Annual Writers Conference
Columbus State will hold its 21st annual Writers Conference on Saturday, April 20
on the fourth floor of the Workforce Development Building. The event will feature
a keynote by author Agata Szczeszak-Brewer, author of The Hunger Book: A Memoir from Communist Poland, with additional workshops for writers. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. with the first session
starting at 9 a.m. Our event will feature expert writers from multiple genres and
will include a book and community resource fair.
April 20, 2024
8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Center for Workforce Development
Conference and Events Center Ballroom
FREE and open to the public
No registration required
Research in a Braided Essay
This generative workshop will examine the structure of a braided essay and let you
play with a variety of ways to include research in your own essay in ways that are
productive, creative, and surprising. Access to a laptop or phone recommended but
not required.
Ty Williams
Ty J. Williams is a poet and essayist from Columbus, Ohio. Ty is a Creative Writing graduate of The Ohio State University. His work has been published in Sonder Midwest, Black Bough Poetry, Columbus Alive, 68to05.com and more. His latest chap-zine is entitled Love in Fits & Starts: Poems about a Life of Love, released in December 2023.
Ty Williams
Maya Dixon
The comedy writing workshop for film will review brainstorming, outlines, writing and revisions. We will explore "what is funny" and how to determine if your audience will respond accordingly. Comedy writing is difficult but this workshop will demystify this style and encourage you to write more. We will focus on short films 3-6 minutes in length. This length will allow you to present your main premise but also understand effective "punchlines." Please come with ideas, questions, an open mind and your funny bone. Looking forward to you laughing with us.
Maya Dixon
Jessie Scrimager Galloway
Show and Tell:
A prompted and improvisational generative writing session focused on crafting unique
and compelling imagery using all of your senses to find unexpected metaphor and simile
anywhere. Expect three 10-minute writing exercises, the option to briefly share, and
a take-home toolkit to keep you writing and exploring.
Jessie Scrimager Galloway
Josh Brewer
In this playful, collaborative, generative workshop, we will start with a game of Exquisite Corpse and use the poems we produce as word/image banks to write either an Erasure Haibun or a Double Abecedarian--or both!
Josh Brewer
Tony Brewer
The Occasional Poem:
Poets through history have been called upon to produce an elegy or ode for a special
occasion or event, often for public performance. From epic battles and presidential
inaugurations to your best friend's wedding or grandmother’s birthday, poems that
commemorate are by their nature significant and unique. We will delve into well-known
examples and explore techniques for merging the individual voice with the public service
of producing poetry “to order.”
Tony Brewer
A.S. Green
AS will present a workshop exploring comedy and what it means to be a comedian.
A.S. Green
Travis McClerking
Good poetry, Marianna Moore says, is when poets can “strike the difficult – and paradoxical – balance between reality and the imagination.” In this workshop, we will explore the tools to measure the imaginary. At what point are we beautiful? At what point are we desired? These social constructs were at some point imagined. We will work through a series of prompts to help you craft your own criteria for such intangibles. I invite you to bring old writing to edit or new ideas to fashion as we question the social constructs that are taken for granted.
Travis McClerking
Kimberly Brazwell
Pain, Passion & Purpose: Memoir Storytelling
It is said that everyone has a voice and a story to tell. What story have you lived
that must be told? What will it take to push past discomfort and disclose the details?
How do you start the process of getting your life down on paper? And how do you legally
protect yourself if your story involves real people? This highly interactive workshop
will blend facilitated reflection exercises to (re)discover the passion points of
your narrative. Brazwell also will share examples of how to translate lived experiences
into writings to which others can read and relate.
Kimberly Brazwell