What: This is an annual, alumni-run writers workshop. It features writing-related classes, agent pitch sessions, a book signing, and other special events. It’s a great way to network and re-connect with alumni.
When: June 27-30, 2024.
Where: On the beautiful campus of Seton Hill University
(1 Seton Hill Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601)
We are not offering a virtual option this year.
Who: The workshop is open to the public and to Seton Hill U Writing Popular Fiction alumni.
Why: It’s a great opportunity to reunite with former classmates, meet and network with alumni, gain writing inspiration and publishing knowledge, and have fun!
Hi Alumni and Friends!
This is going to be a re-building year for the IYWM workshop. The committee is completely new. Things will be a little different. We’re going to get together, learn a lot and have fun!
Things to note…
We’re happy to report that registration is open, and we’re offering the amazing price of $60.00 for the entire conference! We have lots of great things planned, so we hope you’ll join us.
Cutoff for registration is June 17,2024.
This will be an in-person conference only.
TO REGISTER FOR THE WORKSHOP, CLICK HERE!
Accommodations:*
Housing costs in the Seton Hill dorms are:
$75 per night per person for double occupancy
$100 per night per person for single occupancy.
*The accommodations referenced on the Registration form are the Seton Hill U dorms.
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Guest Authors:
We’re pleased to announce our esteemed guests authors:
Tim Waggoner – Author Guest of Honor
Tim Waggoner’s first novel came out in 2001, and since then he’s published over fifty novels and eight collections of short stories. He writes original dark fantasy and horror, as well as media tie-ins. He’s written tie-in fiction based on Supernatural, Grimm, The X-Files, Alien, Doctor Who, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Transformers, among others, and he’s written novelizations for films such as Halloween Kills, Terrifier 2, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter and Kingsman: The Golden Circle. His articles on writing have appeared in Writer’s Digest, The Writer, and The Writer’s Chronicle. He’s the author of the acclaimed horror-writing guide Writing in the Dark, which won the Bram Stoker Award for Nonfiction in 2021. The follow-up, Writing in the Dark: The Workbook, also won a Stoker in the same category in 2023. He won another Stoker in 2021 in the category of Short Nonfiction for his article “Speaking of Horror,” and in 2017 he received the Stoker for Long Fiction for his novella The Winter Box. In addition, he’s won the Scribe Award, given by the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers. He’s also been a multiple finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and a one-time finalist for the Splatterpunk Award. His fiction has received numerous Honorable Mentions in volumes of Best Horror of the Year, and he’s had several stories selected for inclusion in volumes of Year’s Best Hardcore Horror. His work has been translated into Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Hungarian, and Turkish. He’s also a full-time tenured professor who teaches creative writing and composition at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio. His papers are collected by the University of Pittsburgh’s Horror Studies Program.
Maria V Snyder – Alumni Author Guest of Honor
Meteorologist turned novelist, Maria V. Snyder’s been writing since she was bored out of her mind with writing air pollution reports and desperately needed something creative and fun to do. Twenty-three published novels and two short story collections later, Maria’s learned a thing or three about writing. She’s been on the New York Times bestseller list, won over a dozen awards, and has earned her MA degree in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University where she has refused to leave after graduating. Haunting the hallways and living in the tunnels below the Admin building since 2007, Maria’s been teaching and mentoring the current crop of MFA students.
Jon Sprunk to Conduct TTRP Storytelling Track.
Our first annual TTRPG Storytelling track will take place all day on Saturday, June 29. We will crown our first-ever Master Storyteller, Jon Sprunk! Jon is the host of Attacks of Opportunity, a popular fantasy author, and a former WPF mentor. He and his league of game masters will work with us to build characters, expand settings, and deepen plots while adventuring through various gaming mechanics. Novices and experienced players are all welcome! You don’t have to bring your own dice, but you are certainly welcome to do so.
What is TTRPG Storytelling? (TTRP stands for tabletop role-playing game.) Using the structure of rules and the randomness of dice rolls, writers can find inspiration for setting development, choose a path for plotting, and roleplay the inner workings of their character. Your game master is your guide through this cooperative storytelling.
