Each year, writers and wordsmiths descend upon the picturesque town of Kanab, Utah, for the Kanab Writers Conference. This robust group has been meeting together annually for thirteen years. The conference began as a focused seminar known as the Writers of the Purple Sage, based on novels by Zane Grey. Over the years, it has morphed into a full-service writing conference, with offerings for the community and burgeoning authors.
The conference begins with a open-air hike on Thursday, July 28. Those who love the outdoors may find this kind of hiking to be right up their alley. Experienced leaders will take participants out on the fabulous trails around Kanab. Dinosaur tracks, ancient granaries, waterfalls, and other sites will inspire writers. Each person who participates in the hike will have the opportunity to write, in nature, and share their works with others. Families are welcome to attend this event.
Thursday evening, the conference invites members of the community to join them for their first summer read-a-long event. Chad Morris and Shelly Brown will be discussing their heartwarming book, Mustaches for Maddie at the Jacob Hamblin park. This event will feature readings from the book as well as a Q&A style discussion about the book, what inspired it, and the process of writing. You can also meet Maddie, the real-life girl the story was based on. The event begins at 6 p.m., and light refreshments will be served.
Friday morning, July 29, the conference will host a Marketing Strategies Seminar at the Kanab Center. James A. Owen, a respected traditional and indie author, will discuss using Kickstarter for marketing purposes. Other classes during this seminar include using TikTok and Instagram, as well as how to get the most out of your marketing budget. Betsy Love, Annette Lyon, and Melissa Dalton Martinez will teach. This seminar, full of awesome information for those who want to take their careers to the next level is only $40 and includes a light lunch. The doors open thirty minutes before the seminar, which is set to begin at 8 a.m.
The actual writers conference begins Friday afternoon with its opening session at 12:30 p.m. Four breakout sessions of classes will take place over the course of the afternoon followed by a dinner and publishers panel. Special guests, including Stefanie Molina, an agent with Ladderbird Literary Agency, and several small presses like Pink Umbrella Books and Immortal Works, as well as professional editors.
The conference will continue on Saturday with more five more sessions of breakout classes and a keynote address by James A. Owen during our Saturday lunch. James is founder and executive director of the art and design studio Coppervale International. He has written and illustrated two dozen StarChild comics, the award-winning Myth- World series of novels, the bestselling series The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, the inspirational nonfiction trilogy The Meditations, and more. More than a million copies of his publications are in print and are sold all over the world. He brings a wealth of information and insight to the conference.
In addition to all of these things, the conference will host a bookstore that is open to the public, pitch sessions and manuscript consultations, a writing contest, and more. Access to the regular conference sessions is only $100.
The Kanab Writers Conference is sponsored by generous grants from the Utah Humanities, the Utah Division of Museums and Art, the Kane County Office of Tourism, and other local sponsors. To find out more information about the conference, check out the affordable fees, and register for the conference, go to the website at www.kanabwritersconference. com. Registration is open now.
