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
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

 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
 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
What do you think they do?
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
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

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
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
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
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
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
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
         

 

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Upcoming Events

Save the Date: Anthology Writer's Conference
10 May 2025;
08:00AM - 05:00PM
ArtsGiving Day 2025
20 May 2025;
12:00AM