Schedule-At-A-Glance
Friday, November 3
| 12 PM | Pre-Conference Tailgate |
| 3 – 9:30 PM | Registration and Book Sales Open |
| 5-9:30 PM | Exhibits Tables Open |
| 7 – 8 PM | Opening Reception |
| 8 – 9 PM | Keynote Address by Tommy Tomlinson |
| 9 – 9:30 PM | Tommy Tomlinson Book Signing |
Saturday, November 4
| 7:30 AM – 7 PM | Registration, Book Sales, & Exhibit Tables Open |
| 7:30 – 9 AM | Continental Breakfast Available |
| 8 – 9 AM | All Stories Connect Panel Discussion: Writing as a Vehicle for Social Change Sponsored by PEN America |
9 – 10:30 AM Session I
| Objects May Be Closer: Activating Story Settings with Bryn Chancellor |
| Sticks & Stones: Turning Grief Into Verse with Angelo Geter |
| Manifesting Your Book in the World: Securing an Agent, Money, and Time with Brooke Shaffner |
| Reality Lit: Substance, Structure, Style: Creative Nonfiction Master Class with Rebecca McClanahan |
| So What’s the Use of Meter, Anyway?: Poetry Master Class with Morri Creech |
| Manuscript Mart with Amy Bishop-Wycisk, Jamie Chambliss, Kristina Sutton Lennon, and Betsy Thorpe |
| 10:30 – 11 AM | Break |
11 AM – 12:30 PM Session II
| Greater than the Sum of the Parts (CNF) with Patrice Gopo |
| Into The Deep: Writing the Poem That Leaves Us Breathless with Junious “Jay” Ward |
| Is Independent Publishing Right for You? with Kathy Izard |
| Creative Nonfiction Master Class with Rebecca McClanahan (cont.) |
| Poetry Master Class with Morri Creech (cont.) |
| Manuscript Mart with Amy Bishop-Wycisk, Jamie Chambliss, Kristina Sutton Lennon, and Betsy Thorpe |
| 12:30 – 1:30 PM | Luncheon with “Digging Up Buried Stories” panel discussion |
| 1:30 – 2 PM | Network Town Hall Meeting |
| 2 – 2:30 PM | Break |
2:30 – 4:00 PM Session III
| Making Messes: How Character & Plot Thrive on Mistakes with Amber Wheeler Bacon |
| Poetry and Its Paradoxes with John Amen |
| The Writing Life: Lessons Learned from Bestselling Authors with Charlotte Readers Podcast (Sarah Archer, Hannah Larrew, and Landis Wade) |
| Creative Nonfiction Master Class with Rebecca McClanahan (cont.) |
| Poetry Master Class with Morri Creech (cont.) |
| Manuscript Mart with Amy Bishop-Wycisk, Jamie Chambliss, Kristina Sutton Lennon, and Betsy Thorpe |
| 4:00 – 4:30 PM | Break |
| 4:30 – 5:30 PM | Faculty Readings |
| 6 – 7 PM | Happy Hour Sponsored by Charlotte Lit |
| 7 – 8 PM | Network Banquet; featuring Saturday Literary Mystery |
| 8 – 9 PM | Open Mic Readings |
Sunday, November 5
| 7:30 AM – 12 PM | Registration, Book Sales, & Exhibit Tables Open |
| 7:30 – 9 AM | Continental Breakfast Available |
| 8 – 9 AM | Brilliant at Breakfast Panel Discussion: Agents & Editors |
9 – 10:30 AM Session IV
| Writing Atmospheric Fiction with Kelly Mustian |
| The Voice of the Poem with Julie Funderburk |
| Working Through the Emotional Phases of Writing with Betsy Thorpe |
| We Know Your Why, Tell Your Who with Jennifer Moxley |
| Manuscript Mart with Amy Bishop-Wycisk, Jamie Chambliss, Kristina Sutton Lennon, and Betsy Thorpe |
| 10:30 – 11 AM | Break |
11 AM – 12:30 PM Session V
| Write Your Values with Misha Lazzara |
| Writing the Political Poem with A. E. Hines |
| When Good Presses Go Bad with Tracy Crow |
| Stories are Medicine: Indigenous Storytelling in the Digital Age with Brittany Danielle Hunt |
| Manuscript Mart with Amy Bishop-Wycisk, Jamie Chambliss, Kristina Sutton Lennon, and Betsy Thorpe |
| 12:30 – 1 PM | Closing Conversation |