Guest Agent
Danielle Chiotti: Agent-Upstart Crow Literary
Danielle Chiotti has worked in publishing for twenty years. Formerly an editor, she joined Upstart Crow when it was founded in 2009. She is honored to work on books with accolades including National Book Awards finalists, Kirkus Prize winners, and NYT Editor’s Picks. Her authors have received recognition from the Guggenheim Foundation, the James Beard Foundation, the Schneider Family Book Award, the Lambda Literary Awards, the Story Prize, and more.
Danielle specializes in upmarket and literary fiction, young adult and middle grade fiction, as well as select nonfiction. Thanks to her extensive editorial background, she enjoys working closely with authors to develop projects. She welcomes first-time authors with a unique voice and point of view.
Guest Editor
Stephanie M Wytovich: Poetry Editor-Raw Dog Screaming Press
Stephanie M. Wytovich is a Bram Stoker award-winning poet,a novelist, and essayist. Her work has been showcased in numerous magazines and anthologies such as Weird Tales, Nightmare Magazine, Southwest Review, Year’s Best Hardcore Horror: Volume 2, The Best Horror of the Year: Volume 8 & 15, as well as many others.
Wytovich is the Poetry Editor for Raw Dog Screaming Press, a recipient of the Elizabeth Matchett Stover Memorial Award, the 2021 Ladies of Horror Fiction Writers Grant, and has received the Rocky Wood Memorial Scholarship for non-fiction writing.
Wytovich is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association, an active member of the Horror Writers Association, and a graduate of Seton Hill University’s MFA program for Writing Popular Fiction. Her 2023 poetry collection, On the Subject of Blackberries, is out now.
Follow Wytovich at https://www.stephaniemwytovich.com/ and on Twitter and Instagram @SWytovich and @thehauntedbookshelf. You can also sign up for her newsletter at https://stephaniemwytovich.substack.com/.
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Rachel Howzell Hall to speak at book signing.
At 7 PM, Sat, June 29th – Rachel Howzell Hall will give a talk at Seton Hill’s Performing Arts Center.
Rachel Howzell Hall is the critically acclaimed author and Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist for And Now She’s Gone. A New York Times bestselling author of The Good Sister with James Patterson, Rachel is an Anthony, International Thriller Writers and Left Award nominee and the author of They All Fall Down, Land of Shadows, Skies of Ash, Trail of Echoes and City of Saviors in the Detective Elouise Norton series. She is a past member of the board of directors for Mystery Writers of America and has been a featured writer on NPR’s acclaimed Crime in the City series and the National Endowment for the Arts weekly podcast; she has also served as a mentor in Pitch Wars and the Association of Writers Programs. Rachel lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter. For more information, visit www.rachelhowzell.com
Our Mailing List:
We’ll be sending out periodic updates to the IYWM mailing list.
TO JOIN OUR MAILING LIST, CLICK HERE.
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Call for Presenters:
We’re still taking proposals for alumni to teach 50 minute modules on any writing-related subject. Do you have a writing technique, area of life-expertise, publishing experience, or other useful knowledge you can share with other writers? If so, please let us know.
Deadline is May 15th.
TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS, CLICK HERE!
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Book Signing:
The book signing will take place on Saturday, June 29 from 6-9:30 PM at Seton Hill’s Performing Arts Center – 100 Harrison Ave, Greensburg, PA 15601
At 7 PM – Rachel Howzell Hall will give a talk at Seton Hill’s Performing Arts Center
TO SIGN UP FOR THE BOOK SIGNING, CLICK HERE.
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Workshop Events:
To be announced. Check back here for updates.
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Call for Volunteers:
If you’d like to volunteer to help out, either before or during the conference, please CLICK HERE.
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For questions, please CLICK HERE.
We hope to see you on the Hill!
Sally Bosco
Chair of IYWM
In Your Write Mind Workshop 