North Carolina Writers' Network Fall Conference 2008

Friday November 14 through Sunday November 16

Hilton Raleigh Durham Airport at Research Triangle Park
4810 Old Page Road
Durham,  27709
1-919-941-6000
www.hiltonrtp.com

(use code NCW for special conference room rate)

Featuring Master Classes, More than 30 Classes and Workshops, Critiquing Service, Manuscript Mart, Speed Pitching Service, Faculty Readings, and Exhibits.

Register online here | Download a registration form Online registrations are now closed: walk in registrations are available on site.

Fees & Important Dates | Complete Schedule at a Glance
Faculty Bios
Highlights | Class & Worshop Schedule and Descrtiptions
Session I | Session II | Session III | Session IV |Session V
Master Classes
Manuscript Mart
Critiquing Sessions
Speed Pitching
Faculty Books

Important Dates

Complete Schedule at a Glance

Register online here | Download a registration form Online registrations are now closed: walk in registrations are available on site.

Refunds and Cancellations

Cancellations must be made in writing and arrive at the Network by 5 pm on November 1, 2008, for you to receive a refund of the registration fee, less $150. No-shows or cancellations after November 1 are nonrefundable.

Manuscript Mart, Critique Service, Speed Pitching, and Master Class fees are not refundable if you cancel. However, if we are not able to find a place for you in the Manuscript Mart, Critique Service, or Speed Pitching, we will return your check(s) for related extra charge(s). (Master Class application fees are nonrefundable, as they are administrative charges.)

Send all refund requests to NC Writers' Network Refund, PO Box 954, Carrboro, NC 27510.

Faculty Biographies: Fall Conference 2008

Register online here | Download a registration form Online registrations are now closed: walk in registrations are available on site.

