Conference Information & Agenda

Featuring keynote speaker Ada Limón

Saturday, June 5 & Sunday, June 6 + optional remote agent pitches & pre- and post-conference sessions

Conference Information & Agenda *as of 5/7/2021; subject to minor changes

Conference format: This year’s Conference is happening completely online via Zoom. Most sessions will be hosted as Meetings, and each instructor will advise you on how to participate. Other sessions will be available as watch-only Webinars. This requires a free Zoom account, a reliable internet connection, and a smartphone/tablet/computer. Microphone and camera are optional but encouraged for participatory sessions. Recorded sessions: For the first time, all 2021 Books-in-Progress Conference sessions will be recorded and available for viewing for a select amount of time following the Conference. More information about accessing these recordings will be available at the Conference. Please be advised that the sessions you attend will be recorded. Pre-Conference Retreat: The pre-conference session on Friday, June 4 is available only to those who pre-registered. Join Hannah Pittard for Getting Your Characters to Talk (But Not Necessarily to Listen), a generative dialogue workshop. See page 2 for the full session description. First Page Critique: Receive feedback on your first page from a panel of authors and agents, including David Arnold and Hannah VanVels. The opportunity to submit to the First Page Critique session is included in your Conference registration. Find more information on page 3. Literary agent pitch meetings: The Carnegie Books-in-Progress Conference offers participants the opportunity to pitch their books one-on-one to literary agents. This year, we are excited to feature agents Mariah Stovall (Howland Literary, LLC), Hannah VanVels (Belcastro Agency), and Michaela Whatnall (Dystel, Goderich & Bourret).

Agent meetings are only available to those who pre-registered. Your meeting slot will be determined before the Conference; Program Director & Conference Coordinator Sarah Chapman will contact you to conﬁrm the time and format (virtual meeting or phone call). Post-Conference Writing Retreat: Find more information on the post-conference session led by Marcia Thornton Jones on page 4. Agent & presenter information: Find headshots and biographies for each of our agents and presenters on page 5.

2021 Books-in-Progress Conference sponsored by Friday, June 4 PRE-CONFERENCE RETREAT

1:00–5:00pm: Getting Your Characters to Talk (But Not Necessarily to Listen) With Hannah Pittard This is a generative session focusing primarily on dialogue. We’ll read examples of good dialogue, bad dialogue, straight-up loopy dialogue, and we’ll try our hands at everything. Participants are encouraged to bring sketches of existing (and maddeningly taciturn) characters to the session, but this is by no means necessary. There will be prompts aplenty during our time together, including a few in which we’ll render characters from scratch.

SPECIAL EVENT

5:30pm: Carnegie Center Author Academy Commencement Reading Co-hosted by Kathleen Gregg & Katerina Stoykova Please join us for a special reading by graduates of the 2020–2021 Carnegie Center Author Academy.

Keynote Speaker Ada Limón

Ada Limón, a current Guggenheim fellow, is the author of five poetry collections, including THE CARRYING, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry. Her fourth book BRIGHT DEAD THINGS was named a finalist for the National Book Award, a finalist for the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. She serves on the faculty of Queens University of Charlotte Low Residency M.F.A program and lives in Lexington, Kentucky. Saturday, June 5 SESSION SCHEDULE: DAY 1

9:45am: Welcome 10:00–11:15am: Ada Limón, Keynote The 2021 Books-in-Progress Conference is proud to feature keynote speaker Ada Limón. Limón, a current Guggenheim fellow, is the author of ﬁve poetry collections, including THE CARRYING, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry. Ada Limón’s full biography is on page 3.

