Printables
Itinerary subject to change.
Wednesday, Aug 28th
7 pm - 8 pm Special Pre-Conference Session
- ZOOM - Portfolio Prep Program with Ashley Belote and Elizabeth Rawls
Friday, Sept 20th
8 am - 8:45 am Registration Desk
- Intensive Check-in
8:45 am - 5 pm Full-Day Intensives
- HOSPITALITY SUITE - Advanced PB Critique with Sean McCarthy (Advanced PB writers)
- LOWRANCE - Structure as Genesis with Kelly Dyksterhouse (Advanced novelists)
9 am - 12 pm Half-Day Intensives
- MOORE - Operation Overhaul: How to Revise Your MG or YA Book & Position it for Today’s Market with Alyssa E. Henkin
- MERCHANT - From Manuscript to Published Book, an Intensive for PB Writers with Kelly Delaney
- PEDDLER - Trifecta Part I, Publishing Landscape and Production, an intensive for comics/graphic novel illustrators with Kirk Benshoff
1 pm CEDARS - Bookstore Opens
1 pm - 5 pm Registration/Check-in
1 pm - 2:45 pm PEDDLER - Ignite the Spark Lab Hours
1:30 pm - 5:10 pm MOORE - Critiques + Reviews
2:45 pm - 3:45 pm Special Session
- MERCHANT - How to Create Your Website on Squarespace with Kris Black (Unpublished creators, less tech-savvy users, creators looking to make a new site)
4 pm - 5 pm Special Sessions
- MERCHANT - Write More, Worry Less: An Intro to Publishing Kidlit with Dorothy H. Price (New members/beginning career, primarily writers)
- PEDDLER - Illustrating Nonfiction Picture Books - My Secret Strategies with Erin McGuire (Illustrators)
5 pm - 7:30 pm Dinner Break with optional meet-ups
7:30 pm - 9 pm HILTON GARDEN INN BALLROOM - Ignite the Spark Open Mic + Cash Bar
Saturday, Sept 21st
7:30 am - 8:30 am Registration/Check-in
8:30 am - 9:30 am Breakouts
- MERCHANT - Everything in Its Right Place: An Overview of Agenting and Publishing with Sean McCarthy (All creators)
- PEDDLER - Using Comps to Creatively and Successfully Position Your Book with Nico Ore-Giron (PB through YA writers)
- MOORE - Trifecta Part II, Lettering with Kirk Benshoff (Illustrators)
9:45 am - 10 am KNOX AUDITORIUM - Welcome + Intention
10 am - 10:45 am KNOX AUDITORIUM - Creating from the Inside Out--and Sometimes Roundabout, a Keynote with Dinah Johnson
11 am - 12 pm Breakouts
- MERCHANT - How to Support Your Supporting Characters with Kelly Delaney (Writers, primarily novelists)
- PEDDLER - Beyond Words: Visual Rhetoric and the Graphic Novel Script with Alex Aceves (GN writers, GN author/illustrators)
- LOWRANCE - Character Design Workshop with Tracy Shaw (Illustrators)
- MOORE - Blocking Out the Buzz with Alyssa E. Henkin (All creators)
12 pm - 1:45 pm Lunch Break with optional meet-ups
2 pm - 3 pm Breakouts
- MERCHANT - Breaking down the High-Concept Picture Book with Nico Ore-Giron (PB writers)
- PEDDLER - Making a Scene: How to Tackle Drafting and Revising at the Scene Level with Alex Aceves (Novel writers)
- LOWRANCE - Trifecta Part III, Coloring with Kirk Benshoff (Illustrators)
- MOORE - It Takes a Village: Discussing Community and Craft through the Publishing Lens with Sophia Ramos (All creators)
3:15 pm - 4:15 pm CEDARS HALLWAY - Book Fair + Author Signing
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm First Pages + First Look
- MERCHANT - PB First Pages
- PEDDLER - MG/YA First Pages
- LOWRANCE - Illustration First Look
5:30 pm LOCATION TBA - Pitchers Anonymous results posted
6 pm - 7:30 pm CEDARS HALLWAY - Portfolio Fest + Bingo + Reception
7:30 pm - 8:45 pm Carolinas Book Talks
Sunday, Sept 22nd
7:30 am - 8:30 am Check-in
8:30 am - 9:15 am Morning Work
- MERCHANT - Critique Group Meet-Up
- PEDDLER - Lab Hours
9:30 am - 10:30 am Breakouts
- MERCHANT - What We Can Learn from the Classics with Alyssa E. Henkin (All creators)
- PEDDLER - What's the Deal with Short Fiction & Why is it Definitely Worth My Time? with Nora Shalaway Carpenter (PB through YA writers)
- LOWRANCE - From Idea to Print with Tracy Shaw (Illustrators)
- MOORE - Creating Non Fiction Picture Books from the Inside Out with Dinah Johnson (PB writers)
10:45 am - 11:45 am KNOX AUDITORIUM - Faculty Panel
11:45 am - 12:15 pm KNOX AUDITORIUM - Closing + Prizes + Awards