	Emmanuelle Alspaugh joined Judith Ehrlich Literary Management in August 2008. Previously she was a literary agent at Wendy Sherman Associates and at The Creative Culture. Before becoming an agent, she worked as an editor at Fodor's, the travel division of Random House. She enjoys developing long-term relationships with her clients, helping them to build their literary careers and promote their work. She also offers authors the full breadth of her editorial experience. Emmanuelle represents women’s fiction, historical fiction, literary fiction, and romance in all subgenres but suspense. She also represents narrative nonfiction, memoir, popular science, psychology, business, and how-to. She does not represent genre mysteries or thrillers. Her nonfiction authors include food writer and memoirist Adrienne Kane (Cooking and Screaming), family therapist Catherine McCall (When the Piano Stops), self-promotion expert and humor writer David Seaman (Dirty Little Secrets of Buzz), and Marie Claire editor Sarah Wexler (Living Large). In fiction, she represents Danielle Younge-Ullman (Falling Under), Alissa Johnson (As Luck Would Have It), and Jordan LaRousse and Samantha Sade (Oysters and Chocolate).
	John Amen is the author of two collections of poetry: Christening the Dancer (Uccelli Press 2003) and More of Me Disappears (Cross-Cultural Communications 2005), and has released two folk/folk rock CDs: All I’ll Never Need and Ridiculous Empire (Cool Midget 2004, 2008). He is also an artist, working primarily with acrylics on canvas. Further information is available on his website: www.johnamen.com. Amen travels widely giving readings, doing musical performances, and conducting workshops. He founded and continues to edit the award-winning literary bimonthly, The Pedestal Magazine (www.thepedestalmagazine.com).
	Paul Austin has worked in emergencies for twenty years: first as a firefighter, and now as an emergency room physician. His nonfiction narratives have been published in Creative Nonfiction, The Gettysburg Review, Ascent Magazine, The Southeast Review, and turnrow. His essay, "Tucker Put His Gun to His Head," was listed as a notable essay in The Best American Essays of 2006. In September of this year, W.W. Norton published his memoir Something For the Pain: One Doctors Account of Life and Death in the ER. The book has received positive reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, and a starred review from LibraryJournal.com, published by the American Library Association.
	Kathie Bennett, proprietor of Magic Time Literary Agents, serves as both an author publicist and author agent. She is actively building her client list in young adult, mystery, Southern fiction, and literary fiction. She is one of the founders of the Spartanburg, South Carolina, summer reading program for high school students, a program that has been used as a model by over fifty other high schools in the United States and has also been adopted by a high school in New Zealand. She also currently is the Vice President of Associated Alumni at the University of the South, Sewanee. Kathie’s publicity clients include Elizabeth Cox, Masha Hamilton, Cassandra King, Michael Morris, Ron Rash, Janis Owens, and Linda Busby Parker. Her agent clients include Frances Lowell Cooper and Linda Busby Parker.
	Gary Carden decided to become a playwright while a student at Western Carolina University. He is the author of numerous full-length and one-act plays and a collection of short stories, and is the recipient of the North Carolina Folklore Award and an honorary doctorate from Western Carolina. His most recent play, Outlander, is about the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the subsequent removal of thousands of mountain people from park land.
	Stacey Cochran is a writer, producer, and teacher. His fiction has appeared in North Carolina Literary Review, CutBank, and other venues. His novels include The Colorado Sequence and Amber Page. In July 2008, he signed a major deal with Macmillan/St. Martin’s. In Raleigh, he produces and hosts an author-interview TV show, and he teaches in the First-Year Writing Program at NC State University.
	Paul Cuadros is an award-winning investigative reporter who has written about issues of race and poverty for more than 15 years in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and North Carolina. In 2006, Cuadros wrote about his experience coaching in Siler City and the lives of the immigrant children in his book, A Home on the Field: How One Championship Team Inspires Hope for the Revival of Small Town America (Rayo/HarperCollins). The book tells the story of the Jets, a team of Latino immigrant high school soccer players in Siler City, NC and how they overcame adversity and prejudice to become state champions. It also tells the story of how one town came to terms with immigration. The book has recently been translated into Spanish for international distribution. Cuadros is now an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Chapel Hill. He is currently working on a new book project set in Mexico.
	Melissa Delbridge has won awards from the Southern Humanities Review and the Southern Women Writers Conference for her nonfiction and fiction. Her work has appeared in many literary journals, including Antioch Review, Southern Humanities Review, and Third Coast, and she was interviewed in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine. In her memoir, Family Bible (University of Iowa Press, 2008), she explores themes of race, gender, and sexuality and the impact they had on her life in the Deep South during the 1960s and 1970s. A native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, she works as an archivist at Duke University.
	Stuart Dischell is the author of Good Hope Road, a 1991 National Poetry Series Selection (Viking Penguin, 1993); Evenings & Avenues (Penguin, 1996); Dig Safe (Penguin, 2003); and Backwards Days (Penguin, 2007). Dischell’s poems have been widely published in journals such as The Atlantic, The New Republic, Ploughshares, Slate, The Kenyon Review and in anthologies including Hammer and Blaze, The Pushcart Prize, and Garrison Keillor’s Good Poems. A recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the North Carolina Arts Council, and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, he teaches in the Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing at UNC-Greensboro.
	Annette Dunlap has been a freelance writer for over 30 years. Her op-ed pieces have appeared in several of North Carolina’s major newspapers, including the Raleigh News and Observer, the Greensboro News and Record and the Fayetteville Observer. She was a community columnist for the Charlotte Observer in 2005. She was a stringer for the Asheboro Courier-Tribune, specializing in health care and human interest stories. Annette’s business articles have appeared in industry publications, including Advance for Physical Therapists and The Rotarian. Her first book, Frank: The Story of Frances Folsom Cleveland, America’s Youngest First Lady, will be published by SUNY Press, and is scheduled for release in March 2009. She is currently researching material for a second book on the history of her family’s arrival in America. Annette is the owner of LWG Publishing, Ltd., a self-publishing company specializing in history and memoir.
	Daniel Ellison is an attorney in private practice in Durham, NC. For over twenty years he has been concentrating on arts law issues and has been a two-term president of the NC Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts and has served as its part-time Executive Director. Over the years he has worked with numerous writers, reviewing publishing contracts and advising them on copyright issues. A frequent speaker on arts law topics, he writes a bi-monthly legal issues column for the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) newsletter. This fall he is a visiting lecturing fellow in the Duke University Theater Studies department, where he is teaching a course on legal issues for the performing arts. Over 13 years ago, Dan developed Durham Arts Place, a building in downtown Durham that continues to fulfill its mission of providing affordable artist studio spaces. Dan was a 2007 Indy Arts Award recipient.
	Alex Grant’s book Chains & Mirrors(NCMW/Harperprints)won the 2006 Randall Jarrell Poetry Prize and the 2007 Oscar Arnold Young Award(Best NC Poetry Collection.) His second collection, The White Book, was released by Main St. Rag Publishing in 2008. He received the 2006 Kakalak Poetry Prize and WMSU’s 2004 Pavel Srut Poetry Fellowship, and has been runner-up or finalist for Discovery/The Nation, The Pablo Neruda, Dorset, Tupelo Open, Lena-Miles Wever Todd, Brittingham and Pollak Prizes, and is a five-time finalist for The Arts & Letters Poetry Prize. His poems have appeared or are upcoming in many national journals and anthologies, including The Missouri Review,Best New Poets 2007, Arts & Letters, Kakalak, Nimrod, Seattle Review, Sycamore Review, Connecticut Review, North American Review and The Pedestal Magazine. He lives in Chapel Hill with his wife Tristi, his dangling participles and his Celtic fondness for excess.
