The following MWG members are available for presentations at conferences, workshops, and chapter meetings.
Please contact each speaker individually for fees and expenses.
To be listed as a speaker, see guidelines
Speaker Index (or scroll down to see list)
Claire Applewhite is a graduate of St. Louis University, (AB, Communications, MBA), Mercantile Leadership Program for Women. A participant in the Writers Institute at Washington University, and freelance writer—House of Style magazine, Patch.com.
Published works: The Wrong Side of Memphis, Moonlight Becomes You So (2009), Crazy For You (2010), St. Louis Hustle(2011), Candy Cadillac (2011). Website: www.Claireapplewhite.com, radio interview, http://bit.ly/hhVC8Y, YouTube video, claireapplew2.
Past President, Missouri Writers Guild, Board member of Midwest Chapter, Mystery Writers of America. Member, St. Louis Metropolitan Press Club, St. Louis Writers Guild, Sisters in Crime, Ozark Writers League and Active Member, Mystery Writers of America.
Topics:
- Plotting and Pacing the Mystery: Fifty Ways to Kill Your Lover
- Why Aren't I Published? Secrets From the Editors
- Between You and Me: Publicity and Promotion for the Writer
Fees: Negotiable. Request travel expenses.
Contact Information: Claireapplewhite@gmail.com or 314-560-2906
Alternate contact: Lois@bigideasstudio.com or 314-283-1981
Barri L. Bumgarner, Columbia, Missouri, is the award-nominated author of two novels, both psychological thrillers, and has published more than 50 articles and 30 poems. She has presented at conferences such as ARCON, Show-Me Con, and the Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers' Guild. She has also spoken at numerous writers' groups in Missouri, Illinois, Texas, and Kansas. Barri is currently the Administrative Assistant for the CCMWG as well as a doctoral student in the University of Missouri's English department. She also speaks at schools and has done many school visits.
Workshop topics include:
- Marketing--How I Got a First Novel Reviewed in The Washington Post
- Writing Cutting Edge Plots (and Getting on an FBI Watchlist in the Process!)
- Motivating Kids to Write
- How to Write, Sell, and Publicize a Small Press Novel
- Landing an Agent
Barri's fees vary based on distance and the group. A flat fee of $150, plus expenses for gas (and hotel if necessary) are requested. Additional sessions and all-day events are negotiable. Contact through Web site: http://www.barrilbumgarner.com/
Marilyn H. Collins is an award-winning author who has published four local/regional history books, three how-to ebooks in her Step-by-Step Writing Series, and over 100 magazine and newspaper features. She is editor of an online newsletter for writers, Proficient Writer NEWS (www.proficientwriter.com).
Collins is a frequent conference speaker and workshop leader in the region. She is a writing instructor for OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, University of Arkansas). Her practical writing and workshops inspire confidence and enthusiasm in participants.
Workshop topics include:
- Structure Your Nonfiction Book the Easy Way
- Write Family History: Let Them Speak for Themselves
- Memoir Writing: Tell Your Life Story, Your Way
- Brighten Your Leaf on the Family Tree
- Write the Regionals for Fun & Profit (Magazines/Special Interest Publications)
- Tips to Organize a Successful Writers’ Critique Group
- Pre-conference: Get More for Your Money at Writers’ Conferences
- Customized workshops to fit your conference theme
Contact Marilyn H. Collins at hswc1@cox.net, 479-986-9183.
Websites: www.stepbystepwriting.com, www.mhcollins.com.
Speaker’s fee $200 for workshop (additional panel participation/no charge), $500 for all-day event. Discount for guild chapters.
Margo Dill is a freelance writer, editor, teacher, blogger, and children's author. She is a contributing editor, columnist, and instructor for WOW! Women On Writing and memoir editor at High Hill Press. She will have a middle grade novel and picture book published in 2012 by White Mane Kids and High Hill Press respectively. She has written a successful blog, "Read These Books and Use Them," (http://margodill.com/blog) for three years, and she encourages readers to share children's and YA books with kids and teens and provides ideas on how to use the books with this audience.
