Pen in Hand Mini-Conference
Saturday, October 9th
Location
Midwest Writing Center
Bucktown Center (3rd floor)
225 E. 2nd St.
Davenport, Iowa  52801
563-324-1410   

Pen-in-Hand Workshop Tuition

1 Workshop $20.00 2 Workshops $40.00 All 4 Adult Workshops $60.00

Workshop(s) You Wish to Attend

8:30  - 10:15 a.m.                   

Literature Detectives-Research for Fiction with Ellen Tsagaris

Students will explore research, validation and documentation techniques for fiction writing. Students will also

receive a research/book guide compiled by the instructor and will observe how to compile portable research files

using binders, accordion files, flash drives, and/or index cards. We will examine a variety of research

sources, including contemporary literature showing history, literary criticism, modern historical fiction

and the research sources for it, studying and collecting artifacts, Internet research [online journals,

library catalogs, web museums, periodicals on line, Library of Congress, search Engines, Amazon, 

Databases, Internet directories and government websites, genealogy sites].   The instructor, who is

published in several genres, will share her expertise of thirty years of research.  While the class is intended for

fiction writers, all writers could benefit from the experience. There will be other handouts and materials provided as well.

10:15 – 10:30 a.m. 

BREAK

10:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.  

The Origins of Stories with David McFarland

There is a wellspring of stories within everyone, and how to tap into that source is often overlooked by people writing stories.

While current events and local stories in the news often can get us going, more often there are stories closer to hand. We will

examine sources and how to unlock that storehouse.

 
12:15 – 1:15 p.m.                   

LUNCH (on your own)

1:15 – 3:00 p.m.                     

1:15 – 3:00 p.m.

Click here for youth scholarship form

3:00 – 3:15 p.m.                     

BREAK

3:15 – 5:00 p.m.                    

Register by September 30 

for an early bird discount:

$20 per, or $60 for

all four workshops.

After September 30

the fee is $25 per, or $75

for all four workshops.

Extra goodies
With your registration, you’ll receive light refreshments, free parking and a great learning experience.

To register
Call 563-324-1410 or email mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org 

Pen-in-Hand Faculty Bios
 

Ryan Collins is the author of a chapbook, COMPLICATED WEATHER (Rocktown Press 2009).  His poems have
appeared in many journals and magazines, most recently GREATCOAT, SENTENCE, and THIRD COAST. He
has lead writing workshops for Quad City Arts, the Moline and Bettendorf Public Libraries, and the Midwest Writing
Center.  In October 2009, he served as the Quad City Arts Poet-in-Residence.  He lives in Rock Island, IL.

David Alexander McFarland has been writing stories for more than thirty years, publishing internationally in such journals

as Southern Literary Review, Stories, Sleeping Fish, and in online magazines such as Slow Trains and The Paumanok Review.

He has an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers Workshop and has taught composition and literature at Scott Community

College, Black Hawk College and Augustana College.

Ellen M. Tsagaris, “Dr. Ellen,” received her Ph.D. in Modern British Literature from Southern Illinois University at

Carbondale.  She holds an M.A. in English and a J.D. from the University of Iowa, and received her B.A. in English

and Spanish from Augustana College.  She has taught at Southern, Augustana, Black Hawk College, St. Ambrose,

CommUniversity and Marycrest International University.  Currently, she is teachers at a small university in Davenport,

IA..  She has also written about and published a book on British writer Barbara Pym, articles about Virginia Woolf,

Anne Rice, antiques, law, and Victorian domestic life.  Her other interests include pets, collectibles, needlework, history,

and the piano.  Current writing projects include novels based in the American Southwest of the 19^th century and the

English Renaissance, a textbook on the death penalty on popular culture, a bibliography of doll and toy sources, and

a book on the history of dolls, a poetry collection, and a book about metal dolls and automatons.

 
Click here for registration form.

Conference is sponsored by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.