	John Grooms is a writer, editor, rock & roll history teacher, and author of the "Boomer With Attitude" column in Charlotte's Creative Loafing newsweekly. He has won numerous awards for editing, and for writing serious as well as humorous pieces. He was editor in chief of Creative Loafing for 18 years, his work has been anthologized in three Novello Festival Press compilations, and he's currently at work on what will probably be an overly long book of memoir and history focused on his trouble-making, jailbird grandfather.
	Carol Henderson divides her time between teaching writing workshops all over the world, coaching writers one-on-one, and working on two nonfiction books. USA Today called her memoir, Losing Malcolm: A Mother’s Journey Through Grief , “A redemptive memoir about losing a baby and learning how to live . . . short on new-age buzzwords, long on lessons learned from loss.” Earlier this year she co-edited Qatar Narratives, an essay collection by women in the Middle East. Since the mid 1980’s Carol has published widely in magazines and newspapers, including Woman’s Day, the Utne Reader, and The Oxford American. She is an award-winning columnist with The Chapel Hill News. Henderson recognizes that writing can be a profound tool for self-discovery, creativity, and transformation. Her workshops focus on helping writers find their deepest material, truest voices, and best form for self-expression. Visit her website at: www.carolhenderson.com.
	Patricia Hickman is a communicator and an award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction whose work has been praised by critics and readers alike. Patty first studied creative writing at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and then went on to do graduate studies in writing at Queens University. She writes for major publishers and is currently at work on her sixteenth book for Random House. Painted Dresses was released July 2008 to critical acclaim. She has served as an adjunct writing professor at UNCC and teaches in writing workshops across the country. Patty is the Chairperson and Founder of the Secret Angels Project, benefiting North Carolina families with HIV/AIDS.
	Suzanne Havala Hobbs, DrPH, MS, RD, holds a doctorate in health policy and administration from UNC-Chapel Hill where she is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, and director of the executive Doctoral Program in Health Leadership. A licensed, registered dietitian, her professional interests include food and nutrition policy (domestic and international), dietary guidance policy, cultural proficiency in health services delivery, and health journalism and communication. A professional health writer, she is the author of ten consumer books, including Get the Trans Fat Out (Random House 2006)and Being Vegetarian for Dummies (Wiley, 2001). Her diet and health column, On the Table, appears weekly in the News & Observer (Raleigh) and The Charlotte Observer. She is a member of several professional associations and served on the board of directors of the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism.
	Linda Hobson, the author of a book on novelist Walker Percy and editor of a second, has a Ph.D. in English from the University of Alabama and is a graduate of both Denison and Duke. A college and independent day school teacher for twenty years, she is a past executive director of the N.C. Writers’ Network. Hobson is at present a writer, editor, book reviewer, interviewer, public speaker, and writing workshop leader at Market Street Books, in Chapel Hill. Hobson owns and manages Triangle Editing, contract writing and editing business in Durham, N.C., that serves clients in the Triangle and beyond. Contact information is available at www.triangleediting.com. Hobson has edited many published works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
	Marjorie Hudson is author of Searching for Virginia Dare, a personal journey into the mysterious disappearance of the Roanoke Colony, a selection of the BookWomen Traveling Book Club. In 2000, she was recipient of the Sarah Belk Gambrell Award for Excellence in Arts Education. In 2003 she was a Sherwood Anderson Award finalist, and in 2005 she was Artist in Residence at Headlands Center for the Arts (Sausalito, Ca.). Two of Hudson's short stories recently won Pushcart Special Mentions, and an essay, "Sufi Dancing with Dad," is forthcoming from Fulcrum Press in the anthology Wild in Our Breast: Women Speak to the Recurring Realities of War. She has published features and essays in NC Literary Review, The Rambler, National Parks, Storytelling Magazine, American Land Forum, Sandhills Review, and other magazines and journals. Hudson is founder of the Kitchen Table Workshops and has taught through Duke Continuing Education, the Center for Documentary Studies, UNC Creative Writing Department, and the University of Alaska-Anchorage MFA program, among others. www.marjoriehudson.com
	Randall Kenanis the author of a novel, A Visitation of Spirits; two works of non-fiction, Walking on Water: Black American Lives at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century and The Fire This Time; a young adult biography of James Baldwin; and a collection of stories, Let the Dead Bury Their Dead, (a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award). Among his awards are a Guggenheim Fellowship, the John Dos Passos Prize, a Whiting Writers Award, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Prix de Rome. He is associate professor of English at UNC-Chapel Hill.
	John Kessel co-directs the creative writing program at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. A winner of the Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Award, the Locus Poll, and the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, his books include Good News from Outer Space, Corrupting Dr. Nice, and The Pure Product. About his recent story collection, The Baum Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories, reviewer Nick Gevers of Locus said, “John Kessel is one of American SF’s finest writers . . . Occasionally dashing into whimsy, but in general employing a finely calculated combination of realism and satire, Kessel constructs stories of subversive eloquence, their full freight of meaning exploding in the mind a while after reading has ended.”
	Stephen Kirk is the author of Scribblers: Stalking the Authors of Appalachia and First in Flight: The Wright Brothers in North Carolina. His fiction has been reprinted in the “Best American Short Stories” series. As editor at John F. Blair, Publisher, in Winston-Salem, since 1988, he is especially interested in literary fiction and mysteries set in the Southeast, folklore, travel, cookbooks, biographies, and regional history.
	Lisa Williams Kline has published three novels for young people: Eleanor Hill, winner of the N. C. Juvenile Literature Award; The Princesses of Atlantis, which is in its fourth reprinting; and Write Before Your Eyes, from Delacorte Press. Her stories for young people have appeared in Spider, Cicada, Odyssey, and Cricket. Her stories for adults have appeared in Peregrine, Women’s Work, The Belletrist Review, and several anthologies, including An Intricate Weave, In My Life, Tis the Season, and the Press 53 Open Awards Anthology. She has an MFA in fiction from Queens University.
	Amanda Lamb is a published author and a professional television journalist who covers the crime beat for WRAL TV. She has been a full-time television reporter for nearly two decades. In June 2008, The Berkley Group published her second book, a true crime called Deadly Dose: The Untold Story of One Homicide Investigator’s Crusade for Truth and Justice about a murder case she covered in Raleigh.Her first book, Smotherhood: Wickedly Funny Confessions from the Early Years, a humorous collection of essays about parenting was published by Globe Pequot in August 2007. Amanda received her undergraduate degree from Duke University in North Carolina and her graduate degree in journalism from Northwestern University. She lives in the Triangle with her husband and two daughters.
