Classes, Workshops & Retreats for Winter 2022
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December 21, 2021

In an effort to create more opportunities to work with writers, Swenson Book Development LLC will begin to offer virtual classes, workshop, and retreats in January 2022. All sessions will be held via Zoom and documents will be shared using Google Drive. If you are interested in registering for a class, workshop or retreat, please email Jill at Swenbooks dot com by January 3, 2022…. [Read More]

Red Shoes Writing Retreat on Lake of the Woods
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May 11, 2021

Red Shoes Writing Retreat on Lake of the Woods will inspire your creative writing in a place where the natural landscape and local culture offer both stimulation and serenity. We’ll gather from September 26-October 2 to write, relax, and explore the art, history, and culture of the Lake of the Woods area in northern Minnesota. Ride a tandem bike, take a boat ride, taste walleye,… [Read More]

The Immediate Future is Virtual
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October 13, 2020

Publishing, overall, is an industry that pivoted fairly quickly and easily to conducting business during a global pandemic. Despite postponing the release of some books and a logjam at printing presses, publishing is doing business much as usual. Acquisition editors are interested in new book projects. Book sales have been brisk, even with bookstores mostly closed. For many writers and editors, working remotely is nothing… [Read More]

UntitledTown 2019 Has Something for YOU!
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April 16, 2019

Spring is arriving, and that means Green Bay’s annual UntitledTown Book and Author Festival, now in its third year, is just around the corner. Sporting 100+ free literary events in downtown Green Bay, including readings, discussions, panels, workshops, and other events of interest to writers and readers, UntitledTown celebrates “all aspects of book culture.” With events for people of all ages, interests, and walks of… [Read More]

NaNoWriMo and Your Local Community
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November 13, 2018

While it is true that finishing the first draft of a novel is just one small step on the staircase towards publication, it also a tremendous accomplishment. It takes dedication, and even more so when the goal is to finish a 50,000-word novel draft in just one month, as many do by participating in National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo happens every November and has participants… [Read More]

2017 Novel-in-Progress Bookcamp May 7-13, 2017
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March 14, 2017

What’s bookcamp? Think boot-camp for your book. Spend six days in an intensive program to help you finish a manuscript worthy of publication and figure out how to pitch it to win a successful publishing deal. Dave Rank, past president of the Wisconsin Writers Association, is the host and director of Bookcamp which he established four years ago to attract and encourage emerging novelists. Last… [Read More]

The Lakefly Writers Conference
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May 17, 2016

This past Saturday, May 14, Jill Swenson and I attended the Lakefly Writers Conference in Oshkosh, WI. This was my first time attending a literary conference and I experienced the joy of participating in a community of Wisconsin writers. Sponsored by the Friends of the Oshkosh Public Library, the Lakefly Writers Conference is named after the insects which annually appear briefly in early May along… [Read More]

How the Iowa Summer Writing Festival can boost your creativity
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March 29, 2016

Each summer, the University of Iowa offers dozens of writing workshops open to writers at any level through its Iowa Summer Writing Festival — this year in its 30th year. The university, of course, is known for housing the nation’s premier MFA program in creative writing. The summer festival brings some of the same top-notch literary talent to the table, offering a taste of that… [Read More]

A Tuscany writing retreat: The magic of manifestation
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February 16, 2016

Sometimes you just know when something is right. A combination of factors led me to sign up for my first writing retreat and it started with an email from a classmate of mine. Launched by Dulcie Witman and Regina Tingle, both MFA graduates of Goddard College, the retreat Wide Open Writing brings together creative people at a farmhouse in Tuscany. It was easy to say… [Read More]

Going Public
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January 19, 2016

I drive my 87-year old father to his memoir writing group every other week, where he meets with 8-10 peers to discuss short vignettes they have written. Each of them takes a turn having their piece of writing “critiqued” by the others. He’s been in this group for seven or eight years, and has written more than 117 stories about his life. I usually wait… [Read More]