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The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing

DESERT NIGHTS, RISING STARS WRITERS CONFERENCE

Thursday, February 16, 2017

OM = OLD MAIN UC = UNIVERSITY CLUB

TIME | LOCATION EVENT GENRE

10:00 AM – 3:30 PM

PIPER WRITERS HOUSE

REGISTRATION

1:00 – 2:00 PM SESSION A

HERITAGE

UC

Lyrical Fiction

T. M. McNally

Fiction

BASHA

OM

Writing A Memory

Paul Morris

Nonfiction,

Memoir

TOOKER

OM

The Arthurian Epic: Lessons for the Modern Writer of Myth

Virgil Renzulli

Fiction,

Fantasy

2:30 – 3:30 PM SESSION B

HERITAGE

UC

A Reading with Red Ink – An International Journal of

Indigenous Literature, Arts, & Humanities

Mixed Genre

TRADITIONS

UC

Poetry of Loss

Eric Wertheimer

Poetry

THOREN

UC

The Making of a Monster: Writing Credible Villains

Michael A. Stackpole

Fiction, SF/F

BASHA

OM

Hook, Line, & Sinker: Catching Your Reader in 500 Words

Bring your 500-word opening for critique

Amy K. Nichols

Fiction, YA

TOOKER

OM

Never Just Description: How Setting Can Enhance Your

Story

Angela Savage

Fiction, Crime

4:00 – 7:00 PM OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION

4:00 – 5:00 PM

CARSON BALLROOM

OM

Reception

Join us for a catered reception to kick off the 14th annual Desert

Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference

5:00 – 6:00 PM

CARSON BALLROOM

OM

Keynote Reading

Simon Ortiz

6:00 – 6:30 PM

CARSON BALLROOM

OM

Book Signing

Simon Ortiz



Friday, February 17, 2017



7:30 – 9:30 AM

PIPER WRITERS HOUSE

REGISTRATION

To register after 9:30 AM, please go to the Information Table in Old Main

7:30 – 8:30 AM

HERITAGE

UC

COFFEE & CONVERSATION

Join us for coffee and complimentary light breakfast before the sessions of the day

8:30 – 9:30 AM MORNING SESSION A

HERITAGE

UC

Aesthetic Techniques of Fairy Tales

Kate Bernheimer

Mixed Genre

TRADITIONS

UC

Courage in the Arena: Giving & Receiving Criticism

Bill Konigsberg

Mixed Genre

THOREN

UC

The Truth About Show & Tell

Elizabeth Evans

Fiction

BASHA

OM

Pulling Double Shifts: Balancing Writing & Other Careers

Kwei Quartey

Writing Life

9:45 – 10:45 AM MORNING SESSION B

TRADITIONS

UC

Ask an Expert: What Do You Want to Know About Getting

Published?

Paolo Bacigalupi

Business of

Writing

THOREN

UC

The Absurd: Tackling Odd Material

Matthew Olzmann

Poetry

BASHA

OM

Playing with Power: Opposition, Transfer, & Flow

Michael A. Stackpole

Fiction, SF/F

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM MORNING SESSION C

HERITAGE

UC

Marriage, Madness, or Murder? The Author-Editor

Relationship

Cheryl Klein & Bill Konigsberg

Fiction, YA

TRADITIONS

UC

Writing in the Public Eye

Dean Bakopoulos, Alissa Nutting, & Adrienne Celt

Writing Life

THOREN

UC

Everyone’s a Critic: Intersections of Poetry & Critical Theory

Eric Wertheimer with Jake Friedman

Poetry

BASHA

OM

Torquing Images: Creating Tension Through Distortion

Goldie Goldbloom

Fiction

TOOKER

OM

The Shape of Your Story: Alternative Structures for the

Narrative Essay

Kevin Haworth

Nonfiction

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM MID-DAY BREAK

12:00 – 1:00 PM

PATIO, OLD MAIN

LUNCH

12:15 – 1:00 PM

PIPER WRITERS HOUSE

MFA READING

Join us for readings by students in ASU’s MFA Program in Creative Writing (hosted by Aria Curtis, Graduate Assistant, Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing)

Mixed Genre

2:00 – 5:00 PM

2ND

FLOOR, U CLUB

AFTERNOON SNACK

Fresh fruit and various treats will be served all afternoon



Friday, February 17, 2017



1:30 – 2:30 PM AFTERNOON SESSION A

HERITAGE

UC

Where Do We Go from Here? After the Apocalypse

Paolo Bacigalupi, Benjamin Percy, & Kate Bernheimer

Fiction

TRADITIONS

UC

Ask an Expert: What Do You Want to Know About Editing?

