Now in its 31st year, WriteAngles is Western New England’s premier conference by writers, for writers. At this one-day gathering, you’ll mix with experienced writers and agents in panel discussions, face-to-face meetings, and in casual networking opportunities. The affordably priced conference fee includes a continental breakfast and a bountiful buffet lunch. The conference is held in Mount Holyoke College’s gracious Willits-Hallowell Center, which features plenty of free parking and handicap accessibility. The full conference schedule is given below. Please note that you do not need to choose in advance which panel you plan to attend in each session.
8:15 to 9:00 am – Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00 to 9:30 am – Morning Keynote Speaker: Randy Susan Meyers (Morrison Room)
NOTE: Individual agent meetings will run concurrently with the morning panels, 9:45 to 12:30, by pre-arranged appointment.
PANEL SESSION I – 9:45 to 11:00 am (Choose one)
Less Is More: The Secrets of Flash Fiction and Flash Memoir (Executive Board Room)
Workshop Leader: Joy Baglio
This workshop will explore the pros and cons of the flash form, analysis of sample pieces, brainstorming ideas, and discussion of markets as well as a writing exercise to get participants started in the exciting new fields of flash fiction and flash memoir. Bring a notebook and pen or laptop for the writing exercise.
The Dynamics of Dialogue (Morrison Room)
Panelists: MB Caschetta, Cindy Littlefield (moderator), Dori Ostermiller, Peter Sapira
Good dialogue is an art — and a bit like magic. If done well it sounds as natural as real conversation when, actually, it’s not! This panel unveils the mystery of the illusion, offering a wealth of tips for crafting clever, relevant, and powerful dialogue designed to develop characters, evoke emotion, and move the narrative forward. Dialogue mechanics will be discussed as well, including the proper use (and elimination) of tags, punctuation, and other important dos and don’ts.
Writing Science: How Science and Literature Can Play Together Without Killing Each Other (Andreola Room)
Panelists: Karen Brown, Alla Katsnelson, Ivan Oransky, Marya Zilberberg (moderator)
Science is all around us, and creative writing often strives to reflect this. The aim of this session is to help authors to incorporate science and/or scientists as points of plot and/or characters with skill. What are the best ways to approach research where science is involved? In the vast and proliferating frontier of the worldwide web, how do you steer clear of bullshit so you don’t look like a novice? Alternatively, if this is your goal, how do you develop a character to be a believable bullshit artist? How do science and poetry intertwine to help us convey the beauty and mystery of life? Can what we know of brain science behind reading/writing help you to achieve your most effective writing? This session gives you have the opportunity to spend time with seasoned scientists and science writers/reporters who can help you bring science to life in your creative writing.
PANEL SESSION II – 11:15 am to 12:30 pm (Choose one)
Historical Fiction: Finding Your Muse in Alternative Truths (Executive Board Room)
Panelists: M. P. Barker, Deborah Noyes, Susan Stinson, Ada “Wendy” Vowell (moderator)
The topic will be various ways to blend history, legend, and myth in a work of fiction, without getting mired in minutiae. Let’s explore examples of how research helps connect with the reader. How do successful authors incorporate history, legend or myth in the primary story line, background, overall mood, a peripheral story, or character motivation?
Memoir: Remember, Recall, Reconstruct (Morrison Room)
Panelists: Kate Hartford (moderator), Richard Hoffman, Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor, John Elder Robison
Every writer of memoir relies heavily on memory for material. But memory is tricky: maddeningly erratic, frequently inaccurate, highly mutable, and often conflating events, places, or people. How can the memoir writer best recall, supplement, or reconstruct memories with assurance that they are reliable? Or, for that matter, how reliable must they be to avoid crossing the line from nonfiction to fiction?
The Writer as Voice of Dissent (Andreola Room)
Panelists: Liz Bedell (moderator), Chanel Dubofsky, Ellen Meeropol
Throughout history (and especially in the past few months) writers have been voices of resistance, affirming the rights of individuals and of the earth itself. Join this panel of distinguished writers in a conversation about the way writers engage questions of social justice, political dissent, and climate change.
12:30 to 1:30 pm – Buffet Luncheon
1:30 to 1:45 pm – Celebration of WriteAngles Community Grant (Morrison Room)
AGAIN THIS YEAR – Legal Clinic — 1:30 to 4:00 pm
Sit down with Attorney Hun Ohm, a partner at the Northampton, Massachusetts, law firm Fierst, Kane & Bloomberg LLP, for a free, private 20-minute consult on your publishing, intellectual property, and/or merchandising and licensing legal issues. This clinic is designed to give WriteAngles attendees an opportunity to have general legal questions about the business answered. By appointment at the time of registration, concurrent with afternoon sessions.
Participants in the Legal Clinic will be requested to provide a brief description of their concern or questions prior to the conference so that our legal expert can better prepare. Confidential information need not, and should not, be included in this description. Further details for submission will be provided if you request the Legal Clinic during registration.
1:45 to 2:45 pm – Afternoon Keynote Speaker: Breena Clarke (Morrison Room)
PANEL SESSION III – 3:00 to 4:15 pm (Choose one)
Poetry, Publishing, and Persistence (Executive Board Room)
Panelists: Amy Dryansky, Rebecca Hart Olander, Emily Wojcik
Publishing is a tricky business, and publishing poetry can be especially daunting. In this discussion, three writers who are also active in the publishing world will talk about their experiences with the road to publication. They’ll also give tips and advice about how to find the right outlets for your work, how to prepare your work for submission, what those cryptic letters from editors really mean, and most of all, how to stay positive when you’re faced with multiple rejections.
Agents Panel: First Lines and Open Q&A Session (Morrison Room)
Panelists: TBA
Stephen King believes that “[a]n opening line should invite the reader to begin the story. It should say: Listen. Come in here. You want to know about this.”. The best opening lines in fiction and nonfiction compel us to keep reading. Conference registrants will be invited to submit the opening line of a work of fiction or nonfiction in advance of the conference. During the first half of the panel, pre-submitted opening lines will be randomly chosen and read aloud, and the agents will comment on what makes the lines successful and how they could be improved. The second half of the panel will be a wide-ranging Q & A session.
4:15 to 4:30 pm – Wrap-up (Morrison Room)
Names will be drawn for attendance prizes. You must be present to win.
