For twelve years, the Fox Cities Book Festival has been connecting writers and readers of all ages and interests, and this year the festival will take place over the week of October 7-13. Different this year compared to previous festivals, “Each day, a different Fox Cities community will become the focus of the festival with all, or most of the events taking place in one location,” states their website. This means no competing events and no rushing across the Fox Valley to get to the next event. Instead, festival attendees can sit back and relax without having to worry about too much travel time. The headliner for this year’s festival is Elizabeth Letts, “the #1 New York Times bestselling author of both historical fiction and non-fiction.” She will be at the Lawrence Memorial Chapel on October 13 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. to discuss writing her newest novel, Finding Dorothy. “This richly imagined novel tells the story behind The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the book that inspired the iconic film, through the eyes of author L. Frank Baum’s intrepid wife, Maud,” reads the book’s description. Find out more about Elizabeth Letts and her event at the Fox Cities Book Festival here. No matter what your favorite genre is or how old you are, Fox Cities Book Festival has something for you. Hone your writing skills at a workshop, enjoy a reading or performance by authors from every genre, get advice on publishing and writing craft, and attend a presentation…
The Fox Cities Book Festival is April 20-26 in Appleton, Neenah, Menasha, Kaukauna, Little Chute, and Kimberly, Wisconsin. This book festival aims to connect writers with their readers and readers with those who write the books they read. During my first week of residency in Wisconsin, I plan to partake in this celebration of books. Throughout the week authors share their works through readings, panel… [Read More]
After more than twenty years in the Ithaca area, Jill Swenson moves to Appleton, Wisconsin this month. She arrived from Athens, Georgia, in 1992 to teach at Ithaca College and stayed in 2002 when she left the golden handcuffs of tenure behind. Living off the land and off-the-grid, she and her husband raised deer, elk, and bison. When Sam Warren died in 2009, she… [Read More]
Writing is a lonely business. Sitting for hours, working and reworking the same scenes, trying your best to deal with rejection and still maintain some kind of hope… A caring partner or friend may give encouragement and support. But eventually, the hardworking writer will need more than even the most sympathetic supporter can provide. When this happens, the writer needs to set up her own… [Read More]
How can you spend your time wisely with social media? Based on current research, best practices for frequency of social media posts: Twitter – 3 times a day, or more. Facebook – 2 times per day, at most. LinkedIn – 1 time per business day. If you’re on Pinterest – 5 pins per day. Blog at least once a month, no more than once a… [Read More]
Writing Memoir: Author, Narrator, Protagonist Memoir has become nearly as popular a genre as fiction. It’s the stuff of which movies are made. Almost everyone I meet thinks they have a story worth telling. And today nearly everyone thinks they can publish their memoir. Brooke Warner, publisher of She Writes Press, recently suggested in The Huffington Post the pursuit of publication is a birthright. Finding… [Read More]



