1455 Summer Literary Festival - 2nd Annual - Friday, Track 1

July 17 - Track 1 - Agenda

Inspiration & Advocacy

9:00 AM
Building Your Author Platform 101

Speaker(s):
Bethanne Patrick

Whether you're still writing your first draft or nervously awaiting your publication date, as an author you're expected to have a "platform." What does that mean, why does it matter, and how do you build one? Join author and social-media expert Bethanne Patrick (AKA @TheBookMaven) in a workshop to help you understand what publishers expect--but even more important, what can help you regardless of how you choose to publish. No tweeting necessary, but there will be a discussion about the pleasures and perils of social media.

10:30 AM
Cultivating a Daily Writing Practice

Speaker(s):
Justin Ahren

How do we make writing a habit? Justen Ahren will lead this hour-long workshop on the benefits of a devoted writing practice. This unique approach offers practical steps for building the writing life you want—one that sustains and nourishes you, filling you with a feeling of creative abundance.

12:00 PM
The Publishing Industry in 2020: What Writers Need to Know

Speaker(s):
Jane Friedman

Right now, like every other area of the economy, the book publishing industry is under tremendous strain and it's not possible or desirable to proceed business as usual. Nobody will go unaffected—not authors, editors, agents, or booksellers. Jane discusses the big-picture changes still unfolding, the questions it raises for writers, and what to expect in the new environment.

1:00 PM
Meditation & Creativity Workshop

Speaker(s):
Zia Wesley

As a writer, do you have the tools to ensure you never become stuck or blocked? We’ve all experienced moments (days or weeks) of being unable to write productively. This simple meditation practice will give you a quick and easy way to get unstuck at anytime, anywhere. It is also useful for quieting your mind in order to focus. When used during the process of developing characters, it can bring deep insights into their motivations and psyches. Based on the classic Buddhist practice of Vipassana meditation or mindfulness practice, when applied to writing, I find it to be revelatory. No prior meditation experience is needed!

2:30 PM
Intro to Improv for Writers

Speaker(s):
Carole Douglis

The workshop is designed to positive, fun and transformative. Friendly and non-judgmental, the class introduces participants to improv skills that are vital to writing (as well as the rest of life). Through simple, fun games and exercises, participants will get:

· Why creativity is natural and easy (It’s just been educated out of us)

· How to silence our inner nag so we can explore and create

· The difference saying Yes makes—and why we’re mostly trained to say No. This translates directly to characters in creative writing. Oh, and just about everything in life.

· How to think of “conflict” differently than writers are usually taught…and why the improv concept of conflict is so much more interesting

4:00 PM
Writing from Within: Purpose, Passion, Hope and Wholeness with Charles Barrett

Speaker(s):
Charles Barrett

For many writers, one of the most daunting parts of the creative process is deciding what to write about.  Although not formally trained as a writer, Charles Barrett has published numerous articles in a variety of outlets, including peer-reviewed journals, state and national professional publications, and Ebony magazine.  Coupled with providing tips to help participants identify their purpose and passion, this interactive session will also offer practical strategies for developing social media content that is meaningful to specific audiences based on his work as a school psychologist and educator.  Suggestions for turning content into publishable products will also be discussed.

5:30 PM
Black Ladies Brunch Collective

Speaker(s):
Teri Ellen Cross Davis, Saida Agostini,
Katy Richey

Join Saida Agostini, Teri Ellen Cross Davis, and Katy Richey, three members of the Black Ladies Brunch Collective (BLBC) as they read work from their anthology “Not Without Our Laughter: poems of humor, joy, and sexuality.” The poets will explore how the anthology plumbs Black women’s imaginations and creates a framework leaning toward liberation. The women of BLBC believe that even in these currently tense racial times, laughter and the celebration of life is crucial. Black women will no longer wait for nuanced representations. We demand, as audre lorde does in “Coal,” that you take our words “for jewel in your open light.”

The Black Ladies Brunch Collective (BLBC) was founded in 2014 in Washington, D.C. as a group of Black women poets whose aim is to lift up, promote and inspire the voices of black women—who have been, as a population, historically marginalized and silenced by economics, respectability politics, and violence. BLBC recognizes the artistic work of black women, and encourages and fosters collaboration between them. The group serves the whole artistic community but specifically aims to inspire under-privileged/under-represented/women of color.

6:30 PM
The Untethered by Aguas Arts Ink

Speaker(s):
Francis Tanglao-Aguas

Curated by Francis Tanglao Aguas, this is a collection of spoken word and monodrama from Black writers and actors from Virginia. The piece explores the diverse experiences of African American theatre artists in their quest to carve out their own space in the creative landscape of the American South.

8:00 PM
Inspiration Information: A #BLM Reading & Discussion

Speaker(s):
T.J. Anderson III, Tara Campbell, S.A. Cosby, D. Nolan Jefferson, Julia Mallory,
E. Ethelbert Miller, Deesha Philyaw, Monica Prince, Ayana Reed,
Valencia Robin, and Sarah Trembath.

1455 is honored to present a special reading that addresses and interrogates multiple aspects of the #BLM (Black Lives Matter) movement. The national dialogue, such as it is, tends to be dominated by journalists and politicians, and there’s a predictable, numbing monotony to so many of these takes, from woke to jokes. As always, for authentic insights we can—and should—shun the talking heads and turn to those using creativity to speak their own truths while bearing witness for those otherwise silenced or unable to account for themselves. The most crucial currency of Art is Truth, and this session, featuring a variety of exceptional poets and prose writers, will provide a necessary burst of insight and inspiration. Silence is never an option where justice is involved, and right now in America and around the world, some of the most important voices are the ones telling us what we must and, in some cases, may not want to hear. Prepare to be enlightened and inspired.