Register Now for 2014 David R. Collins' Writers' Conference: June 26-28

Come join the fun on June 26, 27, and 28 on the campus of St. Ambrose University for the 2014 David R. Collins' Writers' Conference.   

2013 Conference Faculty
Matthew Guenette

Click here for online registration. 

Come to the Mississippi River for your writing inspiration as have so many other authors. The David R. Collins Writers’ Conference is your destination for writing improvement in a variety of genres, publishing tips, time with multi-published authors, one on one critiques and pitches, readings, book sales, networking, making new writing friends, and Midwest hospitality.  We offer three days of intensive learning from professional writers and publishers at bargain basement prices.  Click here to download a copy of the brochure.

The 2014 Conference Workshop Topics

• Novel as Discovery
• Time is on Your Side: Structuring Your Book-Length Memoir
• Come On, Baby, Make It Hurt So Good: The Art of the Confessional Poem 
• The Ecstatic Essay
• Flash Fiction: A Liminal Genre

Click here for workshop descriptions.

The 2014 Conference Faculty

• Kelly Daniels
• Adam Fell
• Jac Jemc
• Chad Simpson
• Rachel Yoder
• Jen Karsbaek
• Steve Semken
• Rebecca Wee

Click here for faculty biographies.

Also Offered

• One-On-One Critique Sessions, 30 minutes for $35
• Ten Minute Pitch Sessions with Steve Semken (6/27) or Jen Karsbaek (6/28) for $25
• Author Luncheon with Rebecca Wee, June 28th, for $15
• Concluding Lunch included with Registration
• Free Evening Workshop on June 27th, 7-8 p.m. with agent Jen Karsbaek
• Free Faculty Reading June 26th at Rozz-Tox (2108 3rd Ave. Rock Island, IL), 7-9 p.m.

            Thank You! 

to our 2014 conference sponsors:

Modern Woodman of America

St. Ambrose University English Department

Illinois Art Council Agency

Genesis Health Systems

Get a Manuscript Makeover at the fall Pen in Hand

Fall 2013 Pen in Hand mini-Conference
Saturday, October 5th
9am-5pm
Midwest Writing Center



Ann Boaden

The Midwest Writing Center’s Fall 2013 Pen In Hand mini writing conference is designed to help writers begin to get their partially or completely finished manuscripts ready for submission to agents or publishers. Those who just want to listen are also encouraged to attend. The conference will be held on Saturday, October 5th, and will feature four different workshops held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Nancy Ann Schaefer

Participants may sign up for one workshop, two, three, or all four. Discounts are offered for members and those who register before September 28th. For instructor bios, further details and information about how to register, click on the link above or visit Pen In Hand under the “Events & Opportunities” drop down menu at the MWC web site. All sessions are held on the third floor of Bucktown Center for the Arts at 225 E. 2nd Street in downtown Davenport.

The four sessions include:


Daniel Horne

“Put the YOU in Your Work: Voice & Style” with Ann Boaden and will help participants learn the differences and similarities between voice and style and begin their journeys to find their personal writing voices.

“The Great Battle: Show vs. Tell” with Nancy Ann Schaefer will help attendees learn how to recognize when they are telling rather than showing and what to do to reverse it.

“Polishing Pointers: Editing and Proofreading” with DanielHorne will help people look at their work on the micro level and correct any grammar, punctuation, and mechanical mistakes. 




Katie Ganshert

“Query Quandaries: Research Agents/Publishers and Submit Your Work” with Katie Ganshert will help participants find agents or publishers to whom they can submit work and teach them how to write a query letter.

THE POWER OF “SAID”

As a writer who is taught to “spice things up”, “make things interesting”, “don’t be redundant”, etc. it may seem intuitive when writing dialogue to substitute “he said” or “she said”, with “he whispered”, “she shouted”, “he bellowed”, “he growled”, or “she happily howled hoarsely” to let your readers know who is speaking in your piece. But those “in the know” will tell you it is okay and even preferred to use “said” every single time you need to describe your dialogue. And if you think about it, you will see this actually makes sense.

When a reader is reading an exciting verbal exchange in your writing, they are right there listening to what is being said, anxious to find out how the conversation ends. When they come across a fancy said-phrase, they pause and they realize they are not there but they are reading. Not what you ideally want. “Said” is almost an invisible word. Readers are so used to seeing it they just gloss over it, not pausing or stopping to think about you, the writer. Plus, if you write your dialogue (what is said) artfully enough, the reader will not need to know if the character screamed it or hollered it, they will already know by what is SAID. If it is clear who is speaking, you don’t even need to point out who is talking, just start a new paragraph and the new quoted dialogue.

Want to learn more about how to put great dialogue in your fiction? Then plan to attend the “Talk the Talk” session at Midwest WritingCenter’s March 24, 2012 Pen In Hand Mini Writing Conference from 9:15 a.m. to 11 a.m. in downtown Davenport, Iowa.

Ann Boaden, Augustana College instructor and fiction author, will teach this workshop session. Her fiction and creative nonfiction have appeared in a variety of literary journals, including South Dakota Review, Big Muddy, The Heartlands Today, Buffalo Carp, British History, Lutheran Journal, Wascana (Canada) Review, and in the anthology Christmas on the Great Plains (published by the University of Iowa Press).  She has collaborated on two novels for junior readers, served as librettist for four musicals performed locally, and written three plays produced by the professional regional theatre group New Ground.  Her book Light and Leaven:  Women Who Shaped Augustana’s First Century, was released last May.

Discounts for this and the three other Pen In Hand sessions are offered for early registrants, members and bulk buyers. Visit www.midwestwritingcenter.org and click on the Pen In Hand link under the “Events & Opportunities” tab or call 563/324-1410 for more information and learn how to register.

-By Jodie Toohey (www.jodiet.com)

Don't Miss David R. Collins Writers' Conference Early Bird Pricing!

<---------Scene from the 2010 Conference This year's David R. Collins Writers' Conference will be upon us before we know it. The 2011 conference has some favorites and some new features. Like in past years, attendees will be able to network with aspiring, published and award-winning authors; learn about a wide variety of topics appropriate for beginning through experienced writers and enjoy great lunches and everything else the Quad Cities area has to offer. New to this year's conference is the Thursday through Saturday schedule from June 23rd through 25th, including four Saturday-only workshops on June 25th. Manuscript Critiquing is back this year along with pitch sessions to two publishers (one traditional, one electronic). Critiquing sessions are $35 for a 30 minute session or you can elect to receive a written critique in lieu of the oral session for the same price. To participate, register for the conference and submit ten pages of your manuscript by Monday, June 12th. Your session will be scheduled at a time that works for you and the faculty member after the conference starts. Pitch sessions are ten minutes long and cost $25; times will also be scheduled after the conference begins. Three-day workshop topics include various facets of novel writing, poetry, publishing and creative non-fiction writing. Saturday only workshops address play writing, young adult writing, blogging and e-publishing. Conference attendees and the general public are invited to two free events in the evenings; a panel discussion on publishing Thursday, June 23rd and a faculty reading on Friday, June 24th. On Friday, attendees and the public are also invited to attend the conference luncheon for $15 featuring keynote speaker, Kimberly Ostrom, author of historical and contemporary romances. Faculty members include former literary agents, current publishers and published authors, some award winning. The three-day and Saturday only workshops will be at New Hall at St. Ambrose University in Davenport and evening events will be at the Midwest Writing Center at the Bucktown Center for the Arts in downtown Davenport. Save up to $25 by registering by June 16th with special early bird pricing! Go to the Midwest Writing Center's website for more information or to sign up today.