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Muse & the Marketplace 2018

7:30am EDT

Registration, Hot Breakfast Buffet, Bookstore & Authors' Bazaar Browsing TBA

9:00am EDT

Welcoming Convocation + Keynote: "How to Stay a Writer" Grand Ballroom - MezzanineSonya Larson • Min Jin Lee

10:15am EDT

1A: Before You Query Agents: What Fiction Writers Should First Do Online & in Real Life Whittier Room - 4th FloorKatherine Fausset 1B: Essentials of the Young Adult NovelFULL Charles River Room - 4th FloorJennifer De Leon 1C: Navigating Your Novel’s Murky Middle Gloucester Room - 4th FloorLisa Borders 1D: How to Get Media Attention for Your Book Stuart Room - 4th FloorLynne Griffin • Katrin Schumann 1E: Making the Most of Your Writing Time Winthrop Room - 4th FloorLori Goldstein 1F: Networking for Reticent Writers Tremont Room - 4th FloorKelly J. Ford 1G: Telling a Story with Your Book Proposal White Hill Room - 4th FloorTanya McKinnon • Michelle Seaton 1H: The Blazing Thing: On Imagination in Fiction Beacon Hill Room - 4th FloorLaura van den Berg 1I: Voice in Nonfiction: What is Your Voice and How Can You Reclaim it?FULL Newbury Room - 4th FloorVanessa Martír 1J: When Your Memoir Goes Public St. James Room - 4th FloorGarrard Conley 1K: Your First 100 Words: Grounding Readers in Your Fiction Cambridge Room - 4th FloorRon MacLean 1L: Your Narrator's Time Signature: Finding the Right Tempo During Dialogue Franklin Room - 4th FloorRavi Howard

11:45am EDT

2A: A Man Walks into a...: Writing Compelling Scenes in Fiction Cambridge Room - 4th FloorBlair Hurley 2B: All-Conference Read in Fiction: PRIVATE CITIZENS by Tony Tulathimutte Emerson Room - 4th FloorHannah Tinti • Tony Tulathimutte 2C: Essentials of CharacterizationFULL Stuart Room - 4th FloorStacy Mattingly 2D: Get Your Essay Pitches Noticed Charles River Room - 4th FloorCandace McDuffie 2E: Getting Your Nonfiction Book Back on Track St. James Room - 4th FloorKatrin Schumann 2F: Novels: Writing the Opening Pages Tremont Room - 4th FloorSteve Yarbrough 2G: Politics and Prose: Tackling the Issues of Our Time Through Fiction and Narrative Nonfiction Newbury Room - 4th FloorAdam Stumacher 2H: Productive Revision, Or How to Stop Perfecting Paragraphs and Strengthen Your Story: Section A Whittier Room - 4th FloorLynne Barrett 2I: Race, Identity & Craft in Fiction and NonfictionFULL Franklin Room - 4th FloorDavid Mura 2J: Shut Up and Listen: Crafting Literary Voice from Literal Voices Cabot Room - 4th FloorXhenet Aliu 2K: Subversion: Writing YA Novels That Upend Expectations Beacon Hill Room - 4th FloorKim Savage 2L: The Dark Art of DescriptionFULL Gloucester Room - 4th FloorPatricia Hampl 2M: The 3-Step Formula for Building an Author PlatformFULL White Hill Room - 4th FloorFauzia Burke

1:00pm EDT

Lunch Break TBA

2:15pm EDT

3A: A Rockstar Editor's Perspective on RevisionFULL White Hill Room - 4th FloorPamela Dorman • Mira T. Lee • Louise Miller 3B: Dreams, Visions, and Hallucinations in Fiction Tremont Room - 4th FloorTim Weed 3C: Essentials of Submitting Your WorkFULL Beacon Hill Room - 4th FloorAngie Chatman • Marjan Kamali 3D: Getting Noticed, Read and Understood on Sensitive TopicsFULL Newbury Room - 4th FloorMary C. Curtis 3E: Hybrid Publishing: How It Works and What It's LikeFULL Emerson Room - 4th FloorJeanne Blasberg 3F: Imagining the Gaps in Memoir: How to Write a Story When the Story Runs Out Stuart Room - 4th FloorAlex Marzano-Lesnevich • Caitlin McGill 3G: Query Letter 101 Whittier Room - 4th FloorAllison Hunter • Eric Smith 3H: Keynote "Carryover" Conversation: On How to Stay a Writer Franklin Room - 4th FloorEson Kim • Min Jin Lee 3I: Saying the UnsayableFULL Cabot Room - 4th FloorBrendan Mathews 3J: Simultaneity (or Queering Time) Gloucester Room - 4th FloorPaul Lisicky 3K: When the Universal is Just Mainstream: Writing Rules That Fail Queer Authors Winthrop Room - 4th FloorMilo Todd 3L: Write in the Feels: Fictional EmotionFULL Cambridge Room - 4th FloorMia Alvar 3M: Writing the Past to Speak of the PresentFULL Charles River Room - 4th FloorGabrielle Lucille Fuentes

