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Writing Contest 2024
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2024 Youth Writing Contest
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2023 Adult Writing Contest Winners




Hope to see you at the fall meeting!

in Branson West on November 1 – 2, 2024

at the Best Western Branson Inn and Conference Center,

8514 State Highway 76, Branson West, Missouri Map

 

CHECK-IN: 3 PM – CHECK OUT: 11 AM and you may leave bags at the desk if needed

Guest Room Rate: $99/night plus applicable taxes and fees, honored for the surrounding dates.

Virtual tour here: Best Western Branson Inn & Conference Center - Branson West

 
 

Room Amenities include microwave, coffeemaker, fridge, and hair dryer

Hotel amenities include free WiFi for all guests, heated indoor pool, and hot tub

 
 

Reservations:

CALL 417-338-2141 and press 0 to talk to the front desk
Tell them you're with Ozarks Writers League to get the special rate!
(Don't use the reservation 800 # because it goes to the national chain, not the hotel.)

Special thanks to:
Our OWL Board
Sound guy Jan Fields
Those who donate door prizes and bring treats to share!

Book Tables: If you are a dues-paying OWL member, and you would like half of a 3"x6" book table, contact Margarite Stever (margarite95 "at" yahoo "dot" com). First come, first served, so reserve now!

OWL Hashtag: Our # for this conference to use on social is #Fall24OWL. Please use this on your social media posts.

Share Your PHOTOS with us for the web! We need YOU! Please share your photos along with names of those shown to webmaster "at" OzarksWritersLeague "dot" com.

Dinner on your own but please be ready for our Friday night session at 6 PM! You won't want to miss it!

 

 


Friday Fun – November 1st

Meet us in the Branson Room for a great workshop
and the Annual OWLie Writing Awards!

6:00 PM

Tex Thompson
will be joining us to cover The Seven Deadly First-Page Sins!

There's no one right way to begin your story—but there are plenty of wrong ones. In this class, she'll take you on a cautionary tour through the pits of page-one hell, complete with agent pet peeves, reader turn-offs, and "thanks but no thanks" editorial dealbreakers. Don't let your manuscript suffer in form-rejection torment: let Tex guide you through the slush-pile inferno and lead your story toward the light!

Arianne "Tex" Thompson is a literary locksmith, egregiously enthusiastic educator, and professional ruckus-raiser. She is the author of Children of the Drought, an internationally-published epic fantasy Western series from Solaris, as well as 'chief instigator' of WORD – Writers Organizations 'Round Dallas. Now she's blazing a trail through conferences, workshops, and conventions around the country—as an endlessly energetic, catastrophically cheerful one-woman stampede.

 
 

8:00 PM

The OWLie Writing Awards

It's that time again! Time to find out who won what! After that, we can visit and have a grand time.

 
 


Saturday, November 2nd Agenda

Meet in the Branson Room!

 
 

Coffee & Treats: There will be a table for shareables.
OWL is providing coffee. Donations are happily accepted.
Some board members are bringing snacks to share.
Members may bring goodies to share if you like. No expectation.

Dues & Donations:
You may pay your 2025 dues or make donations at the registration table.

 
 

Fascinating speakers!

The Morning Session:

 
 

Tex Thompson will bring us Editing Like a Boss

At last! After all those hundreds of hours spent slaving away at the keyboard, your first draft is finally done. Now you can sit back and bask in the glory of your beautiful, shining . . . unpublishable mess.

Never fear! This fast-and-furious revisionary rumble will fire you up to pummel your plot, pulverize your prose, and kill your darlings with bloodthirsty red-penthusiasm.

Arianne "Tex" Thompson is a literary locksmith, egregiously enthusiastic educator, and professional ruckus-raiser. She is the author of Children of the Drought, an internationally-published epic fantasy Western series from Solaris, as well as 'chief instigator' of WORD – Writers Organizations 'Round Dallas. Now she's blazing a trail through conferences, workshops, and conventions around the country—as an endlessly energetic, catastrophically cheerful one-woman stampede.

 
 

David Corbly will enlighten us about Your Recipe for Website Success

There are dozens of things you need to do to create an author website that's pleasant for humans to navigate, but that also has the main ingredients search engines look for to decide how high to rank you in the zero sum game of search engine rankings. Spoiler alert: most author websites are never going to rank on the first screenful of search engine results unless people are looking specifically for you or the title of your work. But that doesn't mean you should just give up! We'll focus on the things that you can easily do yourself-both on your website and offsite—without having to hire a high-priced website professional.

David had a 30+ year career managing all aspects of technology at major university libraries in Oklahoma and Iowa before "retiring" young to start another career using those skills to help creators and small businesses get found online by building websites optimized for search engines. He has a special place in his heart for writers and illustrators because he aspires to join your ranks someday as a published author, with a focus on books for young children, and because he knows you all can't afford high-priced website designers. You can find out more about his family-owned business at: https://opendoorcreations.com

Want to have a web/SEO pro critique your website & help you make it better? Sign up for a 15-min session with David Corbly of OpenDoorCreations.com on Friday night or Saturday afternoon. Email DianaWest22 "at" Hotmail "dot" com to reserve your spot.

Slots are 15 minutes. Diana will assign you a specific time and send you a short Google Form to add your website so David can have a look at it ahead of time.

 
 

The Afternoon Session:

 
 

JC Fields will tell us about Artificial Intelligence for Authors: Tools, Tactics, and Ethical Considerations

What IS Artificial Intelligence—really? JC Fields takes us on a deep dive into Artificial Intelligence, including hype VS reality, types of AI, useful tools for authors, and the challenges of ethically using these powerful tools.

J.C. Fields is a multi-award-winning and Amazon best-selling author. Many of his 13 published novels have been awarded numerous gold, silver and bronze medals in the Reader's Favorite International Book Awards contest.

Over the past several years, many of his numerous short stories have been featured on the YouTube Podcast Fear From the Heartland, a part of the Chilling Tales for Dark Night network.

In August 2024, J.C., signed a publishing contract with Vinci Books. Vinci Books is a world-class publisher created to offer independent authors the best of self-published and traditional publishing. Currently, one of his novels is under review by Wind Dancer Films for a possible TV or movie project. He lives with his wife, Connie, in Southwest Missouri.

 
 

Duke Pennell, author, editor, publisher, etc. will tell you Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Self-Publishing!

What does it take to self-publish your book? We'll go through all the steps from having an idea about a book to write and holding the finished product in your hands.

 
 
 
 

OWL membership includes every conference
offered in a year, and more!
No pre-registration.
Yearly dues are $30.
Non-member conference fee: $20.00 at the door.
Join at the door or

Join Now!

Any questions? Contact us at www.facebook.com/OzarksWritersLeague

 
 


See you there!

 
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