11:30am–1:00pm: Breakout Session A Creating Memorable Characters With Carter Sickels In this session, we’ll focus on developing complex, flawed, and empathetic characters who are capable of change. How do characters think and act, talk and love, in mundane and profound ways? What motivates them, what do they feel? How do socio-economic, cultural, and geographical backgrounds shape them? We’ll study the techniques of other writers, and generative in-class writing exercises will light up your creativity, sparking new material or nourishing existing projects. The Place of Place in Memoir With Leatha Kendrick Our stories take place. Setting shapes the telling in memoirs as diverse as Bobbie Ann Mason’s CLEAR SPRINGS, Sarah M. Broom’s THE YELLOW HOUSE, J. Drew Lanham’s THE HOME OF FLACE: MEMOIRS OF A COLORED MAN’S LOVE AFFAIR WITH NATURE, and Jesmyn Ward’s MEN WE REAP. To create a memorable memoir, we must bring to life the region, state, city, farm, streets, or houses that shaped our past. In this session, we will examine what makes for a vivid rendering of place and try out some writing exercises to sharpen your evocation of the places at the heart of your story. Writing Diversity Right With Claudia Love Mair Have you always wanted to make your writing more diverse, but were afraid of getting it wrong? Writing Diversity Right is the generative session that will help you identify colorblindness, otherness, and stereotypes in your work, in a safe, non-judgmental environment. 1:30–3:00pm: First Page Critique with David Arnold & Hannah VanVels This is your chance to receive feedback on your first page! If you are interested in participating, please submit your first page (250 words/one-page max; double-spaced, 12-point font; with the genre typed at the top of the page) of your work to [email protected]. Submissions will be accepted via email up until Friday, June 4, 4:00 pm, and pieces read will be selected at random. A reader will read your piece aloud so it remains anonymous. Time is limited; we’ll get through as many submissions as possible. Third panelist TBA. 3:15–4:45pm: Breakout Session B Creating Complex Characters from Real Life With Erik Reece In this session, we will focus on using the tools of fiction—image, voice, detail, body language, flashback, dialogue—to create "characters" from real life. We will think about E.M. Forster's distinction between flat and round characters as we work. Writing Kids’ Books With Marcia Thornton Jones Find focus, gain confidence, and learn about writing fiction for kids through discussion, peer-sharing, and writing exercises. Come with a work-in-progress— or at least an idea for one. Building Your Author Platform With Gwenda Bond Does this have to be as fake or unpleasant as it sounds? How essential is it? We will have some real talk about what an author platform is, and how you can shape it to fit your strengths and avoid having it simply stress you out. We'll also talk about the differences in the importance of platforms for different genres. We'll talk about choosing how to engage in the literary world and with readers both online and offline. 5:00pm: Writers’ Meet-Up/Happy Hour Unwind after the first day of the Books-in-Progress Conference with an optional, free happy hour session. Meet with like minded-writers in a casual setting on Zoom to reflect on the day’s sessions, talk craft, and get to know one another. Feel free to enjoy your dinner, a snack, or a beverage. Sunday, June 6 SESSION SCHEDULE: DAY 2

9:45am: Welcome

10:00–11:30am: Breakout Session C

Geographical & Emotional Landscapes: The Power of Place in Fiction With Carter Sickels Writers use geography, architecture, and the environment as a means to reveal character, develop mood, and direct plot. In this session, we’ll discuss strategies for creating dynamic settings, and focus closely on a setting’s relationship to characters. We’ll examine published excerpts from a variety of short stories and novels, and do writing exercises to share with the class. Great for generating new ideas or developing a work-in-progress. Telling Others’ Stories With Tom Eblen How do you get someone to tell you their story, and then how do you write about it in an honest, accurate, and ethical way? Veteran journalist Tom Eblen discusses interview techniques, research ideas, relationship-building with your subject, and dealing with sticky issues that are bound to come up in the process. This session will be helpful to non-ﬁction and ﬁction writers whose work is built around real people. Creating a Podcast & Audiobook With Zelda Knight Description coming soon. 11:45am–1:15pm: Breakout Session D

The Lyric Essay With Shayla Lawson In this session, we will explore the lyric essay from the poetic to the journalistic. To “essay” is “to try,” and so in this class we will experiment with how we can stretch the essay as a genre to fit our personal expressions of form. We’ll study essays written by contemporary writers through close reading and critique, as well as discuss the dirty tricks of finding a good home for your creative nonfiction pieces. Recipe for Revision With AJ Verdelle This revision session will outline a step-by-step strategy for revision like a recipe. Professional writers understand that the real writing is done in revision, after the draft. The purpose of a writer's draft is to reveal the arc and details of the story. In other words, discovery. The purpose of revision is to clarify the narrative arc, to affix the best parts of the story, and to repair or fix the parts of the draft that don't work. When we revise, we reach for radiance. Any writer who has drafts— whether in fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry—will benefit from learning a systematic approach to revision that can be tailored to strengthen each story, proceeding as if each individual story has "special dietary needs." Publishing Options Today: A Panel With Cynthia Ellingsen, Julia Royston, & Ashley Runyon Please join our panel of publishing experts as they discuss the myriad of publishing options today. Cynthia Ellingsen (bestselling author of THE CHOICE I MADE and the Starlight Cove Series), Ashley Runyon (Director, University Press of Kentucky), and Julia Royston (writer, coach and founder of BK Royston Publishing) will lead us through the pros and cons of different publishing options—and answer your questions about this quickly evolving industry. Moderated by Neil Chethik, Director of the Carnegie Center and author of FATHERLOSS: HOW SONGS OF ALL AGES COME TO TERMS WITH THE DEATHS OF THEIR DADS (Hyperion, 2001). 2:00–6:00pm: Post-Conference Writing Retreat with Marcia Thornton Jones Don’t wait to put what you learned during the conference into practice! This post-conference retreat will begin with a short group-sharing of conference highlights and goal-setting to help you continue the momentum inspired by your conference experience. Writing prompts will be offered to help propel your writing into high-gear! Bring your late lunch/dinner and wrap-up your conference experience with a refreshing and inspiring retreat. This is an optional add-on. Please be sure to register if you wish to attend. AGENTS AGENT & PRESENTER BIOS Mariah Stovall HOWLAND LITERARY, LLC Mariah Stovall, of Howland Literary, is seeking books for adults in the following genres: upmarket fiction, literary fiction, short story collections, narrative nonfiction, creative nonfiction, memoir, essay collections, and select poetry collections. She is drawn to voice-driven stories and perspectives that challenge the status quo. Mariah is a graduate of Pitzer College, of the Claremont Colleges, where she studied English and World Literature with a minor in Linguistics. Before joining Howland, she worked at Writers House; at Farrar, Straus, and Giroux; and at Gallery Books.

