The Muse & The Marketplace 2020

In the last decade or so, a new publishing category has arisen:  literary horror. It's been associated with some of the most exciting writers working at the darker end of the literary spectrum, a list that includes Nadia Bulkin, Brian Evenson, Hye-young Pyun, Jac Jemc, Victor LaValle, Samanta Schweblin, and Paul Tremblay.  

Through a consideration of selected passages from their work, we'll sketch the topography of this developing field. We'll examine narrative perspectives that are de-centered from the one traditionally associated with horror stories (i.e. white, male, and cis), and narrative approaches drawn from a variety of postmodern and experimental sources. From there, we'll use this map to point out possible routes interested writers might follow in their own fiction.

Do you have short stories, essays, or poems that have been put through the wringer? Are you ready to take the leap into the submission world? Or perhaps you already have, but acceptances have been hard to come by? 

This session will demystify the submission process and provide specific strategies to maximize your chances at successful publication. From determining when your writing is ready for submission, to learning what parameters editors use to evaluate your work, to familiarizing yourself with the literary journal and small press landscape, you will receive resources, strategies, and tips that will ensure that your submissions are taken seriously. Whether you are working on individual stories or a full manuscript, realist fiction or more experimental work, we will discuss effective approaches to engage with a wide range of publications and ultimately find a home for your writing.

With the publishing world at last opening up to a diversity of voices and viewpoints, writing a single protagonist story with a single timeline in a single locale might feel, well, less than inspiring. Why can’t we have more? 

This session will explore the reasons for and against such a choice as well as how to find the right balance and structure to make it all work. Participants will leave with methods to create cohesion and continuity as well as ideas for organization and how to keep the writing flowing.

The thought of becoming a published author is daunting for most writers. We get stuck in our heads. We think we need validation from the “Big 5” to be taken seriously. News flash! You don’t need validation from a major publisher to publish a book.

In this session, writers will learn how to self-publish a professionally bound book in simple steps that are digestible and attainable for every writer. Come learn from a self published author who will share intimate details about the process of publishing and writing. Aspiring published authors will receive step by step instructions on how to turn an idea into a manuscript, the art of choosing a book title, and how to successfully work with designers and copy editors to create an aesthetically pleasing book worthy to be sold in bookstores and on Amazon.