Superstars Writing Seminars 2025: Full Schedule

9:15am MST

Making Your Scenes Three-Dimensional Through the Five Senses (Part 1)

Wednesday February 5, 2025 9:15am - 10:45am MST

(Part 1 of 2) This is an interactive workshop to deepen your scenes. You will be writing and we will review, live.

Speakers

Craig Martelle

Craig Martelle is a million-selling author of Sci-Fi and Thrillers. He runs the Successful Indie Author series of author-help videos, books, and group.

Wednesday February 5, 2025 9:15am - 10:45am MST
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Skills Day

11:00am MST

Making Your Scenes Three-Dimensional Through the Five Senses (Part 2)

Wednesday February 5, 2025 11:00am - 12:30pm MST

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(Part 2 of 2) This is an interactive workshop to deepen your scenes. You will be writing and we will review, live.

Speakers

Craig Martelle

Craig Martelle is a million-selling author of Sci-Fi and Thrillers. He runs the Successful Indie Author series of author-help videos, books, and group.

Wednesday February 5, 2025 11:00am - 12:30pm MST
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Skills Day

2:00pm MST

Top 20 Mistakes (Part 1)

Wednesday February 5, 2025 2:00pm - 3:30pm MST

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(Part 1 of 2) Joshua Essoe, a professional editor, gives an in depth look at the top 20 mistakes he sees writers most frequently making in fiction writing.

Speakers

Joshua Essoe is a full-time editor who’s edited for NYT bestsellers, like David Farland and Piers Anthony, along with hundreds of independents. His books on writing, funded in just hours on Kickstarter cover the most-common issues he sees in fiction writing. Find him teaching at... Read More →

Wednesday February 5, 2025 2:00pm - 3:30pm MST
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Skills Day

3:45pm MST

Top 20 Mistakes (Part 2)

Wednesday February 5, 2025 3:45pm - 5:15pm MST

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(Part 2 of 2) Joshua Essoe, a professional editor, gives an in depth look at the top 20 mistakes he sees writers most frequently making in fiction writing.

Speakers

Joshua Essoe

Wednesday February 5, 2025 3:45pm - 5:15pm MST
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Skills Day

9:00pm MST

Diversity Meetup

Wednesday February 5, 2025 9:00pm - 10:00pm MST

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Diversity Meetup With Jayrod Garrett

Speakers

Jayrod P. Garrett

Jayrod P. Garrett (they/them) is a storyteller with an MFA in English: Creative Writing from the UNR. They have published work with the League of Utah Writers and currently work on poetry, novels, editing, and storytelling projects. They live in northern Utah with their spouse and... Read More →

Wednesday February 5, 2025 9:00pm - 10:00pm MST
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Special Event

10:15am MST

Creating Audiobooks

Thursday February 6, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am MST

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From authors to narrators to A/V experts, our panel will talk about how to convert your stories from ready-to-read to ready-to-listen.

Speakers

Cindy Gunderson

Cindy Gunderson is a voice actress and award-winning author. Since she has commitment issues, she writes both sci-fi and fantasy, as well as contemporary romance and women's fiction under the pen name, Cynthia Gunderson.

Eric Madrid

Eric Madrid started audio engineering at a young age, pirating songs off the radio. With that ramshackle set up he recorded 1000 hours of book to tape for the Colorado deaf and blind school for his Eagle Scout project, Enharmonic studios was born. While dabbling in the touring rock... Read More →

Ray Porter

Ray Porter is a multiple award winning narrator with over 500 titles. His narration of “Project Hail Mary” garnered 2021 Audie awards for Best Science Fiction and Audiobook of the Year. In addition to being the voice of Darkseid in “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”, he can... Read More →

Jeanette Strode

During the last 8 years as COO of Shadow Alley Press, Jeanette’s learned a lot about Indie Publishing. It takes persistence, a dedicated team, and big goals and dreams. Since 2016, she’s worked with numerous authors on these exact things. Helping them to narrow down their goals... Read More →

Thursday February 6, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am MST
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Panel

11:30am MST

AMA: Book Marketing Services

Thursday February 6, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm MST

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Anything you ever wanted to know about BookFunnel, Crave Books, Bookvault, and Draft2Digital

Speakers

Damon Courtney

Damon Courtney is the creator and CEO of BookFunnel, an ebook delivery service for authors and publishers. Though he would like to be a highly successful indie author, he can only lay claim to publishing a single fantasy trilogy that he does really like, despite its lack of sales... Read More →

Kerrie Flanagan

Kerrie Flanagan, with 25+ years in publishing, is an accomplished author, consultant, and instructor. She’s written for top magazines, authored 24 books, and developed the Magazine Writing Blueprint. Kerrie supports authors through her expertise and dedication and through speaking... Read More →

Alex Smith

Alex Smith has been with Printondemand-worldwide for over 7 years during which time he has gained an in-depth knowledge of the publishing industry. This placed him in the perfect position to lead the redevelopment of the Bookvault platform. He has worked very closely with some of... Read More →

Nick Thacker

I'm a USA Today Bestselling Author, with over 40 thrillers published to my name. I run Book Career In A Year, helping authors reach the next level.

