Morning session: 9:30 AM - 12:00 Noon Laura Carney on memoir. Afternoon session 1:00 PM - 3:30 Roger Smith on Historical Fiction
Presenting the memoir class is Laura Carney. Laura Carney has been a writer and copy editor in New York, primarily in magazines, for 20 years. Her best-selling My Father’s List: How Living My Dad’s Dreams Set Me Free, published by Post Hill Press in June 2023, was on CBS Sunday Morning, a Best Book of 2023 in Real Simple, the 2025 One City, One Book read in Greensboro, NC, and a 2024 pick for Melissa Gilbert's book club.
Afternoon session: 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM Roger A. Smith on historical fiction.

Let’s Get Your Historical Novel Started
Maybe your concept is a fictionalized version of an oft-told family tale, or a town you used to live in, or the house across the street that was owned by a clipper ship captain. We’ll take some first steps together, break for writing prompts—among them Checkov's Gun and the Latin phrase in medias res—and send you home with a good shot of confidence.
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR: Roger A. Smith of Brewster is the author of Rian Krieger's Journey, a series of (5 and counting) historical novels published by Sunbury Press. With more than 800,000 words under his belt, he has learned some lessons that he hopes will be helpful in your writing journey. www.rogerasmith.com