In Conversation with Michael Finkel, Journalist, Memoirist, and Author of The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession
This Q and A format involves a discussion of Michael Finkel’s extensive writing experiences. Audience members will be invited to ask questions.Michael has reported from over fifty countries including working on assignment for National Geographic in places such as Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Afghanistan.
BIO: Michael Finkel is the best-selling author of The Art Thief, The Stranger in the Woods, and True Story. He has reported from more than 50 countries across six continents, writing for National Geographic, GQ, The Atlantic, and The New York Times Magazine. He lives with his family in northern Utah. His new release The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession.
Please include your zoom screen name on registration. This is the name that will be used to admit you to the event from the waiting room.
Zoom link will be emailed to you during the week of the event.
Children’s & YA Track
Sessions 1 & 2
Janet Smith Post
Journey Through Writing for Young People
Janet Smith Post will discuss her journey through the many types of writing she has done and introduce us to her books for a young audience in chronological order.
She will discuss the process she employs and her thinking processes as she works. In the second session, participants will experience some foundational writing prompts.
Those who desire can share their work as we discuss our own processes.
BIO: Janet loves writing a good story—for any age reader. She has written picture books for the young, an adventure book for middle grades, a musical reading readiness program for early elementary, a novel and poetry books for adults. She particularly loves writing dialogue—a very needed, yet tricky element in story writing. Janet currently writes poetry, and recently one of her poems was published in the yearly poetry journal of The Orchard Street Press, Quiet Diamonds. www.Janetsmithpost.com
Session 3
Virginia White
Writing for Children
Virginia White will delineate the reason she chose to write for children. She describes the steps she took to prepare for this second career. In addition, she recounts the rocky roads she traveled in pursuit of success with her children’s books.
BIO: Award winning children’s author, Virginia White, was a finalist in the Colorado Authors League children’s book contest. Writing is Virginia’s second career after a life as a secondary school English teacher. Her use of alliteration is noteworthy as she commits to paper the prose that makes her work a favorite of readers. www.virginiakwhite.com
Fiction Track
Session 1 & 2
Laurie Marr Wasmund
Session 1:
CHARACTER IS STORY
You have an idea for a work of fiction that has been rattling around in your head for years, but when you sit down to commit it to the page, you don’t know how to start. There’s one easy secret that you need to remember—Character IS Story! In this intensive workshop, we’ll look at how to create characters in a way that will engage and wow readers.
Session 2:
WHAT’S NEXT? WRITING YOUR FIRST WORK OF FICTION
Now that you have a handle on character, it’s time to consider the other elements of fiction. How do you move from idea to plot? Which point of view should you choose? What is narrative distance and why is it important? How do you create a realistic, engaging setting? These—and other questions—will be discussed in this intensive workshop.
BIO: Laurie Marr Wasmund is an editor, teacher, presenter, and author of novels published under the imprint Lost Ranch Books. Her books include: The White Winter Trilogy, Clean Cut: A Romance of the Western Heart, and My Heart Lies Here: A story of the Ludlow Massacre. She has published short stories and historical articles for magazines. Laurie holds a Masters in English from the University of Denver. lauriemarrwasmund.com
Session 3
Sandra S. McRae
How Much Is Enough? Shortcuts to Stronger Fiction
Overexplaining insults readers’ intelligence—but if you’re stingy with context, readers quit you. In this interactive workshop we’ll discover how compressed fiction can help you sustain your practice to write powerfully at any length. Bonus round: How to (Not) Write Titles.
Bio: Sandra S. McRae teaches writing at the University of Denver’s University College and Red Rocks Community College. She writes about nature and domestic complexities, the political and the divine, food, and hunger of all kinds She also co-authored the bestselling cookbook Weber’s Big Book of Grilling (Chronicle). Her poetry books include all the way to just about there (FutureCycle Press) and The Magic Rectangle (Folded Word), and her poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. Sandra has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and is an editor at Bristlecone, a poetry journal of the Mountain West. www.WordsRunTogether.com.
