Registration for the 12th Annual Northern Colorado Writers Conference is January 9, and I couldn’t be more excited about this year’s lineup. This time last year, when I took over directorship of NCW, the only thing we had done for the 2016 conference, was a secured venue. About six weeks later, we had most of our faculty set, but I was minus a few brain cells. I was so jazzed about the 2017 conference, that I got to work early on it and once again, we have a stellar conference on our hands. It also allowed me plenty of time to continually annoy Chuck Wendig, until he finally agreed to be a presenter and our keynote speaker. Now, I only annoy him once in a while.

This year, attendees will have more opportunities to get their work in front of literary agents and editors because not only do we have twice as many industry professionals as last year, we’re offering a critique session in addition to pitches. I’m still working on a lot of details, but you can view the SCHEDULE and check out our FAQs page. We would love to have you join us!

Also, there are a few new classes NCW is offering in February. Chuck Barrett, a bestselling, self-publishing extraordinaire, will be spilling all his marketing secrets on February 7. Chuck gave an abbreviated version of this class at last year’s conference to a packed room of attendees. It was one of the highest rated sessions last year.

Yours truly will be offering a class on how to publish your family history or memoir on February 12. Publishing options can be confusing and intimidating for writers, so for those who aren’t writers, but want to leave their legacy, or that of a loved one, the process can be daunting. That’s where I plan to blow the cover off this whole writing thing and show it’s not that hard after all. (Well, you know, sort of.)

Rachel Weaver will be teaching Get Your Opening Chapters Submission Ready  (perfect if you’re ready to query or pitch to an agent) on February 26. This is a 3-hour workshop that will help you polish those opening chapters when an agent or editor requests to read more.

I’ll be adding a few more classes, so check the site periodically for updates. I also want to let you know about Ultimate Pitchfest, a one-day event in Denver where writers will have the chance to pitch to 24 different literary agents via video chat. This is a great event and had a pretty darn successful inaugural event last year.

Happy writing!