Margo leads workshops for writers, teachers, and children on many topics, including social networking and blogging, writing for children--novels and magazines, freelance writing, time management and creativity, making money at writing, six plus one traits of writing, what it's like to be a writer, revising and editing a story, and historical fiction. Margo's workshops are interactive and usually involve audience members' participation through writing exercises and discussions. She charges $100 for a one-hour workshop and requires mileage if she travels over 30 miles. Her fees are negotiable for school groups, classrooms, and non-profit organizations. To find out more about Margo's workshops, to read testimonials, and to contact her, please visit her website at http://www.margodill.com or you can e-mail her at margodll@aol.com. She looks forward to coming to your school or group and talking about writing very soon!
Jody Feldman’s award-winning children’s novels (The Gollywhopper Games, The Seventh Level, HarperColllins/Greenwillow) have given her the rewarding opportunity to speak at such conferences as NCTE, the Texas Library Association, the Missouri Library Association, and the Missouri and Florida regions of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Upcoming events include featured appearances at both the Arizona and Georgia Library Association conferences and a roundtable workshop at the 2012 IRA Conference in Chicago.
Her greatest thrill, though, has been speaking to thousands and thousands of students in elementary and middle schools and in libraries across the country. Large group sessions generally focus on personal experiences as an author. Workshops zero in on character development, world building, importance of details, advertising and journalism, or (by special arrangement) on a custom-designed topic. Skype sessions take a Q&A format. She attempts to make all sessions highly interactive.
She offers two free mini-Skype sessions per month (10-15 minutes) on a first-come, first-served basis; longer Skype sessions for a fee. For availability and full information on in-person and Skype appearances, contact Jody at jody@jodyfeldman.com.
Websites: www.jodyfeldman.com & www.gollywhoppergames.com
John C. Fisher is a native of Missouri’s Bootheel and has been a full-time freelance writer since 2000. His writing interests include gardening, small farm agriculture, food preservation, food history, hunting and fishing, devotionals, and Missouri history and travel.
In addition to having been a columnist for Missouri Life, his articles have appeared in a variety of magazines including BackHome, Missouri Life, Show Me Missouri, Back Woods Home, Old Farmer’s Almanac, Kitchen Gardener, and Secret Place.
He published his first book, Catfish,Fiddles, Mules, and More: Missouri State Symbols, in 2003 with the University of Missouri Press. A second book with the University of Missouri Press, Pot Roast, Politics, and Ant in the Pantry was published in 2008 and coauthored with his wife, Carol Fisher. This book won second place in the Walter Williams Major Work Award category at the 2009 MWG conference. A third book, Food in the United State Military, also coauthored with Carol was released in 2011 by McFarland Publishers.
Fisher also won first place for the Best Newspaper/Magazine Column at the 2009 MWG conference. A member of Missouri Writers Guild, Heartland Writers Guild, and Ozark Writers League, John has presented workshops on writing at several writing conferences. He also is a member of the State Historical Society of Missouri, Missouri Folklore Society, and serves on the Missouri Board on Geographic Names.
Topics:
Missouri’s state symbols, Missouri agricultural history; French settlement in Missouri; settlement, drainage, and agricultural development of Missouri’s Bootheel region; American military food history; writing related topics including query letters, how to target your market for magazine articles, using photographs to illustrate your writing and enhance sales, magazine article writing tips, and nonfiction book proposals.
Fees: Negotiable
Contact Info:
John C. Fisher, 201 Westgate Ave, Kennett, MO 63857
573-888-3620 (home/office) or 573-344-3842 (cell)
fisherjohnc@yahoo.com
Carol Fisher’s books explore cookbook and food history. Landing her first book contract a yearbefore she retired from teaching, she moved aggressively into her new free lance writing career.
