2024 Colorado Gold Writers Conference: Full Schedule

Welcome, writers! If you have any questions about the schedule or the conference at large, please refer to the conference website at rmfw.org/conference or email conference@rmfw.org.

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8:00am MDT

Scene Construction

Sunday September 29, 2024 8:00am - 8:50am MDT

Conference Room I

Scenes are the stepping stones of a story that keep the reader turning the page. A character acts and reacts to the other characters on stage, the place or the events to advance the plot and develop character. This workshop will break down all the elements needed to construct a strong scene.

Speakers

Peggy Waide

Bestselling Author

#1 Amazon bestselling author Peggy entered her first book in the Colorado Gold. The editor offered a contract. She has published four romances with Dorchester. Montlake now publishes her books. She is shopping an amateur sleuth and a romantic suspense. She’s also been a trainer... Read More →

Sunday September 29, 2024 8:00am - 8:50am MDT
Conference Room I

Conference Room I

Topic Workshop
Audience Beginner
Subject Craft
Area Hybrid

8:00am MDT

Playing God for Fun and Profit - Building Worlds your Readers will Love

Sunday September 29, 2024 8:00am - 8:50am MDT

Conference Room VII

Worlds are big, and building them can be daunting. Learn how to build a fantastic setting, whether modifying our world to include magic and dragons, building a new secondary world, or constructing an entire galaxy to explore. What pitfalls do many authors fall into, and how can one avoid them?

Speakers

Calvin Studzinski

Author

Calvin Studzinski is an award-winning aerospace engineer, amateur historian, role-playing game designer, and aspiring author. As a child, Calvin was an avid reader, consuming the works of Jules Verne and J.R.R. Tolkien with equal voracity, before reading everything he could get his... Read More →

Sunday September 29, 2024 8:00am - 8:50am MDT
Conference Room VII

Conference Room VII

Topic Workshop
Audience Beginner
Subject Genre

8:00am MDT

Horror Writing 666 (aka 101)

Sunday September 29, 2024 8:00am - 8:50am MDT

Conference Room VIII

Horror is part of our real world, make it part of your fiction. Readers love to experience dread, gore, and terror, and you can be the one to deliver it. Learn why and how to write stories that terrify!

Speakers

Angela Sylvaine

Author

Angela Sylvaine is a self-proclaimed cheerful goth who writes speculative fiction and poetry. Her debut novel, Frost Bite, a ‘90s sci-fi horror comedy, and her debut short story collection, The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls are out now. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared... Read More →

Horror Writing 666 (aka 101) Handout pdf

Sunday September 29, 2024 8:00am - 8:50am MDT
Conference Room VIII

Conference Room VIII

Topic Workshop
Audience Beginner
Subject Genre

9:00am MDT

Professional Marketing

Sunday September 29, 2024 9:00am - 9:50am MDT

Conference Room I

Many authors are new to marketing but it is an established field for other products. Oliver brings his expertise in brand marketing to show how professional techniques that are used to sell anything from concerts to perfume can work for books too.

Speakers

Oliver Blakemore

Author

Oliver has been writing novels since he was twelve. He’s written fifteen books, and two of them may even be worth reading. He spent four years as a technical writer and six years in brand marketing as a content writer. His credentials include a hard head and nine Honorable Mentions... Read More →

Sunday September 29, 2024 9:00am - 9:50am MDT
Conference Room I

Conference Room I

Topic Workshop
Audience Beginner
Subject Marketing
Area Hybrid

9:00am MDT

True Crime to Novel: Turn Headline News into Page-Turning Fiction

Sunday September 29, 2024 9:00am - 9:50am MDT

Conference Room VIII

Ever wonder how to turn an astonishing, newsworthy story into juicy crime fiction? In this workshop, we will talk about how authors turn true crime stories into fiction. Together, we will review examples of contemporary novels and the techniques authors use to make readers turn the page.

Speakers

Nanette Gamily

Author

Nanette Gamily’s debut Native American crime fiction novel, CRY FOR THE CHILD, is represented by Josh Getlzer at HG Literary. She’s an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation, a Tin House Finalist, a Regis University MFA graduate, and a guest blogger for Rocky Mountain Fiction... Read More →

Sunday September 29, 2024 9:00am - 9:50am MDT
Conference Room VIII

Conference Room VIII

Topic Workshop
Audience Beginner
Subject Genre, Craft

10:00am MDT

How to Work With an Editor

Sunday September 29, 2024 10:00am - 10:50am MDT

Conference Room II

Whether you’ve just signed with a publisher or you’re submitting to an anthology, this presentation will show you what to expect from your editor, the differences between the types of editors, and will remind you to be patient and professional through it all.

Speakers

Rachael Bush

Author

Rachael Bush published her fourth book, Love on Location, with The Wild Rose Press in 2018 under her pen name, September Roberts. As September, she writes romance that's smoking hot and always happy ever after. As Rachael, she writes the Botany for Everyone series, because everyone... Read More →

How to work with an editor handout pdf

Sunday September 29, 2024 10:00am - 10:50am MDT
Conference Room II

Conference Room II

Topic Workshop
Audience Beginner
Subject Editing, Publishing

10:00am MDT

Is That Scary? Writing Horror in 2024

Sunday September 29, 2024 10:00am - 10:50am MDT

Conference Room III

What scared people in the late 20th century was totally different than what scares most people today. Participants can expect to learn the current popular tropes of the genre, as well as how to build tension in stories meant to terrorize the reader and leave them shaken.

Speakers

Stephanie Reisner

Award-Winning Author

Stephanie Reisner makes her living as a full-time writer/publisher and is published both traditionally and independently, but with focus on her successful indie career. With four pen names, she has over 40 published novels in various genres to her credit and even more novellas and... Read More →

Sunday September 29, 2024 10:00am - 10:50am MDT
Conference Room III

Conference Room III

Topic Workshop
Audience Beginner
Subject Genre

10:00am MDT

Exoplanetary Exploration - Realistic Methods for Visiting Alien Worlds

Sunday September 29, 2024 10:00am - 10:50am MDT

Conference Room VII

Science fiction often resorts to fantastical technologies to reach other stars, but could we do it in real life? Explore the real science we would use to explore exoplanets, the dangers involved, and how the restrictions of sub-luminal space travel should inspire gripping sci-fi narratives.

Speakers

Calvin Studzinski

Author

Exoplanet Exploration pdf

Sunday September 29, 2024 10:00am - 10:50am MDT
Conference Room VII

Conference Room VII

Topic Workshop
Audience Beginner
Subject Genre

10:00am MDT

Unlocking Tween Book Marketing: Unique Tactics for Middle Grade Success

Sunday September 29, 2024 10:00am - 10:50am MDT

Conference Room VIII

Is marketing Middle Grade Books the same as for Adult Books? While many strategies overlap, there are exciting opportunities exclusive to MG Books to boost sales—and have more fun! Join me as we explore the distinctive approaches that differentiate Tween Book Marketing from its adult counterpart.

Speakers

Mariko Tatsumoto

Author

Mariko Tatsumoto emigrated from Japan at the age of eight and was detoured from her love of books by becoming the first Asian woman attorney in Colorado. But she found her way back to writing historical novels. AYUMI'S VIOLIN, her Middle Grade novel, and her YA novel, SWEPT AWAY... Read More →

Sunday September 29, 2024 10:00am - 10:50am MDT
Conference Room VIII

Conference Room VIII

Topic Workshop
Audience Beginner
Subject Genre, Marketing