Speaker

April Speaker Donna Levin Wednesday, April 16, 2025 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 noon, PDT Our speaker will be Donna Levin on the topic of "DIALOGUE: the rules, the revelations, and the room […]

Our speaker will be Chris Hennessy on the topic “WRITE IT, FILM IT, SHARE IT - The power of video for authors.” As a filmmaker, Chris Hennessy marketed, sold, and […]

Our speaker will be Jennifer Basye Sander on the topic “Digging for Factual Treasure.” Former Random House Senior Editor, Jennifer Basye Sander worked in the acquisitions end of the publishing industry for […]

Our speaker will be Jennifer K. Morita on “Querying A to Q — Pitching to Literary Agents.” A former newspaper reporter, Jennifer K. Morita is the author of Ghosts of […]

Our speaker will be Bob Stanley on “Why Is This a Poem?” Bob Stanley, Sacramento Poet Laureate Emeritus, taught English and Creative Writing at Solano College, Sacramento City College, and Sacramento State University before retiring in 2021. He was President of the Sacramento Poetry Center from 2007 to 2019. He was selected as Sacramento’s fifth […]

Our speaker will be Anne Da Vigo on “Creating Fiction from Real Events” Anne Da Vigo is the author of Night Flight, inspired by the real-life 1955 airplane bombing out of Denver airport. It was released early this year. Her other thrillers include Bakersfield Boys Club and Thread of Gold, also based on actual events. She is a former journalist who covered police […]

Our speaker will be Catharine Bramkamp on “The Creative Impulse in an Age of False Perfection” Catharine Bramkamp is a writing coach and workshop facilitator; and she has authored 27 books, including fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Her most recent nonfiction book is Out Loud: A Writing Adventure for Women. She serves on the Board of Directors for […]

Our speaker will be Matthew Minson on “Similarities in Writing Comedy and Horror.” Screenwriter and author Matthew Minson has written for Esther’s Follies and numerous comedians. He received the “Best Indie Book Award for Humor” for Sun City: A Hilariously Addictive Story of Rebellion. Also, he wrote the psychological thriller and screen adaptation of Perspectives, which has been called “Misery meets The Girl with […]

Our speaker will be William O'Daly on “Imagination and Community: Translating Our Lives Into Poetry.” William O’Daly has translated eight books of the late-career and posthumous poetry of Chilean Nobel laureate […]

Our speaker will be Jojo Cook on “Social Action Writing: What Makes The Pen Mighty?” Jojo Cook is a native of Auburn and a graduate of CSU Monterey Bay’s Social Action Writing Program. Jojo served as president and chief editor of CSUMB’s “In the Ords” Literary Arts Journal where her poetry appeared in several issues.   […]

Our speaker will be Karen A. Phillips on “Using Tropes to Strengthen Your Story.” Karen A. Phillips is a past president of Capitol Crimes, the Sacramento chapter of Sisters In Crime. Her books in the Rocky Nelson Boxing Mystery series, which features an amateur sleuth who boxes, are: A Deadly Combo (Book 1), A Deadly Match (Book 2), […]

Our speaker will be Geri Spieler on “Bringing Journalistic Rigor to Fictional Storytelling.” Former Investigative Journalist Geri Spieler landed an agent and a publisher for her breakthrough book, Housewife Assassin: The Woman Who Tried to Kill President Ford (Diversion Books), based on her extensive and vetted research. Subsequently, she landed an option for a ten-episode TV series based on the […]