Thursday February 6, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm MST
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Panel

2:00pm MST

Collaborating with Other Writers

Thursday February 6, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm MST

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Collaborative writing can take many forms: co-writing, ghost writing, tag-teaming, mentoring, and more. Learn from industry professionals as they talk about their experiences in collaboration. Hear about the pros and cons, the highs and lows, the dangers and benefits, and find out if collaboration might be a good fit for you.

Speakers

JanaLee Brown

Jana S. Brown has been involved in publishing as an Author, Editor, Presenter, slush reader, executive secretary, and marketer for nearly 30 years. She is the acceptance editor for Book Cave and an editor and author coach specializing in self-publishing. She writes the weird and the... Read More →

Chuck Gannon

Dr. Charles E. Gannon‘s best-selling books have won the Dragon Award, the ALA Choice Award (Outstanding Book), the Compton Crook Award, and have been nominated for four Nebulas. He is best known for the Caine Riordan series of hard sf novels, which have all been national best-sellers... Read More →

James Hunter

James Hunter is a full-time Inkslinger and the bestselling author of Vigil Bound, Rogue Dungeon, Shadowcroft Academy, Discount Dan, and the litRPG epic Viridian Gate Online! In addition to writing, James also runs Shadow Alley Press, a publishing company that specializes in LitRRP... Read More →

David Weber

David Mark Weber is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1952. Weber and his wife Sharon live in Greenville, South Carolina with their three children and “a passel of dogs”.With a blue-collar, science-fiction loving father, a college... Read More →

Thursday February 6, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm MST
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Panel

3:15pm MST

Guerilla Marketing for Indies

Thursday February 6, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm MST

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Our panel of experts discusses out-of-the-box ideas for authors taking charge of their own marketing efforts.

Speakers

Dana Claire

Dana Claire, a marketing and sales expert, public speaker, and young adult author, founded The INKfluence, a specialized marketing agency for authors. The INKfluence offers special edition design & production, Kickstarter campaign management, and direct sales website build outs. Passionate... Read More →

Andrew Cobble

Andrew Cobble is an independent fantasy author, publishing as AC Cobble, and is the founder of Merrick Books, which offers crowd-funding campaign management and direct-to-consumer book distribution for projects and direct sales. As an author, he’s published 19 titles and counting... Read More →

Mark Leslie Lefebvre

Mark has worked in the book industry since 1992, published more than thirty-five books, and is a pioneer in digital publishing. Past roles include President of Canadian Booksellers Association, Director of Self-Publishing & Author Relations and Director of Business Development, and... Read More →

Jeanette Strode

Thursday February 6, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm MST
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Panel

4:30pm MST

Upmarket: Finding That Sweet Spot

Thursday February 6, 2025 4:30pm - 5:30pm MST

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Learn what upmarket fiction is, and how to talk about and pitch your stories in this highly popular genre, from our panel of experts in this space.

Speakers

Sabine Berlin

Sabine is an avid reader, writer, and editor. She has a BA in History, a Certificate of Proficiency in Editing and Document Design, and an M.Ed in Higher Education Leadership. During the day she works in higher education. At night she reads, writes, edits fiction, and watches K-dramas... Read More →

Lindsay Flanagan

Lindsay Flanagan is an award-winning editor with an MA in English and Creative Writing.Her debut novel, AnnaGrey and the Constellation, was published by Young Dragons Press in August 2023, with two more books about AnnaGrey slated for publication in 2024 and 2025.She’s edited for... Read More →

Rebecca Moesta

Rebecca Moesta (pronounced MESS-tuh) is a freelance editor, co-publisher at WordFire Press, and bestselling author. She writes SF/F and nonfiction books for writers, both solo and with her husband, Kevin J. Anderson. Her work includes novels in Star Wars, Star Trek, and Buffy the... Read More →

Kristin Nelson

Kristin established Nelson Literary Agency, LLC, in 2002 and over the last two decades, she has represented over fifty-five New York Times bestselling titles and many USA Today bestsellers. Her clients include Shelby Van Pelt, Hugh Howey, Jamie Ford, Marie Lu, Stacey Lee, Ally Carter... Read More →

Thursday February 6, 2025 4:30pm - 5:30pm MST
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Panel

8:30pm MST

Diversity Meetup

Thursday February 6, 2025 8:30pm - 10:00pm MST

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Diversity Meetup with Jayrod Garrett

Speakers

Jayrod P. Garrett

Thursday February 6, 2025 8:30pm - 10:00pm MST
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Special Event

8:45am MST

Collaborating With Experts

Friday February 7, 2025 8:45am - 9:45am MST

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Multi-genre author Jonathan Maberry and scientist Ronald Coleman chat about how they collaborate on the science aspects in some of Maberry's bestselling novels.