Poetry Track
Sessions 1 & 2
Wayne Miller
Workshop: The Art of Surprise: Originality in Poetry
Something we often hear editors say is that the most compelling poems manage in one way or another to surprise the reader. But what does that actually mean? In this workshop, we’ll break down different types of surprises and how poets can generate them.
BIO: Wayne Miller, editor of Copper Nickel, is the author of six poetry collections, most recently We the Jury (Milkweed, 2021) and The End of Childhood, which is forthcoming from Milkweed in 2025. His awards include the UNT Rilke Prize, two Colorado Book Awards, an NEA Translation Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize, six awards from the Poetry Society of America, and a Fulbright to Northern Ireland. He teaches at the University of Colorado Denver. onlythesenses.com
Session 3
Emily Pérez
Raising the Stakes: Caretakers as Writers
The physical, emotional, and mental work of caretaking provides a unique lens on the world. Subjects like nature, racism, romance, and illness take on new complexity when one must also consider a dependent. Writers will use their various caretaking roles, past and present, to raise the stakes of a poem. emilyperez.org
BIO: Emily Pérez is the author of What Flies Want, winner of the Iowa Prize and finalist for a Colorado Book Award, and House of Sugar, House of Stone. She co-edited The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood, also a finalist for a Colorado Book Award. A CantoMundo fellow and Ledbury Critic, she’s received support from Hedgebrook, Bread Loaf, and others. She is a high school teacher and administrator in Denver, where she lives with her family.
Nonfiction Track
Session 1 & 2
Sara Frances
Session One
Antidote for Publishing Roadblocks
Discover the right indie or small press publishing path for you. It’s not a total black hole. Hidden options abound between independent do-it-yourself through subsidized and hybrid. Take control of your manuscript and profit, and let those “big dog” publishers lie! Interactive definitions and discussion for getting the best fit and bang for production dollars. Pdfs included. It’s a treasure hunt that will bring reward and satisfaction.
Session Two
Unplugged Voices the book: a lucrative and satisfying case study with historic value
Is it a memoir, coffee table gift, anthology, or illustrated regional interest book? Share my uncategorizable journey to manage 125 cats, um contributors, and then write, edit, proof, illustrate, design, sequence, and prep it all for print. Details of printing, quantities, paper, warehousing, distribution, promotions, accounting, etc… Apply my inspiration, helpers, foibles, and epiphanies to your own manuscript.
Bio: Sara Frances is the author of Unplugged Voices: 125 Tales of Art and Life from Northern New Mexico, the Four Corners and the West and the multi-award-winning Fragments of Spirit: 60 Years: A Photographer’s Recollections of Taos Pueblo, the Region and its Arts. She holds three university degrees and several degrees in photography, founding her own house specifically for complex image and text art/poetry books, and has become a design and content book judge—always as a storyteller. Photomirage.com
Session 3
Jerry Fabyanic
Telling It Like It Is
A primary difference between fiction and nonfiction is that when writing nonfiction, the author can neither make stuff up nor hide behind characters. Creative Nonfiction and Memoir demand that the writer adhere to the truth. They also require authors to open themselves up. Being vulnerable can be daunting.
Bio: Jerry Fabyanic is a retired high school English teacher and an award-winning author in both fiction and nonfiction categories. His books include: Sisyphus Wins, and Food for Thought: Essays on Mind and Spirit Volumes I, a 2022 first place Colorado Authors League prose winner. For sixteen years, Jerry was a featured weekly columnist for the Clear Creek Courant. He runs marathons, hikes and skis when not writing. Jerryfabyanic.com
Session 4
Workshop A:
Self-Publishing 101
Veronica Yager
Navigating the World of Indie-Publishing: A Guide for First-Time Authors
Standing at the crossroads of your writing journey and unsure of which publishing path to take? As the world of indie-publishing has grown, so have the opportunities it offers to authors – especially to those new to the publishing scene. Veronica will address the reasons to self-publish, the process, distribution avenues, and marketing.
