News Release

News Release MEDIA INQUIRIES ONLY Contact: Jessica Novak Office of Marketing and Communications	Writer's Conference Registration Date Posted: Thursday, March 19, 2009 Topic: 18th Annual Writers Conference March 28, brings in authors and bloggers from NE Ohio
Printer Friendly Version: 18th Annual Writers Conference March 28, brings in authors and bloggers from NE Ohio
Conference brings in authors, bloggers, and journalists from throughout Northeast Ohio Lakeland Community College hosts the 18th Annual Western Reserve Spring Writers Conference on Saturday, March 28 from 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Cost of the conference is $59 and includes continental breakfast and afternoon refreshments. The conference includes topics such as "Writers and the Web," "Turning Nonfiction into Creative Art," "Writing for the Young ‘Adult Market,’" "When to Get an Agent," and more. Private appointments are available for editing sessions and are included in the cost. Spaces are limited. To register, call 440-525-7116 or visit lakelandcc.edu/ce. Conference Presenters Coordinator Deanna R. Adams is a freelance writer, essayist and writing instructor. Her writing has appeared in Ohio Magazine, the Plain Dealer, Lake County Business Journal, News-Herald, Today's Family, and she is a contributing writer for Northern Ohio Live and Lake Erie Living. Her books include, “Rock 'n' Roll and The Cleveland Connection” (Kent State University Press, 2002), and “Confessions of a Not-So-Good Catholic Girl” (Infinity Publishing, 2008). Adams will lead two courses: “Your Story: Write Your Memoirs,” showing how to write about your life in a way others find interesting and about the importance of emotional truth in your story, the characters that influenced your life, and how to craft it all into a successful memoir; and “Do You Need an Agent?”: This session will cover important details about agents and what they can and can't do for you; when you need one, and when you don't. Adams can be reached through her website at deannaadams.com. New York Times bestselling-novelist Cinda Williams Chima authored the Heir series, a young adult fantasy trilogy set in Ohio. The Warrior Heir was a 2006 Booksense Summer Reading pick and was named to Voya's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2005-2006 and the American Library Association's Popular Paperbacks list. The Wizard Heir was named to Voya's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2007 and listed with the 2008 New York Public Library's Books for the Teen Age. In a starred review, Kirkus called The Dragon Heir "a superlative accomplishment." Chima's new fantasy trilogy is set to debut in October 2009. Chima will lead the course “Writing for the Young Adult Market.” The rules of writing for young adults continually change. Chima shares elements of craft, strategies and insights into writing for this challenging and rewarding audience. Diane DiPiero began her editorial career about 20 years ago at Ladies' Home Journal in New York City. After serving as associate editor of Colonial Homes magazine, she moved to Cleveland to pursue a career as a freelance writer. Her work has appeared in numerous print and online publications, as well as on her blogs, asiwaswriting.blogspot.com and dianedipiero.com. DiPiero will lead the course “Editing Your Work.” According to DiPiero, spell checkers are a wonderful invention but it when it comes to creating near-perfect copy, many have to rely on their own editing abilities. Discover how to check writing for clarity, flow and value, as well as for spelling and grammatical errors. This course is valuable for independent writers and bloggers, those who write content for their Web sites and anyone planning to publish or self-publish a book or e-book. John Ettorre is a writer, editor and writing coach, and a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. His work has appeared in more than 75 print and online publications, including the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor and the Continental Airlines in-flight magazine. Since March 2003, he has blogged daily at workingwithwords.blogspot.com, which has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists as the best blog in Ohio. Ettorre will lead the course “Writers and the Web.” He feels too much attention has been wasted on the print versus online debate, and that both are important for writers. Ettorre believes that the Internet is simply a publishing platform - the biggest yet invented – and if you're not exploiting it, you're missing at least half of your possible writing opportunities. Scott Lax’s first novel, “The Year That Trembled,” was named one of 1998's best works of fiction by the Denver Post and was produced into a feature film which won four first-place film festival awards. A novelist, playwright and journalist, he is an Ohio Excellence in Journalism Award-winning essayist and senior writer for Northern Ohio Live magazine, and weekly columnist for The Sun News. His new novel is forthcoming. Lax will lead “Building Your Novel.” He will tell how to take an idea - or many ideas - and weave them into a completed, publishable novel. He'll show, through examples from his first novel, as