3:15pm EDT

Break TBA

3:45pm EDT

4A: Essentials of Humor Stuart Room - 4th FloorSteve Macone 4B: Essentials of StyleFULL Gloucester Room - 4th FloorNicole Miller 4C: Find the Skeleton of Your Story: Using Structure to Gain Propulsion Cambridge Room - 4th FloorEmily X.R. Pan 4D: Geography, Climate, Interiors, & History: Creating Rich Worlds for Memoir & EssaysFULL Beacon Hill Room - 4th FloorAlysia Abbott 4E: How to Pitch Young Adult Novels to Agents & PublishersFULL Charles River Room - 4th FloorRegina Brooks 4F: How to Write Long—But Not Long-Winded—Sentences Cabot Room - 4th FloorTim Horvath 4G: Introducing Unforgettable CharactersFULL White Hill Room - 4th FloorUrsula DeYoung 4H: Queerer Than Fiction: The Importance of Realistic, Integral LGBT Characters Winthrop Room - 4th FloorKarina van Berkum • Lisa Rosinsky 4I: Rebel, Rebel: Writing Rules that Can—and Sometimes Should—Be Broken Newbury Room - 4th FloorLisa Borders 4J: The Changing Face of Publishing: What All Authors Need to Know Whittier Room - 4th FloorApril Eberhardt 4K: Who Am I Really: Reporting the Self in Writing Tremont Room - 4th FloorAlexander Chee 4L: World Building in Historical Fiction Franklin Room - 4th FloorKim van Alkemade 4M: Writing Great Artist Statements for Fellowships, Residencies, MFA programs, & More St. James Room - 4th FloorJonathan Escoffery • Shubha Sunder

5:00pm EDT

5:30pm EDT

Shop Talk Happy Hour TBA

6:45pm EDT

Dinner Break TBA

7:00pm EDT

Spotlight: Race and Power in Boston Arlington Room - Park Plaza Hotel, Mezzanine LevelLatoyia Edwards • Andrew Ryan • Adrian Walker • Patricia Wen

7:30am EDT

Registration, Hot Breakfast Buffet, Bookstore & Authors' Bazaar Browsing TBA

9:00am EDT

Mid-Muse Keynote: "Appropriation: Uh-oh, No-no, or #Appropro?" Grand Ballroom - MezzanineCeleste Ng • Peter Ho Davies

10:30am EDT

5A: 7 Key Questions to Answer to Successfully Publish Your Nonfiction Book Beacon Hill Room - 4th FloorKatrin Schumann 5B: The Motivated Writer: Using Athletes' Techniques to Keep Yourself Going: Section A Charles River Room - 4th FloorHenriette Lazaridis 5C: Conjuring Mystery in FictionFULL Whittier Room - 4th FloorMaud Casey 5D: Don't Get Stuck in the Slush! 10 Pitfalls to Avoid When Submitting to Literary MagazinesFULL Franklin Room - 4th FloorNate Brown 5E: Essentials of Dialogue Newbury Room - 4th FloorGrace Talusan 5F: Keynote "Carryover" Conversation on Cultural AppropriationFULL Cabot Room - 4th FloorPeter Ho Davies • Celeste Ng 5G: Multilingual Writing: Code Switching and Language Games St. James Room - 4th FloorDenise Delgado 5H: Problem Solving for Novels-in-Progress Cambridge Room - 4th FloorCrystal King 5I: Query Clinic: Live Feedback on Query Letters White Hill Room - 4th FloorSorche Fairbank • Steve Macone • Ayesha Pande 5J: The Fine Art of InvestigationFULL Tremont Room - 4th FloorMichael Blanding 5K: Working with a Publicist: Understanding the Relationship and Getting the Most Out of ItFULL Stuart Room - 4th FloorSharon Bially • Taryn Roeder 5L: Writing Like a Parent, Parenting Like a Writer Winthrop Room - 4th FloorAllison Hoch 5M: Stick Figure Structure: A Quick & Easy Way to Finding Your Missing Plot Points Gloucester Room - 4th FloorHannah Tinti

