President's Contest winners 2014:

Walter Williams Major Work Award:

First place - Carolyn Mulford, Show Me the Murder
Second place - Leslie A. Lindsay, Speaking of Apraxia
Third place - Scott Miller, Counterfeit

"Show-Me" Best Book Award:

First place - Bill Hopkins, River Mourn
Second place - Chris Bostic, Fugitives from Northwoods
Third place - Ellen Gray Massey, Papa's Gold
Honorable mention - Carolyn Mulford, Show Me the Deadly Deer

Best Magazine Article Award:

First place - Diana West, "Hideout Heaven"
Second place - Marti Attoun, "Little Free Libraries"
Third Place - Lynn Cassity, "Finding Family in TWA Skyliner Magazine"
Honorable mention - Kyle Kapper, "A Mint Jewel Ups the Stage"

Congratulations to all entrants and winners!

Meet Us in St. Louis for the Fifty Shades of Writing Conference this Weekend

The Missouri Writers' Guild will host its 99th annual writing conference this weekend in downtown St. Louis. Special guests are Chuck Sambuchino, Mary Buckham, Margie Lawson, Matthew Frederick, and multiple agents, like Sorche Fairbanks, and editors like Danita Allen Wood.  

Check out the 2014 MWG conference faculty >>>>

The event starts Friday after lunch and run through Sunday afternoon. Full conference registration is still available online only until Saturday morning.

Even if you can't dedicate the entire weekend to the Fifty Shades of Writing Conference, its possible to still attend bits and pieces of the conference without paying the full rate. You don't have to attend the entire conference to attend Show Me Awards Banquet and the Sunday Masters classes. Tickets to those portions of the conference are sold separately. 

Show Me Awards Banquet 

CHUCK SAMBUCHINO, an editor for Writer’s Digest Books, a bestselling humor book writer, and a freelance editor, will give the keynote speech at the Show Me Awards Saturday Night Banquet. He works for Writer’s Digest Books and edits the GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS as well as the CHILDREN’S WRITER’S & ILLUSTRATOR’S MARKET. His Guide to Literary Agents Blog is one of the biggest blogs in publishing.

Saturday Night, Mr. Sambuchino's keynote is titled, ‘How to Get Published: Professional Writing Practices & What Editors Want.’ Banquet tickets are $40 for conference attendees and $45 for anyone else. 

Banquet registration can be done through the registration page, by just selecting the banquet option.

Master Classes 

Master Classes, scheduled 9 a.m. to Noon on Sunday, are available for a separate fee of $50.They offer a more in-depth study with conference faculty in a smaller class room setting. Class size is limited.

Class options are as follows:

Mary Buckham, Super Power Openings

Learn how to make your opening as strong as possible. Includes characterization (where and how you need to engage a reader with your character and how to do that); hooks (more detail than the one hour workshop; raising story questions and why this matters; Scene and Sequels; and Pacing in an opening. By learning what makes a powerful opening, a writer can expand those techniques throughout their manuscript.  

Sorche Fairbank, How to Query/Pitch/Describe/Summarize/Talk About your Book

Sometimes it feels easier to write a book than it is to effectively and confidently pitch, summarize, or talk about one. This interactive intensive session will cover how to talk (and write) about your book in one sentence, in one paragraph, and in one page. We'll go over uses for each, from logline/elevator pitches to the query synopsis and for DIY authors, book jacket descriptions, press releases, Amazon descriptions, and more.  

Margie Lawson, The EDITS System: Putting Power on the Page
The EDITS System is a tool created for writers to analyze scene components. It’s the ultimate show-don’t-tell power tool. It shows writers what’s working, what’s not working, what’s missing. Writers learn how to take a scene from the POV character’s head, to the reader’s heart.