	Vicki Lane writes the Elizabeth Goodweather Appalachian Mysteries: Signs in the Blood, Art's Blood, Old Wounds, and the recently-released In a Dark Season, all from Bantam Dell. She also teaches in the Great Smokies Writing Program at UNC-Asheville and is currently at work on a standalone, set in Elizabeth Goodweather's Marshall County and centering on Miss Birdie, Elizabeth’s octogenarian neighbor. Vicki and her husband moved to their mountain farm in 1975 – which makes them "new people” in a county where farms still in the same family after seven generations are not unusual. In 2000, Vicki remembered that she was an English major and decided to try her hand at a mystery novel. A brief class at a community college got her going and her first novel was published by Bantam Dell in 2005.
	Nicki Leone is a bookseller-at-large who showed her proclivities early when as a young child she asked her parents if she could exchange the jewelry a well-meaning relative had given her for Christmas for a dictionary instead. She supported her college career with a part-time job in a bookstore, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that her college career and attending scholarships and financial aid loans supported her predilection for working as a bookseller. She has been in the book business for over twenty years as a frontline bookseller, bookstore manager and book designer and editor. Currently she works for the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, developing marketing and outreach programs for independent bookstores. Nicki has been a book reviewer for several magazines, her local public radio station and local television stations. She serves as President of the Board of Trustees of the North Carolina Writers Network, editor of the Lady Banks' Commonplace Book and as Managing Editor of BiblioBuffet. Plus, she blogs at Will Read For Food.
	Loyd Little served with the Green Berets in Vietnam, giving him the bones and gristle for his first novel, Parthian Shot (Viking-Penguin Press), which won the PEN-Hemingway award. Other works include Village of the Man (Viking-Penguin), Smokehouse Jam (Ballantine), and he has recently published a non-fiction photographic essay on his work with the Hre tribe in South Vietnam. He has published hundreds of articles and columns after a lifetime in newspapers, been a speaker at conferences, and has taught creative writing in the English Department at UNC-Chapel Hill.
	Zelda Lockhart is author of the novel Fifth Born, which was a 2002 Barnes & Noble Discovery selection and won a finalist award for debut fiction from the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Legacy Foundation. Ms. Lockhart holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Norfolk State University, a Master’s in English from Old Dominion University, and a certificate in writing, directing and editing film from the New York Film Academy. Her other works of fiction, poetry and essays can be found in anthologies, journals and magazines. Lockhart is also the author of The Evolution, a serial novella, currently appearing in the archives of USAToday.com's Open Book series. Her most recent novel, Cold Running Creek, publication January 2007, is a work of historical fiction that has already garnered the attention of noteworthy literary organizations, such as the Historical Novel Society, and has won a 2008 Honor Fiction Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. This year, Cold Running Creek was chosen as the “Text in Community” read for all incoming students and North Carolina A&T State University. Universities throughout the United States and abroad have recognized Ms. Lockhart’s talents as a writer and speaker. She is currently working on her third novel, lecturing, and facilitating a variety of workshops that empower adults and children to self-define through writing. She lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina.
	Ruth Moose teaches creative writing at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is the author of two collections of short stories. She is also the author of four collections of poetry, most recently Making the Bed and Smith Grove. Her stories have appeared in Atlantic Monthly, Redbook, and Ladies Home Journal, as well as in many university and college publications. She has received the Robert Ruark Foundation prize, three PEN Syndicated Awards for short story, a N.C. Literary Fellowship, and a MacDowell Fellowship.
	Travis Mulhauser lives and writes in Durham. His novella and story collection, Greetings from Cutler County, was published in 2005 by the University of Michigan Press. The first chapter of his novel Sweetboy was published this spring in Roger: an Art and Literary Magazine.
	Ron Rash holds the John Parris Chair in Appalachian Studies at Western Carolina University. In 2005 his novel Saints at the River was named Fiction Book of the Year by both the Southern Book Critics Circle and the Southeastern Booksellers Association. In 2005 he also won an O. Henry award for his story "Speckled Trout." He is author of two collections of short stories, The Night the New Jesus Fell to Earth and Casualties; three books of poetry, Eureka Mill, Among the Believers and Raising the Dead; and three novels, One Foot in Eden, Saints at the River and The World Made Straight, which won the Sir Walter Raleigh Award. Chemistry and Other Stories, his latest book, was published in April 2007. In March 2005 he was given the James Still Award by the Fellowship of Southern Writers.
	Amy Rogers, the founder and publisher of Novello Press, is an award-winning writer and editor. Books she has written include Hungry for Home: Stories of Food from Across the Carolinas, and Red Pepper Fudge and Blue Ribbon Biscuits. Rogers is a frequent commentator for NPR station WFAE. She is a past winner of the SELA President’s Award, given by the Southeast Library Association for her work with NFP, the nation’s only library-funded literary publisher. She is a past vice-president of the Publishers’ Association of the South. Rogers has presented numerous educational and outreach programs at conferences, festivals, schools, arts centers, and libraries. She lives in Charlotte, N.C. novellopress.org
	Linda Rohrbough has been writing professionally since 1989 and has more than 5,000 articles and seven books to her credit. She's received awards in both fiction and nonfiction, including three national awards. Her most recent book, Weight Loss Surgery with the Adjustable Gastric Band, co-authored with Robert Sewell, M.D., was published by Da Capo Lifelong books in March 2008. Linda has several How To articles on the NC Writer’s Network website. Visit her website: www.LindaRohrbough.com
	Rita Rosenkranz, a former editor with major New York publishing houses, founded Rita Rosenkranz Literary Agency in 1990. Her adult non-fiction list includes health, history, memoir, parenting, music, how-to, popular science, business, biography, popular reference, cooking, spirituality, and general interest titles. Rita works with major publishing houses, as well as regional publishers that handle niche markets. She looks for projects that present familiar subjects freshly or lesser-known subjects presented commercially.
	Dawn Shamp is the author of the historical novel, On Account of Conspicuous Women, recently honored with the 2008 "Making Democracy Work" Award from the League of Women Voters of North Carolina (Orange, Durham and Chatham Counties chapter). It's set in her hometown of Roxboro, N.C. in 1919-1921, as women's suffrage and deep cultural changes sweep across America and prepare the way for today's amazing political landscape. After publishing several short stories, Shamp attended the Sewanee Writers Conference on an Emerging Artists grant from the Durham Arts Council, earned an MFA in writing from Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky, and completed her debut novel on a fellowship at the Vermont Studio Center. She lives with her husband, Jim, in Durham, where she's working on her next historical novel.
	Eleanora Tate’s eleventh novel, Celeste’s Harlem Renaissance, is a 2007 NC Book Award (AAUW) Winner and a 2008 IRA Teachers’ Choice Award winner. Other award winners include The Secret of Gumbo Grove, The Minstrel’s Melody (American Girl History Mystery), and Front Porch Stories. She’s published hundreds of newspaper articles, numerous short stories and essays, speaks at conferences, and teaches children’s literature at NC Central University and creative writing at the Institute of Children’s Literature. She’s an Associate Professor at Hamline University’s Creative Writing masters program, St. Paul, Minnesota.
	Betsy Thorpe has worked in the book publishing business for 16 years. In New York, she was an acquiring and developmental editor in the adult trade departments of John Wiley & Sons, Macmillan Books, Broadway/Doubleday, and HarperCollins. For the last eight years, Betsy has operated a freelance editorial business, and co-written 3 published books. One of her freelance clients is Novello Festival Press, where she serves as Marketing Director. Betsy's latest book, 365 Nights: A Memoir of Intimacy, was featured in the New York Times and on The Today Show.