well as his upcoming one, how one section or chapter may contain many aspects of research, real-life experience, imagination, observation of the world, and more. Keith Manos currently teaches English at Richmond Heights High School and has taught writing for 32 years. His writing instruction has earned his students poetry, fiction and essays awards and publication in local and national magazines. Manos was named Ohio's English Teacher of the Year by the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts in 2000. He has published eight books, including "Writing Smarter," and has written hundreds of articles and stories for national magazines. He will lead the course “Grammatically Correct: How to Write Right.” He will share how to create rhythmic sentences with punctuation marks, the "inch worm" effect, and parallel structure can have a big influence on an editor selecting your piece over others. Participants will learn the key rules for using selected punctuation marks and strategies for composing rhythmic sentences, which truly exposes writing as a craft and brings together both process and a product in one engaging seminar. Marsha McGregor has written essays, opinion editorials, commentaries, and features that have appeared in a wide variety of publications, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, Boston Herald, National Public Radio, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland Magazine, SOHO Cleveland, and Akron Life & Leisure. She facilitates critique circles and writing workshops for conferences throughout Ohio, and teaches an annual weeklong workshop for the International Women's Writing Guild. McGregor will lead “Speaking Up, Reaching Out: The Power of Op-Ed Writing.” She’ll explain how to blend relevant topics with personal insight that lends itself to the op-ed page of newspapers and other commentary venues. Learn how to shape your views into pieces that offer editors and readers a unique slant on current events, universal experiences, social issues, and matters about which you are passionate and well-informed. This hands-on workshop will include samples, handouts and market tips. Erin O'Brien is a regular columnist for the Cleveland Scene. Her articles, features, essays and political reporting have also appeared in The Plain Dealer, Angle, Northern Ohio Live, and the BroadView Journal, which she edited for five years. She has one novel, Harvey & Eck (Zumaya Publications, 2005), and maintains a blog, "The Erin O'Brien Owner's Manual for Human Beings." O’Brien is teaching “Turning Nonfiction into Creative Art.” This session will focus on using solid writing devices and techniques to turn a simple nonfiction composition into an unforgettable piece of creative prose. Those trying to find their voice for memoir, essay or long-form nonfiction will learn how using tools, such as point-of-view, metaphor and revision, will take their writing to new levels. Award-winning editor Nancy E. Piazza is a published writer with 20 years of editing experience. Through her business, Writeperson, she edits novels, short stories, nonfiction books, articles, essays, memoirs, proposals, and letters for aspiring as well as published writers. Among many books, Piazza has edited are “The Dead of Winter” by Bill Warnock (Penguin Group, 2005) and “Orion Too” (Author House, 2008) by Bill Wonders. Diane Campbell Taylor's personal essays have appeared in The Plain Dealer and Grit magazine. Having recently completed her first novel, she is feverishly working on a sequel as well as three other works in progress. Campbell Taylor will lead “Writing Women’s Fiction.” She will explore the wide range of genres and sub-genres that fall under the "Women's Fiction" umbrella. Learn the differences between them and what characteristics are common to all. We'll touch on plot, story structure, and characterization. Bring your book idea for sharing and open discussion. A frustrated writer for years, Barbara Snow knew what kind of writing class would get her going, but the problem was, she couldn't find it. After overcoming the rants of her internal censor and finally being published, she decided to organize the class she wishes she could've taken when she needed it. Snow has written for The Plain Dealer, Northern Ohio Live, and is a correspondent for the News-Herald and Examiner.com. Her course, “Get the Lead Out!,” will help writers with a series of fun writing activities. This high energy, fun and encouraging session will help get thoughts and words onto the page. Participants will learn the secrets of finally hushing the internal censor and move ahead in your writing future. S. Andrew Swann has published 19 novels of science fiction, fantasy, horror and suspense for DAW books since 1993. His latest title, "Prophets," is an epic space opera and will be in stores March 2009. His next book, “Lilly's Song” (Bantam Publishing), is a paranormal romance and is due in the fall of 2009. Swann will teach “Worldbuilding: Constructing a Sci-Fi Universe.” In science fiction and fantasy, writing is about some place or some time that has never existed. This hour will concentrate on writing about imaginary places and the characters that live there and how to write them plausibly.