Her first book, The American Cookbook: A History (2006, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 1st place Walter Williams Major Work Award winner, Missouri Writers Guild) tracks the history of the American cookbook, from the first one written in 1796, to modern cookbooks.
Teamed with her writing partner, John Fisher, she explored Missouri’s cookbook trail in Pot Roast, Politics and Ants in the Pantry: Missouri’s Cookbook Heritage (2008, University of Missouri Press, 2nd place Walter Williams Major Work Award- Missouri Writers Guild) and recently coauthored Food in the American Military: A History (2011, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers) This book tracks military food history from the Revolutionary War to the present including numerous first person accounts of food successes and food challenges.
Fisher is a member of Missouri Writers Guild, Heartland Writers Guild, Ozark Writers League, Missouri Folklore Society, and DAR. Her presentations cover cookbook and food history, writing related topics, and presentations focused on creatively preserving family history through cookbooks.
Topics:
Mock Foods (including a mock pie tasting)
Kitchen Medicine, Housekeeping Tips, and Cookbook Literature
Cookbook Firsts
Revolutionary War Food Challenges
Children’s Cookbooks
America’s Favorite: The Community Cookbook
A Taste of Nineteenth Century Missouri Cookbooks
Health and Nutrition Cookbooks in America
Preserving Family History through Family Cookbooks
The Thrill of the Hunt: Research Tips for Writing
Fees: Negotiable
Contact: Carol Fisher, 201 Westgate, Kennett, MO 63857
vcarolfisher@yahoo.com
573-888-3620 (home/office) or 573-888-7248 (cell)
Wayne E. Groner, Springfield, Missouri, is a personal historian and memoir-writing coach. He is co-author of Dumb Luck or Divine Guidance (memoir/corporate history), Levell-Drew Family History (family history), and The Pastor’s Guide to Fund-raising Success (nonfiction). His articles and book reviews on a variety of topics have appeared in Ozarks Mountaineer, Your Community Hospice, Ozarks Magazine, Springfield Business Journal, Rural Missouri and Congregations, among others.
He has more than twenty-five years of experience as a radio and television news reporter, author, freelance writer, and workshop presenter to national and local organizations. Groner teaches a monthly class at the Springfield Library Center, "Writing Your Life Story."
Speaking topics:
- How to Get Paid Writing Memoirs
- Writing with a Co-author
- So, You Have to Make a Speech: Lessons Learned from White Rabbit
Fee: $150 plus expenses.
Contact: waynegroner@yourmemoriesyourbook.com, 417-883-4532.
Blog: www.waynegroner.blogspot.com
Mary Horner is the author of Strengthen Your Nonfiction Writing. She is the former managing editor of Solutions Magazine and the Journal of the American Optometric Association. She won the “Most Informative Article” award from the National Safety Council, earned the Writing Certificate from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and the editing/writing certification from the American Medical Writers Association. She teaches communications at St. Louis and St. Charles Community Colleges. Mary blogs about writing at writRteachR.blogspot.com.
Topics: Editing, Interviewing, Outlining/Organizing, Researching and Public Speaking
Fees: vary
Contact: mehorner@charter.net
Sally Jadlow is an award-winning writer who has published three books and numerous poems and short stories. Sonflower Seeds, a collection of poetry and inspirational short stories, took first place for Best Book of Poetry 2002 at the Oklahoma Writer's Federation Inc. Her short story, “Sara’s Surprise,” took first place in 2006 at the Missouri Writers’ Guild conference.
The Late Sooner, Sally's most recent book, is a historical novel based on her great-grandfather's diary. He took part in the first land run in Oklahoma in 1889.
Sally is on staff, teaching creative writing at Christ Prep Academy in Kansas City . She has presented before various schools in the Kansas City area, Girard Christian Writers, and Heart of America Christian Writers Network.
