Spring 2018 Meeting Schedule

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Landmark-Hotel-Marquette-U.P.-Winter-2014-13UPPAA Spring 2018 Meeting

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Saturday, June 2nd, 2018 at the Landmark Inn.  Sessions will be in the Harbor Room (basement) and the Board Room (1st Floor)

Conference Schedule

  • 10:00 – 10:30 – Registration in the Harbor Room
  • 10:30 – 10:45 – Welcome and Opening remarks in the Harbor Room
  • 10:45 – 11:45 – Keynote, Steve Lehto, “From Unagented Queries to a Dozen Books with Five Different Publishers,” Harbor Room
  • 11:45 – 12:45   Two tracks to choose from:
    (A) Carrie Pearson, “Children’s Book Industry 101: Terms, Conventions, How it Works, and How We Get Paid,” Harbor Room
    (B) Felicia Schneiderhan, “Open a Vein: The Art of Memoir in Today’s Culture,” Board Room
  • 12:45 – 1:30 Lunch
  • 1:30 – 2:00 Business Meeting – including drawing, release of UP Reader, and presentation of short story contest awards, Harbor Room
  • 2:15 – 3:15  Two tracks to choose from:
    (A) Naomi Rawlings, “Life-Altering Surprises, Annoying Sisters, and Running from Danger: Using Various Forms of Conflict to Keep Readers Addicted to your Novel,” Harbor Room
    (B) Janeen Rastall, “The Quest for Your Best: A Poetry Workshop” Board Room (projector)
  • 3:15 – 4:15 Two tracks to choose from:
    (A) Susan Rosemurgy, “The Gift of Reading: A Book-Binding Workshop,” Board Room
    (B) Vickie Fee: “How to Write a Mystery in 10 Agonizing Steps”
  • 4:15 – 5:00 – Networking and Clean Up

