2024 Festival Workshops
Create a Comic
Kids and teens, get ready to unleash your creativity! In this one-hour workshop, you’ll learn to create your own 4-panel comics. Whether you prefer markers or digital tools, we’ve got you covered. And for those seeking inspiration, create something new by pulling a prompt from a hat.
With Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Draw Like an InvestiGator
With Pat Lewis
Information to come.
Make Your Own Zine
With Sharee Miller
Information to come.
Book clubs don't have to mean you all read the same book! Emily Kubincanek and Emily Kane started the Book Lovers Club at the Carnegie Library of Homestead to bring avid readers together and talk about their current reads. Learn how an informal club can spark reading in your library, friend group, or community!
How to Meet Other Book Lovers
With Carnegie Library of Homestead
Book Reviews 101
Have you ever been asked to review a book and then had no clue what to say about it? Whether you are simply reviewing for a friend, a book club, or posting publicly, reviewing books is something that can take practice and isn't as intuitive as we'd like. This workshop will discuss who reviews are for, how to form them, what they should contain, and offer a chance to write a review and receive feedback on it.
With Laurel Stevens
The Benefits of Book Clubs
With United Black Book Clubs of Pittsburgh
Ignite your imagination with author/illustrator Sarah McDavis and dive into the world of character development through mini-zines! (A mini-zine is a miniature magazine made out of one piece of paper.) We will explore how to build characters using real world facts, poetry, and more. Sarah will have examples with her animal characters for inspiration and mini-zine templates available. Create and capture your own characters in colorful mini-zines to take home in this workshop for kids and adults.
We will present discussions and activities about book clubs along with handouts.
Storytelling Sparks: Exploring Characters Through Mini-Zines
With Wonder Creek Media
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Successful Self-Publishing but were Afraid to Ask
Book publishing has undergone a revolution—a democratization. Doors are opening for the self-published author, and the lines between self-publishing and independent publishing are blurring while the big traditional houses struggle to keep up with the new reality. Today, self-published authors are using their impressive book sales to launch big careers without ever signing on with a commercial publisher.
This workshop, conducted by Dr. Thomas L. Costello will begin with a no-nonsense discussion on being honest about your writing skills and how to avoid making one of the worst mistakes a self-published author can make—that is, edit or regret it, which opens the doors to the actual process of successfully self-publishing a book. On our way to revealing the secrets and rules, we will share the most frequently asked questions we receive from writers, the secrets to demystifying Amazon and how to get yourself poised to ignite healthy and enduring book sales.
With Word Association Publishers
Creative Writing
With Michael Leali
Information to come.
Publishing Tabletop Roleplaying Games and You
Tabletop roleplaying games are an incredibly enriching activity and sometimes the preparations for running a campaign can be substantial—why not take that further and share these fantastic characters, worlds, and adventures with the world at large? This workshop walks through the process of preparing a TTRPG book from start to finish, including how to develop a concept into a full manuscript (with outlines and pagination), manage teams of writers, do art direction, establish unique trade dressing, crowdfunding a project, and a period for a Question and Answer session at the end. If you've ever talked about making your homebrewed setting or original RPG into a proper book while down at the gaming store then this workshop is for you!
With Mike Myler
The Editing Process Demystified
You've completed your first manuscript. Congratulations! Do you know what comes next? Editing! Freelance editor Joyce Bloemker will teach you what the different stages of editing are, how and where to find credible editors, what information to share when you reach out, and information to ask for. Finding the right editor for you and your manuscript will help you enjoy the process of making your manuscript publication-ready.
With Leg Up Book Editing
Horror Fiction in Libraries
From universities to public libraries to special collections, the process for highlighting horror in libraries is diverse and sometimes complicated. Whether it be publication avenue, subject matter, or collection restrictions, there may be roadblocks that prevent horror from having a place in the stacks. Join a team of Pittsburgh librarians with a fondness for the horror genre to hear the ways they promote horror fiction in their collections and community!
Share Your Story Writing
Have you ever read someone’s story, whether it was in a book, magazine or social media post, and felt seen or heard? What about your own story? Have your words inspired or motivated moms or made them feel like they weren’t alone? Or, maybe you always wanted to tell your truth but you weren’t sure how. If so, writing is a powerful way to express yourself and empower others. We invite you to join us for our Share Your Story Writing Workshop.
With Single Mom Defined
The Art of Grieving: How Art and Art-Making Help us Grieve and Live Our Best Lives
With Sheila K. Collins
Grieving is a life-long art we need to get good at. The arts, whether performed on our behalf, or by our own artmaking are powerful tools to help us transform the pain of loss, and together –transform ourselves, and eventually the larger world. We’ll relive the author’s journey of getting this message out there.
How to Write a Poem on Your Own Terms
Have you always wanted to write poetry but felt intimidated by its rigid guidelines? No shame here! This generative workshop will discuss the exclusionary histories and societal expectations of poetry, with a major focus on how to break them. We will explore work by Audre Lorde, Nikki Giovanni, and Chen Chen. After experimenting with a series of prompts, all writers will have the chance to share their poetry with the group. Come join us!