Conference

Woodhall Press Writers Conference

Theme: The Future of Writing

Date: August 21, 2021 (all times EST)

Thanks to all who joined our first Writers Conference! We hope you enjoyed the small online workshops with top-notch instructors, enlightening panels on vital topics, keynote speeches by inspiring writers, and networking interactions that helped you expand your artistic community. You can still download a free sample of Seven Drafts by Allison K Williams. Every attendee received a signed special edition of this valuable book, along with other fun gifts!

This Writers Conference helped us to discover and support emerging writers. Here's the day's program:

10:00 Workshop - part 1

Join a small workshop with other writers. Your work will be read by your fellow writers, who will give you valuable feedback, and vice versa. Each workshop is led by a skilled instructor.
- Introduction to Short Forms with Tom Hazuka (AM) and Darien Gee (PM)
- Live Editing with Allison Williams SOLD OUT!
- Openings and Hooks with Alena Dillon
- Poetry with Charles Rafferty
- Prose Writing with Eugenia Kim
- Screen Stories with Shelley Evans

9:00 Welcoming Keynote - Gina Barreca

Gina Barreca has appeared, often as a repeat guest, on 20/20, The Today Show, CNN, the BBC, NPR and, yes, on Oprah to discuss gender, power, politics, and humor. Her earlier books include the bestselling They Used to Call Me Snow White But I Drifted: Women’s Strategic Use of Humor, It’s Not That I’m Bitter, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Visible Panty Lines and Conquered the World, If You Lean In, Will Men Just Look Down Your Blouse, and Babes in Boyland: A Personal History of Coeducation in the Ivy League. Gina is the editor of Fast Funny Women.

Called “smart and funny” by People magazine and “Very, very funny. For a woman,” by Dave Barry, Gina was deemed a “feminist humor maven” by Ms. Magazine.

11:00 Panel Discussion: The Future of Writing

This panel discussion will feature experts who are at the leading edge of current transformations in creating and delivering content.
- Jane Friedman - publishing expert and editor of The Hot Sheet
- Darien Gee - award-winning author of Friendship Bread, co-editor of Nonwhite and Woman
- Eugenia Kim - award-winning author of The Calligrapher's Daughter and The Kinship of Secrets
- Jeff Palicki - Vice President, Director of National Accounts at Independent Publishers Group
- Ashleigh Renard - disruptive author of Swing, Writers Bridge co-host

12:00 Lunch / Writing

Spend this time digesting everything you've heard this morning, and digesting a good meal!

1:00 Guided Networking

Participate in short format, topic-driven conversations with total strangers. Just like at a conference IRL.

2:00 Workshop - part 2

Join a small workshop with other writers. Your work will be read by your fellow writers, who will give you valuable feedback, and vice versa. Each workshop is led by a skilled instructor.
- Introduction to Short Forms with Tom Hazuka (AM) and Darien Gee (PM)
- Live Editing with Allison Williams SOLD OUT!
- Openings and Hooks with Alena Dillon
- Poetry with Charles Rafferty
- Prose Writing with Eugenia Kim
- Screen Stories with Shelley Evans

3:00 Panel 2 - Book Pitch

Following a popular reality show format, contestants will be asked to pitch their book to publishers and publishing experts. Download the book pitch submission instructions here.
- Marilyn R. Atlas, Hollywood Producer, Talent Manager, and co-author of Dating Your Character
- Steve Rohr, Hollywood Agent, Communication Expert, Speaker, Author, Educator, and Publicist
- Kim Budnick, Senior Acquisitions Editor at Tantor Media
- Lisa Kastner, Running Wild Press Founder and Executive Editor
- David Legere, Woodhall Press co-founder and CEO
- Colin Hosten, Woodhall Press co-founder and Editorial Director

4:00 Closing Keynote

Allison K Williams has edited and coached writers to publishing deals with Penguin Random House, Knopf, Mantle, Spencer Hill, St. Martin’s Press and Black Rose as well as hybrid and independent presses. She’s guided essayists and humorists to publication in media including the New Yorker, Time, the Guardian, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Refinery29, Brevity, Hippocampus, the Belladonna and TED Talks. Allison’s writing has appeared in Crossed Genres, Smokelong Quarterly, Deep South, the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, Creative Nonfiction, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Kenyon Review Online, the Prairie Schooner blog, the Drum, Brevity, and Flash Nonfiction Funny. Her book Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro from Blank Page to Book will be published in September 2021. To download a free sample, click here!

A popular and lively speaker, Allison has appeared at writing conferences, literary festivals, and workshops around the world. As Social Media Editor for Brevity, she inspires thousands of writers with weekly blogs on craft and the writing life.

4:30 Departure Networking

We'll leave the Zoom on while you IM goodbyes to your workshop friends!

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