Cheryl Klein

Business of

Writing

THOREN

UC

Lists & Litanies

Sally Ball

Poetry,

Mixed Genre

BASHA

OM

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life

Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Fiction, YA

TOOKER

OM

Into the Depths: Creating Three-Dimensional Characters

Sanderia Faye

Fiction

2:45 – 3:45 PM AFTERNOON SESSION B

HERITAGE

UC

“Baby, I’ve Changed, I Swear”: Turning Points & Epiphanies

in Fiction

Dean Bakopoulos

Fiction

TRADITIONS

UC

Writing with Diversity: How to & Why Not

Malinda Lo

Fiction,

Mixed Genre

THOREN

UC

The Author/Agent Relationship

Adrienne Celt & Emma Patterson

Business of

Writing

BASHA

OM

The Tortured Artist: Writing & Mental Health

Amy K. Nichols

Writing Life

TOOKER

OM

She Said What?: Creating Vivid Characters

Mary Sojourner

Fiction

4:00 – 5:00 PM AFTERNOON SESSION C

HERITAGE

UC

Set Pieces: Staging Iconic Scenes

Benjamin Percy

Mixed Genre

TRADITIONS

UC

The Query Letter

Emma Patterson

Mixed Genre

COLLEGE AVENUE

COMMONS AUDITORIUM

Writing Borderlands: Geographic & Personal Boundaries

Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Kate Bernheimer, & Chandani Lokuge

Mixed Genre

5:30 – 7:30 PM OFF-SITE EVENT

CASEY MOORE’S

850 S ASH AVE

TEMPE, AZ 85281

AFTER HOURS SOCIAL

Unwind from the day’s sessions and get to know fellow attendees with a casual happy hour at Casey Moore’s Oyster House



Saturday, February 18, 2017



7:30 – 8:30 AM

HERITAGE

UC

COFFEE & CONVERSATION

Join us for coffee and complimentary light breakfast before the sessions of the day

8:30 – 9:30 AM MORNING SESSION A

HERITAGE

UC

Me, Myself, & Me Me Me: Expanding the Self in

Autobiography

Matthew Olzmann

Poetry

TRADITIONS

UC

Five Foundations of World-Building

Malinda Lo

Fiction

(SF/F)

THOREN

UC Swerving: Negotiating Points of Resistance

Goldie Goldbloom

Fiction

BASHA

OM Storytelling in a Visual Medium

Adrienne Celt with Angie Dell

Mixed Genre

9:45 – 10:45 AM MORNING SESSION B

HERITAGE

UC

Writing Culture for Other Cultures

Angela Savage, Chandani Lokuge, & Kwei Quartey

Mixed Genre

THOREN

UC Telegraphing Your Story: Conveying Essential Information

Elizabeth Evans

Fiction

BASHA

OM The Monologue V. the Dramatic Monologue

Elizabeth Evans

Fiction

TOOKER

OM Writing the Freelance Essay

Kevin Haworth

Non-fiction

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM MORNING SESSION C

HERITAGE

UC

Research & the Creative Process

Goldie Goldbloom, Dominic Smith, & Adrienne Celt

Mixed Genre

TRADITIONS

UC

Storytelling & Climate Change

Paulo Bacigalupi

Fiction,

Mixed Genre

THOREN

UC Raise the Dead: Animating Your Prose

Mary Sojourner

Fiction

BASHA

OM Writing Shame

Alissa Nutting

Fiction

TOOKER

OM The Attractiveness Problem: Gender & Unlikable

Characters

Marylee MacDonald

Fiction

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM MID-DAY BREAK

12:00 – 1:00 PM

PATIO, OLD MAIN

LUNCH

12:15 – 1:00 PM

PIPER WRITERS HOUSE

MFA READING

Join us for readings by students in ASU’s MFA Program in Creative Writing (hosted by Aria Curtis, Graduate Assistant, Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing)

Mixed Genre

2:00 – 5:00 PM

2ND

FLOOR, UNIVERSITY

CLUB

AFTERNOON SNACK

Fresh fruit and various treats will be served all afternoon



Saturday, February 18, 2017



1:30 – 2:30 PM AFTERNOON SESSION A

HERITAGE

UC

Writing Across Genre

Benjamin Percy

Fiction

THOREN

UC Travel Writing: Gender, Genre, & Identity

Chandani Lokuge

Nonfiction,

Fiction

BASHA

OM The Political Poem

Sally Ball and Matthew Olzmann

Poetry

TOOKER

OM Probabalistic Fiction: Approaches to the Creative Process

Kevin Haworth

Fiction

2:45 – 3:45 PM AFTERNOON SESSION B

HERITAGE

UC

Fictional Characters & the Mystery of Personality

Dominic Smith

Fiction

TRADITIONS

UC

Lessons from the Small Screen: What We Can Learn from

TV

Dean Bakopoulos & Alissa Nutting

Mixed Genre

THOREN

UC Don’t Lose Your Humanity: Balancing Drama with

Relatability

Virgil Renzulli

Fiction

TOOKER

OM Perturbations: Heightening Dramatic Tension One Moment

at a Time

Marylee MacDonald

Fiction

4:00 – 5:00 PM AFTERNOON SESSION C

COLLEGE AVENUE

COMMONS AUDITORIUM The Business of Writing

Cheryl Klein, Malinda Lo, & Emma Patterson

Business of

Writing

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