11:45am EDT

Lunch Break TBA

12:45pm EDT

6A: "But You're So Inspirational!" Writing Authentically About Disability Winthrop Room - 4th FloorLydia X. Z. Brown 6B: Agents and Editors of Color Roundtable Stuart Room - 4th FloorJennifer De Leon • Patricia Engel • Christine Pride • Asata Radcliffe • Eric Smith • Jennifer Chen Tran 6C: Consider the Sentence: A Love Story Charles River Room - 4th FloorRobert Cohen 6D: First Page Clinic: Making the Most of It White Hill Room - 4th FloorMichael Borum • Elinor Lipman • Stephen McCauley • Mameve Medwed • Sebastian Stuart 6E: How to Get *Really* Personal in Your Personal Essay St. James Room - 4th FloorEthan Gilsdorf 6F: Lessons from the Novel Incubator Cambridge Room - 4th FloorMichelle Hoover 6G: Matching Your Work to Literary Magazines: What Do They *Really* Want? Franklin Room - 4th FloorJenn Scheck-Kahn 6H: Productive Revision, Or How to Stop Perfecting Paragraphs and Strengthen Your Story: Section B Newbury Room - 4th FloorLynne Barrett 6H: Productive Revision, Or How to Stop Perfecting Paragraphs and Strengthen Your Story: Section BFULL Newbury Room - 4th FloorLynne Barrett 6I: Reppin': Minority Writers on Responsibility, Hypocrisy & the Voices in Our Heads Emerson Room - 4th FloorJoe Costal 6J: Social Media Hack: Utilizing Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to Authentically Engage (But Not Annoy) Readers Beacon Hill Room - 4th FloorJenna Blum • Sara DiVello 6K: The Nonfiction Narrator Tremont Room - 4th FloorAlex Marzano-Lesnevich 6L: The Novelist as Dramatist: Action in FictionFULL Cabot Room - 4th FloorStuart Spencer 6M: Your Book Starts Here: Build a Successful Structure for Your Manuscript in Any GenreFULL Whittier Room - 4th FloorMary Carroll Moore

2:15pm EDT

Break TBA

2:45pm EDT

7A: All-Conference Read in Non-Fiction: ANIMALS STRIKE CURIOUS POSES by Elena Passarello Emerson Room - 4th FloorPagan Kennedy • Elena Passarello 7B: Dare to Break the Ultimate Writing Rule: Why "Show Don't Tell" Is a CrockFULL Whittier Room - 4th FloorSteve Almond 7C: Editing: Love It, Hate It, Just Delete It White Hill Room - 4th FloorEve Attermann • Rachel Barenbaum 7D: Learning From the (Very) Old-Timers: Modern Uses of Pre-Modern FictionFULL Winthrop Room - 4th FloorKanishk Tharoor 7E: Non-Fiction Idea ClinicFULL St. James Room - 4th FloorJessica Papin • Neal Thompson • Jennifer Chen Tran • Steve Woodward 7F: Outsider as Insider: Subverting and Resisting Cultural Expectations in Fiction Cabot Room - 4th FloorPatricia Engel 7G: The Art of Perspective Beacon Hill Room - 4th FloorChristopher Castellani 7H: The Motivated Writer: Using Athletes' Techniques to Keep Yourself Going: Section BFULL Franklin Room - 4th FloorHenriette Lazaridis 7I: The People-Pleaser's Guide to PlotFULL Newbury Room - 4th FloorDiana Renn 7J: Violent Delights & Violent Ends: What to Consider When Writing Violence in Fiction and Nonfiction Stuart Room - 4th FloorKelly J. Ford • Stephanie Gayle • Emily Ross 7K: When Do I Need An Author Website and What Belongs On It?FULL Cambridge Room - 4th FloorJen Malone 7L: Word by Word: An Exercise in Close ReadingFULL Charles River Room - 4th FloorJim Shepard • Karen Shepard

