Women Who Write, Inc.
Since 1988
CONFERENCE 2018
Conference 2018: Saturday, September 29, 2018
ABOUT THIS YEAR’S CONFERENCE:
Once again to be held at the historic Madison Community House, we are proud to offer another fine selection of quality options for our 2018 Conference. Following a continental breakfast and time to settle in and mingle, we will kick off the day with our morning keynote, celebrated author and organizing expert, Mary Carlomagno, who will set you on the right path to Organizing Your Writing.
You will next head to back-to-back presentations or workshops that you select in advance, run by agents, editors, a poet/professor and a playwright/director. These are your Sessions A & B. After that, a “free-time” break to grab a bite of lunch in charming downtown Madison or just stretch your legs with a walk, and you return to Madison Community House for either First Page sessions (see below) or an interactive presentation on writing dialogue across genres. We will then wrap up the day with our afternoon keynote, bestselling author, and editor, Donna Galanti, who will share the secrets of how to get your work past the gatekeepers! Cake and prizes bring an inspiring and educational day to a sweet close.
Conference Photos by Juanita Kirton
Additionally, during the day, private critique sessions on your own work will be offered at an additional fee. You can select your preference (Adult/Prose, YA/Children’s/MG/Picture Book, or Poetry) during the online registration check-out. Please note that your critique may take you out of a program/workshop for 15 minutes. If you order a critique, all works must be submitted not later than August 15, 2018. Please click on the “critique guidelines” button below to learn more.
IMPORTANT UPDATE:
All Children's, Middle Grade, Young Adult, and Picturebook critiques have been sold out, and may no longer be requested during the registration process. If you selected "Wait List" when you ordered your registration packages, our Conference Committee is working to find opportunities for your critiques. Please have your works ready to submit in accordance with Critique Guidelines.
If you need help with registering for the conference, please contact Laurie Wallmark by sending an email to ConferenceRegistration@WomenWhoWrite.org.
So, join us! You will have a great time and walk away with more knowledge and new connections all to spur on your writing goals!
Best Wishes and hope to see you there,
The Women Who Write Conference Committee
FIRST PAGE SESSIONS
Attendees who sign up for First Pages should bring four copies of a first page of a single manuscript with them to the conference and place it in the designated bin upon arrival. It will be located near the entrance. As many First Pages as possible will be read aloud by a volunteer reader and two editors/agents will give their critiques. First Pages will be read in the order in which they are received.
It must be the very first page of your work, not the first page of a later chapter. Do not put your name on the paper, but do include a title and indicate the genre (picture book, chapter book, middle grade, young adult, adult). Your manuscript must fit on a single sheet of paper (begin at the top of the page). If you submit a second page, only the first page will be read.
Formatting - Use standard manuscript formatting—double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman or Courier font, one-inch margins all around, half-inch indents for each new paragraph, single column of text. You may include up to the first 23 printed lines (not sentences!) of text from your manuscript.
CRITIQUES by EDITORS, AGENTS AND POETS
Conferences are an excellent way to improve your writing and when one-on-one critiques are offered, you have a rare opportunity to get a professional assessment of your work. Often, though, we as writers are so in love with our words, that we expect everyone else to be as well. New writers may feel devastated when editors don’t immediately laud their manuscripts or offer the writer a contract on the spot. But a seasoned writer will go into a critique intending to pick the brain of the professional, and they will value honest criticism, which will make their work better. Editors and agents see hundreds of manuscripts yearly and they have a very good eye for what works and what doesn’t work. They are the best reviewers an author can have because they can see what is best in your story as well as where it slows down, becomes too wordy, or goes off track. So to get the most from your critiques, take a deep breath, and focus on what you can take from the professionals that may make your work good enough to make a future sale.
~ Pat Weissner