She is knowledgeable about:
Poetry writing and editing
Book promotion and sales
Self-publishing and publishing with an editor
Devotional writing
Sjadlow@aol.com or SallyJadlow.com; 913-888-1558 (home); Speaker's fee: $150 plus expenses (gasoline up to 120 miles from Overland Park, Kansas [Kansas City Area]; hotel and gasoline beyond 120 miles.)
Veda Boyd Jones speaks at writers' conferences, literature festivals, young authors' conferences, and schools. She's the author of 42 books, nine for adults and 33 for children, both fiction and nonfiction, and also writes for magazines. Previous sessions for writers' conferences include: Dialogue, Characterization, Marketing Your Book, Plotting, Writing Biographies, Historical Fiction. She has served on the faculty at several conferences including Highlights' Chautauqua Writers' Conference in NY, the SCBWI conference in Kansas City, Kansas, and RWA Conference in Dallas, TX.
Previous literature festivals include Children's Literature Festival in Warrensburg, MO; Children's Literature Festival of the Ozarks, Springfield, MO; Branson Sixth Grade Lit Fest, Branson, MO; and Children's Lit Fest in Waynesville, MO. She's made school visits in MO, KS, OK, and AR, and has presented in-service workshops to English teachers.
Fees: Travel expenses and $500/day for four sessions at school visits. Travel expenses and $200 per session at writers' conferences.
Contact Veda through her website www.vedaboydjones.com
Ross Malone, Union, Missouri, writes short stories and compilations about Missouri’s history. He has authored four Missouri-themed books and several magazine articles. Ross is the President of Four Rivers Writers Guild in east-central Missouri where published authors help novices through the publishing process.
His books now available include, Tales from Missouri and the Heartland, a School Edition of that book, Eight Tough Kids about Missouri kids facing adolescent problems, and his most popular, This Day in Missouri History.
Ross has decades of experience as a teacher, salesman, radio host and has lived and worked on farms, small towns, and our largest cities. He says Missouri history comes naturally to him because he’s witnessed most of it!
TOPICS
- Finding and Writing History’s Stories
- Using Stories to Increase Retention (for Educators)
- Finding and Writing the Family’s Stories (for Genealogists)
Fee: $150 plus expenses suggested.
Contact: RnDMalone@att.net, (636) 583-4768. Website: www.RossMalone.com
Becky Povich has been an avid reader and book lover since she was a child. She wrote one, very short fictional story during the summer after 5th grade, but when a teacher marked all the grammatical errors with her red pen, she didn’t write for years. She recently realized however that all the letters she wrote to pen-pals, family, and friends, and all the company newsletters she composed, were writing.
Becky has spoken at both public and private schools, from kindergarten through high school seniors. She has also given a presentation at a library function. In her late fifties and writing for the past ten years, Becky stresses the importance of learning to Go For Your Dream, no matter your age. She speaks about the emotions she encountered when writing her first personal essay and how it became published in a Chicken Soup for the Soul book; also about the columns I wrote for two different newspapers, and various other publications. She bring along items for a “Show & Tell” kind of presentation, and I always have hand-outs, depending on the age group involved. Since I write memoir and personal essays, I emphasize the importance of keeping a journal, whether it’s fancy and expensive, or a plain spiral notebook. I also like to mention the value of having an elderly family member fill out one of the various memory books available. And if I’m speaking to a mature group, I stress the importance for them to fill out a memory book for their younger family members. What may seem insignificant today could be a magical memory in the future. (I have letters of recommendation I can provide.)
Fees: Not at present (2011).