4:15pm EDT

8A: A Vampire of Your Own: Using the Personal To Write the Fantastic St. James Room - 4th FloorJohn Langan 8B: Avoiding the Common Pitfalls of Writing About Black Life Newbury Room - 4th FloorNicole Blades 8C: Beyond Conflict: Sources of Narrative Drive in Fiction White Hill Room - 4th FloorTim Weed 8D: Creating Pictures with Words: How and Why Visual Writing WorksFULL Whittier Room - 4th FloorAnnie Weatherwax 8E: Experimental Writing for Non-Experimental Writers Beacon Hill Room - 4th FloorPorochista Khakpour 8F: Indie Publishing: A Viable Path to A Full-Time Career in Writing FictionFULL Franklin Room - 4th FloorCecelia Mecca 8G: Laughing at a Funeral: Mixing Emotional Tones in WritingFULL Back Bay Room - 4th FloorE. Thomas Finan 8H: New Digital Tools for 2018: Make Your Social Media Marketing Easier and More Effective Cambridge Room - 4th FloorFauzia Burke 8I: Rage Is a Red Lesson: How to Turn Anger into Charged Prose Charles River Room - 4th FloorSteve Almond 8J: Should I Do an MFA? Winthrop Room - 4th FloorDouglas Trevor 8K: Social Justice Story TellingFULL Cabot Room - 4th FloorAlex Marzano-Lesnevich 8L: Suspense, Stakes, & Whimsy: Borrowing from Genre for Your Fiction Stuart Room - 4th FloorMichelle Hoover 8M: Writing a Winning Nonfiction Proposal Tremont Room - 4th FloorTanya McKinnon

5:15pm EDT

5:30pm EDT

Writers of Color Meet-Up Boylston Room - Mezzanine Level

7:00pm EDT

Spitballing...Returns! Boylston Room - Mezzanine LevelSari Boren • Sean Van Deuren • Ron MacLean • Quressa Robinson • Michelle Seaton • Rob Spillman

8:30am EDT

Breakfast, Bookstore and Authors' Bazaar Browsing TBA

10:00am EDT

9A: Establishing AuthorityFULL Charles River Room - 4th FloorRob Spillman 9B: Fantastic Extremes: The Environments of Speculative Fiction Winthrop Room - 4th FloorSara Rivera 9C: Literary Idol: Fiction Focus White Hill Room - 4th FloorSteve Macone • Sorche Fairbank • Kaitlyn Johnson • Rayhané Sanders • Anjali Singh 9D: Researching and Choosing Agents to QueryFULL Whittier Room - 4th FloorLouise Miller 9E: Resuscitating Your Darlings Cabot Room - 4th FloorSteven Beeber 9F: Secrets and Lies Back Bay Room - 4th FloorLynne Barrett 9G: Shaping Time in Fiction and Nonfiction Tremont Room - 4th FloorEthan Gilsdorf 9H: Structure, Risk, and Meaning in MemoirFULL Cambridge Room - 4th FloorAlex Marzano-Lesnevich 9I: The 2nd Draft: Radically Re-Imagining Your Novel Beacon Hill Room - 4th FloorMarjan Kamali 9J: Writing (and Publishing) While Jewish: The Situation in 2018 Stuart Room - 4th FloorErika Dreifus • Rachel Kadish 9K: Writing the City St. James Room - 4th FloorMira T. Lee • Val Wang 9L: Yes, You're an Expert: Op-ed Writing for Novelists and Nonfiction Writers Newbury Room - 4th FloorLinda K. Wertheimer

11:30am EDT

10A: A Trip to the Playground: How to Make Writing Fun Again Franklin Room - 4th FloorAnnie Hartnett 10B: Demystifying Publishing Deals Whittier Room - 4th FloorMarisa Corvisiero 10C: Essentials of Backstory and Flashback in FictionFULL White Hill Room - 4th FloorTim Weed 10D: How to Write an Autobiographical NovelFULL Charles River Room - 4th FloorAlexander Chee 10E: I'll Build Me a World St. James Room - 4th FloorRion Amilcar Scott 10F: Literary Idol: Non-Fiction Focus Stuart Room - 4th FloorSteve Macone • Rob Arnold • Lucy Cleland • Annie Hwang • Monica Odom 10G: Reading Across Time: Literature, Exile, Revolt Cabot Room - 4th FloorAzareen Van der Vliet Oloomi 10H: The Psychology of Character: Digging to the Heart of Motivation Cambridge Room - 4th FloorLynne Griffin 10I: The Whole Story Winthrop Room - 4th FloorMichael Lowenthal 10J: Writing and Selling the Money-Making Essay Tremont Room - 4th FloorCalvin Hennick 10K: Writing Memoir: Or, How to Take Your Most Private, Painful Story, Shape it into a Cohesive Narrative and Send it out into the World Beacon Hill Room - 4th FloorTova Mirvis 10L: You Know More Than You Think: Writing Past the Rational Newbury Room - 4th FloorTasneem Zehra Husain

1:00pm EDT

Marketplace Keynote: “Selling Out Without Selling Out” Grand Ballroom - MezzanineSorche Fairbank • Steve Almond • Jenna Blum • Alexander Chee • Mitchell Zuckoff