“Websites for Writers: Launch Your Website in a Weekend” with Nikkita Cohoon Saturday, Nov. 15, 2:30pm-3:45pm (Session F3) Having a web presence has become increasingly important for networking, job searches, and establishing yourself as a professional writer. Your website can act as your online business card or resume, and serve as an archive for your...

“We Regret To Inform You: Dealing with Literary Rejection” with Laura Maylene Walter Saturday, Nov. 15, 9-10:15am (Session C8) Writers get rejected. It’s a fact of life, but it can still be difficult to swallow. In this session, we’ll examine literary rejection in all its glory by exploring actual rejections, including the famous, the funny,...

“Lines that Bind: Using Constraints and Experiments to Generate Poems” with Rochelle Hurt and Linwood Rumney Saturday, Nov. 15, 2:30-3:45pm (Session F5) In this session, we will explore experimental methods of writing poetry inherited from Oulipo and Surrealist practices. After an overview of formal exercises with erasures, centos, exquisite corpse, palindromes, univocalism, and homophonic translation,...

“Object Relations: A Workshop on Character Development” with Susan Streeter Carpenter Friday, Nov. 14, 4:30-5:45pm (Session B1) Storytellers have known for millennia what psychoanalysts say about the symbolic power of objects to stand for the relative menace or benevolence of the world. From the Security Blanket to the Wedding Ring, from the soccer ball named...

“Don’t Just Fill the Pail, Light the Fire: Continuing Your Writing Education” with Marissa Marangoni & Tobin F. Terry Saturday, Nov. 15, 1-2:15pm (Session E5) This workshop will discuss the many ways writers can continue educating themselves on writing after their formal education ends—or even without a formal education altogether. It is a challenge to...

“Lake Philadelphia’s Guide to Songwriting” with Olivia Buzzacco, A.J. Graber, Matt Warner, & Chris Johnston Saturday, Nov. 15, 1:00-2:15pm (Session E3) A presentation about songwriting and the craft of lyrics, with special guests from a local band who will talk about one of their own songs and perform it. Participants will discuss the musical side...

“A Little or a Lot: Experiments in Dispensing Language” with Robin McCarthy, Annie Bilancini, Amy Elisabeth Hanson Saturday, Nov. 15, 2:30-3:-45pm (Session F7) This workshop will compare the styles of traditionally minimalist and maximalist writers in order to identify where less is more and where it’s just less. We’ll consider the merits of each tradition...

“Write Yourself Out of the Box” with Chelsea Cooper and Michelle Deschenes Saturday, Nov. 15, 2:30-3:45pm (Session F4) Ever been in a situation you didn’t have the faintest idea how to get yourself out of? This session will take on novel experiences with a poetic twist. Photographs of people in precarious positions will be provided...

“The Cinematography of Sentences: Using Film to Inspire Fiction” with Matt Weinkam Friday, Nov. 14, 4:30-5:45pm (Session B8) Film influences fiction writers whether we want it to or not. Rather than resist this pull, why not put it to use? In this workshop we will look at the way individual shots in a film can...

“Where Books Begin: The Nuts and Bolts of Starting a Novel” with Anne Valente Saturday, Nov. 15, 1:00-2:15pm (Session E8) In this generative session, participants will learn the basics and practicalities of beginning a novel. Discussion will include determining the novel’s subject and how to take that first step in deciding, as well as beginnings...

“Poetry and Nightmare” with Mary Robles Friday, Nov. 14, 4:30-5:45pm (Session B6) What scares you? What makes you cry? What makes you sick to your stomach? In poetry, these topics can often be fiery material for intense, raw, and psychologically complex writing. We will explore the bizarre and often disturbing realm of nightmare and reflect...