2017 James River Writers Conference

Pre-Conference Master Classes

Friday, October 13, 2017
at Richmond Public Library – Main Branch, 101 E Franklin St, Richmond, VA 23219

General Sessions

Saturday, October 14 – Sunday, October 15, 2017
at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, 403 North 3rd Street, Richmond, VA, 23219

Join us October 13-15, 2017 for our 15th annual conference

FIND OUT MORE AT 2017 JRW WRITERS CONFERENCE

July Writing Show: The Art of the Start: Finding the Entry-point to Your Story

The Art of the Start graphic - TWS - July 17 - Five wooden doors This mini master class with five talented wordsmiths dives into a problem that can trouble any writer: where to begin a story. Each of of our panelists–including a fiction writer, a nonfiction writer and editor, a poet, a playwright, and a journalist–will take the stage for eight minutes each to elucidate on their strategies and tactics for finding the entry-point for a written project. Not all narratives are linear, and beginning in medias res is always a possibility–but what makes the most sense for your creative work? Attend July‘s Writing Show to help discover your answers.

Date: Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Time: 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm (Meet & Greet at 6:00; program starts at 6:45)

Location: Firehouse Theatre 1609 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA, 23220

Price: $12 – Members; $15 Non-members ($5 for students)

Speakers

Louise Ricks

Louise Ricks is an award winning playwright, actress and artist. Louise has created work that inspires audiences to become active participants in the arts and in their communities. As an actress, Louise has performed all over the country and was even voted Best Actress by Style Weekly readers in 2014. As a photographer, Louise’s industry standard head shots have opened the door for actors to be recognized by national casting directors without breaking the bank. As a playwright, Louise has had over thirty plays produced nation wide. Louise’s shows tell relevant, empowering stories audiences of all ages have enjoyed.

In her personal mission to create quality youth and family entertainment, Louise founded The Whistle Stop Theatre Community in Ashland, Virginia. Now in its fifth season, Louise writes and produces all of their programming. In 2014, the Whistle Stop’s world premiere production, Cinderella: The Fairy Godmother’s Tale was selected by The New York Children’s Theatre Festival to be showcased in New York and in 2015 it was invited to participate in the Ruby Slipper Theatre Festival.

In between writing and producing, Louise has worked professionally as a photographer, teacher, director and award winning visual artist. Louise is passionate about using these skills to awaken artists in all of us, no matter our age. Website: http://louisericks.weebly.com/

Brendan Wolfe

Brendan Wolfe is the editor of Encyclopedia Virginia, a project of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. An Iowa native and graduate of the University of Iowa, he is the author of Finding Bix: The Life and Afterlife of a Jazz Legend and Mr. Jefferson’s Telescope: A History of the University of Virginia in 100 Objects. His work has appeared in The Morning News, Colorado Review, and VQR. He lives in Charlottesville, Virginia. Website: brendanwolfe.com

Clifford Garstang

Clifford Garstang is the author of the novel in stories, What the Zhang Boys Know, winner of the 2013 Library of Virginia Literary Award for Fiction, and the short story collection In an Uncharted Country. He is also the editor of Everywhere Stories: Short Fiction from a Small Planet, Volumes I and II, anthologies of stories set around the world. His work has appeared in Bellevue Literary Review, Blackbird, Cream City Review, Los Angeles Review, Tampa Review, and elsewhere, and has received Distinguished Mention in the Best American Series. He is also the author of the popular literary blog Perpetual Folly, widely known for its annual ranking of literary magazines. In 2015 he received the Indiana Emerging Author Award from the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation. A former Peace Corps Volunteer and international lawyer, Garstang earned an MFA in Fiction from Queens University of Charlotte. He lives near Staunton, Virginia. Website: cliffordgarstang.com

Mary Carroll-Hackett

Mary Carroll-Hackett‘s poetry and fiction have appeared in more than a hundred journals including Carolina Quarterly, Clackamas Literary Review, Pedestal Magazine, The Potomac, Reed, Superstition Review, Drunken Boat and The Prose-Poem Project, among others. Her awards include being named a North Carolina Blumenthal Writer and winner of the Willamette Award for Fiction. Her scripts have won or placed in numerous competitions, including Best Screenplay at Moondance, the Great Lakes Film Festival, Beaufort Film Festival, American Gem, Gimme Credit, the Page Awards, and Wildsound. The National Center for Film in Toronto staged a reading of her script OBX in 2008. She had an O Henry Recommended recognition for her story “Placing.”

Her first chapbook, Three, was released in 2004, and her first collection of stories, What the Potter Said, in July 2005. The Real Politics of Lipstick was named winner of the 2010 annual poetry competition by Slipstream. A chapbook, Animal Soul, was released in 2012 from Kattywompus Press, and a full-length collection, If We Could Know Our Bones, by A-Minor Press in January 2014. Another full collection was released in April 2015, The Night I Heard Everything, from FutureCycle Press, and a chapbook, Trailer Park Oracle, from Aldrich Press in February 2016. Mary’s most recent full collection, A Little Blood, A Little Rain, from FutureCycle Press was released in April 2016.

She has taught writing for twenty years, and in 2003, founded the Creative Writing programs, undergraduate and graduate, at Longwood University in Farmville, VA, serving as Program Director of those programs until Fall 2011. She also teaches as low-residency faculty for the MFA program at West Virginia Wesleyan. Website: marycarrollhackett.com

Shahan Mufti

Shahan Mufti has written for a variety of newspapers and magazines as a freelance journalist. His work has been published by Harper’s Magazine, WIRED, The New York Times Magazine, Bloomberg Business Week, The Atlantic, Columbia Journalism Review, The Nation, and many other publications. Mufti was previously a full-time correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor and reported from Pakistan. He later joined the team of journalists that launched GlobalPost.com, a multimedia platform for international news that is based in Boston, Mass. Mufti has a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College and a graduate degree in journalism from New York University. He has also served as a Fulbright scholar in India. Mufti’s first book, The Faithful Scribe, A Story of Islam, Pakistan, Family, and War, based on his reporting from Pakistan, was published in 2013 by Other Press. Website: http://www.shahanmufti.com/

What is your favorite James River Writers event?

James River Writers Annual Writing Conference

JRW’s signature event connects Central Virginia’s growing literary community with nationally recognized authors, editors, agents, bloggers, and other players in the publishing world.

This casual meet and greet, held the second Wednesday of every month at Ardent Craft Ales in Scott’s Addition, brings together writers of every genre in a casual atmosphere to connect, laugh, and revel in a well-deserved break from keyboards and screens.

Master Classes, where skilled publishing professionals share their knowledge and experience with a small group of writers, are offered at different times and on various topics throughout the year.

In partnership with the Poe Museum, we recreate the grand tradition of the literary salon, an intimate setting to meet and fraternize with local authors and artists, as they in turn guide you in your own writing practice. Literary Salons are held at the Patrick Henry Pub in historic Church Hill, in February, April, June, August, and November, and are free and open to the public.

Educational and interactive, The Writing Show brings you the art and business of writing from the professionals. It’s inspiring. It’s fun. And it’s only happening live in Richmond.

Writers Farmhouse welcomes members of JRW and other writing enthusiasts to the Midlothian Urban Farmhouse Market & Café every Thursday evening. Bring your laptop or other writing paraphernalia, hang out, get a cup of coffee, get some words written, set your writing goals for the week, and, when needed, find a sympathetic ear.

What is James River Writers all about?

James River Writers builds community by connecting and inspiring writers and readers in central Virginia.We invite you to join our mission by becoming a member or a donor today.