Session Description

Fundamentals of writing speculative fiction novels and short stories. This session will cover story development, world building, and characters, for novels and short stories, as well as market selection and story submission for short stories.

George Weinstein

George Weinstein is the Executive Director of the Atlanta Writers Club and the award-winning author of eight novels. He has conducted writing workshops for nearly two decades at writing conferences and literary festivals.

Kim Conrey

Kim Conrey is the Georgia Author of the Year recipient in the romance category for Stealing Ares, traditionally published by Black Rose Writing and Losing Ares, the follow up. Her urban fantasy Nicholas Eternal was published in June 2023, and her memoir You’re Not a Murderer: You Just Have Harm OCD, which she co-wrote with her adult child, was released in October of 2023. Her work has also been published by numerous magazines and literary journals and received awards. She serves as VP of Operations for the Atlanta Writers Club and podcasts about writing with the Wild Women Who Write. She gives book marketing talks and speaks on various topics relating to writing at local and reginal writing conferences and literary festivals She is the co-author, with Roger Johns, of the quarterly column “If You Only Have An Hour: Time-Saving Tips & Tricks For Managing Your Writing Career”, which appears in Page Turner, the magazine of the Georgia Writers Museum and the Atlanta Writers Club.

Roger Johns

Roger Johns is the author of Dark River Rising and River of Secrets, from St. Martin’s Press, as well as numerous short stories published by, among others, Saturday Evening Post, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Mystery Weekly Magazine, and Black Beacon Books. He is a 2018 Georgia Author of the Year for mystery, and a two-time finalist for the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award. Since 2016, Roger has made over 140 live appearances across the country, at conferences, conventions, book stores, libraries, book clubs, corporate events, writing clubs, continuing education classes and other writing-oriented venues, as well as on podcasts, web radio, and broadcast radio. He has also made, and continues to make, frequent invited presentations on writing and career management for new authors, and his articles and essays on these topics have appeared in, among other publications, Southern Writers Magazine, Career Authors, and Southern Literary Review. He is the co-author, with Kim Conrey, of the quarterly column “If You Only Have An Hour: Time-Saving Tips & Tricks For Managing Your Writing Career”, which appears in Page Turner, the magazine of the Georgia Writers Museum and the Atlanta Writers Club.