COWC1 Workshops, Schedule & Staff

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The COWC provides multi-tiered workshop tracks. Advance sign-up is not required for most sessions, so conferees are free to go to any they choose. Should you find that a particular one is not for you, simply tap into another. Workshop summaries can be found here (when available).

Dates for our inaugural event in the destination city of Bend, Oregon are October 17-19, 2025.

• Authors & Industry Experts
• Workshops
• Weekend Schedule

Special Guest Speakers

Authors & Industry Experts

GAYLE CARLINE is a humor columnist for an Orange County newspaper and author of the popular Peri Minneopa Mysteries, including Freezer Burn, Hit or Missus, The Hot Mess, Clean Sweep and A More Deadly Union, featuring a housecleaner-turned-detective living in the OC. Other titles include the stand-alone From the Horse’s Mouth: One Lucky Memoir, the first of a new equine-themed murder-mystery series, Murder on the Hoof and new historical fantasy Dragon Shadows trilogy, Blood Dragon Rising, Moon Dragon Falling and New Dragon Soaring. Writing as M.G. Wetherholt, here latest is geared for younger readers, Paws on the Pier (A Magical Mouse Caper).

• SESSIONS: “Avoiding Stereotypes, Cliches and the All-Too Common,” “Going it Alone: The Keys to Self-Publishing Success” and “Something to Talk About: Speaking Publicly About Your Book”
• ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Fiction, mystery, fantasy, humor, columns; first 10 pages (or multiple columns up to 10 pages), cover letter

CHARLOTTE CHIPPERFIELD is a developmental editor, and author of women’s fiction and nonfiction, including Write with Intention: A Mindful Journey to Writing Your Book. Through her platform, Her Narrative, she empowers authors to unapologetically write, edit, and publish books that inspire and create impact. With a focus on telling stories of women finding their voices and going for what they want—both on the page and in real life—Charlotte combines expertise with compassion to help writers develop their unique narratives. She is a contributor to the spiritual self-help anthology Soul Rising: Guidance for Navigating Your Spiritual Awakening (Divine Flow Publishing).

• SESSIONS: “Cultivating an Author Mindset,” “Embedding Emotion in Character and Narrative” and “Using Setting as a Living Character”
• ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: TBA

MIKE COOPER is president of the Central Oregon Writers Guild. He holds an MFA from Oregon State University Cascades in Bend, Oregon. His short story “Call Me When You Get There” was published in The Baltimore Review winter ’24 issue and he has been a finalist in Glimmer Train, The Lascaux Review, Driftwood Press and Cutthroat. He teaches writing at Central Oregon Community College and OSU-Cascades (undergraduate and in the MFA Program), as well as creative writing workshops through Blank Pages Workshops and The Forge, and at the Deschutes Public Library, COCC Community Learning and Deer Ridge Correctional Institute.

• SESSIONS: “Between ‘Once Upon a Time’ and ‘Happily Ever After’”

KRISTIN R. DORSEY is a college instructor with over 20 years experience teaching academic and creative writing, children’s literature, mythology and folklore, and a host of other literature classes. Her work and hobbies mostly intersect (so reading and writing, watching film).  While interested in all things craft-related, generative writing is her particular passion in the field of creative writing. She is also the mother of 6-year-old twins, one of whom is a budding writer in her own right.

• SESSIONS: “Productive Reimagining: Using Old Stories for New Work” and “Turning Journal Writing into Story”
• ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: TBA

MICHAEL STEVEN GREGORY, Executive Director of both the Central Oregon Writers’ Conference and Southern California Writers’ Conference, is an award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter. He has scripted network series, directed television and features, and been involved as a writer, producer or director in over 150 short films. His longform projects include the doculogues We, The Writer and We, The Screenwriter, the romantic-comedy A Valentine Carol, and groundbreaking Don King Presents: Prizefighter, for 2K Games. His books include Disc Golf: All You Need to Know about the Game You Want to Play, which remained a periodic bestseller well over a decade after publication. Michael is also the owner of AuthorEdge, a transmedia content producer for publishers.