Fall Conference 2008

Register online here | Download a registration form Online registrations are now closed: walk in registrations are available on site.

SPECIAL EVENTS

FRIDAY NIGHT

5:00 through Sunday – Exhibitor Tables open in the Camellia Room

Find out what’s going on in the literary world by visiting our exhibitors: magazines, publishers, literary & arts organizations, and other friends of writers.

Opening Reception: "Writers Welcome"
Banquet Foyer/Courtyard Friday, 7:30-8:30 pm

You’re checked in, you’re registered, you’re ready to go. Start your conference weekend with a casual reception for faculty, speakers, and conference attendees.

Keynote Address: Ron Rash
Grand Ballroom, 8:30-9:30 pm

Ron Rash, the award-winning author of the new novel Serena and longtime friend of the Network, will deliver this year’s keynote address. A book signing and reception will follow.

Book Signing and Keynote Reception
After Keynote Address
Grand Ballroom/Banquet Foyer/Courtyard, 9:30-10:30 pm

SATURDAY

8:00 a.m. – Breakfast and Discussion

Get out of bed and come down to the Grand Ballroom for continental breakfast and a panel discussion on “Google, Twitter, and Blogs – The Brave New Worlds of the Internet.” Moderated by author and WRAL-TV reporter Amanda Lamb, this discussion will feature poet John Amen, author and TV host Stacey Cochran, and the Network’s own webmistress extraordinaire, Nicki Leone, talking about how authors can use the Internet to find and build an audience. This breakfast and discussion is open to all conference attendees.

9:00 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 4:00 p.m.; Sunday, 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. – Publishing Track Workshops

You’ve finished your utterly brilliant (really? I mean, really?) memoir/novel/poetry collection/mystery/etc., and now you just need to get it published, since that’s usually a prerequisite for major prizes and bestseller lists. Sign up for one or more of our Publishing Track workshops this weekend: “That First Book Feeling” panel discussion about the joys and challenges of being a debut author; “Understanding Publishing Contracts” with an attorney who specializes in arts and intellectual property; Speed Pitching with our agents and editors (an additional fee is required); “Promoting Yourself” with a veteran publicist; and a discussion on “How to Write a Book Proposal” with book businesspeople who’ve been on both sides of the query letter.

Luncheon Speaker: Piedmont Poet Laureate
1:00 - 2:00 pm

The Piedmont Laureate is a new position created by the City of Raleigh Arts Commission, the Durham Arts Council, the Orange County Arts Commission, and the United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County; so new, in fact, that the first Piedmont Laureate has not been named yet. The Piedmont Laureate will augment the efforts of North Carolina’s Poet Laureate to bring the literary arts to all the people of North Carolina. The Network is helping promote this new position and the laureate’s activities, and we hope this program will be copied by cities and regions across the state.

Faculty Readings
(Room TBA), 4:00-6:30 pm
This is your chance to hear your favorite presenters read their own work aloud in 10-minute sections. Great opportunity to get your book signed. All faculty books are on sale at our on-site conference bookseller, Quail Ridge Books & Music.

6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Happy Hour (Banquet Foyer/Courtyard)

7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Network Banquet, with musical performance by John Amen, & Town Hall Meeting (Grand Ballroom)

After a full day of workshops, discussions, and readings, come join us for our annual banquet and a new program: a Network Town Hall Meeting. This will be your chance to ask questions, make comments, and learn more about what the Network has been doing in the past year, and plans to do in the coming year.

Open Mic for Conference-Goers
(Rooms TBA), 9:30-11:00 pm
Claim your 5 minutes of fame! All conferees are invited to take part in a lively read-out-loud session.

Sign up at Writers' Network Registration Table

SUNDAY

8:00 a.m. – Breakfast and Discussion
Sure, you’re exhausted on Sunday morning; we all are. You don’t want to miss a panel discussion featuring real, live agents and editors, though, do you?

12:30 p.m. – Closing Remarks
You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.

Fall Conference 2008: Class & Workshop Schedule and Descriptions

Register online here | Download a registration form Online registrations are now closed: walk in registrations are available on site.

Breakfast Panel

Saturday, November 15, 8:00 – 9:00 a.m

Panel Discussion: Google, Twitter, and Blogs – The Brave New Worlds of the Internet
Moderated by Amanda Lamb, WRAL-TV
No registration is required.
John Amen, Stacey Cochran, and Nicki Leone will discuss the latest online technologies, and how writers can use them to their advantage. Continental breakfast will be available during the discussion.

Session I Classes: Fall Conference 2008

Register online here | Download a registration form

Saturday, November 15, 9:00-10:30 am

Panel Discussion: That First Book Feeling
Moderated by Amanda Lamb, WRAL-TV
Debut authors Paul Austin, Melissa Delbridge, and Dawn Shamp will share their stories of first-time publication, from sending in the manuscript to their very first (but, we hope, not last) author tour.

Creative Nonfiction Workshop: Point of View and You: How Writers Use Viewpoint as a Strategic Tool
with Randall Kenan
This workshop will focus on focus: how writers can use various points of view to enhance the power and effectiveness of their nonfiction work.

Fiction Workshop: Where It’s At: Setting in Fiction
with Travis Mulhauser
Where It's At will focus on setting and its role in your fiction. We will discuss the importance of when and where, and pay special attention to the narrative benefits of well-rendered settings. We will examine the worlds our fiction inhabits, and ask ourselves how the reader's experience of time and place can be made even more immediate and inescapable.

Poetry Workshop: Writing Toward Plenitude: Tools for Generating New Poems
with Alex Grant
This workshop will introduce the participant to some tried and tested methods for stimulating new poems, including the palimpsest poem, embracing the form and ekphrasis. We will also examine and discuss some of the finer points of each of the techniques covered. The intent of the workshop is for all participants to leave with some new writing tools.