Contact Info: Becky Povich, P.O. Box 276, St. Peters, MO 63376
Cell: 314-378-7707
E-mail: Writergal53@aol.com
Blog: www.beckypovich.blogspot.com
Catherine Rankovic, keynote speaker for the 2010 annual Missouri Writers Guild conference, is the author of four books: Meet Me: Writers in St. Louis (Penultimate, 2010), Island Universe: Essays and Entertainments (WingSpan, 2007); Fierce Consent and Other Poems (WingSpan, 2005) and Guilty Pleasures: Indulgences, Addictions, and Obsessions (Andrews McMeel, 2003). She received her M.F.A. from Washington University, and has taught there since 1989; she also teaches in the online M.F.A. program at Lindenwood University and is the Literary Coordinator for Chesterfield Arts. Her essays and poems have appeared in The Missouri Review, The Iowa Review, Boulevard, River Styx, Umbrella, The Progressive, Natural Bridge, Gulf Coast, St. Louis Magazine, and other journals and anthologies. Her awards include the Missouri Biennial Award for essay writing, first place in the 2009 Midwest Writing Center's annual poetry competition, first place in the 2010 St. Louis Poetry Center's annual competition, and an Academy of American Poets award. Her website is www.BookEval.com.
Topics:
Writers and Money; First Steps to a Writing Career; What Your Creative-Writing Instructor is Thinking; The Myth of the Lone Writer; Publishing Scams; Manuscript Preparation and Publication; Writing About Your Life; Writing Your Author Bio; Finding a Good Title for Your Book; Do You Need a Book Doctor?; George Orwell; Sylvia Plath; The Art of the Interview; Writing the Narrative Poem; The Ten Most Common Fiction-Writing Pitfalls; Planning and Running a Writing Contest; Alternatives to the Writing Workshop; The Future of Publishing.
Speaking Fee: $150/hour plus travel expenses
Editing and Consulting Services: $75/hour
Contact: catherinerankovic@bookeval.com Website: BookEval.com
Robin (Moore) Theiss is a writer, photographer, and speaker with authorial credits that include short stories, newspaper and magazine articles, essays, poetry, and a wide range of business communications. Her photography has been published in magazines, literary journals, and on Internet Web sites. A former marketing executive in the insurance industry, Robin has devoted her energies full time toward furthering writers' organizations since 2001, serving on the boards of the Writers' Society of Jefferson County, Missouri Writers’ Guild, Missouri Center for the Book, and most recently, St. Louis Writers Guild where she held the position of president from 2005-2008.
Contact Robin at robin@robintheiss.comRobin Tidwell is the author of REDUCED and REUSED, and lives in the St. Louis, Missouri area with her husband, Dennis, and their youngest son. She has a rather eclectic educational background, and finally finished her B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies. She has held a plethora of jobs, appointments, and volunteer positions, and tries very hard to make it through one week at a time without a crisis.
Robin and Dennis are the owners of All on the Same Page Bookstore and Rocking Horse Publishing.
Topics: writing, editing, publishing, marketing, bookselling, and promotion, as well as parenting, camping and the outdoors, and prepping and survival.
Speaker’s Fee: Fees start at $50 within the St. Louis region; engagements booked outside the metro area will require travel expenses.
Contact: You can reach Robin via her website, http://www.RobinTidwell.com, or by phone at (314)825-6860Anene (Hauschultz) Tressler currently co-owns a small company specializing in corporate writing for print and film/video production and meetings. Her projects include film and video production and scriptwriting, executive speechwriting, and program and management consulting for national for-profit and not-for-profit private and public sector clients.
She has Masters Degrees from Washington University (Liberal Arts) and the University of Missouri, St. Louis (Writing). Her undergraduate degrees are in Communication and Nursing from St. Louis University (different years). She teaches scriptwriting and media writing as an adjunct professor in the School of Communications at Webster University and has done so for several years.
Her award winning fiction and poetry have appeared in Best of Writers at Work anthology, The Distillery, Treasure House, Currents, River Blossom and Word Wright’s. Her non-fiction by-lines include: St. Louis Magazine, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Final Frontier Magazine,Senior Circuit, and Catholic Health World. Her debut novel, Dancing With Gravity was published in March 2011 by Blank Slate Press and won the International Book Award for literary fiction.
Her professional awards include broadcast television Emmys, the International Film and Television Festival of New York, Silver and Bronze Telly Awards for corporate productions, international and national prizes including International Association of Business Communicators’ Gold and Bronze Quills, a Saint Louis Advertising Federation Addy, Platinum and Gold Auroras, Pen Daltons, international Flame and Axiem awards, and other prestigious honors.
