After the success of the inaugural Ridgefield Writers Conference in 2013, the conference is expanding.
It begins Friday evening, Sept. 26, and continues all day Saturday, Sept. 27, with its new sponsor and venue, the new Ridgefield Library.
The conference is patterned after the workshop model of the master of fine arts in creative writing.
This year’s Saturday morning keynote speaker is Dani Shapiro, author of the memoirs Devotion and Slow Motion and five novels, including Black & White and Family History. The Friday evening readings, which are free and open to the public, include Shamus Award-winning Ridgefield author Peter Spiegelman, and a wine-and-cheese networking reception hosted by the Ridgefield Library.
In addition to a new master class in short and long fiction with acclaimed author Michael White, the Saturday workshops feature fiction with award-winning author Chris Belden, creative nonfiction with noted author and novelist Pete Nelson, young adult fiction with author Steve Otfinoski, and poetry with professor and former Crazyhorse editor in chief Carol Ann Davis.
This year’s conference again features morning and afternoon panels with literary agents, editors and publishers, spanning book publishing, literary magazines and other media. The panels are moderated by award-winning editor and author Adele Annesi.
The conference concludes on Saturday afternoon with a reading by conference faculty that is free and open to the public.
Books on the Common will sponsor a book table with works by conference faculty and coordinators.
The Ridgefield Writers Conference runs from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27.
The event was founded and created by Adele Annesi and Word for Words LLC, and by Ridgefield-based author Chris Belden and media coordinator and writer Rebecca Dimyan.
Visit the new conference website at ridgefieldwritersconference.blogspot.com for registration and updates to the panels and workshop, or contact Adele Annesi at a.annesi@sbcglobal.net or at 203-894-1908.