Rappahannock Writers' Conference

Where Writers Grow

Saturday, November 14, 2026

8:30-4:30PM

Germanna Community College Fredericksburg Area Campus, Workforce and Technology Center

Registration opens Friday, October 2.

About Registration

Registered participants will receive reminder emails.
In-person registration does NOT have to have an email address (although they will receive no information prior to the conference or receive links to the recordings afterwards).
Virtual registration MUST provide an email address in order to receive the playlist of virtual classes on conference day, a link to the handouts, and keynote address recordings.
A URL for the Virtual Conference will be sent out the day before and day of the conference to all registrants.
Recordings of keynote addresses and virtual classes will be available for a month after the conference to virtual and in-person attendees.

Thank you to Event Sponsors

Thank you to Event Partners

Friday Night Workshops: November 13

Howell Branch, 6:00-8:00PM

An evening of pre-conference hands-on workshops with experienced authors. Registration opens Friday, October 2. See details on schedule below.

Registration limited

6:00-6:15 - Registration
6:15-7:00 - Session I
7:00-7:15 - Break/Mingle
7:15-8:00 - Session 2

Adapting Your Work for the Screen | Adam Meyer

Have you always wanted to adapt your novel for the movies or TV? What does it take to turn your story into a script that's ready to be filmed? How do you reach the right people to make your Hollywood dreams a reality? Learn more about how to adapt your work for the big or small screen with screenwriter and fiction writer Adam Meyer.

Adam has adapted screenplays based on novels by bestselling authors and also written more than two hundred hours of television for Lifetime, Discovery, National Geographic and more, including the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Made With Love.

Building an Author Platform | Laura Di Franco

Creative Writing Games | Ksenya Swinton

Slaying the Blank-Page Dragon | Rich Follett

All writers, regardless of genre, face (at one time or another) the terror of a blank page waiting expectantly for something … anything… to begin. This hands-on workshop will offer practical tips and tools for overcoming the terror of the blank page in refreshing and unexpected ways. Materials will be provided – participants only need to bring an open mind and the willingness to try new things. Useful for writers of fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, poetry, and a host of other genres.

Trim the Fat: Self-Editing for Stronger Writing | Ellie Whitney

Concise writing for good readability isn’t a result of luck; it’s a skill anyone can acquire. Learn thirteen easy ways to tighten your writing in the editing stage, including how to rework four different inefficient verb constructions, excess phrases and clauses, filler words, and repetitions. Please bring 5-10 pages of your current project for the hands-on portion of the workshop.

You Don't Say: Crafting Authentic Conversations | Bill Blume

Day-of Conference Schedule

8:15-8:45: Lobby Registration

8:45-9:00: Welcome & Conference Introduction in Sealy Auditorium

9:00-9:45: Morning Keynote in Sealy Auditorium

9:55-10:45: Class I Sessions

10:55-11:45: Class II Sessions

11:45-12:50: Lunch and Networking

1:00-1:45: Midday Address in Sealy Auditorium

1:55-2:25: Book Signing / Book Sales / Prize Drawings

2:35-3:25: Class III Sessions

3:35-4:25: Class IV Sessions

Morning Keynote Speaker

Alma Katsu: The Secret Life of Authors

Alma Katsu is the award-winning author of ten novels, her latest being Incarnate. She is best known for The Hunger, a reimagining of the story of the Donner Party, which was named by NPR as one of the 100 most loved horror stories and won the Western Heritage Award for best novel.

Her story The Wehrwolf won the 2019 Stoker award for long fiction. She also writes spy thrillers, drawing on her career in intelligence, including Red Widow (nominated for the Thriller Writers award for best novel), and The Invisible Enemy, coming spring 2027.

She has numerous works being developed for television, including Black Vault which is in pre-production with AMC Studios. She has a masters degree in fiction from the Johns Hopkins Writing Program and has been a contributing reviewer for The Washington Post. Her website is almakatsubooks.com.

