We're excited for our Albany Book Festival on Saturday, Sept. 21, at the University at Albany. While we're making final preparations for that fabulous all-day, in-person event, we're presenting two online workshops in advance, offered free of charge thanks to our generous sponsors.
Each one-hour workshop will be conducted on Zoom. A link to the Zoom meeting will be shared with registered participants before the workshop or click "View the Event" in your order confirmation.
What Scares You? Putting Fear on the Page to Thrill Your Readers
7 p.m. Tuesday, September 17
Terror isn't just for Stephen King. Much of your story, including setting, stakes, plot, characters and more, depends to a degree on fear. And the reasons for fear are as broad and far-reaching as fiction itself. Anything from a storm in the wilderness to a betrayal between star-crossed lovers can provoke dread…and keep readers turning pages. This interactive workshop will explore the six primary sources of fright and help you learn to tap into them to make your writing the stuff of dreams. Bad dreams, that is.
Jenny Milchman is the Mary Higgins Clark award-winning and USA Today bestselling author of five novels. Her work has been praised by the New York Times, New York Journal of Books, San Francisco Journal of Books and more; earned spots on Best Of lists including PureWow, POPSUGAR, the Strand, Suspense, and Big Thrill magazines; and received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist and Shelf Awareness. Four of her novels have been Indie Next Picks.
Jenny's short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies as well as Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and a recent piece on book touring appeared in the Agatha award winning collection Promophobia. This fall, Jenny’s new series features Arles Shepherd, a psychologist who has the power to save the most troubled and vulnerable children, but must battle demons of her own to do it, launches with Thomas & Mercer.
Jenny is a member of the Rogue Women Writers and lives in the Catskills with her family.
From Rough Draft to Pitch-Worthy: Getting Your Novel Prepared to Publish
7 p.m. Thursday, September 19
Register at https://cmwaggoner.eventbrite.com/
This workshop will take you through the process of getting the first draft of a novel ready for its close-up before you start querying agents. From figuring out whether you’ve written the book that you think you have, to re-reading a draft with a critical eye, to getting the first ten pages whipped into shape, to the basics of writing a query letter, we’ll cover what you need to know if you want to be traditionally published. We'll include time for questions and discussion, so please come prepared to participate!
C. M. Waggoner grew up in rural upstate New York, where she spent a lot of time reading fantasy novels in a swamp. She studied creative writing at SUNY Purchase and lived in China for eight years before moving to Albany, where she now lives with her husband and daughter. She is the author of Unnatural Magic and The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry.
Publishing on September 24th, 2024 is her third book, The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society, which is what happens if someone who watched Buffy the Vampire as a teen went down a Murder She Wrote-shaped wormhole mid-pandemic and spent way too much time thinking about why, exactly, an adorable little New England town would be afflicted by quite so many murders.
When she’s not writing or reading, she enjoys cooking, trying to learn how to draw, and going on extremely long walks.
Special thanks to our Albany Book Festival sponsors:
Presenting: Pernille Ægidius Dake; The Opalka Endowed Directorship; Bruce Piasecki & The Creative Force Fund; Renaissance Corporation of Albany; Times Union; University Auxiliary Services
Supporting: Doris Fischer Malesardi; Hank Greenberg, Greenberg Traurig, LLP; Ellen Jabbur; The Lasch Family; The Swyer Family Foundation
Friend: Victor A. Cardona, Esq.; Skip Casano & Bella Pipas; Curran Wealth Management; Ann & Donald Eberle; Paul and Mary Grondahl; William & Mary Jean Krackeler; Steve McKee Foundation; Betsy Lopez; Mackin & Casey, LLC; Herb and Cynthia Shultz
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