DFWCon2024

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DFWCon2024

5:00pm CDT

Attendee Pre-Conference Mixer Hilton Garden Inn Atrium

7:30am CDT

Doors Open Hurst Conference Center

8:00am CDT

Welcome! Main BallroomRussell C. Connor

8:30am CDT

Pitch Prep Meeting Room E-FRosemary Clement Publishing With a Small Press Meeting Room 3Pamela Taylor Emotional Storytelling in Speculative Fiction Meeting Room 6Amber Helt The Story Solution: Strengthening the Beats of Your Plot Meeting Room 5Holly Kammier Who Dun It?: Steps to Writing a Compelling Mystery or Thriller Meeting Room 2Kimberlee Mendoza It's Complicated: A NYT Best-Sellers Romance Forum Meeting Room G-HLiz Berry • Lexi Blake • Donna Grant • Lee Swift • Sidney Bristol Read & Critique Meeting Room 4Brian Tracey • Leslie Lutz • Harry Hall

9:30am CDT

The Business of Children's Books Meeting Room 6Brent Taylor First Page Re[a]d Flags Meeting Room 3S.G. George That's Not Funny! Balancing dark comedy, dry humor, sarcasm, and taboo comedy Meeting Room E-FLauren Danhof The Profane and Sacred: Saying the Unsayable Meeting Room 2Jubi Arriola-Headley How to Craft a Compelling Nonfiction Book Proposal Meeting Room 5Blake Atwood Agent-Author Relationship Meeting Room G-HSarah Mensinga • Brian Tracey • A. Lee Martinez • Ron Eckel • Paige Wheeler So, Here's My Problem: Querying Meeting Room 4Dana Swift • Kendall Berdinsky • Katharine Sands

10:30am CDT

Taking Your Novel to Broadway Meeting Room 5Ayvaunn Penn Subsidiary Rights and Contracts Meeting Room 3Bibi Lewis Discovering Your Character's Core Values Meeting Room 6Kay Goodnight Unforgettable: Five Ways to Capture Your Reader Meeting Room E-FJenny Martin Essay Essentials: Crafting Clear and Persuasive Arguments Meeting Room 2Jenny Bhatt Coming of Age: Young Adult & New Adult Meeting Room G-HKatie Bernet • Dana Swift • Kendall Berdinsky • A.S. King • Leslie Lutz Read & Critique Meeting Room 4John Bartell • J Benjamin Sanders Jr. • Ellis Kaye

11:20am CDT

Duygu Balan Book Signing Main GalleryDuygu Balan Ellis Kaye Book Signing Main GalleryEllis Kaye Lauren Danhof Book Signing Main GalleryLauren Danhof

11:30am CDT

Ink & Inclusion: Navigating Diversity in Publishing Meeting Room 6Lilian Li Beyond the Bar: Tips and Tricks for Writing Realistic Courtroom Drama Meeting Room 3Liz Larson Taking Back Your Senses: Using Sound, Smell, Taste, Touch, and Sight to Write Meeting Room 5Denise Tolan Trash Talking Unique Characters Meeting Room 2BJ Sloan What Are Those Quotation Marks Doing in Your Story, Anyway?: Dialogue as Action Meeting Room E-FHelen Dent How to Make People Gasp: Mystery/Thriller/Horror Meeting Room G-HJeff Ayers • Steve Berry • Russell C. Connor • Leslie Lutz • Brian Tracey So, Here's My Problem: Nonfiction & Poetry Meeting Room 4Jenny Bhatt • Steven Leyva • Blake Atwood

12:30pm CDT

Keynote - Steve Berry Main BallroomSteve Berry

1:30pm CDT

Steve Berry Book Signing Hurst Conference Center Main GallerySteve Berry

2:10pm CDT

Writing and Publishing Children's Books Successfully: Cease the Struggles and Soar Meeting Room 3Rosie J. Pova Bleeding on the Page - Writing Emotion Meeting Room E-FLaura Drake Building a Better World Meeting Room 5Malcolm Harris Don't Think, Just Write: A Workshop Designed to Get Ideas Flowing Meeting Room 2Kimberlee Mendoza Picture This: Writing Graphic Novels Meeting Room 6Sarah Mensinga Diversity in Storytelling Meeting Room G-HDana Swift • Jenny Bhatt • Jubi Arriola-Headley • Lilian Li • Steven Leyva Read & Critique Meeting Room 4Lauren Danhof • Rosemary Clement • Liz Larson

3:00pm CDT

BJ Sloan Book Signing Main GalleryBJ Sloan Colin Holmes Book Signing Main GalleryColin Holmes Denise Tolan Book Signing Main GalleryDenise Tolan Lilian Li Book Signing Main GalleryLilian Li

3:10pm CDT

Combining Your Careers As A Writer Meeting Room 2Dale Cottingham An Author’s Guide to Poisoning (Fictional) People Meeting Room 3Kate Khavari Q&A With Our Keynote Steve Berry Meeting Room E-FSteve Berry Tips and Tricks on Finding the Best Research Resources Meeting Room 5Jeff Ayers Troubleshooting Tension Meeting Room 6Callie Stoker Strategies for Self-Publishing Meeting Room G-HJenny Martin • David Baxter • Russell C. Connor • Kay Goodnight So, Here's My Problem: Fiction Meeting Room 4Leslie Lutz • A. Lee Martinez • Lauren Scovel

