Presentations for the 19th Annual Rochester Writers’ Conference
Fiction, Nonfiction, Craft, and Business Topics presented as Lectures, Workshops, and Panel Discussions. Featuring Michigan Authors, Speakers, Agents, and Educators.
- Saturday | October 17, 2026 | 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- Held in the Oakland Center at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan
Morning Keynote Address – Write Here. Write Now. – Sara Maurer
Leaning Into my Roots Defined my Voice and my Story – Most people believe that the publishing industry is focused on and operates solely in the coastal metropolitan areas like New York or Los Angeles. Sara will share how she turned being a Michigander into an asset as she wrote and sought representation for her debut novel, A Good Animal, which is set in the Upper Peninsula where she lives.
Afternoon Keynote Address – Author & Illustrator Team – Karen Bell-Brege & Darrin Brege
Write, Draw, and Laugh Through It – As a husband and wife, author and illustrator team, they create children’s picture books, chapter books, and sketch books. As a comedy team, they present to inspire, educate, and entertain. All of their presentations are high-energy and interactive. Rochester Writers is pleased to welcome back Karen and Darrin.
Literary Agent Panel
Three literary agents come together for a panel discussion on the current literary landscape, submission tips, and what agents are looking for in new writers. This session will offer practical advice for authors looking to navigate the publishing world. This panel includes a Q&A session for attendees.
- Audience: Both nonfiction and fiction writers
- Publishing Path: Traditional
- Panel Discussion: Carrie Howland, Linda S. Glaz, Alice Speilburg, and Moderated by Lisa Howard
Making The Most Of Your Book Signing
This presentation covers how to prepare for a book signing, a thorough checklist of what to bring, demonstrations of various ways to display books to maximize sales, how to engage potential customers, and ways to make a book signing a success.
- Takeaways: Attendees will be given the link to the presentation.
- Audience: Both nonfiction and fiction writers
- Publishing Path: Traditional and Indie
- Lecture and Demostration: Brenda Hasse
Write the Genre You Mean: Word Choice, Pacing, and Voice
Genre is more than plot. A thriller and a romance can share a street, a knife, or an “I love you” and still read completely differently. The difference is mostly in the words: how fast the sentence moves, which verbs you pick, what you name people and places, and how the scene feels. This talk looks at the small choices that keep a story inside its genre instead of drifting into someone else’s. We’ll walk through pacing, names, settings, clothing, and descriptive language, and leave with a short checklist writers can actually use on the next page.
- Takeaways: Genre lives in the small choices—pace, verbs, names, and tone—so write the sentence the book you meant to write would actually use.
- Audience: Fiction writers
- Publishing Path: Traditional and Indie
- Lecture: Linda S. Glaz
The Top Three Revision Techniques I Learned from My Agent and Editor
How do you bring your characters fully to life and generate an emotional response in your readers? Kristin Bartley Lenz will walk you through the two very different editing processes for her published novels. She’ll share the top three revision techniques that elevated her writing, and provide takeaway exercises to improve your craft at home. This craft lecture is for both novice and experienced writers. The primary audience is novelists, but also applicable to those writing short stories and memoir.
- Takeaways: Participants will learn a journaling prompt to deepen character development, a new and practical understanding of show don’t tell, and accountability methods that will elevate their writing.
- Audience: Primarily fiction writers
- Publishing Path: Traditional and Indie
- Lecture: Kristin Bartley Lenz
The Journey from Book to Audiobook
The Journey from Book to Audiobook will offer authors insight on how to transform their written manuscript into a compelling listening experience using a professional audiobook narrator. Authors will learn why having an audiobook can enhance sales, how to find the right narrator for their book and what costs are associated with creating a quality audiobook. Attendees will be guided through the audiobook production process: including script preparation, performance choices, recording, editing/mastering/proofing, and final delivery. The session will highlight the value of a strong author-narrator partnership. Attendees should be interested in creating an audiobook from their book using a live narrator.
- Takeaways: 1. How to engage a professional narrator and the audition process. 2. What costs are associated with creating an audiobook 3.The time commitment, skills needed and the process that narrators go through to create an audiobook.
