Stephanie Winkelhake

Last week I attended my first writing conference ever. You know the saying. If you’re going to go, go big. And the RWA National Conference was, well, HUGE.

I flew in last Wednesday morning and raced to the hotel for YARWA’s Day of YA. I’m so glad I did. Though I missed the first half of the scheduled day, Alex Sokoloff’s Screenwriting Tips for Writers workshop was well worth the registration cost itself. And Simone Elkeles…anyone who was there can tell you. That lady is seriously funny AND smart.

The next few days included a few more fabulous workshops, some book signings, luncheons, a champagne reception, and a Harlequin pajamas party. All this leading up to Saturday, the day of the big awards ceremony.

Gulp.

I’d heard it coined ‘the Oscars for books.’ Yep, that pretty much sums it up. I’d be lying if I said that stage didn’t terrify this introvert. (Spoiler alert: I didn’t have to go up on that stage, but still…ALL THOSE BRIGHT LIGHTS. *cheers for Romily*)

The biggest benefit of the conference was the friendships made. I’d talked to fellow YA finalists Romily Bernard, Mary Danielson, Pintip Dunn, Megan Macijauskas (M. Kassel), Natalie Vawter, and Cecily White over social media, but meeting them in person was definitely the highlight of last week. And watch out, world, because these ladies are beyond talented. Marni Bates, Darcy Woods, and Natalie Markey (to name a few—there were countless others) were also part of the reason last week was so much fun.

Even though SDCC is the same week as RWA 2013 (ouch!), I hope to see everyone in Atlanta next year!

This entry was posted on Friday, August 3rd, 2012 at 6:52 pm and is filed under RWA, Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.