4:10pm CDT

Building a Following and Community Through Pop Culture Writing Meeting Room 5Steven Leyva The Content Conundrum: How to prep 1 month of social media posts in 2 hours Meeting Room E-FLauren Lanza Osias Archetypes of Ensemble: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Ninja Turtles Meeting Room 3Kate Cornell Compelling Heroes and Villains Meeting Room 2Abby Goldsmith Nonfiction for Children Meeting Room 6Wendy Hinote Lanier Steve Berry Interviews Liz Berry Meeting Room G-H Read & Critique Meeting Room 4Jenny Martin • Sarah Mensinga • Sally Hamilton

5:00pm CDT

DFWCon Food Truck Rally Conference Center Outside

7:00pm CDT

DFWCon Cocktail Reception Main Ballroom

7:30am CDT

Doors Open Hurst Conference Center

8:00am CDT

Dawn of the Gong Main BallroomGeorge Goldwaithe • Russell C. Connor

9:00am CDT

Story at Warp Speed: Streamlining Your Writing Process Meeting Room E-FAmber Royer Demystifying Publishing Options Meeting Room 2Holly Kammier From Page to Stage: Telling the World About Your Work Meeting Room 6Harry Hall A Place is Never Just a Prop: Making Your Settings Work for You Meeting Room 3Helen Dent University Press Publishing Meeting Room 5Dan Williams Writing for Children Meeting Room G-HSally Hamilton • Rosie J. Pova • Brent Taylor • Wendy Hinote Lanier • Nancy Churnin • Kay Goodnight Read & Critique Meeting Room 4Brooke Fossey • Lauren Lanza Osias • Kate Cornell

9:50am CDT

Kate Khavari Book Signing Main GalleryKate Khavari Pamela Taylor Book Signing Main GalleryPamela Taylor Amber Helt Book Signing Main GalleryAmber Helt • Brooke Fossey

10:00am CDT

Is Your Book a Movie? Meeting Room 5Colin Holmes Getting Readers Meeting Room 6Katharine Sands Insights from a Book Buyer Meeting Room E-FDana Swift Back to the Future. And Structure. Meeting Room 2Kate Cornell Story in Different Forms Meeting Room G-HLauren Danhof • Abby Goldsmith • Ayvaunn Penn • Jalyn Renea Fiske • A. Lee Martinez So, Here's My Problem: Fiction Meeting Room 4Bibi Lewis • Jenny Martin • Callie Stoker

10:50am CDT

Wendy Lanir Book Signing Main GalleryWendy Hinote Lanier Nancy Churnin Book Signing Main GalleryNancy Churnin

11:00am CDT

Getting Readers Meeting Room 2Katharine Sands The Publishing Process & The Agent's Role Meeting Room E-FRon Eckel Not Your Momma's Memoir: Writing Your Truth as a Story Meeting Room 3Denise Tolan Scenes that Steal the Scene Meeting Room 5Callie Stoker Writing a Sense of Place Meeting Room 6Dale Cottingham Publishing Trends Meeting Room G-HBrooke Fossey • S.G. George • Brent Taylor • Kiana Nguyen • Jennifer Chen Tran • Michaela Whatnall • Paige Wheeler Read & Critique Meeting Room 4Colin Holmes • Kay Goodnight • A. Lee Martinez

12:00pm CDT

Keynote - A.S. King Main BallroomA.S. King

1:00pm CDT

A.S. King Book Signing Hurst Conference Center Main GalleryA.S. King

1:40pm CDT

Booktok and Beyond Meeting Room 6Lilian Li Your very first website - A beginner 101 workshop for creating a winning website Meeting Room 5Rebekah Hudson Balancing Backstory Meeting Room 3Laura Drake Improv & Intention: Using Improv Games and Acting Theory to Deepen Character & Setting Meeting Room E-FLiz Larson Love's Toxic Tango: Crafting Characters in Dysfunctional Relationships Meeting Room 2Duygu Balan A Panel of Worlds & Magic: Sci-Fi/Fantasy Meeting Room G-HLauren Lanza Osias • Jenny Martin • Amber Royer • Dana Swift So, Here's My Problem: Querying Meeting Room 4Brooke Fossey • Natascha Morris • Lauren Scovel

2:40pm CDT

“That’s Not Right!” Using Real Research to Up the Ante in Fiction Meeting Room 3Kate Khavari Co-Authoring Children's Books: When and How to Successfully Team Up with A Writer or Subject Meeting Room 2Nancy Churnin Every Chapter is a Story Meeting Room E-FSally Hamilton • A. Lee Martinez Writing Web Serials Meeting Room 6Abby Goldsmith Tell it Like It Is: Writing Nonfiction Meeting Room G-HHarry Hall • Steven Leyva • Blake Atwood Read & Critique Meeting Room 4Dana Swift • BJ Sloan • Helen Dent

3:30pm CDT

Abby Goldsmith Book Signing Main GalleryAbby Goldsmith Rosie Pova Book Signing Main GalleryRosie J. Pova

3:40pm CDT

Use Your Inside Voice Meeting Room 3Rosemary Clement So, Here's My Problem: Self-Publishing & Promotion Meeting Room 4Russell C. Connor • Kay Goodnight You Belong Here: Defeating Imposter Syndrome Meeting Room E-FLauren Lanza Osias • Lauren Danhof High Stakes Sex Meeting Room 6Ellis Kaye Stick the Landing: A Look at Strong Story Endings Meeting Room 2Jalyn Renea Fiske Monetize Your Book: Strategies for Nonfiction Authors Meeting Room 5Lauren Erickson Drumroll, Please: Debut Authors Meeting Room G-HLeslie Lutz • BJ Sloan • Helen Dent • J Benjamin Sanders Jr.