• SESSIONS: No-Host Mixer, Introductions
  
• ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Screenplays, episodic and short-form scripts; first 15 pages in proper format, cover letter

DORI HARRELL is a Harley-riding, licorice-eating, and award-winning writer and book editor, plus she’s a USA Today best-selling author, author coach, and speaker at writers’ and editors’ conferences. She owns Breakout Editing and edits for publishers and indie authors, and she serves as a manuscript evaluator (gatekeeper) for a traditional publisher. Every year she has authors on the awards lists. When not editing, writing, and overusing exclamation points, she’s hiking the many scenic trails of central Oregon or riding her Harley Softail.

• SESSIONS: “Craft a Query Packet Gatekeepers Can’t Resist” and “Taming the AI Beast”
  
• ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: TBA; cover letter

CHERIE KEPHART‘s award-winning memoir, A Few Minor Adjustments, is called by Kirkus Reviews, “A rich and complicated story, told on each page with clear dialogue and memorable anecdotes,” and by Publisher’s Weekly, “A story of gut-wrenching perseverance and determination.” Her other publications include, The Healing 100 and Poetry of Peace, as well as essays, short stories, and poems in various literary journals and anthologies. Cherie is also a freelance editor, writing coach, and workshop facilitator with a passion for helping writers on all aspects of their writing journey. A graduate with first class honors from the University of Auckland in Medical and Cultural Anthropology, Cherie also holds a BA in Communications from UCSD and a Certification in Scientific and Technical Writing.

• SESSIONS: “Editing Explained,” “Soul Therapy: Sculpting Your Memoir’s Story,” Read & Critique
• ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Historical fiction; Memoir, personal stories, wellness, practical nonfiction, self-help, personal transformation, metaphysical; first 10 pages, cover letter

LIEVE MAAS is a seasoned book designer and self-publishing coach with over two decades of experience helping authors turn their manuscripts into professionally designed and published titles. She studied at the Royal Art Academy in Antwerp (Belgium) and the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), and holds master’s degrees in both art and education. As founder of Bright Light Graphics, Lieve combines design expertise with a teaching background to support authors through the publishing and marketing process. Lieve is the author of From Manuscript to Published Book: Seven Straightforward Steps to Self-Publishing and forthcoming The NOACH Project.

• SESSIONS: “From Book to Brand: Kickstart Your Book Marketing Strategy”
  

KATHRYN (KAT) MATTINGLY is the author of Journey, Katya, The Tutor, Olivia’s Ghost, Benjamin, Finley’s Song and a short story collection, Fractured Hearts all with Winter Goose Publishing. She has won multiple awards for her work. Kat was a senior editor at Possibility Publishing until leaving to establish her editorial service for fiction and memoir. She ran the annual fiction contest for the Northern Colorado Writer’s Top of the Mountain conference and was a reader/judge for the annual PNWA conference contest in Seattle, WA for over a decade.

• SESSIONS: “Putting ‘Care’ into Characters,” “The Secrets that Transcend Plot Points” and “Setting the Mood with Place and Purpose”
  
  
• ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: TBA

JENNIFER SILVA REDMOND spent more than a decade as editor-in-chief/acquisitions editor at Sunbelt Publications before becoming a freelance publishing consultant and editor. On the staff of the Southern California Writers Conference and San Diego Writers, Ink, she was also prose editor for A Year in Ink Vol 3, and co-founder of the Sea of Cortez Review. Her essays, articles, and short fiction have been published in various anthologies, such as Latinos in Lotusland, and national magazines. She is always looking for “great new stuff” and has a wide circle of agents, editors, and publishers with whom to share marketable fiction and nonfiction. Her memoir Honeymoon at Sea: How I Found Myself Living on a Small Boat is now out.

• SESSIONS: “Backstory: Employing Expository Like a Screenwriter,” “Pitch Witch: Query Letter Critique,” “Head Hopping: Putting POV in Perspective” and Read & Critique
• ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Fiction, nonfiction, memoir, short stories; first 10 pages double-spaced, cover letter

JANIS THOMAS  is the bestselling author of such domestic suspense novels as All That’s Left of Me and What Remains True, both with Lake Union, and three critically acclaimed humorous works of women’s fiction—Something New, Sweet Nothings, and Say Never—as well as the mystery Murder in A-Minor. She has written more than fifty songs and two children’s books, which she created with her dad, is a passionate writing advocate, a popular workshop leader, speaker, and editor.  Her latest is the paranormal thriller Finding Grace, which Kirkus Reviews calls “An authentically creepy tale.” Janis is also Director of the Southern California Writers’ Conference.

