2025 Schedule
Friday, November 21
8:30am
Check In Opens
Johnson Center Lobby
Check in remains open all day. Coffee, tea, and water available all day.
9:20am
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9:20-9:50am
Session to be Announced
Johnson Center Room 119
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9:20-9:50am
You know you’ve got a great story idea, but how do you make it so great that it rises from slush pile to publication? Annalisa Summea will walk you through a straightforward system for plotting your fiction to ensure you write a book that makes readers say “I couldn’t put it down,” as well as resources to keep and put to action so you can cross “Become an Author” off your bucket list.
Small Theater Room 114
10:00am
Keynote to be Announced
Large Theater
Signing line following presentation
11:10am
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11:10-11:40am
Learn how bestselling authors launch, promote, and profit from their books using Guerrilla Marketing strategies—paired with David Hancock’s new book The Babylon Blueprint for Authors. Whether you’re self-published or traditionally published, you’ll walk away with a step-by-step framework to grow your platform, expand your reach, and keep your message alive long after launch day—without needing a massive marketing budget.
Small Theater Room 114
11:40am
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11:40-12:10pm
Session to be Announced
Johnson Center Room 119
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11:40am-12:50pm
Panelists: Alee Anderson, Alice Sullivan, Cole Gustafson, and Jenny Baumgartner
Behind many bestselling books stands a skilled ghostwriter. In this session, you'll learn why ghostwriting is an essential part of the publishing industry, how to find the right ghostwriter for your project, and what a successful collaboration looks like. You'll leave with a deeper understanding of the craft, the process, and the powerful role ghostwriters play in bringing great ideas to life.
Small Theater Room 114
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11:40am-12:50pm
Panelists: Steven Hutson, Tisha Morris, Amanda Bauch, Sophie Cudd, Danielle Marshall, Natalie Hanemann, and Dan Foutz
Every creator needs a great elevator pitch, but it may be challenging to step outside of your familiarity with your writing to assess what makes it marketable. Learn from an agent and editor/author what makes a great pitch for your writing, and then we'll split into small groups with professionals from all areas so you can practice your pitching and get ready to show your project to the publisher, agent, or production company of your dreams.
Large Theater Room 115
12:20pm
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12:20pm-12:50pm
Small Theater Room 114
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Network during lunch at tables hosted by industry professionals:
12:50pm
Harrington Place Dining Hall
1:45pm
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1:45-2:55pm
Panelists: Joy Jordan Lake, and Danielle Marshall
Do you ever feel paralyzed by the feedback you receive on your manuscript or project? Everyone offers up helpful or expert advice, but sometimes the notes contradict. Learn how to extract what is most useful and maintain your own writerly voice in this panel discussion.
Johnson Center Room 119
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1:45-2:55pm
Panelists: Rea Frey, Jennifer Moorman, and Lauren Nossett
Both magical realism and thrillers rely on compelling characters facing challenges beyond the norm. Authors share their techniques for crafting protagonists who feel relatable while driving fantastical or high-stakes stories.
Large Theater Room 115
3:00pm
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3:00-3:30pm
Panelists: E.L. Canney, Meredith R. Lyons, Mary Elizabeth Colton, and Meagan Hood
Calling all fantasy dreamers and dragon tamers! Whether you're deep in the trenches of your first epic or polishing your final draft, join authors E.L. Canney and Meredith R. Lyons, fantasy influencer Meagan Hood (@megstearoom), and agent Mary Elizabeth Colton for a candid Q&A on worldbuilding, writing, querying, and publishing in the fantasy space. Bring your questions and your curiosity!
Johnson Center Room 119
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3:00-4:10pm
Panelists: Justin Luis, and Calen Pos
Freehand is a Nashville writing community that features writers of all mediums at our monthly writing events. Listen to featured writers, create your own work from a fun prompt, and share your writing with the group! WriterFest is proud to bring you the Freehand experience for this interactive workshop with its founders.
Small Theater Room 114
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3:00-4:10pm
Panelists: Lizzie Poteet, Jennifer Gingerich, Jonathan Merritt, and Shannon Lee Miller
Ever wonder when to stop making changes to your manuscript? While there's no such thing as perfect, there can be too much editing. Come learn how to recognize when your manuscript is ready for the next stages of publishing.
Large Theater Room 115
3:30pm
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3:40-4:10pm
Panelists: Andrew Maraniss, and Andrea Williams
Come learn about the power of using sports as a platform to tell broader stories about race, gender, sexuality, and politics. Attendees will hear from two writers who tell stories that transcend sports and will walk away with a new perspective on an often underestimated genre of literature.
Johnson Center Room 119
4:10pm
Mix and Mingle
Lobby closes for the day, writers head out to their
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Sign ups will be in person during the day. We will update the website with more info about the affinity groups soon.
