What: A one-day conference demystifying the publishing industry
When: April 21, 2018 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Where: George C. Hoffmann Hall 1833 SW 11th Ave Portland, OR 97201
About the Conference
Write to Publish began as a fundraiser and open house to inform the public about the publishing program at Portland State University and the nonprofit press, Ooligan, at the heart of the program. In 2009, Write to Publish grew into a conference with the goal of demystifying the publishing industry for emerging writers. Each year, Write to Publish provides writers’ workshops, panels, vendors, and speeches hosted by authors and industry professionals, as well as raffles and writing contests with exciting prizes. These events offer emerging writers information about the state of the publishing industry and advise them on how to navigate it successfully.
Parking
Hoffmann Hall is located very close to PSU’s Parking Structure 3, which allows all-day parking on the basement and ground levels for $6.00. Other nearby garages and lots range from $7.00 to $12.00. Please visit PSU’s Visitor Parking page to view the map. Street parking is limited.
Food
Conference attendees are welcome to partake in a complimentary breakfast consisting of breakfast sandwiches, breakfast burritos (vegan), bagels (vegan), and fresh fruit. Beverages include coffee, orange juice, and water. Light snacks of fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, bread rolls, and cookies will be provided during the lunch break. For other lunch options, attendees are welcome to explore eateries on the PSU campus, including Starbucks, Rogue Hall, Chipotle, Subway, and the weekly Farmers Market in the PSU park blocks.
Vendor Fair
The Write to Publish 2018 Vendor Fair will be held in the foyer of Hoffmann Hall, where registration and attendee check-in are located. The Vendor Fair will be open 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and is free for attendees and the public.
Pitch to a Professional
The annual Pitch to a Professional event will take place during the conference lunch break from 12:10 p.m. to 1:10 p.m. The participating publishers for this year include Forest Avenue Press, Microcosm Publishing, Elly Blue Publishing, and Ooligan Press.
Each publisher will have six eight-minute slots available for pitching. Participants are encouraged to prepare a two-three minute pitch and leave the remaining five-six minutes for feedback from the publisher. Participants may pitch complete manuscripts, incomplete manuscripts, or ideas. This event is an educational opportunity only and is free for conference attendees.
To pitch to Forest Avenue Press, please register for a time slot at this link.
To pitch to Microcosm Publishing, please register for a time slot at this link.
To pitch to Elly Blue Publishing, please register for a time slot at this link.
To pitch to Ooligan Press, please register for a time slot at this link.
Time slots are filled on a first come, first served basis.
**Only one slot overall per participant. Please choose only one publisher.
Raffle
As always, this year’s conference features a raffle with outstanding prizes! Enter to win goodies such as:
- $200 in assorted English, French, Spanish, Japanese, and wordless comics and a $160 collectible KILLZONE figure from Cosmic Monkey Comics
- A tote bag (featuring a published poem) from Backwords Press
- A 3-hour trial of copyediting or developmental editing from Amylia Ryan Literary Editing Services
- A berries and chocolate gift basket from Made in Oregon
- An assortment of comics, including Scott Pilgrim, valued at $230 from Oni Press
- A $30 gift certificate and a signed copy of Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed from Broadway Books
- A $20 gift card to Ford Food + Drink
Tickets are available for $1 each, $3 for 5, and $11 for 20. Winners will be drawn at 5:15 p.m. Must be present to win.
Recent Updates
- Tips for Making a Successful Event - There's a lot that goes into making an event, whether you're hosting a one-day event like a conference, a simple one hour event, or an entire week's worth of activities. What makes a event successful? These are three simple tips that will help.
- What Comes Next: A Successful Anniversary Conference and Looking Ahead - Now that the conference is over, the Outreach and Project Development Team is starting to envision what Write to Publish 2019 will look like as well as focusing more heavily on the project development side of the team.
- How to Boost Your Query’s Success - In the past, the Ooligan blog has posted some great advice about query letters. For those who have never written a query before, you should go check those out first. However, with those resources available, we wanted to dive deeper into some pitch concepts: framing and in-person pitches. While the latter will primarily be of use to those participating in Write to Publish (or similar writing conferences), framing your book correctly is useful in all cases. Doing it correctly can really give your query letter a leg up on the competition.
Previous Conferences
Past Write to Publish conferences have focused on the publishing process, self and digital publishing, genre fiction, nonfiction, and New Adult. Over the years, many authors and publishing professionals have attended Write to Publish as panelists and speakers, including Ursula K. LeGuin, Chuck Palahniuk, Bernadette Baker-Baughman, Betsy Amster, Todd Sattersten, Michael McGregor, Paul Collins, Fiona Kenshole, Allison Moon, Arthur Bradford and more.