AWC Panel Schedule

AWC-2025

Welcome to the 2025 Anthology Writer's Conference Schedule Page.

This page will be continually updated as we move closer to the day of the event.

Panel Title	Track	Room	Time	Presenter(s)
Publishing Path: Getting Started How to determine the best publishing path for a particular manuscript.	Industry	Room 1	9:00am-9:50am	Kathleen Osborne, PJ Hultstrand
Workshop: Grand Openings: The All-Important First Page Brought to you by MWA & Desert Sleuths members A deep dive into 10 opening pages from different genres so you can get your opening page into its best shape.	Writing	Room 2	9:00am-10:45am	Karen M. Odden
Writing Across Borders: What’s It Like Writing for Readers in Other Countries How do you write for readers in other countires? Other Cultures?	Writing/ Specialty	Room 3	9:00am-9:50am	Lalit Kumar
Alternative Marketing & Promotion Brought to you by MWA & Desert Sleuths members	Specialty	Room 4	9:00am-9:50am	C.B. Wilson
Arizona Bookstores: Who Loves Indies? Find out what bookstores in Arizona are indie friendly and which may require a little extra TLC.	Industry	Room 5	9:00am-9:50am	Eleanor Rose
Media Kits for Authors Attracting media for your project is a job unto itself. Here's how to be prepared and proactive.	Marketing	Room 1	10:00am-10:50am	PJ Hultstrand
The Book Pitch: Make those 30 seconds Count What makes an engaging book pitch that readers gravitate to?	Marketing	Room 3	10:00am-10:50am	Sharon Skinner, Mimi Francis
Your Script's Trip: From Novel to Screenplay Brought to you by MWA & Desert Sleuths members	Industry	Room 4	10:00am-10:50am	RK Olson (moderator), Jennifer Graeser Dornbush, Katherine Atwell Herbert, Deborah J. Ledford
Cross Genre Writing- Holding Readers Across Multiple Genres Maybe you write Fantasy, and Sci-Fi, and non fiction, and maybe romance. How do you build a following around that?	Writing	Room 5	10:00am-10:50am	JJM Czep
Book Reviews: Who, What and How To Get Them They are both elusive and highly valuable. How can you get them to happen organically?	Marketing	Room 1	11:00am-11:50am	Jeremy Broyles
Workshop: How Settings Impact Your Characters Brought to you by MWA & Desert Sleuths members Betty's 3 mystery series are set in 3 unique places (Maricopa County, Monterey Bay CA, and Paris, France. These wildly different settings impact each of her detectives (a P.I., a zookeeper, & an artist) in vastly different ways.	Writing	Room 2	11:00am-12:45pm	Betty Webb
Book Awards: Do they Matter, Should You Submit, and How? You read about people winning them, but how can they impact your books acceptance?	Marketing	Room 3	11:00am-11:50am	Bruce Davis, Avily Jerome
Protagonists' Day Jobs Not every 'detective' is a sworn police officer. From amateur sleuths to investigative reporters, main characters can have various day jobs, and those jobs can help or interfere with their investigation. Brought to you by MWA & Desert Sleuths members	Specialty	Room 4	11:00am-11:50am	Suzanne E Flaig (moderator), Fred Andersen, Paula Barr Skillicorn, C.C. Harrison, Susan Cummins Miller
Tasty Words: Writing Engaging and Irresistible Recipes Write the recipe in a way that make people salivate and want to check their fridge or cupboard for ingredients.	Specialty	Room 5	11:00am-11:50am	Tennille Harron
Edits- Editorial Types and How they Make a Stronger Book A deep dive into the different editorial types and how they come together to benefit your book.	Writing	Room 1	12:00pm-12:50pm	Avily Jerome, August St. Clare
The Festival Circuit: Where to Sell Your Books In Person The calendar is full of opportunities to sell your book, including some that may be considered "non-traditional".	Industry	Room 3	12:00pm-12:50pm	PJ Hultstrand
Presentation - It's All in How You Look at It: POV Brought to you by MWA & Desert Sleuths members The success of a story or novel often depends on the point of view the writer chooses. There are reasons for and against using first or third-person or even multiple points of view. Starting with a brief definition, we’ll look at point of view from a few different angles and talk about tips for success with each. We’ll have time for participation and questions.	Writing	Room 4	12:00pm-12:50pm	Kathy McIntosh
Amazon: State of the Book Business at the Swishy A	Industry	Room 5	12:00pm-12:50pm	JJM Czep, KA Bledsoe
Poem in an Hour Contest Well, really 45 minutes- but you've donme that before, right?	Writing	Community Hall	12:00pm-12:50pm	Marcus Campbell
Is It Funny? Writing Funny Prose… Intentionally, That is Unintentially is cool to, but here are tips on writing funny with purpose.	Writing	Room 1	1:00pm-1:50pm	Sharon Skinner
