Often in the universe of writers, there is talk of conferences and workshops. Most of the time they seem to be located in New York or Los Angeles because there are beaucoup agencies in these cities. However, occasionally a few are held in the Midwest.

One such event is called the Midwest Writers Workshop and will be held July 20-22, 2017 at L.A. Pittenger Student Center in partnership with Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. You can find them on twitter @MidwestWriters or the hashtag #MWW to keep up on news. MWW states the mission is to give all writers the opportunity to improve their craft, to associate with highly credentialed professionals, and to network with other writers.

They have sessions with top quality faculty during their three-day program on everything from fiction to nonfiction, marketing, and ways to get your creative juices flowing. The workshop is packed with sessions on the craft of writing and the business of writing.

Some of participants will be:

AGENTS

• Roseanne Wells, The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency
• Jessica Sinsheimer, Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency
• Monica Odom, Bradford Literary Agency
• Brooks Sherman, Janklow & Nesbit Associates
• Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary Agency
• Eric Smith, P.S. Literary

EDITORS:

• Terri Bischoff, Acquisitions Editor at Midnight Ink
• Lauren Smulski, Assistant Editor at Harlequin/Harper Collins
• Jessica Strawser, Editorial Director of Writer’s Digest,  the author of Almost Missed You

AUTHORS:

• Becky Albertalli – author of the award-winning young adult novel, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (now in film production from Fox 2000 Pictures) and The Upside of Unrequited
• Brenda Drake – NYT Bestseller of young adult novels and creator of #PitchWars Contest
• Angie Thomas – author of the New York Times bestseller young adult novel The Hate U Give (film optioned from Fox 2000 Productions)
• Dee Romito – author of middle grade novel, The BFF Bucket List, and other novels, also guru for Scrivener writing software.
• Rena Olsen – author of thriller novel The Girl BeforeThe Girl Before
• John Gilstrap – bestselling author of the Jonathan Grave thriller series; two of the first three in the series were nominated for ITW’s prestigious Thriller Award, and for Private Eye Writers of America’s Shamus Award

To see all the faculty, go here. There are even opportunities for pitching and manuscript evaluations, along with query critiques. Think about it, three days socializing with writerly people! What’s not to love!

As always, good luck and happy learning!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.