Session II Classes: Fall Conference 2008

Register online here | Download a registration form Online registrations are now closed: walk in registrations are available on site.

Saturday, November 15, 11:00 am-12:30 pm

Fiction Workshop: Writing Speculative Fiction
with John Kessel
In this workshop we will explore how to write various kinds of fiction under the general heading "speculative fiction." We will discuss the expectations of the genres, how the speculative fiction writer creates fiction out of extrapolation from present trends, or through analogy between the familiar and the strange. We will discuss methods for making unreal situations seem real, for eliciting a willing suspension of disbelief from the reader, and for creating convincing characters in non-realistic settings. Students will practice these methods in short exercises.

Playwriting Workshop: From the Story to the Stage: Turning Oral Histories into Plays
with Gary Carden
This workshop will discuss the process of creating drama from oral tradition. Using examples from history (“The Prince of Dark Corners,” “Birdell” and “Nance Dude”); folklore (“The Shuffletown Outlaws,” “Thedosia Burr” and “Leavin’s”); and personal family history (“The Raindrop Waltz”), the instructor will illustrate how the oral tradition can be used to create vibrant and meaningful drama.

Children’s Books Workshop: The Bedazzlement of a Circus Rider: Capturing the Attention of a Children's Editor
with Lisa Williams Kline
In this day when renowned adult writers are writing books for young people, and when children's publishers are partnering with film and clothing companies to deliver blockbusters, how can we capture the attention of a children's editor with our manuscripts? An essay by E. B. White about being transfixed by a circus rider warming up for her performance suggests an answer.

Panel Discussion: Wisdom on a Deadline – The Art and Business of Writing Columns
Columnists John Grooms and Suzanne Havala Hobbs share what they have learned about writing informative, interesting, well-crafted columns on a deadline, whether for a major newspaper or a community newsletter.

Session III Classes: Fall Conference 2008

Register online here | Download a registration form Online registrations are now closed: walk in registrations are available on site.

Saturday, November 16, 2:30-4:00 pm

Publishing Workshop: Understanding Publishing Contracts
with Daniel Ellison
Attorney Dan Ellison will review and explain the essential and the typical provisions found in most book publishing contracts. Issues discussed will include copyright, options, rights of first refusal, termination and general contract do and don'ts. The workshop will also include time throughout for questions and answers.

Creative Nonfiction Workshop: Memoir: Living to Tell
with Melissa Delbridge
The belief that every person has a unique story to tell is the essence of memoir. In this class, participants will examine the qualities that create compelling memoirs and participate in discussions and exercises that will enable them to begin to write their own distinctive stories or to continue writing them with increased confidence and conviction.

Poetry Workshop: Writing Poems with Presence: Accessing the Primary
with John Amen
As writers with active lives, it is easy for us to feel disconnected from our writing and fall into the trap of “waiting for inspiration.” Staying inspired and plugged-in is an art and discipline. In this workshop, we will use various exercises, including grounding, focus, and meditation, to access themes, imagery, and subject matter that carry energy and meaning for us. Participants will have the chance to share in-class writings and discuss their experiences.

Fiction Workshop: A Whodunnit Howdunnit: Writing the Mystery
with Vicki Lane
So you want to write a mystery! Starting with the most basic premise: ‘X is dead and A, B, C, D, or E might have done it,' we’ll look at the many types of mystery, from cozy cats and crafts to hard-boiled noir and all stops in between. Next we’ll talk about choosing a protagonist, a setting, a point of view, and the pros and cons of different choices. We’ll discuss various ‘systems’ for plotting, as well as the exciting and sometimes perilous ‘seat of your pants’ method. Plots and sub plots, twists and re-twists will be considered as well as useful books, websites and organizations. Brief writing exercises, as time permits.

SUNDAY

Register online here | Download a registration form Online registrations are now closed: walk in registrations are available on site.

Breakfast Panel

Sunday, November 16, 8:00-9:00 am

Panel Discussion: Agents & Editors
No registration is required. Continental Breakfast will be available.

Session IV Classes: Fall Conference 2008

Register online here | Download a registration form

Sunday, November 16, 9:00-10:30 am

Fiction Workshop: Emotional Architecture: How Stories Rise from Average to Art
with Patricia Hickman
Describing the character, the setting, interior monologue, what the reader is supposed to hear, see, feel, smell, or taste is typical writer’s ammo. But to move from average to art means leaving behind the conventional listing of observable life to embrace the elements that often go unnoticed. In this workshop, the writer will learn to use character’s emotions as more than ornamental jewelry pasted on the plot. This workshop provides you with tools for writing true.

Creative Nonfiction Workshop: Voice in Narrative Nonfiction
with Paul Austin
Whether one is writing memoir, personal essay, or narrative nonfiction, the voice – the way the words sound coming off the page – is a powerful way to deepen the level of engagement with the reader. In this seminar, we will read and discuss excerpts from writers who have distinctive and effective voices. We will study brief passages by Sei Shonagon, Vivian Gornick, Susan Orlean, Ted Conover, Larry Brown, Thomas Lynch, Dave Eggers, and Patricia Hampl. At the close of the seminar, we will discuss techniques some writers use to find a true voice.

Publishing Workshop: Promoting Yourself
with Linda Rohrbaugh
There are a number of straight-forward ways to get attention for a book without breaking your own budget. Linda spent five years as a professional journalist for an international computer news network and was a bureau chief in both Los Angeles and Dallas. She’s seen what effective and ineffective PR looks like from top agencies around the world. In this workshop, she presents the tips and tricks professional publicists use that you can take advantage of to get yourself seen in the marketplace and get your name known. Linda will also cover common mistakes and often missed opportunities first time authors make in promoting themselves and how to get the very most out of the promotional efforts you choose to take on. As part of this workshop, Linda will offer samples of material from successful promotion campaigns she’s done for herself and writers’ groups.