• SESSIONS: “Dialogue in Motion,” “Plot vs. Character: What’s Driving Your Story?,”
  “What’s Your Story and Why?”
• ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Women’s fiction, suspense, mystery; first 10 pages double-spaced; cover letter

PATRICIA WILKINSON, Director of the Central Oregon Writers’ Conference, is a writing coach, freelance editor, novelist, and coauthor of Amazon bestselling and Readers’ Choice winner Brain Stages: How to Raise Smart, Confident Kids and Have Fun Doing It. A credentialed, mentor teacher of 23 years, Trish has helped numerous writers find their voices, hone their craft and move on to publication. Her clients include David Crow, whose memoir The Pale Face Lie: A True Story sold more than 100,000 copies, Captain Jack Molan (You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: My Thirty Years as Captain in the Bering Sea), Linda Berry (The Killing Woods), and Howard Shulman (Running from the Mirror: A Memoir).

• SESSIONS: “Build a Better Author Bio: A Powerful Tool to Attract Readers” and “What ‘Show Don’t Tell’ Actually Means”
• ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE:
  Adult and YA fiction; Memoir, narrative and practical nonfiction; nonfiction book proposals, first 10 pages double-spaced; cover letter

MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED

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Workshops: Read & Critique

• All-Genre
• Commercial/Women’s/Memoir/Romance/Narrative
• Literary/Alternative/Narrative Nonfiction
• Mystery/Suspense/Thriller/Crime
• Paranormal/Horror/Transcendental
• Young Adult/New Adult

Workshops: Craft & Execution for Fiction and Creative Nonfiction

Avoiding Stereotypes, Cliches and the All-Too Common
Leader: Gayle Carline
Objective: Does your world-weary detective fight an uphill battle with his gruff captain? Your big-city gal find true love when she moves back to her small hometown? We’ll address tactics to overturn trite, predictable and common tropes that undermine reader engagement.

Backstory: Employing Expository Like a Screenwriter
Leader: Jennifer Silva Redmond
Objective: No matter if you’re writing fiction or nonfiction, it’s vitally important to structure your book so your readers get backstory and other information on the page only when it is needed and not before.

Between ‘Once Upon a Time’ and ‘Happily Ever After’
Leader: Mike Cooper
Objective: Whether fiction or “faction,” your reader wants a satisfying story. In this workshop, we’ll focus on delivering on expectations roused and how to effectively create emotional journeys that resonate successfully.

Dialogue in Motion
Leader: Janis Thomas
Objective: Dialogue is action. It is said that good dialogue is what you wake up the morning after the party regretting not saying the night before. Understanding what characters do not say is essential to clean, communicative conversation.

Embedding Emotion in Character and Narrative
Leader: Charlotte Chipperfield
Objective: This workshop guides writers in authentically weaving emotion into both character development and narrative arcs to create deeper reader engagement.

Head Hopping: Putting POV in Perspective
Leader: Jennifer Silva Redmond
Objective: Whether writing a novel or a memoir, you need to understand why your choice of Point of View matters, and how the right POV can help, or hurt, your story.

Putting ‘Care’ into Characters
Leader: Kathryn (Kat) Mattingly
Objective: Regardless of genre, the Main Character—the Who—is the single most important aspect of storytelling. In this workshop, we’ll dig into the Who to best ensure readers give a damn about the rest of it.

Plot vs. Character: What’s Driving Your Story?
Leader: Janis Thomas
Objective: The dynamic interplay between character and plot is what motivates story. Which should take the lead, and how to determine so, is what we’ll address in this session.

Productive Reimagining: Using Old Stories for New Work
Leader: Kristin R. Dorsey
Objective: In today’s publishing world, just as with Hollywood, the consensus of Powers That Be seem to be, “Don’t give us anything new. We want something old and proven successful, just re-packaged in a fresh way.” Explore how best to exploit that mindset and apply it to our your work.

The Secrets that Transcend Plot Points
Leader: Kathryn (Kat) Mattingly
Objective: This workshop delves into the deeper layers of storytelling—those emotional truths, motivations, and revelations that propel story impact beyond artificially drawn nodes.

Setting the Mood with Place and Purpose
Leader: Kathryn (Kat) Mattingly
Objective: Setting, location, is more than just backdrop—it’s a powerful tool for establishing atmosphere and reinforcing narrative grounding. Here, we’ll distinguish the “what” from the “who,” the how and  why.

