WWA Fall Conference Speaker Lineup
| Name | Session Title | Bio | |
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Ronnie Hess | How a Fiction Writer Becomes a Poet | |
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Maggie Smith | Creating Your Book Marketing Plan | In a career that’s included work as a journalist, a psychologist, and the founder of a national art consulting company, Maggie Smith added novelist to her resume in 2022 with her debut, Truth and Other Lies. Her second novel, Blindspot, published May 2024. Maggie hosts the weekly podcast Hear Us Roar, interviewing debut authors about their novel and their path to publication. She blogs monthly on Substack and is a a board member of Novel Book Camp and Chicago Writers Association, where she serves as Managing Editor of their Write City Magazine. She lives in Milwaukee. |
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Kristin Oakley | Creating Your Book Marketing Plan | Kristin A. Oakley is the author of two award-winning suspense thrillers, Carpe Diem, Illinois and God on Mayhem Street, and her award-winning young adult dystopian series, The Devil Particle. She teaches writing workshops, critiques manuscripts, and has helped writers hone their pitches UW-Madison’s Writers’ Institute. She was the managing editor of the Chicago Writers Association’s online magazine and journal and serves on the Wisconsin Writers Association Educational Committee. |
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James Salimas | The Art of Observation | |
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Dave Rank | Horror Writers Panel | Published author, editor, and recovering journalist David J. Rank is director of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Novel Bookcamp educational programs he founded in 2014. His more than 35 dark fiction short stories have been published in regional publications, online magazines, and six anthologies. A member of the Horror Writers Association and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, he organized the HWA-Wisconsin (USA) Chapter in 2018. Oh, he also reports on what he sees in the deepest shadows. |
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Jessica Drake-Thomas | Horror Writers Panel | Jessica Drake-Thomas is a Bram Stoker Award nominated novelist and an Elgin Award nominated poet. She's the author of two poetry collections, Burials and Bad Omens, as well as the novel, Hollow Girls. She is a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. She lives in Milwaukee with Nick and their two dogs, Poppy and Potato. |
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Nora Peevy | Horror Writers Panel | Nora B. Peevy is a submissions reader for JournalStone/Trepidatio Publishing and a reviewer for Hellnotes. Ms. Peevy is a syndicate author for Thrill Ride eZine. She is an editor for Baynam Books Press and is a narrator of their podcast, The Midnight Manuscripts. For the Sake of Brigid, her first novelette came out on May 24, 2024, and her first short story collection was published in August 2025 from JournalStone/Trepidatio. Her debut novel, Flesh-Eating Turtles! was published in June 2025 by The Evil Cookie Publishing. She also reads scripts for The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival. |
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TK Sheffield | From Loglines to Less Stress | TK Sheffield writes books and screenplays for readers to laugh and escape. Her series, The Backyard Model Mysteries—"The Devil Wears Prada" meets a Wisconsin supper club—has earned an IBPA Humor medal and awards from Killer Nashville, IPPY, and Eric Hoffer. A UW-Madison and Mount Mary University graduate, TK serves on the Wisconsin Writers Association board and is a member of Blackbird Writers and SCBWI. Her comedy screenplays have earned accolades from the Beyond Entertainment, Houston, Austin, and Madison Film Festivals, among others. She teaches classes about writing loglines, a skill she describes as “premise meets punchline.” |
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Larry F Sommers | A Bulletproof Beginning | Larry F. Sommers is a writer who seeks new meanings in our common past. His historical epic, The Price of Passage, was published this year, and Izzy Strikes Gold!, a middle-grade coming-of-age novel, in 2024—both by Three Towers Press. A short story, “The Particle Theory,” appeared in the March 2025 Creative Wisconsin; other short stories have appeared online in Well Read magazine and The Saturday Evening Post. He has also written ten unproduced screenplays and posts a weekly blog praised by Laurie Scheer as “one of the best writer’s blogs on the planet.” |
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Pamela Fullerton | Presenting Your Piece with Panache | Pamela J.A. Fullerton was born and raised in Wisconsin, one of 16 siblings, all Preachers’ Kids. She earned BS and Law degrees. She pursued careers in Human Resources, Educational Administration, and Law. In her first literary competition she won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the Jade Ring Contest. WWA Press published her Anthology, RED ROAD REDEMPTION (2023) and TALES of a PREACHER”S BROOD (2025). She breeds performance Turbo and Arabian horses. An engaging speaker and storyteller, she writes about those things that allow us as human beings the great privilege of dreams, laughter…or tears. |
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Susan Reetz | Prompting Your Muse | Susan Reetz is a published author, writer for hire, and independent media producer. She is the author of a children’s book (The Hero’s Feet) and a collection of poetry and flash fiction (Elemental), and has had work published in Barney Street, Creative Wisconsin Magazine, Fiction 365, Fox Cry Review, Landward, Ms. Adventure, Mush and The City Pages. She has also written, directed and produced several award-winning documentaries. Her current documentary project, Honor in the Air, is about Captain Scott R. Alwin, a Vietnam War hero from Wisconsin. More at ClearFocus.Media. |
