10 ways to get readers more invested in your story. Come to this with a synopsis of a book you’d like to write—or your work in progress. Using examples from picture books, middle grade, and YA novels, Martha Brockenbrough will show you how stakes make all the difference for the reader in the story, and she will walk you through a series of questions you can use to make sure your character, their relationship, and their journey is invigorated with the best possible stakes. It’s a technique you’ll be able to use every time you write a story to make sure readers are properly reduced to the razor’s edge of their seats.

About the instructor:

Martha Brockenbrough graduated from Stanford University, where she studied English and Classics and was the editor in chief of the Stanford Daily. She has worked as a journalist, a teacher, the editor of MSN.com, a question writer for Cranium and Trivial Pursuit. She is program director at the University of San Francisco MFA in Writing for Young Readers. A lifelong Seattle resident, Martha has written two books for adults and 24 books for young readers. Her work has won multiple state book awards, a Sid Fleischman Award for humor, and was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize.

In this workshop, we’ll dive into how writers build worlds, asking ourselves questions on settings, time periods, societal and political structures, (clothing, transportation, nature—we’ll even look at maps!) and more. We’ll also discuss ways to ground readers in fantastical worlds, looking at fantasy worlds as examples. Attendees should come prepared with a world they want to expand on and explore!

About the Instructor:

Axie Oh is the New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, XOXO and ASAP, The Floating World duology, and the Rebel Seoul series. Born in New York City and raised in New Jersey, she studied Korean history and creative writing as an undergrad at the University of California San Diego and holds an MFA in Writing for Young People from Lesley University. Her passions include K-pop, anime, stationery supplies, and milk tea, and she currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, with her dogs, Toro and Leila.

Every writer wants two things: to tell a story that hooks readers and never lets them go, and to find a way to accomplish that without going through the long slog of endlessly writing draft after draft. This workshop will give you actionable ways to meet both goals. Instead of rooting around in your “plot” for the story, you’ll unearth the key elements specific to your story that will then create the plot, bring it to life, drive it forward, and give it meaning. These elements have little to do with the surface events or “writing well” and everything to do with what we’re hardwired to respond to in every story we read (turns out the brain is far less picky about lyrical language than we’ve been lead to believe). You’ll be able to zero in on what your story is actually about before you write word one, or if you’re in the midst of your umpteenth rewrite, before you write another word. You’ll not only produce a more powerful novel, chances are you’ll drastically reduce your rewrite time.

About the instructor:

Lisa Cron is the author of Wired for Story, Story Genius and most recently, Story or Die: How to Use Brain Science to Engage, Persuade, and Change Minds in Business and in Life. Her books have been translated into ten languages, her video course, Writing: The Craft of Story at LinkedInLearning.com. Her TEDx talk, Wired for Story, opened Furman University’s 2014 TEDx conference. She spent a decade in publishing, and has been a literary agent, television producer, and story analyst for Hollywood studios. She has also served on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts MFA program in visual narrative and, since 2006, has taught in the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program. In her work as a private story coach, Lisa works with novelists, memoirists, screenwriters, nonprofits, educators, and organizations, helping them master the unparalleled power of story.

Ideas are cheap and easy. But how do you turn an idea into a book? Join Lisa Mangum for a fun and informative brainstorming session as she takes suggestions from the class to craft and plot a book from beginning to end–including how to navigate the “murky middle.” Whether you are starting with a character sketch, a cool story moment, or even a line of dialogue, you can turn it into some special.

About the instructor:

Lisa Mangum has worked in publishing for more than twenty-five years. She has been the managing editor for Shadow Mountain since 2014 and has worked with several award-winning and New York Times best-selling authors.

Lisa is also the author of four national best-selling YA novels (The Hourglass Door trilogy and After Hello), several short stories and novellas, and a nonfiction book about the craft of writing based on the TV show Supernatural. Her most recent book, Write Fearless. Edit Smart. Get Published.: A Master Class for Fiction Writers, was released November 2024.

The “Rule of Seven” suggests that a customer won’t buy a product until they’ve heard of it at least seven times. So how do we introduce ourselves and our work seven times over without feeling like we’re screaming into the void? In this class we’ll talk press kits, street teams, branding, events, and the ever-dreaded social media, while stuffing our own personal authorly Rolodex with publicity opportunities to get your name out there.

