Program/presenters subject to change.

MORNING SCHEDULE
Select either the morning workshop or two 75-minute morning sessions

9:15am-12:00pm WORKSHOP

Step Off the Page: Mastering Voice Through Point-of-View and Deep Character Knowledge with Amber Keyser - Voice makes a character step off the page. Voice is the know-it-when-I-see-it writing that agents and editors look for. In this craft workshop, intermediate writers will learn and practice specific techniques to create characters with unforgettable voices.

9:15-10:30am 75-MINUTE SESSIONS

Using Pop Culture, Fairy Tales, and Your Own Home as Launchpads for New Writing with Catherine Broadwall: Intermediate level writers will revisit the common advice, “Write what you know,” but with a twist. Starting with things that intrigue you for reasons you may not fully understand—pieces of pop culture, certain magical beings, and your own home—we’ll combine the familiar and the unfamiliar to creative effect.

Creative Time Travel: Writing Past Dystopia into a Better World with Becca Rose Hall: Humans love the drama of dystopia. But writers have the power — and maybe even the obligation — to use our imaginative powers to envision a better world. Through writing prompts and play with imaginative time travel, we will bring back an embodied vision of the livable future to inform all our writing projects.

Writing Essays as an Act of Agency with Sanjukta (Shama) Shams: This session invites nonfiction writers to reframe writing as an act of agency rather than self expression alone. Through brief lecture, reflection, and generative exercises, participants will explore how intention, audience, and purpose strengthen voice, clarity, and impact in personal and narrative nonfiction.

How to Sell Your Book to a Publisher Without an Agent with G.G. Silverman: Do you have a polished book manuscript in your back pocket that you want to find a publisher for, but don’t have an agent? Join Pushcart-nominated local author G.G. Silverman for this informative session on how she did just that! For intermediate and advanced writer levels.

10:45am - 12:00pm 75-MINUTE SESSIONS

Why Writing for Kids Is the Ultimate Craft Workout with Mary Boone: Writing for kids demands clarity, precision, and emotional honesty. This session focuses on the ways in which KidLit craft strengthens writing in any genre. Attendees, from beginners to published authors, will learn practical techniques to sharpen prose, deepen reader engagement, and revise more confidently – all without changing genres.

Discovering New Speculative Fiction Stories: A Little Weird Goes a Long Way with Tara Campbell: Writing compelling speculative fiction doesn't always require the creation of a whole new world—a little weird can go a long way. In this generative class, we’ll explore three ways of unlocking new stories: crafting narratives from common expressions, gleaning horror from unfinished business, and using deliberate paradoxes. This class is suitable for a wide audience, from those who are new to speculative fiction to experienced authors looking for a little burst of inspiration.

Home(s) For Your Short Story with Anne Elliott: You’ve finished your short story, workshopped it, revised it, workshopped it, revised it again. Now what? This session is for those who want to take the leap and hit “send.” We’ll review protocols and etiquette for submitting short works, researching markets, recordkeeping, and what to expect with “yes.”

Marketing Memoir with Deb Miller: Think memoir doesn’t sell? Think again. In a genre that is too often dismissed as self-indulgent or commercially risky, award-winning author and marketing professor Dr. Deb Miller argues that truth sells—when positioned strategically. This session helps novice writers transform deeply personal manuscripts into market-ready narratives that attract agents, booksellers, media, and readers hungry for true stories.

12:00 - 1:30pm Lunch Break

1:30pm | Keynote: Debra Magpie Earling | Edmonds Theater, 415 Main St.

AFTERNOON SCHEDULE
Select either one of the afternoon workshops or two afternoon 75-minute sessions

2:45- 5:30pm WORKSHOPS

Elevate Your Plot & Characters: A Guided Self-Editing Workshop for Fiction Writers with Katie Chambers: Too many authors start revising their prose before their story is strong. This workshop teaches fiction writers how to run a focused Story Pass—revising plot and character before touching scenes or prose. Participants will learn how to clarify conflict, strengthen cause-and-effect, and develop believable, dynamic characters that drive the story forward.

Writing the Moment a Character Crosses the Line with Noreen Graf: In this generative workshop, writers learn how to build literary short stories around moments of moral or emotional risk. Through guided drafting and revision, attendees create a pivotal scene that deepens character, sharpens tension, and strengthens the emotional arc of their current writing project.

2:45 - 4:00pm 75-MINUTE SESSIONS

Live Critique Panel with Scott Eagan, Anne Elliott and Kim Purcell: An opportunity to have two (2) pages from a current project read aloud and critiqued by the panelists. Download Rules and Instructions .

Beyond the Sonnet, Part 2 with Amelia Díaz Ettinger: Beyond the Sonnet Part 1 was presented at WOTS last year. Part 2 introduces writers to fresh, under-recognized poetic forms that transform constraints into creative possibility. Through brief lessons, examples, guided prompts, and supportive sharing, participants explore global forms that spark playfulness, rigor, and new ways of shaping language—leaving with new poems and an expanded toolkit for future writing.

Energize Your Writing Practice with Micro Memoir with Annmarie Kelly: It’s easy to lose momentum with a big project. Enter micros. These extremely short pieces help us hone our skills for longer endeavors—strong openings, sensory imagery, narrative arcs. Micros unfold quickly and dare we say…easily. You’ll leave this session with multiple drafts and a list of places to send your finished work.

Connecting from Beginning to End: Building the Supporting Story Structure with Christine Pinto: Beginning and intermediate writers will learn how to choose structure that best tells their story, and the needed elements to connect readers from beginning to end for an engaging and satisfying experience. Exploring their work-in-progress through writing exercises, they will learn practical strategies for crafting their story’s ideal structure.

4:15 - 5:30pm 75-MINUTE SESSIONS

Panel Discussion on Setting with Debra Magpie Earling, Michael N. McGregor, and A. Muia: Author and writing professor Michael N. McGregor leads a panel discussion with Write on the Sound Keynote Author Debra Magpie Earling and Presenter and Author A. Muia on the foundational element of setting in writing

What's So Funny? with Bob Balmer: Some situations are so ridiculous and relatable they are satirized for the sake of amusement. In this session, attendees will learn how to foment laughter or bring attention to a problem via humor. Takeaways include how to identify subjects worthy of satire, the difference between writing to be funny and using humor to expose a painful truth, and ensuring your humor makes a salient point. All ability levels welcome.

The Power of Love: Incorporating Romance into Your Novel with Lynne Pearson: Many authors avoid integrating romance into their work because they don’t understand how it will improve their story. This workshop is geared toward intermediate authors wanting to learn the value of including romantic elements to broaden their reader audience regardless of genre, and how to incorporate it. Key takeaways will include the hallmarks of a good romance, incorporating the romantic arc, and building intimacy without writing sex scenes.

The Botanist's Leaf: On Poetry and Wildness with WA State Poet Laureate Derek Sheffield: What did the legendary Cascadian poet, Theodore Roethke, mean when he wrote, "I need the botanist’s leaf more than the poet’s flower"? Through close readings and observation, I will speak to the liminal space poetry and wildness share.

5:30 | RECEPTION

City of Edmonds - Washington

Conference Schedule