Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025

Bestselling authors. Writing professors. Publishing industry professionals. Medical, firearms and investigative experts. And for the first time ever, a Young Writers' Track for students ages 12-20.

Whether you are a veteran writer who publishes independently or traditionally, or are just starting on your writing journey, our one-day conference has something for you. 

9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Rancho Cordova City Hall

2729 Prospect Park Drive

Rancho Cordova, CA 95670

Keynote Speaker: Bestselling Author Catriona McPherson

Catriona McPherson, a multi-award-winning author of suspense thrillers and historical mysteries as well as humorous whodunits set in a fictional Davis, is also past national president of Sisters in Crime.

SPEAKERS WILL INCLUDE: 

Simon Wood, award-winning, USA Today bestselling thriller author, on creating conflict and suspense in your narrative. Simon is the author of more than a dozen novels in both the thriller and horror genres (as Simon Janus), and an acclaimed short story writer. He is also a highly regarded teacher on different aspects of the writing craft.

Tori Eldridge, bestselling author of Kaua‘i Storm, Dance Among the Flames and the award winning and multi-nominated Lily Wong Ninja Thrillers, as she shares secrets for how to write thrilling action scenes that keep your readers breathless for more. Whether writing a chaotic wedding or a Mission Impossible-esque chase sequence, action scenes are the perfect time to immerse your readers in a sensorial and emotional experience that will bond them to your characters, and make them feel they are there.

Michelle Chouinard, Edgar Award nominee and bestselling author, on weaving humor into your writing, no matter what genre you write. Michelle is the author of the Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco mystery series and the Jo Fournier series. 

Laurie McLean of Fuse Literary, literary agent specializing in middle-grade, young-adult and adult genre fiction (including romance, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, suspense, thrillers, and U.S. westerns), on how the agenting side of the writing business works. Laurie will conduct pitch sessions at the conference for three writers. Come prepared to enter that day's drawing to win--bring everything you need to pitch to Laurie that afternoon! You could be one of our three lucky winners!

Eileen Rendahl, national-bestselling, award-winning author and experienced developmental editor, on why writers might need developmental editing and what to expect from the process.

Karl Henwood, U.S. Army veteran and firearms expert, will cover a brief history of firearms as a technology; a short history of American gun culture; basic marksmanship; terminal ballistics–what bullets actually do when they hit things; types of firearms and where and why they are used; and weapon choice and maintenance and their implications for writing. He also puts on a twice-yearly range day event north of Sacramento for writers to get hands-on experience with firearms. Go to www.writersandguns.com for information about his Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, event. 

A former sheriff deputy/missing persons investigator on how a person disappears, and how to find them.

An emergency medicine physician on what different kinds of injuries do to the body and how to write realistic scenes.

Bryan Patrick Avery, award-winning poet and author of stories and books for children and teens, presenting “Get Started on Your Mystery." Attendees will create an amateur sleuth, identify their Obsession, and give them a Secret or Condition that drives the story. Then, they create a crime for them to solve, and give the sleuth some suspects that will make solving the crime challenging. Attendees leave with the major building blocks to get started writing their own story or novel.

Dale Berry, acclaimed graphic novelist and comic book artist/author of Tales of the Moonlight Cutter, with an introduction to the art forms and an overview of both writing and drawing.

Dorothy Rowena Rice, board member at Sacramento creative writing and literacy non-profit 916 Ink, on resources for young writers and venues where they can publish and present their work, whether they're just beginning their journey or are well on their way, and covering multiple genres (including mystery of course!). The session will include informal writing exercises designed to help zero in on the stories they want to tell and where they hope to be with their writing in five years (sharing optional!). Dorothy is the managing editor at Under the Gum Tree, a reader supported, quarterly literary arts magazine that publishes creative nonfiction and visual art. 

Shea Robinson, a local Sacramento author with more than a decade of writing and workshop experience, presenting on “The Shea Method: Getting Your First Draft Published,” an interactive session where authors of all ages (recommended 13+) will gain valuable insight on what it takes to be a writer and learn the tools needed to take their manuscript from first draft to publication. During Robinson’s session, attendees will engage in writing sprints, learn how to review their work as an editor, practice their elevator pitch, and leave with knowledge on indie and traditional publishing.