She is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society.
Topics:
I’ve offered workshops to adults and teens on the creative process, short stories, scriptwriting, poetry, writing in general.
Fees: Negotiable
Contact Info:
Anene M. Tressler-Hauschultz
Blackbird Creative, LLC
519 Angenette Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63122-6210
PH: 314-966-6404 (office)
E: Goblackbird@sbcglobal.net
Blog: AneneWrites.wordpress.comDonna Duly Volkenannt, St. Peters, Missouri, is an editor, a reviewer, an award-winning writer and a lover of the written word. Her works have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Cup of Comfort, Irish Inspirations, Mysteries of the Ozarks, Cactus Country, Mid Rivers Review, and other publications.
She has reviewed more than 200 fiction and nonfiction books for Bookreporter, Teenreads, Kidsreads, Thomas Nelson, and other sites. The Bookreporter network has featured her interviews with: Walter Dean Myers, Lois Duncan, Ally Carter, Sara Shepard, and other notable authors.
A 2011 Pushcart nominee, Donna is a past president of the Missouri Writers’ Guild, founding president of Saturday Writers, and has served on the boards of Ozarks Writers League and St. Louis Writers Guild.
She has participated in reading and writing events at libraries, schools, book stores, writers’ groups, and other venues. Donna specializes in presentations on creativity, craft, and the joy of writing.
Sample topics:
- Unleashing the Writer Within
- Reading and Writing for Love and Money
- Write to Win: Tips from a Contest Judge
- What I Learned About the Magic of Writing from Watching Nicholas Cage
Speaker fee per presentation (maximum two hours/50 participants): $150 plus expenses for handouts and gasoline (up to 125 miles from St. Peters, MO.) Beyond 125 miles: same fees and expenses plus hotel costs. Fees for larger groups negotiable.
E-mail dvolkenannt@charter.net or call 636-379-9362 http://donnasbookpub.blogspot.com
Cathie Wayland, St. Peters, Missouri, is the author of two light-hearted, cozy mystery novels. “For Crying Out Loud” was published by L & L Dreamspell in the summer of 2010, and her second novel, “Don’t Rock the Boat”, is slated for publication in spring of 2011. Cathie is also a columnist for the Suburban Journals, and has contributed numerous articles to the publication. A graduate of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Cathie began her teaching career at the junior high level. Cathie holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration from Lindenwood University, and has served as an elementary school principal for over twenty-five years. A member of the Missouri Writers’ Guild, Cathie loves to see the brighter side of life, and interjects humor into everyday life at every opportunity, especially in writing.
Workshop topics include:
- writing a cozy mystery
- creating memorable characters/creating a friendship with characters
- putting your personal anecdotes to work
- co-authorship
Speaker’s Fee: $150 plus expenses (gasoline up to 120 miles from St. Louis, Missouri; gasoline and hotel beyond 120 miles from St. Louis, Missouri)
cathiesbooks@charter.net or (636) 578-8216 www.bernieandmike.comAll Missouri Writers’ Guild members are published authors or poets. However, the Guild cannot guarantee listed speakers will meet your specific needs.
- All speakers listed must be current MWG members in good standing.
- Limit information to 200 words.
- If desired, forward a photo as a jpg file.
- Include:
a. Brief outline of writing experience
b. Titled workshop presentations (you may add titles at any time, within word count)
c. List of experience as a presenter (you may add at any time)
d. Contact information and speaker's Web site
e. City where speaker lives
f. Speaking fee and/or expenses (for example, expenses only; gasoline expense only within 200 miles; hotel and gasoline beyond 200 miles) Note: Speakers who charge fees are more likely to be contacted if their fees are specified.
Follow the format of examples on the page, and send to Sarah Whitney at mwg.press@gmail.com with Speaker's Bureau Information in the Subject line.