Soul Therapy: Sculpting Your Memoir’s Story
Leader: Cherie Kephart
Objective: Writing a memoir is a journey beyond words. In this workshop, we will explore the fears that block us, the truth behind our intentions for writing our stories, how to discover the real message we are communicating, what to focus on, what to let go of, and how this entire experience transforms us.

Turning Journal Writing into Story
Leader: Kristin R. Dorsey
Objective: Compelling material is rarely what personal journals make. However, they’re often the root of memoir and novel narrative. Explore techniques for identifying story-worthy moments, shaping raw reflections into scenes, and finding universal meaning in personal experience.

Using Setting as a Living Character
Leader: Charlotte Chipperfield
Objective: Reimagine setting not as static scenery but as a dynamic, living presence within story. Participants will learn how to give place its own voice, influence, and evolution—just like a character.

What ‘Show Don’t Tell’ Actually Means
Leader: Trish Wilkinson
Objective: Demystify one of the most common pieces of writing advice. Through discussion, examples, and exercises, participants will apply practical techniques to immerse readers in their stories and transform flat, expository prose into vivid, dynamic scenes.

What’s Your Story and Why?
Leader: Janis Thomas
Objective: Examine the heart of you story and the personal reasons behind telling it. Through guided reflection and discussion, participants will uncover the deeper themes, questions, or experiences driving their work.

TBA
Leader: TBA
Objective: TBA

Workshops: Path to Publication

Build a Better Author Bio: A Powerful Tool to Attract Readers
Leader: Trish Wilkinson
Objective: The author bio is often key to whether an editor, agent, or reader will read your work. You’ll leave this workshop with a clear understanding of the three distinct bio’s required to achieve success across media.

Craft a Query Packet Gatekeepers Can’t Resist
Leader: Dori Harrell
Objective: Think that because you’re writing fiction or a memoir you don’t need a proposal (or “query packet”)? Think again. When trying to entice gatekeepers, a carefully crafted, personalized proposal makes all the difference. Come prepared to answer questions about you as an author and about your story. (Great workshop for nonfiction writers too.)

Cultivating an Author Mindset
Leader: Charlotte Chipperfield
Objective: Discover how to transform self-doubt, procrastination, and writer’s block into momentum and creative flow. This workshop equips you with practical tools to build confidence, maintain motivation, and stay committed to your writing output.

Editing Explained
Leader: Cherie Kephart
Objective: Learn everything you ever wanted to know about editing, such as: the top ten most frequent pieces of feedback editors give to clients, how to edit your own work, the different types of editors and what they do, and how to determine when your manuscript is ready and for what.

From Book to Brand: Kickstart Your Book Marketing Strategy
Leader: Lieve Maas
Objective: Self-publishing doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Learn the seven essential steps, from understanding book cover and interior design based on professional conventions to navigating publishing platforms like KDP, IngramSpark, and more, to make informed decisions about publishing your book.

Going it Alone: The Keys to Self-Publishing Success
Leader: Gayle Carline
Objective: There are many reasons to go indie, but impatience is not a good one. Being an independently published author lets you make all the decisions and reap all the rewards — it also means you take all the risks. This workshop covers the realities of the costs of both time and money, the pros and cons of various platforms.

Pitch Witch: Query Letter Critique
Leader: Jennifer Silva Redmond
Objective: You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Participants will learn how to craft a compelling written pitch that professionally highlights their story’s hook, voice, and marketability.

Something to Talk About: Speaking Publicly About Your Book
Leader: Gayle Carline
Objective: There’s more to author appearances than just showing up. The ability to discuss your book without boring the audience, in fact, motivating them to actually buy your book(s), is what it’s about. Well-plotted strategies and tactics are what’s required to make that happen.

Taming the AI Beast
Leader: Dori Harrell
Objective: Determine the best practices for using AI in your storytelling. This workshop will be highly participatory in discussing (with examples) the many roles AI can play in your writing—from brainstorming to research to editing to actual writing—and what to embrace and to avoid.

TBA
Leader: TBA
Objective: TBA

Panels, Appointments and Events

• Advance Submission One-on-One Consultations
• No-host Mixer
• Page One Cage Match
• Saturday Evening Special Guest Speaker: TBA
• Sunday Afternoon Special Guest Speaker: TBA