We are ecstatic to present our #MWW25 faculty! With eight instructors and two keynote speakers, this event is going to knock your socks off! We have exciting and inspiring sessions and panels planned for you, along with manuscript revisions, author office hours, and opportunities to network. (Plus, you can buy books–and sell your own!)
We can’t wait to see you at the Ball State University Alumni Center in Muncie, Indiana this summer, July 10 – 12. Or you can watch from home–we have a virtual option!
**Registration coming soon**
Jessica Berg is a literary agent and author passionate about nurturing unique voices in publishing. As the founding agent of Rosecliff Literary, she focuses on character-driven stories and high-stakes narratives while helping authors navigate the industry. A multi-nominated writer with an MFA from Spalding University, Berg is a member of the AALA and EFA. She also provides developmental feedback for Writer’s Digest. She is represented by Amy Collins of Talcott Notch. Find out more about her here.
Thomas Kneeland is an Afro-Cuban poet whose research explores questions of ancestry, blood memory, and cultural preservation. He is the author of We Be Walking Blackly in the Deep. A child of the Deep South, Kneeland’s work reaches deep into the soil of his grandmother’s backyard for roots that run along the Mississippi River, down to the Gulf of Mexico, and onto the red clay shores of Cuba. Kneeland was recently nominated for Sundress Publications’ 2024 Best of the Net and is a 2022 Frontier Poetry Global Poetry Prize finalist. His publication credits include Modern Language Studies Journal, Southern Humanities Review, The Amistad, The Rumpus, South Florida Poetry Journal, and elsewhere. Kneeland holds an MFA in poetry from Butler University, an MA in Ministry from Wesley Seminary, and a BA in English Writing from DePauw University. He is currently an Assistant Professor of English at Anderson University (Anderson, IN). Beyond the writing community, Kneeland is a Girl Dad to an eight-year-old who wants to become a baker. Occasionally on weekends, you will find them trying new dessert recipes.
Robin Lee Lovelace is a mixed-race African-American Hoosier who usually writes short fiction. In 2017, Robin won the grand prize in a one-act play contest, presented by the 30XNinety theatre in Mandeville, a suburb of New Orleans. In March 2019, she won the Etchings Press annual competition for novellas for her novella Savonne, Not Vonny. Robin was named as an honoree in the Emerging Author category for the Indiana Author’s Awards in September 2020. Robin was one of the three finalists for the Don Belton Fiction Prize for 2021 for her collection of stories titled A Wild Region and a Stowe Story Labs SAG Indie Finalist for Savonne, Not Vonny, in 2021. In 2021, she won the Marguerite McGlinn short fiction prize for her story Uncle, awarded by Rosemont College and Philadelphia Stories. Robin was a Wildacres Retreat Diversity Scholarship winner in July 2023. A non-fiction essay that she wrote, called Different Times, Different Degrees, Same Shit appeared in the 2023 summer edition of Indiana Review. Robin’s latest book is a collection of short stories titled A Wild Region that can be found for purchase on Amazon, Books-a-Million, and Barnes and Noble. In March 2024, Robin was named as one of ten finalists for the ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition for Savonne, Not Vonny. Robin’s story “Rocked” is included in the 2024 edition of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation’s annual anthology of short stories. Robin was named as an honoree in the Genre category for the Indiana Author’s Awards in August 2024 for her collection of short stories called A Wild Region. Also, In August 2024, Robin was a semi-finalist in the James Jones First Novel Fellowship competition.
Rebecca McKanna was born and raised in Iowa. Her debut novel, Don’t Forget the Girl, was nominated for the 2024 Lambda Literary Award in LGBTQ+ Mystery and the 2023 Strand Magazine’s Critics Award for Best Debut Mystery. It was awarded the 2024 Indiana Authors Award for Genre Fiction. Her short stories have been anthologized in The Best American Mystery Stories 2019 and recognized as distinguished in The Best American Short Stories 2019. She has been published in Colorado Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Rumpus, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Third Coast, Joyland, and as one of Narrative‘s Stories of the Week, among other publications. She is an associate professor of English at the University of Indianapolis. She lives in Indianapolis with her husband and a mini-schnauzer named Hans Gruber.
Kay Shanee is a devoted wife, mother, and teacher on a mission to create a positive narrative for Black Love. With a passion for fostering healthy relationships, Kay Shanee has authored 50 books, most of which are dedicated to Black Love. Her works promote healthy, loving, sexy, and successful relationships between professional Black men and women. Married to her college sweetheart for over 27 years, Kay Shanee draws inspiration from her own experiences, aiming to showcase that happy and thriving relationships are abundant in the Black community.
Since penning her first book in 2018, Kay Shanee has been steadfast in her mission to change hearts and minds about Black Love. She aims to demonstrate that Black Love is prevalent and thriving within our family homes, among couples, children, siblings, and friends. She asserts, “It’s crucial for me to write these stories to remind, encourage, and inspire those who may have lost hope. Black Love not only exists, but it’s not an anomaly.”
