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FEBRUARY 24 | When to Break the Rules: Grammar, Structure, & Experimentation (Online Writing Show)
Join our expert panelists for a discussion on the art of subverting writing conventions with purpose and skill. Discover when rule-breaking elevates your work versus when it distracts from your purpose, and learn how successful authors create their distinctive voices and memorable narratives. Whether it’s telling a story in an unusual format or playing with the constraints of punctuation, join us in exploring different ways writing can push the envelope.
Speakers: K-Ming Chang, Rachel Kahan, Amber McBride, and Moderator Kris Spisak
Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Time: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Eastern Time
Location: Online, via the Zoom platform
Cost: $12 Members | $21 Non-members | $5 Students
Registration is required.
The Writing Show includes a social time from 6:00 pm – 6:30 pm. This portion of the evening is optional. If you choose to only attend the panel discussion, please arrive by 6:25 pm, before the panel discussion begins.
This program is supported [in part] by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, which receives support from the Virginia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
SPEAKERS
K-MING CHANG
K-Ming Chang is a Lambda Literary Award winner, a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree, a Kundiman Fellow, and an O. Henry Prize Winner. She is the author of the novel Bestiary (One World/Random House, 2020), which was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, and the Otherwise Award. In 2021, her chapbook Bone House was published by Bull City Press. Her story collection Gods of Want (One World/Random House) won a Lambda Literary Award, and her books have been translated into Spanish, Chinese, Korean, German, Turkish, and other languages. Her most recent books are Organ Meats (One World, 2023) and a novella titled Cecilia (Coffee House Press, 2024). In 2026, she will be making her YA debut with Straight to the Source, a rom-com forthcoming from Holiday House. Her next novel for adults, Needlemouth, is forthcoming from Simon & Schuster on October 20, 2026.
RACHEL KAHAN
A passionate advocate for commercial fiction and non-fiction, Rachel Kahan is VP/Executive Editor at William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins. She acquires the kinds of books she loves most as a reader: literary and book clubby novels, mystery/thrillers, memoirs, historical narratives, and issue-driven non-fiction. In her nearly 30-year career, Rachel has edited dozens of New York Times and international bestsellers. Rachel proudly publishes a diverse list of writers from around the world. Born and raised in Arlington, Virginia, she graduated from the College of William and Mary.
AMBER MCBRIDE
Amber McBride is a two-time National Book Award Finalist whose books have garnered over 25 starred reviews. Her debut young adult novel, Me (Moth), won the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent, among many other accolades. Gone Wolf, McBride‘s middle grade fiction debut, won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. McBride was an assistant professor at UVA for 4 years before resigning. She lives in Virginia and keeps bees.
MODERATOR
KRIS SPISAK
Kris Spisak wrote her first three books—Get a Grip on Your Grammar, The Novel Editing Workbook, and The Family Story Workbook—to help writers of all kinds sharpen their storytelling and empower their communications. Her award-winning debut novel, The Baba Yaga Mask, was inspired by her Ukrainian heritage, and her fifth book, Becoming Baba Yaga: Trickster, Feminist, and Witch of the Woods, explores the complex origins of this Slavic folktale character and her lingering lessons for empowering us all. Kris knows well-written words and well-told stories can change the world, and she cannot wait to tell you her next story.
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