The Quad-City Times - News, Sports and more from the Quad Cities region or Iowa and Illinois

You are not logged in.
Login

Log in to qctimes.com
Email:
Password:
Remember my information.
Register
Quadsville
Site Help

Collins Writers Conference will have 'more intimate' feel

Font Size:

By David Burke | Saturday, May 17, 2008 |

In its third year, the David R. Collins Writers Conference is getting bigger.

And smaller.

Because of suggestions from past attendees, the conference — June 25-27 at St. Ambrose University in Davenport — has increased the number of workshops from six or seven to 10.

But the class sizes are going to be limited to 20 people.

“It’s more or less on a first-registered, first-served basis,” said Susan Collins, co-chairman of the conference. “Some of the faculty members last year had felt the workshops had gotten just too large.

“We decided to make it a more intimate group, I guess.”

Collins is the sister-in-law of the conference’s namesake, who began the conferences in 1973 and continued them through his death in 2001. They were revived in 2006.

Several new classes have been added, some about the business side of writing, others about the craft.

“There’s a workshop on personal essays,” co-chair Rochelle Murray said. “Freelancing is always popular (as a topic), and memoir writing.”

New faculty members this year are Twila Belk, David McFarland and Joanne Wiklund. Returning are Ann Boaden, Susan Carroll, Kimberly Cates, Connie Heckert, Mark McLaughlin, Felicia Schneiderhan and Rebecca Wee.

Workshops being offered are: writing for children, creative non-fiction, personal essays, freelancing fiction, horror and science fiction, memoir writing, poetry, short fiction, popular fiction and inspirational writing.

A new workshop, “Everything You Wanted to Know About Literary Agents,” will be offered on the first night at the Midwest Writing Center in the Bucktown Center for the Arts in downtown Davenport. Featured will be Jon Ripslinger, Julie Jensen McDonald, Connie Wilson, Michael McCarty, Susan Carroll, Kimberly Cates and Leslie Thompson.

Nine of the faculty members also will offer critiques of manuscripts.

For more information, go to MidwestWritingCenter.org on the Web.

David Burke can be contacted at (563) 383-2400 or dburke@qctimes.com.

IF YOU GO

What: David R. Collins Writers Conference

When: June 25-27

Where: St. Ambrose University, Davenport

How much: $175 before June 14, or by mentioning the Quad-City Times at registration; $200 after June 14. Individual programs may be purchased on an a la carte basis

Information: (563) 324-1410 or MidwestWritingCenter.org on the Web