From the Harford County Public Library:
Registration is brisk for the Just Write Writer’s Conference to be held on September 27th at the Bel Air Library. Several workshops are full and the deadline for manuscript review is September 13th. In its 3rd year, the Just Write Writer’s Conference offers a relaxed atmosphere, with the chance to network and build skills for aspiring authors.
New to the conference this year will be opportunities to pitch to literary agents from P.S. Literary, Sheree Bykofsky and Associates, Grosvenor, and Booker Alpert. All genres in non-fiction, fiction, young adult, and children’s have been requested by the agents and they are looking for clients to represent.
Also new, Just Write will welcome New York Times best-selling author Nadia Hashimi as its Keynote Speaker. Ms. Hashimi is a pediatrician in the Baltimore region with a unique side career as a novelist. Her first book, The Pearl That Broke Its Shell came out in 2014 and was an instant bestseller. It is based on the life of her great grandmother, who impersonated a boy at the turn of the century. This practice in Afghan families without male children was common in Afghanistan and gave the family many advantages. On top of this, she juxtaposes the life of a female in the country during the rise of the Taliban. Her second book, When the Moon is Low, released this past summer, is a tale of an Afghan family escaping persecution and looking for sanctuary as undocumented immigrants in Europe.
Nadia was born and raised in the U.S although both her parents were born and raised in Afghanistan. Nadia was fortunate to be surrounded by a large family of aunts, uncles and cousins, keeping the Afghan culture an important part of her daily life. In 2002, she made her first trip to Afghanistan with her parents who had not returned to their homeland since leaving in the 1970s. This led to her interest in telling stories based in the country of her parents and grandparents. After completing her medical training, Nadia turned to setting the stories down on paper.
The Just Write Writer’s Conference supports regional writers in their dreams of becoming published. Thirty five workshops are offered throughout the day, along with opportunities for manuscript critiques and pitching to literary agents. The Conference will be held on Sunday, September 27th from 8:15am to 4:15pm. The cost is $80 for the day of workshops, lunch, and networking opportunities. Registration is online only at HCPL-JustWrite.com. Please go to the website to learn more or contact Bethany Hacker at 410-273-5600 x2243.
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