Hannah VanVels BELCASTRO AGENCY Hannah VanVels is an editor, writer, and literary agent. Her life is consumed by all things books, and when she’s not working on books, she can usually be found curled up with a good book and a good cup of coﬀee. She earned her BA at the University of Michigan and holds MA degrees from Tel Aviv University and the University of Chicago. Hannah has worked various bookish jobs including a stint as a bookseller at Barnes & Noble, a freelance editor for scholarly and academic essays and journals, and most recently as the acquiring editor at a young adult imprint with HarperCollins Publishing. Hannah is building an inclusive list with a variety of voices and genres, especially from underrepresented backgrounds.

Michaela Whatnall DYSTEL, GODERICH, & BOURRET Michaela Whatnall joined Dystel, Goderich & Bourret in 2019 as the assistant to Michael Bourret in the West Coast office. After graduating from Emory University with a degree in English and linguistics, Michaela completed the Columbia Publishing Course. Their background in school and library marketing accounts for their strong interest in children’s literature, from picture books up through middle grade, young adult novels, and graphic novels. In the adult fiction space, they are particularly seeking character-driven speculative fiction, sci-fi/fantasy, and other genre fiction that features historically underrepresented characters. They are also interested in nonfiction for both children and adults, especially narrative nonfiction in the areas of history, the creative arts, and lifestyle.

SESSION PRESENTERS

David Arnold David Arnold is the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of THE ELECTRIC KINGDOM, MOSQUITOLAND, KIDS OF APPETITE, and THE STRANGE FASCINA- TIONS OF NOAH HYPNOTIK, which has been optioned for ﬁlm by Paramount. He has won the Southern Book Prize and the Great Lakes Book Award, and was named a PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Flying Start for his debut. His books have been translated into over a dozen languages. He lives in Lexington, Kentucky with his wife and son.

Gwenda Bond Gwenda Bond is the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of many novels, including the first official Stranger Things novel, SUSPICIOUS MINDS. She also clearly escaped from a classic screwball romantic comedy. She lives in a hundred-year-old house in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband, author Christopher Rowe, and a veritable zoo of adorable doggos and queenly cats. Tom Eblen Tom Eblen, a veteran journalist, writer and photographer, is literary liaison at the Carnegie Center. He was metro/state columnist for the LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER from 2008 to 2019 and the newspaper’s managing editor from 1998–2008. Tom returned to his hometown in 1998 after 14 years with THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION and five years with THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. He has won many awards, including the 2013 media award in the Kentucky Governor’s Awards in the Arts. He was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame in 2016. He was a contributing author for the book BLUEGRASS RENAISSANCE: THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF CENTRAL KENTUCKY, 1792–1852 (University Press of Kentucky 2012).

Cynthina Ellingsen Cynthia Ellingsen is the author of several contemporary novels for women, including the bestselling Starlight Cove series, as well as a middle grade novel. THE CHOICE I MADE, her latest novel, was released in March 2021. Her work has been translated into many diﬀerent languages. She is a Michigan native and currently lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her family.

