2025 Presentations
Nelson Harris, Premier Guest
Nelson Harris, Friday Keynote: The Stories Among Us | Saturday Class: Non-fiction Treasure Hunting
Saturday’s course takes a look into how to find information, sources, and more, plus cautions when stumbling upon true crime and beyond.
Betsy Ashton, Kate Goggin, Debbie Seagle, Dan Smith: Authors Answer Your Questions about Publishing
Four Virginia-based share their path-to-publishing stories and discuss how RRWC energy contributed to their successful projects. Bring your questions about traditional, self- and independent publishing, and everything in between.
Clinton Atwater, Leaving a Legacy by Crafting Your Personal Narrative
Explore the art of storytelling and its profound influence on our lives. Learn how to uncover your personal narrative, transform it into compelling stories, and share your unique perspective with the world. You will get the tools and confidence to craft compelling stories that celebrate your unique journey and inspire others.
Lisa Archer, Eyes Wide Open — Leaning into curiosity and finding your story
Where do we find stories? No matter our genre, we’re all looking for the next story. In this interactive workshop we will embrace our curiosity and follow its many paths. From a simple observation we can chart the path of a piece, nurturing it with research, interviews and exploration.
Jessica Britton, The Ins and Outs of Podcasting
Podcasts combine a number of forms of communication, beginning with your phone or your iPad and graduating to a full studio production. Jessica will take you through the steps.
Lori D’Angelo, Aliens, Vampires, and Zombies, Oh My: Writing Speculative Fiction
In this course, we’ll talk about the growing popularity of speculative fiction and look at some classic and contemporary examples from writers such as Ray Bradbury, Ursula LeGuin, Aimee Bender, Kelly Link, Haruki Murakami, and Karen Russell and talk about venues that are friendly to speculative fiction writers. We’ll also talk about fiction that bends genres and breaks rules. This class will include a writing exercise to help you get started on your speculative fiction journey.
Diane Fanning, Nuts Bolts and Murder: Step-by-step process of writing true crime and getting it published.
Nelson Harris, Keynote Address on Friday and Researching Local History Saturday
Harris is the author of 14 hyper-local histories, and he will tell you how he accomplished it, from finding photographs to digging up personal histories to linking with the right publisher.
Lindsey Hull, Dive Right In — The Art of Immersion Writing
This class will introduce you to immersion writing, an experiential technique in which the writer immerses themselves in their research in the name of inspiration; they dive in headfirst, soaking in the subject in its entirety. In this class, you’ll imagine the possibilities and learn how to carry out an experiment in immersion from choosing an experiment to producing a final piece of writing.
Lee Hunsaker, Stories That Shine: The Power of the Five Senses in Storytelling
Lee’s immersive workshop will explore the transformative power of utilizing the five senses to create stories that pulse with color, music, taste, smell, and touch. In this hands-on session, participants will discover how engaging all of our senses can elevate narratives and create memorable and vibrant experiences for readers and listeners. Throughout the workshop, we will:
- Explore why sensory details are essential for crafting compelling stories and how they enhance emotional connections with your audience.
- Practice techniques for engaging the senses and weaving sensory descriptions into your writing.
- Participate in interactive writing exercises through guided writing prompts designed to awaken your senses.
Let’s set your stories ablaze with inspiration and evocative detail that leaps off the page and into the hearts of your audience.
Bill Kovarik, Ghost Stories
A chill in the air, a thrill at the back of your neck, a thumping in your heart, and that squeaking terror in your strangled scream… Yes, it’s time to share ghost stories. Bill Kovarik moderates this session for conference attendees to read short excerpts from their own terrifying works.
Roland Lazenby, Strategic Thinking For A Writing Life
Strategies for success in a writing life are important to keep in mind; just don’t let them get in the way of your joy. Thus, how to balance that thinking with your creative passion is critical to negotiating a publishing world that is all business.
Christina Linsin, A New Golden Age of Poetry: How Contemporary Poets and the Internet Reinvented a Genre
We will discuss the ways in which many contemporary poets are changing the application, delivery, and accessibility of contemporary poetry to suit today’s audiences. Referred to as “a new golden age” in 2021, the rise in literary magazines, submission numbers, and poetry workshops would support that description of poetry today. We will discuss what the implications of poetry’s newfound popularity may be, as well as the opportunities which exist in a world where poetry is popular.
Liz Long, How to Win Projects and Influence Clients
In this session, discover practical strategies for finding and securing clients, building efficient organizational systems, and understanding your worth. We’ll explore how to balance flexibility with financial growth, treat freelance work like a small business, and create a sustainable workflow that supports both independence and stability. You’ll also learn how to leverage professional development groups for networking and skill-building, ensuring long-term success. Whether you’re new to freelancing or looking to level up, this presentation offers actionable insights to help you thrive.
Beth Raps, How Would They Say That?: Writing in the Worlds Beyond English
The diversity of human languages is one of the most fascinating things about us. We often want to write in a second language—our own or one we made up. Yet how do we know if we’re getting it right? Everyone who has ever read a translation has wondered: is this really what the author said? Everyone who has ever tried translating has despaired of the same question! Like a good adventure story, writing in the worlds beyond English is tantalizing yet fraught with peril.
This workshop will guide you with a few ground rules for writing in a language beyond English. Whether it’s a language you don’t know well–yet your major characters have just landed where it’s spoken; or you want those characters to speak a language never before heard on Earth; or you’d like to start translating your favorite foreign authors into English, there are a few important ways to ensure authenticity and artistry while retaining comprehension and smooth flow.
Cameron Ring, From Page to Screen: The veteran moviemaker takes you inside the film industry with solid tips on how to get your manuscript (whatever its current form) into the movie theatre. He knows the people and the techniques that have won him many awards.
Josh Urban, Start Now: On The Power of Short Form: Author, blogger, and columnist Josh Urban shares ideas on the power of short-form writing. Topics include honing your style, building a readership, getting paid for your work, and having fun along the way. Put your voice in the world–today!
Tracey Wainwright, Creating Captivating Characters: A book’s characters are much more than just personality and physical traits. They’re dreams, hopes, past traumas, and so much more. In this workshop you’ll learn effective strategies to create engaging and entertaining 3-dimensional characters who will hook your reader from page one and make them care about them.
Anne Marie Wells, Synonyms for Grief: In conjunction with best practices learned through the Certificate in Social Emotional Arts program with The Arts & Healing Initiative, this creative writing workshop, inspired by K.E. Ogden’s poem of the same name, utilizes this title poem as well as work from poets Annie Marhefka, Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, and others to present several different writing prompts to support participants’ expressions of grief in a supportive space. Participants often find the workshop to be a cathartic outlet, a means of processing experiences, and a place to find community with others navigating similar experiences. Though this workshop is trauma-informed, it is not a trauma specific service.