Summer 2007 - the Wyoming State Library

Friday writing workshops at theWyoming Book FestivalBook festivals are for readers, but they’re also for writers. At the Wyoming Book Festival, not only can you meetand mingle with some great authors, but you can also take advantage of free workshops in a special writing track onFriday afternoon. The afternoon ends with a panel discussion on how you can see your own work published. Thesesessions are free and open to the public, seating is first-come, first-served. Check out these offerings and make yourplans to come to the Wyoming Book Festival!Linda Hasselstrom – RagtimeRhythm: How To SyncopateYour PoemsHasselstrom will discuss and demonstratewriting with appropriate rhythm in bothrhymed and free verse, with handouts sostudents can practice at home.12:30 p.m., Laramie County Library, WillowRoomTom Rea – Narrating the PastUsing examples from his own work,prizewinning nonfiction writer Tom Reashows how he constructs a narrative fromoriginal historical sources.12:30 p.m., Laramie County Library,Sunflower RoomKatharine Sands – PitchCraftAn eye-opening, nuts-and-boltsintroduction to pitching fiction andnonfiction book proposals to agents.12:30 p.m., Atlas TheatreMasha Hamilton – Hypocrisy,Hyperbole and Lies, A Look AtDialogueLet’s talk about talk – including subtextand silence – since dialogue is the mortarthat holds our fiction together. It willinclude a writing exercise.1:30 p.m., Laramie County Library, WillowRoomJeff Lockwood – Nature WritingNature writing is perhaps the easiestgenre to do badly and the hardest todo well, but when it works its power isunparalleled. This workshop will playfullyexplore some techniques to get yournature-based piece off on the right foot,paw, fin, or root.1:30 p.m., Laramie County Library, SunflowerRoomRachel Kahan – How to Catch anEditor’s EyeAn editor at a major publishing house tellsyou what she looks for in an unpublishedmanuscript, and walks you through theprocess of manuscript submission andacquisition.1:30 p.m., Atlas TheatreTina Ann Forkner – Write Fromthe Heart: How to Find YourVoiceWe must look deep inside ourselves tofind our writing voices and that meansfinding out who we are and how ourpassions, and sometimes obsessions,define our writing.2:30 p.m., Laramie County Library, WillowRoomAmanda Harte – GreatBeginnings: How to Hook anEditorIn addition to presenting basic precepts,this workshop uses examples – both goodand bad – to show writers how to begintheir books.2:30 p.m., Laramie County Library, SunflowerRoomCraig Johnson – CannibalizingYour Friends and Family forCharactersThey’re never going to recognizethemselves in your novel anyway, so findout how to build better fictional charactersusing the people you know2:30 p.m., Atlas TheatreTeva Scheer – The Art ofBiography: Problems, Perils andPromiseA “Wyoming Talks – About Books”humanities discussion: using slides,breakout discussions, a handout, anda Q&A session, Scheer will invite theaudience to consider some of the issuesrelated to the project of researching andwriting a biography.3:30 p.m., Laramie County Library, WillowRoomGene Gagliano – So You Want toWrite a Children’s BookGagliano shares practical information onbecoming a children’s book author basedon actual experience with tips on how to“show and not tell,” using your sensesto get ideas, goal setting and motivation,scheduling, marketing and dealing withrejection.3:30 p.m., Atlas TheatreGetting Published: A PanelDiscussionIn writer’s heaven, your work getspublished. It happens here on earth, too– find out how! Learn the ins and outsof getting your work into print from theperspective of authors, editors, agents andpublishers.Moderated by Carl Schreier, HomesteadPublishing. Panelists: C.J. Box, Tina AnnForkner, Rachel Kahan and Katharine Sands.4:30 p.m., Cheyenne DepotIndividual and small group consultation timeswith an editors or agent will be available onSaturday, Sept. 15. No critiques. Signups will beavailable at the workshops.Wyoming Library Roundup • Summer 2007 9