Speakers

Ronald Coleman

Ronald Coleman is a scientist and author from San Diego, California. He has a PhD in Biology from The Scripps Research Institute. He’s consulted as a scientist on projects for television, film, and novels. He has notably contributed to Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger novels where... Read More →

Jonathan Maberry

Jonathan Maberry is a New York Times bestselling author, 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, and comic book writer. His vampire apocalypse book series, V-WARS, was produced as a Netflix original series. He writes in multiple genres including suspense, thriller, horror, science fiction... Read More →

Friday February 7, 2025 8:45am - 9:45am MST
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Panel

10:00am MST

Using Social Media in Your Book Marketing Strategy

Friday February 7, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am MST

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Social media marketing isn't just about Facebook ads anymore. Learn from our panel of gurus about social media strategies that have worked for them or their clients.

Speakers

Z.S. Diamanti

Z.S. Diamanti is the award-winning author of the Stone & Sky series, an epic fantasy adventure and Guard in the Garden, the first book in the Fables of Finlestia cozy fantasy series. He attended college forever and has far too many pieces of paper on his wall. He’s a USAF veteran... Read More →

Cindy Gunderson

James Hunter

Lydia Sherrer

Lydia Sherrer is the award-winning and USA Today Bestselling author of the Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus universe of books which have sold over three-quarters of a million copies worldwide. She has also published the TransDimensional Hunter series with NYT bestselling author John Ringo... Read More →

Friday February 7, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am MST
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Panel

11:15am MST

Diversity and Inclusion in Publishing

Friday February 7, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm MST

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Including a wide variety of characters and viewpoints can be incredibly validating for writers and readers alike. Learn from our panel why diversity and inclusion matters.

Moderators

Jayrod P. Garrett

Speakers

Chaz Kemp

I have been a professional illustrator for 25 years and I've done hundreds of book covers, interior illustrations and posters for clients in dozens of industries. In that time, I've studied marketing, branding and business. I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge with the Superstars... Read More →

Michael La Ronn

Michael La Ronn (also known as M.L. Ronn) has published over 100 science fiction & fantasy novels and self-help books for writers.Michael also runs the award-winning YouTube channel “Author Level Up,” with over 40,000 subscribers and 2 million views. Writer’s Digest voted the... Read More →

Lisa Mangum

Lisa Mangum is the Managing Editor for Shadow Mountain. She is also the author of four national best-selling YA novels, several short stories and novellas, and the nonfiction book Write Fearless. Edit Smart. Get Published. She regularly teaches at writing conferences. She lives in... Read More →

David R. Slayton

David R. Slayton (he/him) grew up in Guthrie, Oklahoma, where finding fantasy novels was pretty challenging and finding fantasy novels with diverse characters was downright impossible. Now he writes the books he always wanted to read. His epic fantasy, Dark Moon, Shallow Sea, won... Read More →

Friday February 7, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm MST
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Panel

1:45pm MST

Live Editing and Q&A

Friday February 7, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm MST

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Editors answer all your editing questions while showing (not telling) the editing process, live.

Speakers

Joshua Essoe

Lisa Mangum

Friday February 7, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm MST
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Panel

3:00pm MST

Mystery: Keeping Readers in Suspense

Friday February 7, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm MST

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A panel of bestselling writers pick apart the puzzle of keeping readers mystified—but hooked.

Speakers

Marc Cameron

New York Times bestselling author Marc Cameron has written short fiction for The Saturday Evening Post and Boys’ Life Magazine. He’s the author of thirty books—Westerns, Jericho Quinn Thrillers, Arliss Cutter Mysteries featuring a deputy US marshal based in Alaska, and seven... Read More →

Casey Cowan

Casey brings thirty years of expertise in journalism, publishing, and design to his work as a graphic designer, reporter, and publisher. His career began with a foundation in graphic design, where his creative vision shaped countless projects across various industries. In 2013, Casey... Read More →

Laura Hayden

An early reader, Laura exhausted the children’s section of her local library by age ten. At that point, she switched to adult mysteries and science fiction and never looked back. Trained as an engineer, she continued to write “for fun” until one day, she decided to write “for... Read More →

Jonathan Maberry

Friday February 7, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm MST
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Panel

8:00pm MST

Freewriting

Friday February 7, 2025 8:00pm - 10:00pm MST

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Freewriting

Friday February 7, 2025 8:00pm - 10:00pm MST
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Special Event

8:45am MST

Masters of Publishing and Genre Fiction

Saturday February 8, 2025 8:45am - 9:45am MST

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What are the advantages of a formal graduate degree in publishing that you can’t get just from online forums and writing conferences? Kevin J. Anderson and Allyson Longueira talk about their Publishing MA degree program at Western Colorado University.