Books by Alma Katsu

Midday Keynote Speaker

Donna Andrews: Motivation for the Unmotivated

Donna Andrews was born in Yorktown, Virginia, the setting of Murder with Peacocks and Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos, and now lives and works in Reston, Virginia. Probable Caws (August 2026) and Jay to the World (October 2026) are the latest in her Agatha and Anthony winning Meg Langslow series. When not writing fiction, Andrews is a self-confessed nerd, rarely found away from her computer, unless she's messing in the garden.

Website: donnaandrews.com
Facebook: donna.andrews.752

Books by Donna Andrews

In-person Class Titles & Descriptions

See the asynchronous virtual schedule of classes below this section.

Class Sessions I [9:55-10:45AM]

Query It Like A Pro | J.S. Furlong | Sealy Auditorium

Dynamic Dialogue: Tags, Beats, and Flow | Ellie Whitney | Room 105A

How to Make a Living as a Writer Without Publishing a Book | Katherine Pecka | Room 105B

Finding Your Voice: Transitioning from Technical Writing to Creative Storytelling | Isha M. Renta Lopez | Room 133

Class Sessions II [10:55-11:45AM]

Finding a Literary Agent | Jeffrey James Higgins | Sealy Auditorium

Writers publish three million books each year, making it increasingly difficult to break out, but only a tiny percentage of writers find literary representation. The average agent receives 35 queries per day. This course will teach writers the basics of writing a query letter, researching agencies, pitching, and organizing the process.

Type: Marketing, Other
Level: All Levels

Empathy, Tension, Conflict, and Suspense Presented | Judy Kelly | Room 105A

Give your character(s) more depth by bringing them to life. Make your readers empathize with your characters, feel the tension your characters feel, engage in conflict with your characters, and keep your readers in suspense.

Make your readers cry when your character(s) are sad or disappointed, smile when your characters are happy, and worry about them when they are in trouble. In this session, you will learn how to develop your characters using empathy, tension, conflict, and suspense.

We will describe each one and practice them in the session so you can use them in your present and future stories.

Type: General Craft
Level: All Levels

The Road to Commercial Publishing | Steve Watkins | Room 105B

Research Like a Detective: Finding the Story No One Else Sees | Blake Lynch | Room 133

Class Sessions III [2:35-3:25]

Next-Level Networking for Authors | Laura Di Franco | Sealy Auditorium

Great books don’t sell themselves—relationships do. In this interactive workshop, authors learn how to network with intention, ask powerful questions, and spark connections that lead to referrals, collaborations, and book sales. Walk away with a clear introduction, a possibility mindset, and a simple follow-up system that turns conversations into opportunities.

Type: Marketing
Level: Beginner (All Levels)

Write Better; Draft, Rewrite, and Edit | Austin S. Camacho | Room 105A

When people ask “How can I improve my writing”, I think of a number of fundamentals an author should consider as they write. One is that a writer's focus will change based on where they are in the process.

Your process for writing a first draft is different from rewriting or editing a work. Austin will show you what you should focus on at each stage.

Type: Advanced Craft
Level: Intermediate

Printing Your Book With IngramSpark | Brian Paone | Room 105B

Top Five Musts for Writing Young Adult | S.C. Megale | Room 133

You don't need to be a young adult to write Young Adult. But if you want to enter this genre, you better do your homework. This class, taught by a traditionally-published Young Adult author, will go over the top five ingredients required for believable, successful YA stories.

They may not be what you think they are. Learn why adult characters are just as important as teenage characters in the genre, how to tackle everyday tech like texting and video games, how to master YA romance, and much more. There's a reason YA creates such insatiable fandoms. Now is your chance to get in on it.

Type: General Craft
Level: All Levels

Class Sessions IV [3:35-4:25]

AI & Writers - the Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship | David Holtzman | Sealy Auditorium

Writing LGBTQ+ Characters | Ksenya Swinton | Room 105A

Learn more about how to include LGBTQ+ characters in your stories, and how to write them well. This class will cover how to write queer relationships, coming outs, queercoding vs writing queer characters, explore the pitfalls of queerbaiting and stereotyping, incorporating diversity in a respectful manner, and how to get more acquainted with writing for a new and more inclusive age.

