Conference Schedule

Friday, January 20, 2023

6:30 p.m.

Registration :: Lobby, Dana Science Building
[#12 on the campus map]

7 – 7:30 p.m.

Introductions, Welcome from Director Liz Long, Scholarship Announcement, Presenter Intros

7:30 – 9 p.m.

Keynote :: Kris Spisak, “Grammartopia Workshop”


Saturday, January 21, 2023

All classes will be held in the Dana Science Building

[#12 on the campus map]


8:30 a.m.

Registration :: Lobby, Dana Science Building


9:00 – 10:00 a.m.

Kris Spisak :: “Fiction & Memoir Editing Secrets” :: Babcock Auditorium

G. Samantha Rosenthal :: “Creative Non-Fiction; Or, How to Have Fun with Facts” :: Room 102

Valerie Nieman :: “All into the Pool: Writing Mashups” :: Room 142


10:15 – 11:15 a.m.

Renee Harless :: “World Building: Constructing the Layers to Bring Your Vision to Life” :: Babcock Auditorium

Jim Minick :: “Using Your Family or Other People’s Stories to Make Art (Fiction/Nonfiction)” :: Room 102

Dan Smith and Susannah Smith :: “Presenting the Perfect Draft”  :: Room 142


11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Ken Conklin :: “The Do’s and Don’ts of Self-Publishing” :: Babcock Auditorium

Tom Field :: “How’d Barbara Do It?” :: Room 102

SB Rawz :: “Get Going, Get Writing, Let’s Get This Ink Flowing” :: Room 142


12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

Lunch, Hollins Dining Hall, Moody Center [#24 on the campus map]
Please remember to bring your meal ticket.


1:30 – 2:30 p.m.

Doloris Vest :: “Working with Indie Bookstores” :: Babcock Auditorium

Leah Weiss :: “The Perfect Hook” :: Room 102

Betsy Ashton :: “Pantser vs Plotter: The Right Tools for Every Approach” :: Room 142


2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry :: “Creating Unforgettable Characters” :: Babcock Auditorium

Bryan Hancock :: “Authentically Finding Your Voice” :: Room 102

Cameron Mackenzie :: “Write What You Don’t Know” :: Room 142


4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Doug Jackson :: “Sense of Motion, Sense of Place: Craft Notes from Roanoke’s Writers By Bus” :: Babcock Auditorium


For more information, please contact the conference organizer, Liz Long, at roanokewriters@gmail.com.

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