Leatha Kendrick Leatha Kendrick is the author of five poetry collections, most recently AND LUCKIER, from Accents Publishing. Leatha has taught creative writing at the University of Kentucky, Morehead State University, and at writers’ conferences across the southeast. For more than twenty years, she has led workshops in poetry and creative nonfiction at the Carnegie Center for Literacy & Learning in Lexington, Kentucky. Her poems, articles, essays, and short fiction appear in journals including TAR RIVER POETRY, PINE MOUNTAIN SAND & GRAVEL, NEW MADRID REVIEW, and the SOUTHERN POETRY REVIEW, and in anthologies including THE SOUTHERN POETRY ANTHOLOGY, VOLUME 3—CONTEMPORARY APPALCHIA; THE KENTUCKY ANTHOLOGY: 200 YEARS OF WRITING IN THE BLUEGRASS; and WHAT COMES DOWN TO US: TWENTY-FIVE CONTEMPORARY KENTUCKY POETS. She lives and writes in Lexington, Kentucky. SESSION PRESENTERS PRESENTER BIOS Zelda Knight Zelda Knight writes sci-fi and fantasy romance. She’s also a cryptozoologist in training. She’s also the publisher and editor-in-chief of Aurelia Leo, an independent, Nebula Award-nominated press based in Louisville, Kentucky. Zelda co-edited DOMINION: AN ANTHOLOGY OF SPECULATIVE FICTION FROM AFRICA AND AFRICAN DIASPORA (Aurelia Leo, 2020), which has received critical acclaim. She’s currently co-editing the upcoming Tor.com Publishing anthology AFRICAN RISEN with Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki & Sheree Renée Thomas.

Shayla Lawson Shayla Lawson is the author of THIS IS MAJOR: NOTES ON DIANA ROSS, DARK GIRLS, AND BEING DOPE (Harper Perennial, 2020) and three poetry collections: I THINK I’M READY TO SEE FRANK OCEAN (Saturnalia, 2018), PANTONE (Miel Books, 2016), and A SPEED EDUCATION IN HUMAN BEING (Sawyer House Press, 2013). She is a regular contributor at BUSTLE magazine and a 2020 National Book Critics Circle Finalist.

Claudia Love Mair Claudia Love Mair is a writer, artist, and Ringmistress of the Beautiful Soul Circus, a private Facebook group for creatives, queers, and tender souls. She’s an Inspirationalista who, when she’s not creating something herself, helps other creatives tap into their deepest intuition and longings through writing and paint. She is the Coordinator for the Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative. Claudia lives in Lexington, with two of her adult children, and three cats, including one who thinks he’s a dog.

Hannah Pittard Hannah Pittard is the author of four novels, most recently VISIBLE EMPIRE. She lives and works in Lexington, Kentucky.

Erik Reece Erik Reece is the author of ﬁve books of nonﬁction, including LOST MOUNTAIN and UTOPIA DRIVE. His work has appeared in HARPER’S, THE OXFORD AMERICAN, THE ATLANIC, ORION. His two collections of poetry, A SHORT HISTORY OF THE PRESENT and ANIMALS AT FULL MOON were published by Larkspur Press. He teaches writing at the University of Kentucky and is the founder of Kentucky Writers and Artists for Reforestation.

Julia Royston Julia Royston is an author, publisher, speaker and coach. For more information, follow her on social media, purchase her books at www.juliaroyston- store.com or schedule an appointment at www.talkwithroyston.com.

Ashley Runyon Kentucky native Ashley Runyon is the Director at the University Press of Kentucky (UPK). She got her start in publishing at UPK as a work study student. After working in various positions in design, marketing, and production at the LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER and Blood-Horse Publications, she returned to UPK in 2008 as a Marketing Manager and then Acquisitions Editor while also coordinating fundraising and development. From 2016 to 2019 she managed the trade list for Indiana University Press and Red Lightning Books before returning to UPK as Director.

A.J. Verdelle A.J. Verdelle is a working mother and author of THE GOOD NEGRESS, a novel that won ﬁve national prizes, including: a Whiting Writers Award, ﬁnalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, for the IMPAC/Dublin Literary Award, and for the LOS ANGELES TIMES Book Prize. Verdelle also received the Vursell Distinguished Prose Fiction award from the American Academy of Arts & Letters. Verdelle has published essays about art, photography, and Hurricane Katrina. Verdelle teaches undergraduates at Morgan State University, an HBCU in Baltimore, MD and works with graduate writers in the low-residency MFA program at Lesley University. In fall 2021, Harper/Amistad will publish A.J. Verdelle’s memoir about her relationship with the late Toni Morrison.

Carter Sickels Carter Sickels is the author of the novel THE PRETTIEST STAR (Hub City Press), winner of the 2021 Southern Book Prize and Weatherford Award, and selected as a Kirkus Best Book of 2020 and a Best LGBT Book of 2020 by O MAGAZINE. His debut novel THE EVENING HOUR (Bloomsbury) was a 2013 Oregon Book Award finalist, a Triangle Publishing Award finalist, and a Lambda Literary Award finalist, and was adapted into a feature film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020. His writing appears in various publications, including THE ATLANTIC, OXFORD AMERICAN, POETS & WRITERS, BUZZFEED, GUERNICA, JOYLAND, and CATAPULT. Carter has received fellowships from the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Sewanee Writers' Conference, the MacDow- ell Colony, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. He lives in Lexington, Kentucky, and is an assistant professor at Eastern Kentucky University.