This will be a look into both good examples and bad examples of LGBTQ+ characters written by other authors, and we will analyze them together as a class. This class will be a safe space for all writers and will keep a positive outlook on the community as a whole.

Type: Genre Specific
Level: All Levels

Red Flags & Green Lights: Signs Your Manuscript Is — Or Isn't — Ready for a Professional Editor | Deborah Hawkins | Room 105B

Writing and Selling Short Fiction | Adam Meyer | Room 133

How do you tell a good story in a handful of pages? Where do you find ideas and how do you develop characters? And how do you break into the short fiction market?

Learn all the in's and out's of writing short in this comprehensive class taught by an award-winning short fiction writer, who has edited anthologies and sold more than fifty short stories. including several Year's Best collections.

Type: General Craft
Level: All Levels

Asynchronous Virtual Schedule

Links will be sent out to registrants the day before the conference or at registration on the day of the conference.

Writing a Series: What to Do When the End is Really the Beginning | Traci Hunter Abramson

Is your story idea ready to expand beyond a single novel? Are your characters reluctant to live happily ever after even though the last page has been turned? Or do you already have a series plotted out in your mind?

This class will delve into the different types of series, explore the challenges of marketing a multi-volume work, and discuss how to make sure your readers are anxiously awaiting the next volume.

Type: General Craft, Advanced Craft
Level: All Levels

The Audiobook Road Map: Publishing with ACX and Findaway Voices | Dee Armstrong

Audiobooks are one of the fastest-growing formats in publishing and your book deserves to be heard.

In this session, author Dee Armstrong walks you through the complete audiobook production process using ACX and INaudio/Spotify (formerly Findaway Voices), from selecting the right narrator to making the exclusive versus wide distribution decision.

Whether you're brand new to audio publishing or ready to take a second look at your options, you'll leave with a clear understanding of the process, a practical pre-production checklist, and the confidence to move forward. No prior experience required.

Type: General Craft
Level: All Levels

Platform Building | Lonesome B. Augustine

Your Stories to Tell: The Art and Craft of Memoir | Peter Bacho

How to Create a Compelling Character in Your First Pages | Sian Bessey

How to Kill: 101 | S.C. Megale

They say when in doubt, kill a character. Death isn't a one-stop-shop to reviving your story, however. Character deaths risk frustrating the reader, coming off as corny, or being overall less impactful than the author intended. This class will teach you when to employ death in your story, and what to avoid when killing off a character.

Attendees will examine both effective and ineffective examples of character death in well-known literature and learn how to kill creatively, impactfully, and purposefully.

Type: General Craft
Level: All Levels

10 Ways to Marketing Your Book | Marilynn Deane Mendell

How to Make a Living as a Writer Without Publishing a Book | Katherine Pecka

Get to Know the Authors

Get to know the authors presenting at the Rappahannock Writers' Conference. You can use the widget, or click here to download the .PDF.

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Rappahannock Writers' Conference

Where Writers Grow

Saturday, November 14, 2026

8:30-4:30PM

Germanna Community College Fredericksburg Area Campus, Workforce and Technology Center

Registration opens Friday, October 2.

Thank you to Event Sponsors

Thank you to Event Partners

Friday Night Workshops: November 13

Howell Branch, 6:00-8:00PM

An evening of pre-conference hands-on workshops with experienced authors. Registration opens Friday, October 2. See details on schedule below.

Day-of Conference Schedule

Morning Keynote Speaker

Alma Katsu: The Secret Life of Authors

Books by Alma Katsu

Midday Keynote Speaker

Donna Andrews: Motivation for the Unmotivated

Books by Donna Andrews

In-person Class Titles & Descriptions

Class Sessions I [9:55-10:45AM]

Class Sessions II [10:55-11:45AM]

Class Sessions III [2:35-3:25]

Class Sessions IV [3:35-4:25]

Asynchronous Virtual Schedule

Get to Know the Authors

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