Speakers

Kevin J. Anderson

Kevin J. Anderson is one of the founders of Superstars, a #1 international bestselling author known for his work in the Dune, Star Wars, X-Files, Batman and Superman universes. He is also publisher of WordFire Press, and director of the Publishing Masters Degree program at Western... Read More →

Allyson Longueira

An award-winning writer, editor and designer, Allyson Longueira has worked in fiction andnonfiction in multiple media, including newspapers, magazines and books for twenty years. Sheholds a BA in English from Rutgers University and an MA in journalism from the prestigiousUniversity... Read More →

Johanna Parkhurst

Johanna Parkhurst is the author of multiple young adult and adult contemporary romance novels. Her most recently published ghostwritten work was a YA romance that received a Kirkus-starred review. She has been traditionally published, published by small presses, and she currently... Read More →

Saturday February 8, 2025 8:45am - 9:45am MST
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Panel

10:00am MST

Industry Tools Discussion

Saturday February 8, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am MST

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There are almost as many tools as there are published books, and finding the right one for what you need can be overwhelming. Our panel of experts discusses what's proven useful, what's new and upcoming, and how to find what you need.

Speakers

Jason Hamilton

Jason Hamilton is a mythic fantasy author, former content manager at Kindlepreneur, and now runs the largest YouTube channel about the use of AI in creative writing (The Nerdy Novelist). His Story Hacker membership (StoryHacker.ai) has helped hundreds of authors write their first... Read More →

Dave Sheets

Indie Author Book Services

Dave Sheets has spent more than 28 years in the publishing industry working with many of the top book publishers, distributors, and printers in the industry, followed by owning a publishing services company working with independent authors. He has served clients in various sales and... Read More →

Alex Smith

Saturday February 8, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am MST
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Panel

11:15am MST

How to Curate a Successful Anthology

Saturday February 8, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm MST

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Learn from our panel of expert anthology editors how to plan, curate, and launch a successful anthology, year after year.

Moderators

JanaLee Brown

Speakers

John Goodwin

John Goodwin, President Galaxy Press, has been involved with book publishing since 1986, publishing the fiction works of bestselling author L. Ron Hubbard which includes the Writers of the Future anthology. He is also host of the award-winning Writers and Illustrators of the Future... Read More →

Sam Knight

Sam Knight has worked for three different publishers, curated five anthologies, authored six children’s books, four short story collections, three novels, and over five dozen short stories, including a Planet of the Apes story and a Wayward Pines story, both co-authored with Kevin... Read More →

Jonathan Maberry

Lisa Mangum

Saturday February 8, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm MST
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Panel

1:45pm MST

Self Publishing Round Up With Industry Service Pros

Saturday February 8, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm MST

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Industry pros from The INKfluence, CraveBooks, and ProWritingAid discuss the advantages of publishing with various publishing platforms.

Speakers

Dana Claire

Kerrie Flanagan

Saturday February 8, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm MST
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Panel

3:00pm MST

Resilience for Writers

Saturday February 8, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm MST

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In our business, hard work is not always rewarded with success. We experience rejection on a regular basis, not just from publishers and editors, but also from the marketplace. Sometimes a project we love just doesn’t resonate with readers. In this panel, we’ll discuss strategies to deal with the rejections that too often come—and the slights we too often suffer.

Speakers

Joshua Essoe

Todd McCaffrey

New York Times Bestselling Author Todd J. McCaffrey has over sixty books in print including eight in the classic Dragonriders of Pern® series. He holds degrees in art and engineering, is a licensed pilot, and an Army veteran.

Rebecca Moesta

Toni Weisskopf

Toni Weisskopf is an American science fiction editor and the publisher of Baen Books. She has been nominated four times for a Hugo Award. She has won the Phoenix Award, the Rebel Award, and the Neffy Award for best editor.

Saturday February 8, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm MST
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Panel

4:15pm MST

YA/MG: How to Write and Market to Readers AND Their Guardians

Saturday February 8, 2025 4:15pm - 5:15pm MST

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Our panel of authors writing for today's youth talk about how to capture young imaginations and parental pockets.

Speakers

Sabine Berlin

Jennifer Brody

Jennifer Brody (a/k/a Vera Strange) is a Bram Stoker Award Finalist and the author of A SACRIFICE OF BLOOD & STARS, DISNEY CHILLS, THE 13TH CONTINUUM trilogy, STAR WARS: STORIES OF JEDI AND SITH, and SPECTRE DEEP 6, prompting Forbes to call her “a star in the graphic novel worl... Read More →

Lindsay Flanagan

Rebecca Moesta

Saturday February 8, 2025 4:15pm - 5:15pm MST
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Panel