About the instructor:

Charlie N. Holmberg is a Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author of fantasy and romance fiction, including the Paper Magician series, the Spellbreaker series, and the Whimbrel House series, and writes contemporary romance under C. N. Holmberg. She is published in over twenty languages and is a Goodreads Choice Award, ALA, and RITA finalist. Born in Salt Lake City, Charlie was raised a Trekkie alongside three sisters who also have boy names. A BYU alumna, she discovered in her thirties that she’s actually a cat person. She lives with her family in Utah. Visit her at www.charlienholmberg.com.

With a small student-teacher ratio, this fabulous workshop is one of our most popular. And this year we are expanding our staple categories to include picture books, non-fiction, and short stories. You will get to share the first ten pages of your current manuscript with an author/editor instructor who is an expert in your genre, as well as the other members of your group. Sign up and get to know others who write in your genre and get constructive, personalized feedback!

As part of the workshop, you will be expected to review and make notes on the pages of each group member prior to attending. Then, during the workshop, you will meet with your assigned group and receive specific feedback on those pages from your instructor and group.

In this workshop we’ll go through all the essentials of creating a website, from the earliest planning stages to the final technical details. Together we’ll work on defining your brand, identifying your audience, and setting goals, then look at how to use that information to guide decision-making throughout the process and form a strategy that will take into account your current and future needs, budget, and skillset, while also breaking your project down into manageable steps.This class is suitable for both those with an existing website and those preparing to create a new one!

About the Instructor:

Lisa Crandall is a web developer, designer, and chronic over-thinker. As a full-time developer, she has worked at agencies specializing in digital marketing and revenue growth strategy, while her consulting business focuses on empowering individual creatives to build better websites. She also teaches web design and front-end development courses at the university level, and offers classes on websites and digital marketing online. Her educational background includes a degree in Technical Communication and Rhetoric, graduate work in Visual Communication Design, and a too-short semester at Disney World. You can find her online at lisaacrandall.com.

From creating an author account to basic marketing, Clarissa will break down the self publishing process. She’ll explain the difference between wide and exclusive while busting common misperception of the indie world—you don’t need to break the bank to make a buck.

About the instructor:

Clarissa Kae is the founder of Carpe Vitam Press. She’s a former contributor for Equus and editor for Writer’s Digest. She’s the author of award winning Once And Future Wife and her Victorian Fairy Retellings, A Dark Beauty and Cinders Like Glass.
She and her family live in the agriculture belly of California with a farm of horses, alpacas, dogs, and chickens.

Let’s elevate your editing process, to be more efficient and to achieve better results.

About the instructor:

Jennifer Nielsen is the author of several books for young readers. She lives in Northern Utah with her family.

Instagram doesn’t have to feel like another full-time job. This practical, author-focused workshop breaks down how to create an engaging, on-brand presence that attracts readers and sells your books—all while saving time and avoiding burnout.

About the instructors:

Rachel Luke Parker is a Bookstagrammer who promotes no spice romance books and authors on Instagram under the username @ClosedDoorRomance. She also helps authors learn how to market their books on Instagram through a self-paced course called the Bookstagram Academy that has helped over 100 authors master marketing.

Mary Mecham is a high stakes, high swoon, no spice author of fairytale retellings packed full of morally gray villains, nail-biting adventures, and diabolical plot twists. She is a born and raised Texan with a love of theater and books overshadowed only by her passion for disability advocacy. Prior to becoming an author, Mary was a disability advocate for 13 years and founded Disability Book Week, an international disability awareness event. When she is not writing or doing disability advocacy work, Mary enjoys karaoke, fire breathing, and learning the flying trapeze. She lives in Houston, Texas with her husband and their three children, and is (quite frankly) a danger to be around on April Fool’s Day because she likes practical jokes a little too much.

Every good character has wounds—mental, physical and emotional. In this class, we’ll learn how to create believable backstory wounds that will make your characters more compelling and realistic. As we uncover your characters’ psychological baggage, you’ll be able to better define what they want, what they need and what they believe. By digging deeper into character, you’ll also strengthen your plot as your protagonist faces their trauma, overcomes it, and transforms into the person they were always meant to be.

About the instructor:

Erin Stewart is an award-winning author of realistic fiction for teens and tweens. Her novels for teens include THE WORDS WE KEEP (ALA Schneider Award recipient) and EVERY BORROWED BEAT. Her middle-grade debut, THE FORGOTTEN MAGIC OF ZOEY TURNER, hit shelves last year and was followed by THE MYSTERIOUS MAGIC OF LIGHTHOUSE LANE in 2026. Erin is a heart failure survivor, mother of three and firm believer that Hot Tamales should be a recognized food group.