Workshop: Forensics in Fiction Brought to you by MWA & Desert Sleuths members Ever wonder if coroners really eat sandwiches while doing autopsies? Or if wearing a low cut dress and high heels to the scene of a crime is sanitary? Walk away knowing when to authenticate or fabricate your crime fiction. During this interactive workshop we'll explore 10 common forensic faux pas you can turn into writing tricks that elevate your story, while still making it believable and entertaining.	Writing/ Specialty	Room 2	1:00pm-2:45pm	Jennifer Graeser Dornbush
Digital Marketing: Why an Author/Book Website Matters A wholeistic view of owning your digital brand and controlling its presentation to the world	Marketing	Room 3	1:00pm-1:50pm	Joshua Lowe
From Solos to Symphonies: Weaving Stories Into Anthologies Brought to you by MWA & Desert Sleuths members Celebrate the collaborative magic of anthologies while panelists offer practical tips and inside insights into the process of creating a memorable collection or submitting an award-winning story.	Writing	Room 4	1:00pm-1:50pm	Anna Dalhaimer Bartkowski (moderator), Yvonne M. Corrigan-Carr, Suzanne E Flaig, Margaret C. Morse, Claire A Murray
Writing is Re-Writing A discussion of how to approach your writing from a refinement process to strengthen it overall.	Writing	Room 5	1:00pm-1:50pm	Eleanor Rose
The importance of Show, Don’t Tell Why it matters to readers, makes story stronger and should be at the center of your writing credo.	Writing	Room 1	2:00pm-2:50pm	Lalit Kumar, August St. Clare
Writing Journalism is still writing The importance of good writing in journalistic trades.	Writing/ Specialty	Room 3	2:00pm-2:50pm	Kathleen Osborne
The Pesky Problem of Pacing Brought to you by MWA & Desert Sleuths members	Writing	Room 4	2:00pm-2:50pm	Karen M. Odden (moderator), Deborah J. Ledford, Susan Cummins Miller, Betty Webb
It’s OK, I Am the Doctor In The House! Who better to talk about writing medical related stuff like injuries, langauge and policy than an actual doctor?	Writing/Specialty	Room 5	2:00am-2:50am	Bruce Davis
Flash Fiction Contest It's a contest, with prizes. You write your entry in the session. (bring a pen and paper)	Writing	Community Hall	2:30pm-4:50pm	Staff
Using Media (Audio & Video) in your Book Marketing Youtube, podcasting, TikTok and more great media opportunities to support your creating.	Marketing	Room 1	3:00pm-3:50pm	JJM Czep
What is a Cozy, Really? Brought to you by MWA & Desert Sleuths members Cozy mysteries … what are they, really? Where did the term come from? Is a cozy in the US the same as a cozy in the UK? These authors will discuss the original cozy, how that defined a subgenre of mystery that is currently one of the hottest genres in the US, and how it has morphed into something broader over the years.	Specialty	Room 2	3:00pm-3:50pm	Paula Barr Skillicorn (moderator), Suzanne E Flaig, Margaret C. Morse, C.B. Wilson
Building a Speaking Career Around Your Writing Using your knowledge and personality to build a bigger audience for the brand of you.	Specialty	Room 3	3:00pm-3:50pm	Jamar Washington
Presentation - Strategies for getting agents/publishers to look at your material	Industry	Room 4	3:00pm-3:50pm	Bob Nelson, Sharon Skinner
Literary Fiction, More Than the Great American Novel Explore the literary legacy, impact and importance of literary fiction.	Writing	Room 5	3:00pm-3:50pm	Jeremy Broyles
The Library- Your Secret Writing Weapon We forget how much is available to us at our local library.	Writing	Room 1	4:00pm-4:50pm	Adrienne Miles
It's 4:30 AM: Writing with a Day Job or Other Interruptions! Brought to you by MWA & Desert Sleuths members Where and when do busy people write? Whether it's 4:30 am or midnight, if the writing bugs strikes, they've got to do it. Learn how these busy authors fit writing into their schedules.	Writing	Room 2	4:00pm-4:50pm	Claire A Murray (moderator), Paula Barr Skillicorn, Lauren Buckingham, Karen Reeder
Using Fanfiction to Jumpstart Your Writing Hone your writing skills writing fanfiction and how to make the jump from fanfiction to original fiction.	Writing	Room 3	4:00pm-4:50pm	Mimi Francis
Mysteries Set in AZ or the Southwest Brought to you by MWA & Desert Sleuths members	Specialty	Room 4	4:00pm-4:50pm	C.C. Harrison, Kathy McIntosh, Susan Cummins Miller
Beyond the Buzz Maintaining the motivation after the Conference	Specialty	Room 5	4:00pm-4:50pm	Jenn Labuz

AWC Panel Schedule

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