Ania Spyra is an immigrant writer, artist, and educator. Her most recent work can be found in Colorado Review, Critical Read, Indianapolis Review, Ancient Exchanges and Guernica. She’s an alumna of the Tin House Summer Workshop, currently at work on a novel. She is Demia Butler Chair in English Literature at Butler University.
Kelsey Timmerman is the New York Times bestselling author of the Where Am I? series: Where Am I Wearing?, Where Am I Eating?, and Where Am I Giving?. Kelsey has reported from more than 60 countries and written about topics such as sweatshops in Bangladesh and slavery in Ivory Coast. He educates audiences and readers through humor and storytelling, and encourages them to think globally and act locally. He is also a co-founder of The Facing Project, a national community storytelling nonprofit that has collected more than 1,500 stories. Kelsey’s next book on regenerative agriculture will be published by Patagonia Books in 2023. Kelsey seeks to create understanding and empathy through stories that inspire action.
Francesca Zappia is the award-winning author of Young Adult books including Eliza and Her Monsters, Katzenjammer, and Greymist Fair. She has degrees in Computer Science and Business, but writing is her true love. She lives in Indiana and spends her free time playing video games, starting too many crafts, and collecting Magic: The Gathering cards.
And Our Keynote Speakers…
Brando Skyhorse
Skyhorse’s debut novel, The Madonnas of Echo Park (Simon & Schuster, 2010), received the 2011 PEN/Hemingway Award, and the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The book was also a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick. Take This Man: A Memoir (Simon & Schuster, 2014) was an Amazon Best Book of the Month selection and named by Kirkus Reviews as one the Best Nonfiction Books of the year. Skyhorse has also co-edited an anthology, We Wear The Mask: 15 True Stories Of Passing in America (Beacon Press, 2017). He has been awarded fellowships at Ucross Foundation, the Breadloaf Writers’ Conference, and was the 2014-2015 Jenny McKean Moore Writer-In-Washington at George Washington University. Skyhorse is an Associate Professor of English at Indiana University in Bloomington.
Jane Friedman has spent 25 years working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer (The University of Chicago Press), received a starred review from Library Journal and is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. A second edition releases in spring 2025.
As co-founder and editor of The Hot Sheet newsletter, she provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals. Her influence and insight earned her Publishing Commentator of the Year from Digital Book World in 2023, and her expertise regularly features in major media outlets including The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC.
Friedman’s impact on publishing education spans multiple formats and audiences. Her teaching reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs. She has helped shape the next generation of publishing professionals through curriculum development at Southern New Hampshire University’s MFA program and faculty positions at the University of Virginia and University of Cincinnati.
As a trusted industry resource, Friedman has advised and served multiple organizations, including Writer’s Digest, the Virginia Quarterly Review, The Chicago Manual of Style, the Editorial Freelancers Association, the Alliance of Independent Authors, and the Midwest Writers Workshop. She has served on grant panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, the Whiting Awards, and the Creative Work Fund, bringing her expertise to the development of literary culture and arts funding.
Her long-running newsletters exemplify her commitment to helping writers navigate the publishing landscape: Electric Speed, published since 2009, reaches more than 25,000 subscribers, while The Hot Sheet serves as an industry beacon for more than 2,500 publishing professionals. In collaboration with The Authors Guild, she authored The Authors Guild Guide to Self-Publishing, further cementing her role as a trusted voice in publishing.
Registration Coming Soon
We can’t wait to see you this summer!
Online Masterclass with Jane Friedman
We’re thrilled to host an annual one-day seminar with Jane Friedman in which she discusses aspects of the business of writing and publishing. Our attendees always walk away better equipped for their road ahead. On February 22, 2025, Jane will present “Roadmap to Yes: Plotting Your Pathway to Publication.”
Be sure to check out Jane’s newsletter, blog, and classes, as well as her book, The Business of Being a Writer.
All registrants will receive a recording of the masterclass
Wednesday Write-In
A thirty-minute writing sprint via Zoom, first Wednesday of each month. We will alternate between morning and evening times so that more people can participate. FREE! No need to register. Links will be provided in the newsletter. Join our Mailing List
Let’s Do This!
Success Stories
Finish an essay, a book, a paragraph? Have something published? Tell us about something exciting you’ve done with writing and/or publishing in the past year. Bonus points if you can tell us how MWW has made an impact on your writing.
Send your success stories to midwestwritersworkshop@gmail.com and we’ll post it on our website!
MWW is dedicated to building a community where writers can network
with others and grow.
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SEE WHAT ELSE MWW HAS TO OFFER
- MWW Writing Service: Receive manuscript evaluations from our experts
- Midwest Writers Workshop Facebook Group: Join our community to network, support, celebrate, and commiserate with other writers