BIO: Veronica Yager is the founder of YellowStudios Book Publishing Services. She been in the publishing and design industry for over 15 years. She is also the former president of CIPA. Veronica’s mission is to help make publishing a book as painless and easy as possible for indie authors. To help this mission, Veronica hosts twice a month group self-publishing mastery sessions via Zoom – you can learn more at https://www.authorsnookwithveronica.com and www.YellowStudiosOnline.com.
Workshop B:
Rachel McMillan
Creating Compelling Comp Titles for Traditional Publishers
Comp Titles are an essential ingredient that follow a pre-pubbed author from querying a prospective literary agent to the trade sales at a publisher finding the perfect bookstore placement. Learn the art of killer comp titles and how they can lift you immediately out of the slush pile.
Bio: Rachel McMillan is a bestselling author and literary agent based in Toronto, Canada. She has worked in all tenets of the book publishing industry from marketing and publicity to editorial and sales. A popular teacher and tastemaker, she is the author of several works of fiction and non fiction including The London Restoration and The Mozart Code. She is currently writing a biography of architect Sir Christopher Wren.
Critiques
Submit up to 10 pages with one inch margins to CastleRockWriters@gmail.com with your name, email and chosen faculty for critique on each page. Registration limit is 6 critiques per faculty member.
Children’s/YA Virginia White
BIO: Award winning children’s author, Virginia White, was a finalist in the Colorado Authors League children’s book contest. Writing is Virginia’s second career after a life as a secondary school English teacher. Her use of alliteration is noteworthy as she commits to paper the prose that makes her work a favorite of readers. www.virginiakwhite.com
Fiction Sandra McRae Sajbel
Sandra S. McRae teaches writing at the University of Denver’s University College and Red Rocks Community College. She writes about nature and domestic complexities, the political and the divine, food, and hunger of all kinds She also co-authored the bestselling cookbook Weber’s Big Book of Grilling (Chronicle). Her poetry books include all the way to just about there (FutureCycle Press) and The Magic Rectangle (Folded Word), and her poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. Sandra has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and is an editor at Bristlecone, a poetry journal of the Mountain West. www.WordsRunTogether.com.
Poetry Emily Pérez
BIO: Emily Pérez is the author of What Flies Want, winner of the Iowa Prize and finalist for a Colorado Book Award, and House of Sugar, House of Stone. She co-edited The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood, also a finalist for a Colorado Book Award. A CantoMundo fellow and Ledbury Critic, she’s received support from Hedgebrook, Bread Loaf, and others. She is a high school teacher and administrator in Denver, where she lives with her family.
Nonfiction Jerry Fabyanic
Bio: Jerry Fabyanic is a retired high school English teacher and an award-winning author in both fiction and nonfiction categories. His books include: Sisyphus Wins, and Food for Thought: Essays on Mind and Spirit Volumes I, a 2022 first place Colorado Authors League prose winner. For sixteen years, Jerry was a featured weekly columnist for the Clear Creek Courant. He runs marathons, hikes and skis when not writing. Jerryfabyanic.com
Session 4
Agent Pitches no charge. Sign up at conference check-in.
Elizabeth Kracht will take a maximum of six pitches for ten minutes each via Zoom. There is no charge. Sign up in-person at conference check-in on September 30. First come, first served.
Elizabeth Kracht
Elizabeth K. Kracht is a literary agent with Kimberley Cameron & Associates and the author of the book The Author’s Checklist: An Agent’s Guide to Developing and Editing Your Manuscript. She has a BA in technical writing and is on the last semester of completing her MFA in fiction at San José State University. She represents both fiction and nonfiction and enjoys working closely with writers to achieve their publishing goals whether as an agent or developmental editor.
Session 4
Headshots with professional photographer, Lynn Hough, maximum 6 spots. $25
*Online registration closes on September 24, 9pm. Walk-in registration will be accepted at the event on September 30 between 8:00-8:45am, space permitting. No lunches may be ordered after September 24.
