Welcome to the 2025 Anthology Writer's Conference Schedule Page.
This page will be updated as we move closer to the day of the event.
Panel Title |
Track |
Room |
Time |
Presenter(s) |
Publishing Path: Getting Started |
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 |
Writing |
Room 2 |
9:00am-10:45am |
Karen M. Odden |
Writing Across Borders: What’s It Like Writing for Readers in Other Countries |
Writing/ Specialty | Room
3 |
9:00am-9:50am |
Lalit Kumar |
Alternative Marketing & Promotion |
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 |
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 |
Writing | Room
2 |
11:00am-12:45pm | Betty Webb |
Book Awards: Do they Matter, Should You Submit, and How? |
Marketing | Room
3 |
11:00am-11:50am | Bruce Davis, Avily Jerome |
Protagonists' Day Jobs |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
Writing |
Community |
12:00pm-12:50pm | Marcus Campbell |
Is It Funny? Writing Funny Prose… Intentionally, That is |
Writing |
Room 1 |
1:00pm-1:50pm | Sharon Skinner |
Workshop: Forensics in Fiction
Brought to you by MWA & Desert Sleuths members |
Writing/ Specialty |
Room 2 |
1:00pm-2:45pm | Jennifer Graeser Dornbush |
Digital Marketing: Why an Author/Book Website Matters |
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 |
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 |
Writing |
Room 5 |
1:00pm-1:50pm | Eleanor Rose |
The importance of Show, Don’t Tell |
Writing |
Room 1 |
2:00pm-2:50pm | Lalit Kumar, August St. Clare |
Writing Journalism is still writing |
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 |
Marketing |
Room 1 |
3:00pm-3:50pm | JJM Czep |
What is a Cozy, Really? Brought to you by MWA & Desert Sleuths members |
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 |
Specialty |
Room 3 |
3:00pm-3:50pm |
Jamar Washington |
Presentation - Strategies for getting agents/publishers to look at your material Brought to you by MWA & Desert Sleuths members |
Industry |
Room 4 |
3:00pm-3:50pm | Katherine Atwell Herbert |
Literary Fiction, More Than the Great American Novel |
Writing |
Room 5 |
3:00pm-3:50pm |
Jeremy Broyles |
The Library- Your Secret Writing Weapon |
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 |
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 |
Specialty |
Room 5 |
4:00pm-4:50pm | Jenn Labuz |