Contributed by Sharon Aubrey
If you’ve ever wanted to improve your craft as a writer or illustrator and/or wanted to network with literary agents, editors, and other professional writers and illustrators, this month is your chance! Alaska Writers Guild’s 2022 Conference for Writers & Illustrators will be held in Anchorage on Friday, September 30th and Saturday, October 1st at the Loussac Library Event Center. This annual conference is organized with support from the Alaska chapters of Romance Writers of America and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Over two days, there are numerous break-out sessions allowing participants to select from a menu of professional resources to best meet their individual literary objectives. This year’s conference keynote speaker is William “Bill” Kenower, visiting from South Carolina. He is a professional author, editor, and host of the Author2Author podcast. On Friday, Bill will teach “Fearless Writing” and “Fearless Marketing.” Additionally, other Friday sessions will include several literary agents helping authors improve their publishing game plan and refine their pitches for increased success. Later in the day, Alaska’s children’s book author and former AWG president, Brooke Hartman, will present a session on writing children’s picture books. To wrap up the day, New York Times bestselling editor Angela James will present on avoiding common missteps in your professional author career.
On Saturday, Bill Kenower will also host a session called “Failure to Launch” for authors who have hit a slump in their writing journey and could use some new strategies to achieve greater success. Saturday’s lineup also includes a variety of editors from New York, literary agents from California, and numerous local publishing directors, editors, and authors, including AWG President Caitlin Buxbaum and AWG Digital Outreach Director Lorna Rose. The presentations will explore diverse topics, including: creating a small press; perfecting your proposal and pitch; acquiring an agent; the art of illustrating and working as an illustrator; and honing your craft through workshops on writing tension, perfecting dialogue, building the reader-character connection, crafting memoirs, and developing good free verse poetry.
In addition to the various professional workshops and break-out sessions, the time spent networking during lunch and other breaks present a wonderful opportunity to build relationships with other locals. It’s exciting to talk with your literary peers working on various projects in different genres. Both prospective and professional authors and illustrators will be rewarded by exploring new ideas, sharing methods for success, and learning new apps or tools others are using.
For more information about attending, please visit the Alaska Writers Guild website: https://www.alaskawritersguild.com/Conference
Image caption: Artwork by SCBWI member Denise Gallagher, Conference Illustration Contest winner.