By Bethany Peterson/nw news editor
NW Campus English department will host the SNaP writing conference 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Feb. 5.
“Some people want to go to workshops just to play around,” said Wendi Pierce, a NW English instructor who helped coordinate the conference.
Others want to know how to navigate the publication process.
Last year’s question-and-answer panel talked through the ways to get published, creation of a sales pitch and agent selection, English professor Christine Hubbard said.
This year’s conference begins with check-in and a light breakfast at 8 a.m. in WSTU 1303-1305.
In two morning sessions, participants will choose among workshops on how to write poetry, fiction or query letters to publishers.
The groups will reconvene for a question-and-answer time with published authors including Mike Shropshire, sports writer; O.K. Carter, former Fort Worth Star-Telegram editor and current TCC board of trustees member; Chris Ford, children’s author; and Pierce, NW Campus faculty member and author of Historic Road Trips from Dallas-Fort Worth.
The day will conclude with lunch and keynote speaker Jon Keeyes, a screenwriter.
Hubbard will present one of the morning workshops on her version of “found poetry.”
“Found poetry is poetic language in things that already exist,” she said.
This usually means copying word for word an already existing source. But Hubbard takes news articles and, using only the words found in the article, rearranges them into a poetic form.
“The rules are you can’t add any words or change any words,” Hubbard said. “The poem should condense the theme of the article.”
Hubbard will walk participants through a few of her poems, then give them an article and let them experiment for themselves. At the end of the workshop, poems will be compared to see the similarities and varieties individuals created.
LeeAnn Olivier, NW English instructor, will conduct a workshop to inspire ideas for stories and poems.
“My workshop involves utilizing fairy tales, myths and folklore as a basis for the creation of contemporary poetry and prose,” she said.
All workshops and meals are free, but registration is required. Contact Pierce at wendi.pierce@tccd.edu for a complete schedule or to register for workshops and/or lunch.
