Individual manuscript/portfolio critiques

First Impressions: The sequel
Linda Zuckerman

Wit Is Not Enough: How to Anchor Dialogue in Your Story
Kirby Larson

Countless craft-of-writing books discuss writingeffective and engaging dialogue, but often the results are superficial and formulaic. This session focuses on how to make dialogue more natural and at the same time even more effective. Using a technique that she calls “anchoring,” Kirby explains and demonstrates the use of character stage action, narrative threads, setting details and appropriate speech tags to augment and enhance dialogue.

Nine Lives of a Writer
Ann Whitford Paul

Cats and writers – survivors! Find out what strategies we have in common and how they help us land on our feet no matter how hard the fall.

Last workshop meetings for writers and illustrators

A First-Timer’s Journey
Emily Whitman

What is it like to work with an editor for the first time? What is the reality of the revision process? Can a flubbed critique be your lucky break? Emily came to her first PNCB conference with fifteen pages and left determined to return the next year with a complete draft. Two conferences later, she’s working with an editor and an agent on her young adult novel. Here’s what she’s learned along the way to help you navigate your writing journey.

Words of wisdom from the faculty; hail and farewell