Gina Panettieri, Brilliant Beginnings
Whether you're asked to include them with your query, or they're simply the first thing an editor or agent sees when opening your submission, your opening ten pages can make or break your submission. Most editors state they make a decision to keep reading, or not, within the first few pages of a manuscript. Make yours the very best they can be. This workshop will focus on the key elements you need to demonstrate in these opening pages, and what fatal errors you absolutely must avoid. The class will discuss winning opening lines/paragraphs, hooking the reader, pace, action, dialogue, setting the scene, making characters memorable quickly and leaving the reader wanting more.


Ken Sherman, What It Is to Be a Writer
We'll discuss your writing work habits, how you deal with yourself from day to day, how you interface with other writers who you meet in networking situations like at this conference, how you approach an agent at a party, a conference, or via an e-mail, how you make a commitment to yourself and to your book, and how you work with your agent from the time you agree to work with each other, as your agent submits you to publishers. Sometimes there's rejection, which needs to be identified in terms of the whys, and how, if necessary, you face rejection head on. This will be a seminar for open discussion, and we'll all learn from each other as personal journeys are discussed. 

Matthew Frederick, What’s the Big—or Little—Idea?
Successful nonfiction books—memoirs, travelogues, cookbooks, self-help manuals, humor books, and all the rest—are rarely published as initially conceived. Typically, the core concept must be revised, revamped, and re-centered many times before an inspired idea is found to propel the project forward. This workshop will introduce numerous strategies to help you discover, broaden, narrow, heighten, deepen, and redefine the core concept for your nonfiction project. Whether you are just beginning or are feeling mired in a long-term effort, you will leave this session with a fresh perspective on it. Bring to the workshop a project title/subtitle, one-sentence “tagline,” 200-word synopsis (such as might appear on a book jacket), outline, and any other working material.



Learn more on the Missouri Writers Guild Conference Website >>>

It's Not Too Late To Register for the Fifty Shades of Writing Conference

Late registration open through Saturday

Late registration is available for the Fifty Shades of Writing Conference this weekend at the Ramada Plaza Hotel Downtown St. Louis Convention Center. All late registrations must be completed online and paid via Paypal between now and Friday. Or, paid by cash or check at the conference.

Late registration costs:

$190 for Missouri Writers' Guild Members
$200 Chapter Members
$220 Non-Members


Registration includes all Friday and Saturday activities EXCEPT individual agent pitch sessions, the Saturday Night Banquet and Sunday Master Classes. Agent pitch sessions will only be available as space allows, for example if there are cancellations, and are not guaranteed.

Click here to register online >>> 

Regular Registration Ends Today for 2014 Missouri Writers' Guild Conference

Registration for the "Fifty Shades of Writing" Conference, organized by the Missouri Writers Guild, ends today at 9:00 CST. The 99th annual conference will take place Friday, April 11 through Saturday, April 13, 2014 at the Ramada Plaza St. Louis Convention Center in downtown St. Louis. 

The writing conference features 3 days packed with opportunities for writers to mingle with literary agents, editors and publishers along with fellow writers. Attendees, regardless of skill level, can expect to learn from expert writers, publishers and editors about the ins and outs of publishing during workshop sessions, panel discussions and master classes. 

It costs $165 for MWG members, $175 for Chapter members and $195 for General Public.  After today at 9 p.m. CST, late registration prices take effect. Registration information and payment through PayPal is available here.

Registration costs include access to the early-arrival seminar April 11 and two days of panel discussions, break-out workshops, and pitch sessions in addition to scheduled networking times and a Saturday luncheon with keynote speaker USA Today Bestselling Author Mary Buckham.

Attendees can also meet one-on-one with their choice of literary agents, magazine editors or book editors in an opportunity to pitch their completed manuscripts. 

Agents and editors planning to participate in the pitch sessions include: Literary and Film Agent Ken Sherman, of Ken Sherman & Associates; Literary Agent Laura Biagi, of Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency Inc.; Literary agent Sorche Fairbank, of Fairbank Literary Representation; Literary Agent Gina Panettieri, Talcott Notch Literary Services; Editor Danita Allen Wood, of Missouri Life Magazine; Editor Kristina Blank Makansi of Blank Slate Press; and Acquisitions Editor Claire Applewhite of Smoking Gun Publishing.