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Katie Venit | Tale of Two Picture Books | Originally from Maryland, Katie Venit is the author of picture books and middle grade graphic novels, including Forts and Cassini’s Mission: A Spacecraft, a Tiny Moon, and the Search for Life Beyond Earth. She lives in Eau Claire with her family. |
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Sarah Tilton, writing as Sierra Wildheart | Trad Publishing or Going It Alone? There's Another Choice | Serra Wildheart is the author of the Legends of Star Junction series (magical realism for grown-ups) and the soon to be released Rebel Dog and the Lucy & Fizzy Adventure Dogs series for kids. Author, reader, dog mom, nature lover, hiker, wine enthusiast, baker and cook. Traveler. In 2023 — inspired and a little ticked off — she co-founded Scribe Hive Publishing LLC with her writing group. They now have 6 published authors and a dozen books. Wildheart loves hanging out with her dogs and DogDad and believes that playfulness is an essential life skill. Love. Laugh. Play. Dream. |
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Glenn Schmidt | Spinning Your Travel Writing into Gold | A lifetime traveler, Glenn Schmidt has written many articles for a variety of publications, including International Travel News. Henschel Books (Milwaukee) published his first book last year: Travel Lessons: Your personal guide to better travel. He spent nine years as Managing Editor of Union Labor News in Madison. He was a public school teacher in Sun Prairie and a labor leader with the National Education Association. He is writing this from a villa overlooking Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. Ciao. |
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Jennifer Tucker | Writing with AI | Jennifer Tucker, a Wisconsin-based writer and communications strategist, helps organizations and individuals craft narratives that drive engagement, growth, and clarity. With deep experience in thought leadership and content development, Jennifer combines creativity with strategic insight to help people connect more meaningfully. A self-taught AI enthusiast, she’s seen firsthand how generative tools can enhance productivity, creativity, and impact—without sacrificing authenticity. |
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Jason Tanamor | Scene By Scene | Jason Tanamor is a Filipino-American writer and author. Named as one of the “5 Best Modern Filipino Writers” by Pinas Global Newspaper and listed as one of Positively Filipino's “Fil-Ams Among the Remarkable and Famous,” Tanamor is the acclaimed author of the Filipino themed novels "Vampires of Portlandia," "Love, Dance & Egg Rolls," and "The Legend of Sensei Tsinelas." He was nominated for the 2024 UCLAx Allegra Johnson Literary Prize and the 2024 UCLAx James Kirkwood Prize, and he has been featured in several Filipino publications like Esquire Philippines, CNN Philippines, Filipino Daily Inquirer, and Asian Journal. |
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Robb Grindstaff | Create a Story in Your Reader's Mind | Robb Grindstaff’s journalism career took him from small towns in the south to Washington DC, five years in Tokyo, and nine years in Wisconsin. He has five novels and a short story collection published with a small press. He has edited more than 200 manuscripts, including clients who are traditionally published, bestselling independent authors, and new writers. Robb has taught writing courses for Romance Writers of America, Romance Writers of Australia, and the Novel-in-Progress Book Camp in Racine. Robb currently lives in the Lake of the Ozarks region in Missouri, where he writes, edits, and teaches full time. |
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Valerie Biel | Revision Workshop | My stories for preteens to adults include the award-winning Circle of Nine fantasy series (inspired by Ireland's mystical stone circles), Beyond the Cemetery Gate (mystery/suspense), and Haven (middle grade). I use my powers for good, helping other authors navigate the crazy publishing world! When I'm not at my computer, I'm wrangling my overgrown garden, reading multiple books per week, or traveling the world--often for The World Orphan Fund charity I run with my husband. I live in Wisconsin on a (tiny) piece of my family's century-old farm, despite my teenage vow to get the heck out of Dodge (literally.) |
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Christine DeSmet | Strategies for Writing Dialogue | Christine DeSmet is an award-winning author, scriptwriter, writing instructor, developmental editor, and coach. Her series include the Fudge Shop Mystery Series and the Mischief in Moonstone romantic-mystery novella series. She taught at UW-Madison for many years as a Distinguished Faculty Associate of writing. |
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Peggy Joque Williams | Strategies for Writing Dialogue | Peggy Joque Williams is the author of the Amazon best-selling historical fiction Courting the Sun: A Novel of Versailles and co-author of two mystery novels, On the Road to Death’s Door and On the Road to Where the Bells Toll. She honed her dialogue skills writing screenplays with Christine DeSmet. A retired elementary school teacher and avid researcher, Peggy's fascination with genealogy and her French-Canadian, European, and Ojibwe ancestry inspires her historical fiction. Her new book, Braving the Dawn: A Novel of New France, will be released in January 2026 by Black Rose Writing. Peggy lives in Madison. |
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John Dedakis | Writing Through the Pain of Loss | |
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Patricia Skalka | Writing Through the Pain of Loss | Patricia Skalka is the award-winning author of the Dave Cubiak Door County mystery series, including Death Stalks Door County which USA Today calls “(an) evocative read…Wisconsin’s book.” A former President of Sisters in Crime Chicagoland, she is a member of WisSINC, WWA, and The Authors Guild of America. Patricia, who was designated a Notable Wisconsin Author by the Wisconsin Library Association, also serves on the board of the Society of Midland Authors. |