Gary Ferguson

The Promise of the Wild: Most of the changes we think we see in society, said Robert Frost, were in fact merely old truths, coming in and out of favor. This presentation chronicles the inspiring, humorous, and often passionate history of how Americans used nature to forge some of their most cherished ideals.

The Nonfiction Writer as Storyteller: Much like the fiction author, the literary nonfiction writer is first and foremost a storyteller. Here we’ll explore a longstanding blueprint for storytelling known as dramatic device, using some intriguing examples from traditional legend and myth.

The Sound of Your Voice Voice: is what allows writers to frame the world in a way that rings true to readers. We’ll examine the basic steps of cultivating voice, thereby allowing you to add greater authenticity to your nonfiction prose.

The Return of the Wolf: A Tale for the 21st Century: The ongoing challenge for nature writers – and often, for science writers in general – is how to give readers a fresh sense of the world around them. The return of wolves to Yellowstone National Park not only serves as a wonderful example of this challenge, but provides fascinating insights into how nature and science writing can be used to spotlight various aspects of the culture at large.

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Christopher Howell

POEMS IN PRINT: The Hows and Whys of Joining the Conversation: For the person just beginning to publish, or maybe only beginning to contemplate do so, the process seems a mysterious one, fraught with emotional dangers and unexplained technical requirements. "Poems in Print" will suggest strategies, attitudes, and procedures that will demystify and organize a writer's approach to this public aspect of the literary profession and provide an analytic overview of the types of publication venues now available. The presentation's starting point might be expressed as, "Don't be scared, and, above all, don't be worried."

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Kirby Larson

Go Ahead -- Make a Scene: Developing Scenes in your Work: Our goal as writers is to wrap our arm around a reader's shoulders and pull them right into our work. Much of the time, however, we inadvertently keep them at arm's length from our stories. Why? Because we rely too much on telling rather than showing. Mark Twain said it best: "Don't say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream." Come prepared to help your characters scream, holler and generally carry on as we talk about what it takes to create a scene. Bring a paragraph or so from a current piece in progress so you can practice techniques discussed in this session.

Writing for Children: Let the Wild Rumpus Begin!: Stanislavski supposedly once said, "Only the best is good enough for children." This session will explore what it takes to create the best in children's literature, including an exploration of the different genres (board books through young adult novels), as well as of different markets (book publishing and magazine publishing); a sample of some of the best books out there; and an in-depth discussion on the pros and cons of using talking animals (as editor James Giblin once said, "It depends on what they have to say."). Be forewarned: presenter will use her wiles to convert you all to children's writers!

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Dave Patneaude

Exercising Your Senses: or, specifically, the importance of sensory details in any genre of writing. We will discuss how details enliven writing and allow the reader to experience what is happening.

Voice, the Alternative to Mumbling in a Crowd: Voice: this elusive trait needs to be captured if a piece of writing is going to be effective in getting and keeping a reader's (and editor's) attention.

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Bruce Holland Rogers

Sly Marketing: Knock At the Door, Enter Through the Window: The markets for short fiction and short articles are always changing. If you write short, your market research may never end. The good news is that an every-changing market opens opportunities for publication that others may not see. This presentation will cover both the straightforward basics of marketing short work and some insights into how writers can discover unexpected publishing opportunities.

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Linda Swanson-Davies

Glimmer Train Startup

1. What did we think we wanted to do?
   1. Overarching goal, wish, hope?
   2. What would it be? A book, a magazine? If a magazine, how frequent?
   3. What would make our pub stand out from other publications?
2. Who would we hope to serve?
3. How would we hope to pay for it?
4. What would be in it, and what would it look like?
5. How would we get stories?
6. How much would we pay?
7. What about legal issues-contracts, copyrights?
8. What's a barcode? And other mysteries.

Editorial and Production Processes - Submissions are pouring in. Now what?!?

1. Practicalities of handling paper submissions
2. Who will read what? Identifying personal preferences and strengths
3. I loved it all the way to page 14.
4. So what did you like about that story? What happened in it? What did it make you think of? Will you remember it in two weeks?
5. Okay, so we have ten great stories here. Now what?
6. We can't correct her spelling; she's a Pulitzer-prize winner!
7. You want galleys? Why?
8. Why does the printer call these bluelines and what does he want from me?
9. We have to package these and drag them to the post office ourselves? But I'm an editor!

What Writers Should Know

1. Editors are just overbusy, fiction-loving humans - kind of like you except with thicker glasses.
   1. Details of making a submission.
   2. Where writers' and editors' needs occasionally conflict.
   3. Common story problems.
   4. Editorial tastes.
   5. Practicalities of having a story read and accepted and actually published.
2. Open to questions.

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Carolyne L. Wright

The Map-Maker's Colors: Topography, History, and Inner Transformation in Writing About Travel: In her poem "Arrival at Santos," Elizabeth Bishop chides herself for "immodest demands for a different world / and a better life, and complete comprehension / of both at last." She was a poet and essayist whose travels and powers of observation and description allowed her to enter into landscapes (both wild and domestic), cultures, and the human heart, from the perspective of the perpetual traveler, even in her own country. What is it about travel, and the interaction with other cultures and landscapes and people that it fosters, that spurs our imaginations, makes us want to write, and spurs our own inner transformation?

"There's No Biz Like Po-Biz"-Surviving and Thriving in the Writer's Career: "Po-Biz"-the catch-all term for literary career-building, has become synonymous with everything we deplore about social aspects of the writer's life: opportunistic networking, favor-trading and favoritism, mutual back-scratching (or back-stabbing), snobbery and sycophantism, and the secret wheels and deals that seem to rig the game. It's a source of anxiety and cynicism for poets and writers at every stage of their careers, and we all have our favorite horror stories. But does po-biz (pro-biz for prose writers?) have to be as evil as it is necessary or unavoidable? From the basic mechanics of submission to magazines and contests; to the etiquette (and ethics) of interactions between teachers and students, Big Names and Smaller Names, and poet / writer peers, we'll grapple with questions of career and creativity. (Do we work the room or work on our rhyme? Do we polish our prose or our book proposals?) We'll explore how to network successfully, how to be neighborly even long-distance, and how to avoid the "Fear of Foetry.com." How can we balance the golden mean in our writing, with the golden rule in our lives as writers among other writers? This talk and discussion should be candid and constructive, frank and funny, deep and deep-dish!

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Susan Zwinger

Journaling to Empower the Writer: An exploration of the illustrated journal as a way to free your creative self. Zwinger will share her twenty illustrated journals with students for inspiration.

Ippon Sen: A Drawing Method for Writers I: Come learn a simple form of One Line Drawing, called Ippon Sen. This Japanese method can be learned in one four-hour session. Through combining meditation, deep seeing, patience, and astute observation to your writer’s eye, you will be able to create surprisingly fresh and beautiful drawings in this one afternoon session.

Ippon Sen: A Drawing Method for Writers II: Come learn a simple form of One Line Drawing, called Ippon Sen. This Japanese method can be learned in one four-hour session. Through combining meditation, deep seeing, patience, and astute observation to your writer’s eye, you will be able to create surprisingly fresh and beautiful drawings in this one afternoon session.

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