Session V Classes: Fall Conference 2008

Register online here | Download a registration form Online registrations are now closed: walk in registrations are available on site.

Sunday, November 16, 11:00 am-12:30 pm

Fiction Workshop: Novel Lint: History's Detritus As Fictional Fabric
with Dawn Shamp
Writers of historical fiction are like archaeologists---once we've determined our story's setting, the research requires us to dig and pluck for fragments of the past. In this lecture, we'll explore some of the elements -- and the fun -- of researching historical fiction, and how to effectively put that research to use, to immerse our readers in former realities. Examples will be drawn from several works, including Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Volunteers will be asked to assimilate pieces of history's detritus.

Workshop: Mining for Gold: Writing to Prompts
with Carol Henderson
In this workshop, we will mine the unconscious for fresh material, jewels, our truest voices. Come prepared to write a lot in response to a series of evocative prompts. You’ll be surprised and inspired by the authentic stories you discover within yourself. This workshop is appropriate for all skill levels. Just bring your laptop or a notebook and pen, plus a willingness to explore. You’ll leave with a trove of ideas and an eagerness to pursue them.

Workshop: Teaching Writing
with Paul Cuadros

Panel Discussion: How to Write a Book Proposal
Authors and publishing professionals Annette Dunlap and Betsy Thorpe will discuss how best to shape and submit your book proposal, to keep its slush-pile time to a minimum, and off the rejection pile entirely.

Master Classes: Fall Conference 2008

Register online here | Download a registration form Online registrations are now closed: walk in registrations are available on site.

Sunday, November 16, 9:00 am - 12:30 pm

Master Classes offer intermediate and advanced writers a chance to delve more deeply into a particular genre.The Master Classes will take place during Sessions IV and V and will be limited to 15 registrants.

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Admissions

Participants are admitted on the strength of a writing sample submitted in advance of the conference. While publication credits are not required, you should submit a brief cover letter summarizing your writing background and highlighting publication credits if applicable.

Include a payment of $25 (nonrefundable processing fee).

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: October 24 (postmarked).

When you register for Master Class, please choose another class as a back-up in case you are not admitted to the Master Class.

Submission Guidelines for Each Genre

• Fiction. Submit a cover letter and no more than 10 double-spaced pages of fiction, 12-point type (short story or novel excerpt). Mail 2 hard copies to NCWN Fiction Master Class, PO Box 954, Carrboro, NC 27510.
• Nonfiction. Submit a cover letter and no more than 10 double-spaced pages of nonfiction, 12-point type (essay or excerpt). Mail 2 hard copies to NCWN Nonfiction Master Class, PO Box 954, Carrboro, NC 27510.
• Poetry. Submit a cover letter and no more than 5 single-spaced pages of poetry, 12-point type. Mail 2 hard copies to NCWN Poetry Master Class, PO Box 954, Carrboro, NC 27510.

Two weeks before the conference, you will be notified about your enrollment status.

Available Classes

Master Class – Fiction
with Zelda Lockhart
This master class is designed to overhaul a whole short fiction work or an excerpt from a larger work by utilizing Lockhart’s expertise in crafting a story well told, and utilizing a series of exercises designed to give depth to character development, plot development, and language. Participants will also learn invaluable skills on peer editing. Requirements: Each participant must submit their “soon to be refurbished” work-in-progress prior to the beginning of the course. Deadline for this submission TBA.

Master Class – Creative Nonfiction
with Marjorie Hudson
Structure in Creative Nonfiction: Beginnings, Endings, Attitude, and Themes
Some of the toughest decisions creative nonfiction writers must make are how to begin, how to end, and how to weave several themes together with a compelling voice to make a whole that is more powerful than its parts. We’ll spy on the writings of some of the great contemporary writers of creative nonfiction essays—Susan Orlean, David Sedaris, and Annie Dillard—to uncover their secrets and discuss creative ways to structure our own materials for the best effect. Bring your favorite creative nonfiction book or author to recommend to others.

Master Class – Poetry
with Stuart Dischell
This intensive class looks at the ways in which poets make poems and provokes the conscious and unconscious decisions that writers make regarding their structures and strategies. We will look at several exemplary poems and also critique poems by the participants. Please submit 3 poems of which one will be chosen for discussion. The pace will be fast-moving; the atmosphere critical, supportive, and useful.

Manuscript Mart: Fall Conference 2008

Register online here | Download a registration form Online registrations are now closed: walk in registrations are available on site.

Saturday, November 15
Sunday, November 16

Manuscript Mart provides writers with the opportunity to pitch their manuscripts and get feedback from an editor or agent with a leading publisher or literary agency. A one-on-one, 20-minute pitch and Q & A session will be scheduled for you, to take place on Saturday, November 15, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm or Sunday, November 16, between 9:00 am and 10:30 am.

Note: Manuscript Mart sessions are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. You must register for Manuscript Mart by mail, with manuscript and payment enclosed, by a postmark date of October 24, 2008.

Guidelines

• Submit a one-page query letter and 20 double-spaced pages of your fiction or nonfiction manuscript (for book-length projects, you must include a one-page synopsis of the work as a whole). You may include a book proposal or query letter as part of your 20 pages. Make sure your name is on each page of your submission. NUMBER YOUR PAGES.
• All submissions must be double-spaced with 12-point font, on 8 1/2x11" paper, 1 inch margins.
• You must be registered for the conference for your Manuscript Mart session to be scheduled.
• Download and print the Manuscript Mart Cover Sheet, which you may download from the "Online Registration" form listed on the right of this page. Mail it with two hard copies of your submission to:

  North Carolina Writers' Network
  Manuscript Mart
  PO Box 954
  Carrboro, NC 27510

• Checklist: 2 copies of manuscript; registration form; check to cover Manuscript Mart ($120) (and a separate check to cover all other conference fees if you are registering for the conference through the mail).
• NOTE: If Manuscript Mart fills, your check will be returned to you, minus related charges.

