2022 Writers Conference

2022 Writers Conference 

Thursday, Nov. 17 - Saturday, Nov. 19.
Central Resource Library 

Register for the conference: 2022 Writers Conference OnDemand. There, you will also find the Schedule at a Glance, Session Descriptions. Browse all of the lectures that will be available to you soon OnDemand.

Meet Our Presenters

Virginia Brackett | Susana Bruhn | Jessica Conoley | Jim Cosgrove | Beth Gruver Gulley | Sarah Stein Greenberg | Sheri Hall | Amy Leigh Harden | Jamie Lynn Heller | Helen Hokanson | Brendan Kiely | Steven Kolbe | Amber Logan | Laura Loveless | Polly McCann | Justin Nogy | Anne-Marie Oomen | Diana Richards | Mary Silwance | Kelly Sime | Portia Stewart | Ethan Zolotor 

Check back often as the Conference approaches to read more about our presenters. We'll introduce a new faculty member every few days!

Contest Prompt 

Our writing contests award each winner with a $200 honorarium and the chance to read their work at an upcoming event. Our current contest prompt is: 

ek.phra.sis (noun) - the use of detailed description of a work of art as a literary device 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Every person will look at the same picture and see something different, will describe it differently, will find their thoughts inspired in unique directions.   

This fall, we turn our gaze to the portraits created by Patricia Streeper, on display at the Central Resource Library. This prompt is ekphrastic in nature, meaning we want you to write in response to her work. You can simply view the images or immerse yourself by reading and listening to interviews by Streeper, researching the subject of one of her paintings, or you can offer up your first impressions. 

Never written Ekphrastic? Check out Anne-Marie Oomen’s craft talk called Writing the Arts.

Conference Book

Between now and November 17 we hope you’ll stop by the Central Resource Library to pick up a free copy of our conference book, Creative Acts for Curious People: How to Think, Create, and Lead in Unconventional Ways by Sarah Stein Greenberg (as supplies last). Greenburg will join us on faculty, and Justin Nogy will offer sessions that lead us through some exercise from the book. We hope you love the exercises as much as we do!

Other Links of Interest

• Our newly refreshed For Writers page
• Art for Impact—a behind-the-scenes peek at the Writers Conference planning 

Final Thoughts

We have so much more to share with you, and this will be the main place we do so. So please, check back often, reach out via social media (we’re jocolibrary) on every platform (be sure to tag it #jocowrites so we are sure to see it!) and get ready for an amazing conference!