Saturday, November 22
8:30am
Check In Opens
Johnson Center Lobby
Check in remains open all day. Coffee, tea, and water available all day.
9:40am
Keynote to be Announced
Large Theater
Signing line following presentation
10:50am
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10:50-11:20am
Panelists: Andrea Fleck-Nisbet, and Angela Engel
Have you ever wondered how to take your book from pen and paper to bookstore shelves? Learn about the process of book distribution through traditional, hybrid, and self-publishing approaches.
Johnson Center Room 119
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10:50-12:00pm
Panelists: Bryce Drew, Drew Ramsey, and Jodi Marr
Join Jodi Marr, Latin Grammy-award winning songwriter and professor of songwriting at Belmont University, Belmont Department Chair of Songwriting Drew Ramsey, and one of the program’s alumni, musician Bryce Drew, for a song critique session. Bring your lyrics or bring that melody, or bring them both—let the experts give you feedback on the spot!
Small Theater Room 114
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10:50-12:00pm
Panelists: Drew Dixon
From query letter to published book: Let’s talk about publishing from the perspectives of an editor from Dexterity and Random House Executive Editor Drew Dixon—and more to come. Come with your questions about the process!
Large Theater Room 115
11:30am
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11:30-12:00pm
Panelists: Phyllis Gobbell, and Sophie Cudd
The most powerful stories you have within you may come from your own lived moments. Discover how to transform personal experiences into compelling material, whether you’re shaping real life events into memoir or extracting emotional truths for your novel.
Johnson Center Room 119
12:00pm
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12:10-12:40pm
Panelist: Jon Meyers
When you fear you’ll never finish, when you struggle with perfectionism, when you face others voicing their doubts about you (or worse, when you stop believing in yourself), when you are afraid you’ll never find enough time – whatever you write and for however long you’ve been writing it, all creatives face similar obstacles. Jon Meyers will show you specific strategies to give yourself the grace and the space to finish what you’ve started – and you’ll leave this session motivated to try its practical applications for your newly transformed creative lifestyle.
Johnson Center Room 119
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12:10-12:40pm
Panelist: Melissa Collings
What makes a book unputdownable? This 30-minute session breaks down the key elements—emotional stakes, tension, and unanswered questions—that keep readers hooked. With real examples and actionable techniques, authors will leave with tools to craft stories that keep pages turning.
Small Theater 114
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12:10-12:40pm
Panelists: Morgan Mitchell, Mary O'Donohue, and Camille Di Maio
Networks, press kits, media pitches…oh my! Hear from the experts on how to market your book from the perspective of both a publicist and an author.
Large Theater Room 113
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Network during lunch at tables hosted by industry professionals:
12:40pm
Harrington Place Dining Hall
1:40pm
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1:40-2:50pm
Panelists: Ariel Curry, Liz Morrow, and Jonathan Merritt
What makes for a compelling, commercial book idea? Sr. Editor for Sourcebooks Ariel Curry and six-figure ghostwriter Liz Morrow share the best practices they've learned for crafting an argument that sells. They introduce six ways to find your "big idea" and simple frameworks that will make your book a must-read!
Small Theater Room 114
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1:40-2:10pm
Panelists: Lauren Thoman, Stephen Hauser, and Patricia Shanae Smith
From plot twists and red herrings to tension and pacing, come learn how to write a thriller for both book and screen. Authors Lauren Thoman and Patricia Shanae Smith, along with screenwriter Stephen Hauser will share their experiences in creating suspenseful stories.
Large Theater Room 115
2:20pm
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2:20-2:50pm
Panelists: Anne Brooks, Jonathan Merkh, and Jonathan Merritt
In this open discussion panel, writers, publishers, and tech experts will explore the rapidly evolving role of AI in the writing world. As AI tools become more accessible, writers have more opportunities to enhance their creativity, productivity, and overall writing process. But with these advancements come important questions: Does AI enhance or dilute an author’s voice? How can you keep your author voice? Can it truly replace human creativity, or is it just a tool for improvement? How can it help with the publishing process? How does the rise of AI impact the publishing industry, from acquisitions to marketing?
Classroom 119
2:50pm
Keynote to be Announced
Large Theater
3:50pm
Closing Remarks
Large Theater
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A Dolly Good Time is our annual fundraiser for Dolly’s Imagination Library. It takes place on the last day of WriterFest from 6-9pm. Buying a two day pass to WriterFest, will get you a $50 discount on your ticket, but this only applies to the first 35 purchasers. We’d love to have you come out in support of literacy, so make sure to get your ticket and use your discount while you can! Tickets to A Dolly Good Time can be found here.