Session Descriptions

Keynote — Steve Lehto: From Unagented Queries to a Dozen Books With Five Different Publishers
Steve Lehto is an attorney and writer whose family is from the Copper Country. He has written several books about Michigan and automotive history among other topics. Death’s Door: The Truth Behind Michigan’s Largest Mass Murder, Michigan’s Columbus: The Life of Douglass Houghton, Chrysler’s Turbine Car: The Rise and Fall of Detroit’s Coolest Creation, and Preston Tucker and His Battle to Build the Car of Tomorrow, were all named Michigan Notable Books by the Library of Michigan. Along with the dozen or so books he has written, he writes frequently for others such as Mopar Action magazine and Road and Track.com. In his presentation, he will discuss how he went from being an unpublished author to having a dozen books published by four different publishers (and picked up an agent along the way). Highlights of his talk will include how he writes, where his book ideas have come from (and how to tell the good ideas from the bad), how he sold his first books without an agent, and how it happened to be that Jay Leno wrote the forewords to two of his books.
Susan Rosemurgy: The Gift of Reading:A Book-Binding Workshop
In this hands-on workshop we will explore different book-binding techniques and themes. Everyone will have the tools and materials to make and take their own book nested in origami boxes to then give the gift of reading.
Susan Rosemurgy is an author, illustrator, and art teacher. She teaches at Calumet High School in the Copper Country. Her work includes Copper Country Stories, now in its 2nd edition, and her latest book U.P. Stories (both from Mudminnow Press). These books invite readers to add and share their stories about life around the Great Lakes within the pages and pockets of the books. In her quest to connect people to art and stories she has also designed a series of book-making kits that she has produced. In this interactive session she will lead participants in her unique approach to making books with the first in the series of book-making kits, Tablespoon Books in Boxes. Everyone will have the tools and materials to make and take their own book nested in origami boxes to then give the gift of reading. Learn more about her work at her website: susanrosemurgy.com
Janeen Pergrin Rastall: The Quest for Your Best: A Poetry Workshop
This poetry workshop will discuss writing techniques: how to get past the white space, where to go from your first draft and when to give your work a rest. Revision techniques will be presented from poets: William Stafford, Jack Ridl and the presenter, Janeen Pergrin Rastall. Feel free to bring a poem in need of repair.
Janeen Pergrin Rastall is the author of In the Yellowed House (dancing girl press, 2014) and Objects May Appear Closer (Celery City Chapbooks, 2015). She is a co-author of True Companions (Gordon Publications, 2017) and Heart Radicals (About Editions, 2018). She has been nominated multiple times for the Pushcart Prize and the Best of the Net Award.
Carrie Pearson: Children’s Book Industry 101: Terms, Conventions, How it Works, and How We Get Paid
This is a nuts and bolts session for writers and writer/illustrators to learn how the children’s book industry works. Topics include: standards for traditional publishing (formatting, word counts for categories, conventions, what’s pushy, what’s polite), how the industry works (role of agent vs. editor, publishing houses and what they offer, large house vs. small vs. regional), and how we get paid (advance, royalties). Session includes Q&A and a handout.
Carrie Pearson grew up as a troll but after 22 years in Marquette, can’t imagine living anywhere else. She feels that being a children’s book author represents the best merger of her education, occupations, and passion. She holds a BA in early childhood education, taught at University of Michigan’s preschool and then moved into the business world for 15+ years. She is now a full-time writer for children and owner of a consulting business in the children’s book industry that focuses on preparing writers to connect with the right agent and/or editors. She is a regional advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and is represented by Kelly Sonnack at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Her first two books were published by Arbordale and are nature nonfiction picture books. Her third launches October 2018 with Charlesbridge and is also a nature nonfiction picture book about the world’s tallest tree. Her next projects are a picture book biography and a nonfiction picture book survey of real-life princesses. Carrie would love to connect with you on Twitter @carrieapearson, Pinterest carrieapearson, and at her website www.carriepearsonbooks.com.
Felicia Schneiderhan: Open a Vein: The Art of Memoir in Today’s Culture
The quote “Writing is easy: All you do is open a vein and bleed” is attributed to number of famous writers. Whoever actually said it – they may very well have been a memoir writer. Felicia’s presentation will trace some paths of memoir writing today: How to write it (when to spill your guts and when to protect your truth); and where to publish (and even make some cash). Felicia will also discuss the writing process—schedules, writing groups, workshops, and conferences—and read excerpts from her work.
Felicia Schneiderhan is the author of the memoir Newlyweds Afloat: Married Bliss and Mechanical Breakdowns While Living on a Trawler. Her shorter memoir pieces appear in Real Simple, Lake Superior Magazine, and many anthologies and literary journals. She currently writes from her home in Duluth, where she lives with her Yooper husband Mark and three tsunamis who always seem to find the closet she’s writing in. www.feliciaschneiderhan.com
Naomi Rawlings: Life-Altering Surprises, Annoying Sisters, and Running from Danger: Using Various Forms of Conflict to Keep Readers Addicted to Your Novel
When editors, agents, or readers pick up your book, do they find themselves submersed in a story that they can’t put down? This workshop on conflict covers everything from making sure the central conflict is strong enough to sustain a novel-length plot, to starting your story in the right place, to using micro-tension to both keep your book riveting during smaller scenes and relate to your readers.
Naomi Rawlings is the author of ten historical Christian novels, including the Amazon bestselling Eagle Harbor Series. She first started writing in 2008, and to date, her books include four traditionally published novels and six self-published novels. She has been nominated for two Christian publishing awards, enjoys coaching other writers, and moonlights as a novel editor once in a while. She lives with her husband and three children in the Copper Country.
Vickie Fee: How to Write a Mystery in 10 Agonizing Steps
This session will look at the basic elements and structure of the traditional mystery, including: the engaging detective, the body drop, suspicious characters, clues and red herrings, whodunit—and the big payoff.
Vickie Fee is author of the Liv & Di in Dixie cozy mystery series. Her latest release is Til Death Do Us Party.

3 Comments

  1. This is so awesome. I’d love to come up next year and talk about Marketing and social media for authors. K.I.T. xoxo

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