2019 Washington Writers Conference Schedule of Events

Friday, May 10, 2019                      

6-7:25 p.m.:                 Reception/Cash Bar             

7:30-8:30 p.m.:            “How to Pitch an Agent”
                                    Moderator: Laura A. Hazan
                                    Agents: TBA

 

Saturday, May 11, 2019

8-8:45 a.m.:                 Walk-in registration                         

8-8:45 a.m.:                 “Know Your Rights as an Author”
                                    Speaker: Lauren Menkes                  

8:45-9 a.m.:                 Welcome
                                    Speakers: Audrey Bastian, conference chair, and Salley Shannon,
                                    president, Washington Independent Review of Books              

9-9:50 a.m.:                 “An Agent, an Editor, and a Publisher: Publishing's Holy
                                    Trinity”
                                    Moderator: Tara Campbell
                                    Andrew Gifford, publisher
                                    BJ Robbins, agent
                                    Evelyn M. Duffy, editor

9-9:50 a.m. (RR*):      “Romance: You Gotta Have Heart”
                                   Moderator: Delancey Stewart
                                   Panelists: TBA

10-10:50 a.m.:            “Hidden Histories” (Nonfiction)
                                    Moderator: David O. Stewart
                                    Eugene L. Meyer, author
                                    Paula Whitacre, author
                                    Patricia Pearson, author
                                    George Derek Musgrove, author

10-10:50 a.m. (RR):    “How Do You Know If You're Writing YA?”
                                    Moderator: Caroline Bock
                                    Susan Hawk, literary agent, Upstart Crow Literary Agency
                                    Maggie Enright, book buyer, Busboys & Poets
                                    Meg Kuyatt, YA author
                                    Laura Scalzo, YA author

11-11:50 a.m.:             Jane Leavy in Conversation with Christine Brennan

11-11:50 a.m. (RR):    “Historical Fiction: Making It Real”
                                    Moderator: Jenny Yacovissi
                                    Eugenia Kim, author
                                    Zach Powers, author
                                    Stephanie Dray, author

Noon:                          Lunch (provided)                             

12:20-12:45 p.m.:        Lifetime Achievement Award Presented to Eugene L. Meyer                

12:45-1:30 p.m.:          Keynote Address from Jeffery Deaver                  

2-2:50 p.m. (A*):        “D.C. Debuts”
                                   Moderator: Shanon Lee
                                   Carrie Callaghan, author
                                   Alice Stephens, author
                                  Julie Langsdorf, author                                 

2-2:50 p.m. (B*):        “Show Me the Money: Grants and Fellowships for Writers”
                                  Co-moderator: Tara Campbell
                                  Co-moderator: Julia Tagliere
                                  Katy Day, NEA
                                  Steven Skerritt-Davis, MD State Arts Council 
                                  Amy Freeman, the Writer's Center        

2-2:50 p.m. (RR):        “Violence in Fiction” (Mystery/Noir/Thriller)
                                   Moderator: E.A. Aymar
                                   Christina Kovac, author
                                   Anjili Babbar, author
                                   S.A. Cosby, author
                                   Jeffery Deaver, author

3-3:50 p.m. (A):          “It's Not Always Novels: Essays, Flash/Short Stories, Criticism,
                                   Poetry, and Memoir”
                                   Moderator: Melissa Scholes Young
                                   Randon Billings Noble, author
                                   Tyrese Coleman, author
                                   Caroline Bock, author
                                   Grace Cavalieri, poet 

3-3:50 p.m. (B):          “Keys to Editing Your Own Work”
                                   Carrie Callaghan, author
                                   Pintip Dunn, author
                                   Holly Smith, editor   

3-3:50 p.m. (RR):       “Literary Fiction: The Great Undefinable”
                                   Moderator: Garine Issasi
                                   Leslie Pietrzyk, author (tentative)
                                   Mary Kay Zuravleff, author
                                   Susan Coll, author                                  

4-5 p.m.:                     Cash Bar, Book Signings, and Giveaways
                                   Hosts: E.A. Aymar and Tara Laskowski       

5 p.m.:                        Conference concludes
                                   See you next year!

(Download the complete schedule here.)

*RR: The Reading Room
*A: White Oak Room A
*B: White Oak Room B