Event Schedule
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Below is a rough outline of what you can expect at this year’s conference. This schedule is subject to change. Please check back often or sign up for our mailing list to get notified of all conference happenings!
Accessibility accommodations include transportation near the venue and partner hotels, elevators in all multilevel event spaces, accessible bathrooms, and accessible parking.
Friday and Saturday sessions will be held at Sehome High School, 2700 Bill McDonal Parkway, Bellingham, WA 98225
Thursday and Friday evening author readings will be held at Hotel Leo, 1224 Cornwall Ave, Bellingham, WA 98225
Saturday evening open mic will be held at Village Books in Fairhaven, 1200 11th Street, Bellingham, WA 98225
Thursday
25
8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Sehome High School
Inner Story: Plot Meets Character with Donald Maass
Powerful stories happen both inside and out. Character arc is just the start. The methods of highly-engaging inner journeys encompass interior narration, self-measurement, human longing, dual nature struggle, family shaping, social context, the influence of era, moral conflict and more. Deepen the other half of your work-in-progress with longtime master class instructor and agent Donald Maass.
12 p.m. – 4 p.m., Sehome High School
The Business of Writing with Katie Reed
Writing is art, but it is also a business! Come learn how to think like an agent and publisher and gain essential perspective that will help you in your long term author career. Approach your work from a business point of view and become the kind of savvy author agents will be eager to partner with.
1 p.m. – 4 p.m., Sehome High School
The Stories That Guide Us with Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe
In search of resilience we must turn to story. Sometimes our own stories are heavy with grief and trauma; where can we look to for strength? This workshop will explore research and memoir, mythologies and personal narrative. We will focus on the art of weaving research into personal narrative, and what it means to look beyond our own experiences in search of resilience. We will look at the braided form, write together using several prompts and share and discuss our creative work.
6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Faculty Book Signing and Reception
Preregistration required, free for attendees! Open to the public for $10. Registration link available soon!
Friday
26
9 – 10 a.m.
Conference Check-In @ Sehome High School
Address for First Timers
10 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Opening Keynote – Emily Nemens
Water, Water Everywhere: Wellsprings, Rivers, and Floods in our Writing
11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Scott Lambridis: The Serious Business of Being Silly
Sarah Hawley: Crafting a Compelling Romance
Lucy Tan: The Writer as Multitasker
Donald Maass: Beyond Hook: Hidden Aspects of Openings
A. Muia: Beyond Setting: Writing Literature of Place
Katie Reed: Polish Your Live Pitch
Maya Jewell Zeller: How to Start a
Memoir by Resisting Systems
Kelli Russell Agodon:Strange Magic: Writing Surreal Poems
12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Lunch
1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.
Plenary Session – Brendan O’Meara
Rage Against the Algorithm: How to Build a Lasting Author Platform without Social Media
2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Sonora Jha: Wounded Little Liars; Learning More About Your Characters
Anastacia-Reneé: The Poet’s Mixed Tape
Peter Mountford: Making Meaning in the Personal Essay
José Orduña: Literary Art in a Time of Crisis
Derek Shefflield: Lightning Bug and Lightning: Toward a Better Revision
Laura Mazer: Get Your First (Great) Book Deal
Glen Hirshberg: It’s the Little Things. All of Them.
Sati Mookherjee: Recklessness and Resolution…
Sasha LaPoint: The Landscape of Memory
4:15 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Agent/Editor Q&A
Laura Mazer, Katie Reed, Elise McHugh, and Kelli Russell Agodon
6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Faculty Book Signing and Reception
Preregistration required, free for attendees! Open to the public for $10. Registration link available soon!
Saturday
27
9 a.m.
Conference Check-In @ Sehome High School
Writing Prompts to Start Your Day
10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Brenda Miller: Fault Lines of Memory in Creative Nonfiction
Brendan O’Meara: From Journalism to Family Histories: Master the Art of the Interview
Katie Reed: The Call to Action
Donald Maass: Advanced Voice
Anastacia-Reneé: Archiving Lives Through Poetry as Memoir
Elise McHugh: Creative Portals: Tarot and Oracle Cards for Writers
Genre Fiction Panel: Glen Hirshberg, Sarah Hawley, Maya Jewell Zeller
Lucy Tan: On Novels: The Mushy Middle
11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Plenary Session – Sonora Jha
Wake Up, and Other Daily Writing Practices in a Time of Madness
12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Lunch
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Elise McHugh: Starting the Search for a Publisher
Kelli Russell Agodon: Accidental Devotions: Finding Poetry in the Everyday
Scott Lambridis: Action Fiction! Stories Performed
Sarah Hawley: Excavating Your Fantasy World
Developing Tension in Narrative Panel: Lucy Tan, Donald Maass, Peter Mountford
José Orduña: Ekphrasis: Writing with Art
Developing Your Writer Voice Panel: Sonora Jha, Sati Mookherjie, Brenda Miller, A.Muia
Emily Nemens: Writing Friendship
2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
Muia: Love ‘Em Both: Combining Short Form With Long Form…
Laura Mazer: How to Get an Agent
Peter Mountford: Scene Length and Pacing: The Limits of Show Don’t Tell
Sasha LaPointe: Hybrid Moments: The art of the lyric essay
Maya Jewell Zeller: Crossover Artists: Poets Writing Nonfiction
Glen Hirshberg: The Speculative Fiction Cookbook
Sati Mookherjee: Introduction to the Ghazal
4:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Closing Address – Derek Sheffield
Equipment for Living: On the Necessity and Nature of Poetry
5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Dinner
6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Open Mic in Fairhaven in the Village Books Reading Gallery, sponsored by Chanticleer Book Reviews, hosted by Carla Shafer
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Contact
Village Books
1200 11th Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
(360) 671-2626
info@chuckanutwritersconference.com