Manuscript Mart Reviewers

Speed Pitching

Register online here | Download a registration form Online registrations are now closed: walk in registrations are available on site.

Saturday, November 15, 4:00 - 5:00 pm

This service gives you the rare opportunity to deliver a face-to-face pitch about your book project manuscripts to agents and editors from New York, D.C. and North Carolina -- and get immediate feedback -- in rotating, three-minute sessions.

You pitch for 90 seconds; they give feedback for 90 seconds. Then you move to the next agent or editor. You get maximum exposure, and develop the confidence and polish to effectively pitch to the people who can publish your manuscripts. A room monitor keeps time and moves people along.

Speed Pitching is still open! First-come, first-serve. Register by a postmark date of Nov. 1, 2008 - either online, or by mail, with $75 payment enclosed. (If registering online, check the last box under Conference Extras on the online registration form.)

Speed Pitching is for Fiction and Nonfiction genres only.

More tips and how-tos About Speed-Pitching

Speed Pitching Agents and Editors

You will spend five minutes with each agent and editor listed below:

About Speed-Pitching

At the N.C. Writers' Network Fall Writing and Publishing Conference
Saturday, Nov. 15, 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

What is speed-pitching? This is an opportunity for you to speak to industry professionals about your book project and receive instant feedback.

Who should participate? If you have a completed novel or nonfiction book proposal and you're ready to submit, you'll benefit from the session. You should not pitch if you don't have a clear idea of what your book is about or who the audience is-or if your novel isn't finished.

How does it work? When the doors open, seven agents and editors will be waiting for you in pairs of chairs. Their names will be marked on their tables. Get in line for the editor or agent you want to talk with. A room moderator will be keeping time. When the volunteer says, "START," you have three minutes to orally pitch your book project (no paper) and receive feedback. You talk for 90 seconds, the volunteer says "SWITCH," and then the editor or agent gives you feedback for 90 seconds. At the end, the volunteer says "NEXT," and you hop into another line.

Pitch as many editors or agents as you can in the hour-but make sure the editor or agent you're waiting for accepts the kind of work you've written!

Three minutes! How can anything meaningful be said in that amount of time? Agents and editors are so familiar with the market that they'll know within seconds if a particular project is right for them. Consider, too, that three minutes is more time than they're likely to spend on a written query letter, which can only take a minute to evaluate.

How do I know whom to approach? Carefully look over each editor and agent bio on the Writers' Network website (www.ncwriters.org) or the Writers' Network newsletter, and research them on the Internet. See what their focus is and what they seem to be most excited about. Choose the three to five people whose interests best match your book, and rank them in order in your mind so you're guaranteed to at least see your "top" few choices. Remember that it is highly unlikely-or desirable-that you will see all the editors and agents because (1) not all accept the kind of work you've written and (2) you must factor in the time you will wait in line. Be sure to read the bios carefully and prioritize!

What if the line for my chosen editor is really long? Identify backups to your number-one choice. The less time you spend waiting in line, the more opportunities you'll have to pitch.

How do I maximize my time? Pitch only one project at a time. Come ready with your pitch memorized or written down. Give the editor or agent at least a minute to respond and ask questions. Stay focused on your book, market, and audience. Don't talk much about yourself unless it's important to your book. Choose agents or editors who accept the kind of work you've written. Avoid setting your heart on one particular editor or agent, especially if they're a "star," in case their line is full; instead, come with a list of professionals you'd like to see.

Should I bring my manuscript or proposal package? No. Agents and editors are not accepting materials at this conference. If they'd like to see samples of your work, they'll ask you to send them.

If I can't give my materials to an agent here, what's the point? Meeting an agent at a conference and being invited to send material means that yours is now a solicited submission (versus unsolicited material, or "slush"). Congratulations, you've just bypassed the slush pile.

What will I learn from this? You'll finish the session with a better idea of what editors and agents are looking for and how your current project measures up. You'll also have a chance to improve your own pitching ability and receive feedback on your book. Listen to what the agents and editors are telling you -- Is your idea compelling enough? Saleable? Is the market for your work big enough? Is the scope of your project focused enough (or too narrow)?

Critique Service: Fall Conference 2008

Register online here | Download a registration form Online registrations are now closed: walk in registrations are available on site.

Saturday, November 15, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

The Critique Service provides writers with in-depth literary critique of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and screenplays, from a seasoned faculty member writer. A one-on-one, 25-minute review session will be scheduled for you, to take place on Saturday, November 15, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Note: Manuscript Critiques are schedules on a first-come, first-served basis. You must register for a critique by mail, with manuscript and payment enclosed, by a postmark date of October 24, 2008.

Guidelines

• Submit 20 double-spaced pages of your fiction, nonfiction, or screenplay manuscript (for book-length projects, you must include a one-page synopsis of the work as a whole), or 10 pages of poetry. Make sure your name is on each page of your submission. NUMBER YOUR PAGES.
• All prose submissions must be double-spaced with 12-point font, on 8 1/2x11" paper; poetry submissions should include no more than 1 poem per page.
• Download and print the Critique Service Cover Sheet, which you may download from the "Online Registration" form listed on the right of this page. Mail it with two hard copies of your submission to:

  North Carolina Writers' Network
  Fall Conference Critique Service
  PO Box 954
  Carrboro, NC 27510

• Checklist: 2 copies of manuscript; check to cover Critique Service ($150). You must be registered for the Fall conference before we schedule your critique.
• NOTE: If Critique Service fills, your check will be returned to you.

From the names below, select your first, second, and third choice. We will try to accommodate your first choice; if we cannot, we will select an appropriate Critiquer for you. You will be notified two weeks before the conference as to your assigned critiquer, and the time and location of your session.

Faculty Books: Fall Conference 2008

Register online here | Download a registration form Online registrations are now closed: walk in registrations are available on site.

(to come)