Speaker Name, Panel, Coaching Session Topics
Sunday, September 17, past participants are hosting a BYOB hot dog roast on the campus of Lakeside Labs. Bring a dish to share and your spirit of adventure. This is an informal and fun way for returning participants and newcomers to meet up.
September 18: Monday includes one all-group session, eight panels in one time block, three coaching sessions, and an all-group wrap-up. 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with optional evening dinner and film at the Lakes Art Center.
September 19, Tuesday schedule is repeated, starting at 8:00 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. with the Sunset Lake cruise.
September 20, Wednesday, starting at 7:45 a.m., all-group, then a panel block and a coaching block, ending at 11:45 a.m.
If you are planning to attend OWR III, here is a survey form to let us know what is of most interest: Survey
| NAME * new OWR speaker | PANEL | COACHING SESSION I | COACHING SESSION II | COACHING SESSION III |
| Nichole Baart | Fiction | No such thing as writer’s block: Using brain science to get out of your head. | Plot Fails and Pitfalls | Repeat |
| Rekha Basu | Commentary | |||
| Laura Belin | Nonfiction | |||
| Douglas Burns | Local reporting master class | |||
| Maura Casey* | Commentary | “Problems in memoir writing (and how to solve them) | “Problems in memoir writing (and how to solve them) | |
| Rachelle Chase | Storytelling | |||
| Courtney Crowder* | Storytelling Memoir | Introduction to oral storytelling: How to tell an oral story + hands-on coaching with volunteers to help craft a story (Kim Norvell and Courtney Crowder) | How to write stories that people want to read | How two print journalists made a documentary (with Ty Rushing) |
| Art Cullen | Nonfiction | |||
| John Dinges | Nonfiction | Finding secrets | The Dilemmas of Disinformation: Ethics and verification in the fight against Fake News | Writing starts with reporting |
| Todd Dorman | Commentary | How to structure opinion pieces, letting your voice come through | Structuring your opinion column, editorial or letter to the editor | Don’t feed the trolls and other tips for dealing with critics |
| Allison Engel | Storytelling | Turning Real-Life Events Into Plays | Speechwriting Isn’t Only for Politicians | |
| Deb Engle | Memoir | Writing Your Life Through Memoir | Writing to Inspire | Spiritual Fiction |
| Grant Faulkner* | Fiction | The Art of Brevity | Writing with Abandon: A Crash Course in Writing Your Novel | NaNoWriMo is all about getting your story on the page. If something has been holding you back from writing your novel—whether it be lack of time, lack of motivation, or just plain fear—then NaNoWriMo Executive Director Grant Faulkner will tell you how National Novel Writing Month can help |
| Arnold Garson | Nonfiction Memoir | How to write a family history that others will want to read | Family history research: The art of digging deep | How to make money with writing projects |
| Scott Garson | Fiction | The Dilemmas of Disinformation: Ethics and Verification in the fight against Fake News | Secrets of Writing the Very Short Story | Your Life in Miniature |
| Nik Heftman | Storytelling | |||
| Beth Hoffman | Memoir | How to Write a Book, or How to Keep Going When You Are Sure You Suck | Why would anyone care about your memoir | Food Writing |
| Phoebe Wall-Howard | Masterclass reporting | Using emotional intensity in writing | ||
| Chris Jones* | Commentary | Glacial History and Geology of Iowa Great Lakes | Scientific writing for general audiences | Iowa agriculture, water quality, and environment |
| Rachel Jones | Nonfiction | Honoring your voice, Being Authentic. | Notes From a Native Daughter—Finding My Way Back to My Voice | Reclaiming My* Voice *Your |
| Robert Leonard | Nonfiction Substack | Getting published in the NY Times, Washington Post, and TIME | Why not start a podcast? | |
| Polly Letofsky* | Publishing | Top 25 Ways to Market Your umumnBook | Publishing Scams, Pitfalls, and Biggest Boo-Boos | One-on-one coaching: After the intro to the oral storytelling course, Kim Norvell will work with interested tellers to coach their stories using traditional Des Moines Storytellers Project methods. |
| Kyle Munson | Storytelling | Interviewing techniques | Column Writing | Column Writing |
| Kim Norvell* | Storytelling Nonfiction | Introduction to oral storytelling: How to tell an oral story + hands-on coaching with volunteers to help craft a story (Kim Norvell and Courtney Crowder) | One-on-one coaching: After the intro to the oral storytelling course, Kim Norvell will work with interested tellers to coach their stories using traditional Des Moines Storytellers Project methods. | One-on-one coaching: After the intro to the oral storytelling course, Kim Norvell will work with interested tellers to coach their story using traditional Des Moines Storytellers Project methods. |
| Kathie Obradovich* | Commentary Master Class Local Reporting | How to get your commentary piece in print | ||
| Chuck Offenburger | Storytelling | Column Writing | Column Writing | Column Writing |
| Caleb Rainey | Storytelling | Hook, Line, & Sinker: Using Spoken Word Techniques to Capture & Hold an Audience | Protest With Poetry: A Generative Spoken Word Workshop | Repeat |
| Lee Rood | Nonfiction | Do your research: Why doing your homework matters in writing fiction, nonfiction, journalism or memoirs | Do your research: Why doing your homework matters in writing fiction, nonfiction, journalism, or memoirs | What to leave in and what to leave out |
| Andy Ross | Publishing | Finding secrets, | FINDING AND WORKING WITH AN AGENT | QUERY LETTER WORKSHOP |
| Ty Rushing | Storytelling Respecting Cultural Differences | Social media, community journalism, writing about cultural or social issues, | How A Print Journalist Made a Movie: Using Your Writing Skills In New Ways (with Courtney Crowder) | Repeat |
| Steve Semken* | Publishing | How to make your writing more powerful | Writing With the Elements: Fire, Water, Air, Ether, and Earth. | How to make your writing more powerful |
| Mary Sharp* | Nonfiction Masterclass in local reporting | Telling Your Story: How to Write a Sterling Obituary, and Why | Telling Your Story: How to Write a Sterling Obituary, and Why | How to make you writing more powerful |
| Carol Spaulding-Kruse* | Memoir | WRITING FROM YOUR ROOTS: How To Create Fiction from Family Lore | ||
| Mary Swander | How to Write Great Description (and Enjoy It.) | How to Write Great Description (and Enjoy It.) | Writing about local history and making it universal | |
| Cheryl Tevis* | Substack Commentary | |||
| Patricia Tyrer | Yes, you can be a poet | Bird by Bird: Tackling the Longer Forms of Poetry | Yes, But What Does It Mean | |