- Audience: Both nonfiction and fiction writers
- Publishing Path: Indie
- Lecture: Rachael Doolen
Your Book Contract Is a Business Strategy: Understanding the Agreements That Shape Your Career
This presentation strips away legal jargon to reveal how traditional trade publishing agreements shape your career. By breaking contracts down into five clear pillars—Money, Rights, Control, Risk, and Time—it helps authors look beyond initial advances to protect their long-term careers. Packed with actionable advice on what to keep, negotiate, or flag as a dealbreaker, it offers a practical roadmap for safeguarding your creative work against future industry shifts, new technologies like AI, and unexpected changes in publishing. For authors who currently have a book out on submission in the hopes of seeing a contract soon, or authors who have signed book contracts in the past. This is not ideal for authors seeking assistance on other types of contracts (collaboration, film options, etc.) or authors who are still in the early writing stages of their book.
- Takeaways: A better understanding of what matters most, what can be negotiated, what questions to ask, and when to walk away from an offer.
- Audience: Both nonfiction and fiction writers
- Publishing Path: Traditional
- Lecture: Alice Speilburg
First Page Critiques
Authors may submit a print copy of the first page of their short story, memoir, or novel (maximum 242 words) at conference check-in. During the critique workshop, pages selected randomly from all of the submissions will be read aloud anonymously to the audience. A short peer review will be conducted to see the strengths and weaknesses of the first page. This presentation is open to all. Whether an author is sharing work or sharing opinions, everyone can gain insight on the importance of the first page. And more importantly, did the first page grab the readers’ attention?
- Takeaways: The importance of hooking your reader on the first page and the benefits of beta readers and peer critiques.
- Audience: Both nonfiction and fiction writers
- Publishing Path: Traditional and Indie
- Workshop: Terry Hojnacki
Self-Published Indie Author Panel
From production to promotion, our panelists will share their experiences with self-publishing, offering insights into the challenges and rewards of going independent. This panel includes a Q&A session and discusses the ins and outs of indie publishing. Indie publishing, also known as self-publishing, is when an author takes full control of the publishing process, from production to promotion, without going through a traditional publisher.
- Audience: Both nonfiction and fiction writers
- Publishing Path: Indie
- Panel Discussion: Karen Bell-Brege, Darrin Brege, and Brenda Hasse
Obstacles: Partners on the Path to Publication
Kate Crane’s debut took 18 years; Sara Maurer didn’t start writing until after a corporate career. The two debut authors discuss their nonlinear paths to becoming traditionally published authors and how they learned to make obstacles an integral part of creating the art they most wanted to make. Attendees will come away viewing obstacles as lighthouses that illuminate each step of their individual paths to writing the book that only they can write. This panel is for anyone who wants insight and support around achieving a daunting goal that excites and terrifies them at the same time.
- Takeaways: Attendees will come away with insight into the traditional publishing route; be encouraged that the first or even the 20th obstacle does not mean their book is not getting published; and will learn to see obstacles as partners on the journey.
- Audience: Both nonfiction and fiction writer
- Publishing Path: Traditional
- Panel Discussion: Sara Maurer and Kate Crane
Registration to attend the 2026 Fall Rochester Writers’ Conference includes keynote addresses, breakout sessions, coffee, snacks, lunch, and parking. Check-in will begin at 9:00 a.m. with the first session at 9:45 a.m. The conference will conclude by 5:00 p.m.
Attendees may bring a fully charged laptop or tablet. Although not necessary, a computer will enhance the experience with a hands-on feel. Use the hashtag: #RochesterWriters before, during and after the event in your posts, likes, and tweets.
Fresh hot coffee and tea available throughout the day. Light breakfast snacks and a full lunch included with registration. Please contact us if you have special dietary concerns. A charging station will be available for mobile devices in the registration area.
Attendees will be able to choose one presentation per session time at the conference. Schedule could change without notice – Rochester Writers reserves the right to add, subtract, or substitute any of the presentations and speakers. Thank you.
Please Note: All events take place in the Oakland Center of Oakland University (312 Meadow Brook Rd, Auburn Hills, MI 48326). Use the parking lot (P1) and walk East for the shortest distance into the Oakland Center. Use the Interactive Map to zoom in and view parking and building information. The Oakland Center is positioned between the parking lot and the Clock Tower. Look for Bright Yellow Signs. The Oakland Center on this Campus Map (zoom in for a better view).