Tickets for the Saturday night Show Me Awards Banquet with keynote speaker Chuck Sambuchino, Writer’s Digest Book Editor, can be purchased for an additional $40 to conference attendees and $45 to the general public.  Also, 3-hour Master Writing Classes on Sunday morning are available for $50. Master classes offer writers opportunities to work closely with conference faculty in a classroom environment.

Additional information regarding speakers, classes or registration can be found on the Fifty Shades of Writing Conference website.

Literary Agent Gina Panettieri Answers Representation Questions for Authors

Panettieri will take pitches, present a workshop session and a master class during the Fifty Shades of Writing Conference 

Gina Panettieri is the president of Talcott Notch Literary Services, LLC, located in Milford, CT, with a satellite office outside Boston. She is a 25-year industry veteran who has worked as an agent, author, and freelance editor. Two of her more recognizable sales—BROKEN, and its sequel, TAINTED, by A.E. Rought—have been optioned by ABC Family for development as a series. Another DEAD JED by Scott Craven, was optioned by Nickelodeon for development as a movie.

Gina loves all genres of literature, from history to travel. To see the many other genres she and her agents are looking for, visit her website here.

While at the ‘Fifty Shades of Writing’ conference, Ms. Panettieri will take pitches on a first come, first serve basis throughout the day on Saturday. Also, she will be leading a breakout session entitled, “Dialogue: Using it to Your Advantage." Attendees at this session will learn how to enhance characterization, keep the pace crisp, add humor or suspense, among other things. For more details click on the link above.

Additionally, she’ll present a Sunday master class entitled, “Brilliant Beginnings.” This three-hour class will focus on the key elements you need to demonstrate in your opening pages, and the errors you absolutely must avoid.

Brian: Ms. Panettieri, thank you so much for joining our ‘Fifty Shades of Writing’ conference. When reading your bio, I see that you and I have a lot in common: books are a huge part of our lives. What was it that led you to a career as an agent, rather than taking the path like many of us book lovers, as a writer?

Nonfiction Writing According to Bestselling Author Matthew Frederick

The Missouri Writers' Guild is pleased to welcome Matthew Frederick as a speaker during the Fifty Shades of Writing Conference in St. Louis, April 11-13.

Matthew Frederick is an architect, urban designer, and bestselling author. He scouts nonfiction book projects for Fairbank Literary Representation and coaches authors on developing their nonfiction concepts. 

Mr. Frederick was an architecture columnist before authoring the bestselling 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School (MIT Press, 2007). Since then, he has developed the 101 Things I Learned book series for which he serves as editor, co-author, and illustrator. The series now has over 500,000 books in print, including titles in Business, Culinary, Fashion, Film, Law and Engineering School (Grand Central/ Hachette), and has been translated into fifteen languages. 

At the 2014 Missouri Writers’ Guild Fifty Shades of Writing’ Conference, Mr. Frederick will provide one-on-one Pitch-Practice at the Friday pre-conference and will lead two other sessions. On Saturday, his breakout session, “The Four Ps of Nonfiction—Platform, Prose, Proposal and Purpose,” will provide an overview of the unique needs of nonfiction and equip students with tools to tackle the genre. And on Sunday, his 3-hour Master Class, “What’s the Big—or Little—Idea?” will help attendees discover, broaden, narrow, heighten, and deepen their nonfiction concepts. Attendees should bring a project to the session a title/subtitle, a one-sentence “tagline,” and if possible, a 200-word synopsis.

Brian:  Mr. Frederick, thank you so much for joining us at our ‘Fifty Shades of Writing’ conference. Can you tell us a little about how you became an expert in a variety of disciplines?