellers and everyone wants to write one. Most of us quickly find that this is easier said than done. Best-selling novelist Sheila Roberts helps you understand what constitutes a high concept novel, learn to recognize a high concept idea when you see one, and then turn it into the kind of novel that will gain attention in today’s competitive market. Sheila Roberts has enjoyed seeing 28 books in print, both fiction and nonfiction, under different names, and has been published in several languages. Her latest novel is The Nine Lives of Christmas, which was released in fall 2011. Roberts’ books have been top sellers and featured by magazine book clubs and included in Reader’s Digest Condensed Books. Her novel On Strike for Christmas (2007) was made into a movie that aired on the Lifetime Movie Network. www.sheilasplace.com

Margaret Trent (with Margaret Nevinski) Writing Groups and the Craft of Critique Would you like to make your writing group experience more productive? Margaret Nevinski and Margaret Trent—both veterans of several writing groups—discuss various aspects of successful groups, including how to focus on constructive critique and how to keep meetings on topic. They also cover common problems and pitfalls, and share some pet peeves. There will be plenty of time for discussion, so bring your questions. Who knows, you may meet your new writing group member at this session! Margaret Trent is a former employee relations manager, management training professional, and volunteer crisis counselor. Her novel manuscript On Fields Forgotten was a PNWA literary contest prizewinner; she is currently at work on a new novel. She has been active in two writing groups, one for eight years. After six years as registrar for Field’s End, she now volunteers with Bainbridge Island Friends of the Library. Trent is also an artist and has exhibited her work as a member of the Botanical Artists Society. She is a native of Edinburgh, Scotland.