What is a social network and how can it help my writing career? Learn how writers can use the technology behind blogging and social networking to improve visibility and enhance a successful writing career.

From paragraph one, the author's goal is to keep the agent, the editor, the bookseller, and the reader turning those pages. It's all about pacing. Learn how to diagnose problems in your own manuscript, avoid bogging your fiction down, and tips for keeping the reader engaged.

Non-fiction is about facts. How far can an author take creativity when writing a non-fiction book? Employ cold hard facts and use imagination to make them warm and fascinating. Learn to add art to your non-fiction writing.

What’s the procedure for writing a procedural? Bring your questions and learn from the best!

Fee-charging agents; sell-through and sales numbers; E-books; print-on-demand; shrinking mid-lists; corporate mergers; self-publishing; what does all this mean to the writer who often feels on the outside?  Agents and editors talk about the business but it's important to understand it from a writer's point of view.

Adapting a novel into a screenplay? Learn the basics from this group of experts.

Best selling author Mary Jo Putney has published 29 books (and counting!) since 1987, and she’s learned a few lessons along the way. Catch a little insight into the world of this amazing author – and learn a few lessons to boost your own career.

Walk in with paper & pen, walk out with a work-in-progress! Jumpstart your next novel via a series of exercises designed to guide you through character creation and development. You will come away with new characters, scenes, situations, themes, and possibly the blueprint of your next book.

From the acclaimed author of The Breadwinner and Parvana’s Journey, an examination of the process of writing books for children dealing with social justice issues.

Interested in writing historical fiction? Join this acclaimed author of historical fiction (and poetry!) as she examines how to access research and how best to include it in the narrative, and , above all, how to stay true to *story* while incorporating historical detail.

Trying to get that novel written but there's always something in the way? Try these new techniques for overcoming writers' block.

Evoke a vivid fictional world by looking beyond clichéd images for rich details. History, culture and migration, economics, mythology and religion are sources of world building depth. Come prepared to explore – and write!

Historical fiction is a catch-all title for a vast range of storytelling styles and genres. This bestselling panel of authors talk about their tools and techniques for grabbing their audience and keeping them riveted.

How much of a writer’s life should show up in the pages of their stories?
Join the author of Gemma, Singing Songs and Porcupine, to explore the idea of using your own story as a starting place for fiction. Learn how to let your life influence your work. Prepare to write! (Continued from Friday’s workshop.)

You’ve finished your novel. What do you do now? And who do you turn to for help along the way? This expert group will steer you in the right direction to take your manuscript from finished to sold.

Learn how to tell a journalistic story with a strong sense of character, place and heart.

Join this acclaimed writer and editor as she discusses life on both sides of the table, as a writer and an editor of works for children.

Back by popular demand! How do you keep out of your own way long enough sustain an idea and write that idea into a finished book? A look at goal-setting, making time and helping first-time authors to stop making excuses and beat the mind games that stand in the way of publication.

Eavesdrop on this former crime reporter as he discusses how meeting real killers and covering true crime has shaped his acclaimed crime fiction. You don't have to be a killer to write about a murder.

A well-crafted proposal can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection of your non-fiction book. Grab that editor’s attention. Learn how to summarize your idea or premise for the book and present a valid case for its publication. Understand the required elements and put them all together to form a winning proposal.

Interested in the inside scoop? In her spare time, acclaimed author Patty Smiley works as a burglary/theft detective for the LAPD. Get the inside track on investigating cases, working with a District Attorney’s office, writing search warrants and more.

Join these bestselling authors as they share their secrets for weaving webs of murder and intrigue.

Everything you wanted to know, but were afraid to ask about sex in historical fiction. Expect a rollicking good time in this PG-rated discussion of how to find the right balance between the social and the sexual in historical fiction.

How’s your pitch? Bring in the first 2-3 pages of your manuscript to this panel of agents and find out what the experts really think when they see your work, and if they can separate a published opening from the slush. All selections are read anonymously.

Thinking best-seller? Maybe not quite as easy as it sounds – but the pros will share their secrets to help you along the way.

Learn the essentials to help your writing come alive, the 5 books a writer must own and the 3 skills a writer needs to succeed.

Prolific author Eric Walters shares his experience of how a picture found in a cedar chest became the novel War of The Eagles and how family histories form a rich source of story ideas.

In 2008, Bernice received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Poet’s Society. She has written and read her poetry on five continents and won countless awards. Join her for a look at everything you need to know to get your work published.

Eight essential revision techniques for Fiction and Creative Non-fiction. Join this renowned teacher and prolific author as she addresses these revision essentials.