Author Events Schedule
In the Conservatory
In the Reader's Tent
In the Conservatory
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
Laura Parker Castoro
What Makes Popular Fiction Popular? What do the Books on the Bestseller Lists have in Common?
Author of 39 books, which have been translated into 15 languages, Laura Castoro has a writing style that is fresh and entertaining. In this mini-workshop she will offer her insightful shorthand approach to writing popular fiction: The ABC's of fiction where A is for ACTION, B is for BUILD-UP, and C is for CHARACTER with CHARISMA.
1:45 pm – 2:30 pm
Jory Sherman
A Writer’s Journey: Fate or Destiny?
Jory Sherman never dreamed of becoming a writer. Yet forces in the universe, beyond his control, led him into the art and craft of writing and into an amazing career that has lasted nearly 50 years. He has published nearly 400 novels, 1000 articles, countless essays and over 500 short stories. In retrospect, he realizes that we often take unknown paths towards unforeseen destinations and goals. Mr. Sherman will relate the highlights of this journey towards success as a writer, with all its twists of fate and the magnetism of destiny. You will be surprised and startled at some of the signposts that pointed the way down a meandering path that still stretches into the future. It was not always an easy path, but there were rewards along the way, rewards beyond his wildest dreams. Listen and learn from a master writer who still wonders how it all happened.
2:45 pm – 3:30 pm
Jennifer Chiaverini
Discovering Elm Creek
Ms Chiaverini will speak on how she came to combine her interest in quilting with her love of writing to create her best-selling Elm Creek Quilt series. Using quilt-making as a framework, she constructs intricate plots through which her characters share not only their passion for stitching quilts, but important details about their lives. Her talk will highlight the importance of writing what you know, and of mining your interests to find intriguing new ways of storytelling that are rich with meaning, regardless of whether you are a quilter or not..
3:45 pm – 4:45 pm
Mara Leveritt and John Brummett
Writing to Make a Difference
Veteran reporters and authors Mara Leveritt and John Brummett will reflect on their careers in the Newspaper industry, and on the vital importance writers can have on maintaining accountability in our law-enforcement and judicial branches as well as in our politicians.
In The Readers Tent
12:00 Noon – 12:25 pm
Elliot Young
Kiss Dieting Goodbye
On the speaking circuit and in her book
Kiss Dieting Goodbye, Young offers a refreshing approach to weight loss, with practical advice on nutrition, exercise, and most importantly, lifestyle change.
12:30 pm – 12:55 pm
Marilyn H. Collins
If You Don’t Tell the Story, Who Will?
Marilyn H. Collins discusses her latest book,
Write History Right. Writers interested in preserving the story of their town, family, church, organization, or subjects/people of local or regional interest will find the tools needed to begin the story they’ve always wanted to tell.
Write History Right is a step-by-step guide including title selection, research, interview techniques, organizational tips, plus seeking a publisher and marketing your book.
1:00 pm – 1:25 pm
Jack Riggs
The Voices Inside My Head: a Writer’s Conversation with his Characters
“Story doesn’t really start for me until a character begins talking, begins telling me their story. It’s dangerous if you listen, because once they take over, what they tell you will be the truth, the story that you have to tell, the one that is written in stone!”
1:30 pm – 1:55 pm
Janis F. Kearney
Something to Write Home About
Author, book publisher, and Bill Clinton’s diarist, Janis F. Kearney, will discuss her most recent memoir,
Something to Write Home About: Memories from a Presidential Diarist, the author's second installment of her personal memoirs. She will also talk briefly about her debut memoir,
Cotton Field of Dreams: A Memoir, which chronicled her childhood in southeast Arkansas as a sharecropper's daughter.
2:00 pm – 2:25 pm
Laura Abbott
Blooming Romance
If the vast number of romance readers is any indication, love is in the air! Visit with Laura Abbot about her latest book,
A Letter for Annie, and explore reasons for the popularity of the genre.
2:30 pm – 2:55 pm
Billy D. Higgins
The Barling Darling
Billy Higgins will be reading two excerpts from his newest book,
The Barling Darling, one on his catching Von McDaniel against the Brooklyn Dodgers in Ebbets Field and the other about the changes in the American landscapes that came about when the Dodgers and the Giants moved to the west coast in 1958.
3:00 pm – 3:25 pm
Carla Kilough McClafferty
In Defiance of Hitler: The Secret Mission of Varian Fry
Only a few Americans actively defied Adolf Hitler: Varian Fry was one of them. Fry, a Harvard educated journalist, volunteered to go to France in 1940 to rescue Jewish refugees who were trapped there. Without any previous experience in undercover work, he managed to smuggle people out of the country—from under the noses of Vichy and Nazi authorities. During his thirteen months in Marseilles, Varian Fry rescued more than 2000 refugees from certain death, including famous people such as Marc Chagall. Join Ms. McClafferty as she shares the backstory of this important figure in history.
3:30 pm – 3:55 pm
Mary Kwas and Robert Mainfort
Digging up Arkansas’s Hidden Past
Hear historians Mary Kwas and Bob Mainfort describe the importance of archeology in revealing Arkansas’s unique past. Ms Kwas will focus on the settlement at Old Washington. Mr. Mainfort addresses more ancient history, and the struggle to retain the treasures of Arkansas’s prehistoric inhabitants.
4:00 pm – 4:25 pm
Barbara Youree
Courageous Journey
Her new book,
Courageous Journey, is a narrative nonfiction account of the lives of two refugees from Sudan whom she mentored when they come to the United States. Ms. Youree will speak of how this experience inspired her to write about it.
4:30 pm – 4:55 pm
Doug Stowe
The How-to of How-to
How-to is easy to write and rather than nursing readers off to bed at night, it inspires them to head for the garage or basement workshop to burn midnight oil exercising creativity and developing skill. Doug will cover selection of subject matter as well as the processes of writing and documenting work. “The How-to of How-to” is based on his experience writing 6 books, 2 DVDs, and over 30 articles for national magazines and is aimed at leading writers to exercise their creativity toward the inspiration of others
