#FREE Workshops for Aspiring & Up-and-Coming Authors
Are you an aspiring author? Thinking about self-publishing? Need tips for marketing your work? Want to learn how to get your book on the library's shelves? Get help writing, publishing, and marketing your book with free workshops at the Library!
There are two Writer's Lab workshops in August offered by our friends from the Authors Roundtable of Northeast Florida. Plus, information about this year's Jax Book Fest 2024: Writer's Day is now live on our blog and events calendar. Save your seat now!
Authors Roundtable: First Saturday in August
Explore "Writing Place and Personal" with Michelle Lizet Flores on Saturday, August 3, from 10:15 - 11:15 a.m. at the Main Library (and live on Zoom). Fans of our Lit Chat author series may remember Michelle from her author interview at the Murray Hill Branch Library earlier this year. If you missed it, you can watch the recording on our YouTube channel or listen to the episode on our Completely Booked Podcast.
Michelle Lizet Flores is a graduate of the FSU and NYU creative writing programs. A poet and educator, she has previously been published in magazines and journals such as the NCTE English Journal, Rio Grande Review, and Salt Hill Journal. A finalist for the Juan Felipe Herrera Award for Poetry, she is the author of the chapbooks Cuentos from the Swamp and Memoria, as well as the picture book, Carlito the Bat Learns to Trick or Treat. Her short fiction can be found in the anthology, Places We Build in the Universe through Flowersong Press. Her first full-length collection of poetry, Invasive Species, is available at the Library and wherever books are sold.
Get Ready for Jax Book Fest with Authors Roundtable
If you're tabling at Jax Book Fest, you might want to register for the Writer's Lab: Polish Your Pitch workshop with Authors Roundtable on Saturday, August 17, from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. at the Main Library. During this two-hour hands-on workshop, you'll work with seasoned professionals to craft a compelling and persuasive elevator pitch, transform your speaking skills to effectively engage and connect with an audience, and record a short video you can use for marketing, social media, and other professional purposes.
Authors Roundtable is a local 501C3 that supports authors in reaching their highest potential by hosting educational forums, workshops, classes, and events. You can also join them one Saturday a month in the same room (or live on Zoom) to get help writing, editing, publishing, or marketing your book. All genres are welcome.
#Jax Book Fest 2024: Writer's Day
Join us starting Friday, September 20 from 12 - 5 p.m. at the Main Library for a two-day celebration of great books, fantastic authors, and all things reading! In between workshops, you'll also have the opportunity to network with fellow writers and writer's groups. We'll also be joined by three #1 New York Times bestselling authors, dozens of Jacksonville-based authors, and a few Florida Writer's Groups for Reader's Day on Saturday, September 21, from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Read more at jaxlibrary.org/bookfest.
Hands-On Workshops
(50 seats available, Conference Center: Multipurpose Room 1)
- Writer's Lab: Poetry Unleashed (Building Bonds Through Verse)
- Workshop with Taryn "Love Reigns" Wharwood from 12 - 1:30 p.m.
- Writer's Lab: Visual Storytelling
- Workshop with featured author Vashti Harrison from 2:30 - 4 p.m.
Lecture-Style Workshops
(380+ seats available, Conference Center: Hicks Auditorium)
- Writer's Lab: Sense of Place & Identity in Immigrant Fiction
- Workshop with Sohrab Homi Fracis from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
- Writer's Lab: Writing Stories, Lifting Voices, Sharing Lives
- Oral History 101 workshop with Dr. Kitty Oliver from 4 - 5 p.m.
- This program is made possible by a grant from the Mellon Foundation.
Repeating Workshops
(Limited seating, Center for Adult Learning: Computer Lab)
Our partners at Biblioboard will be offering FREE one-hour, hands-on workshops on how to format and publish your manuscript using Pressbooks. With this FREE online tool, you can submit your e-book to the Florida Indie Author Collection or get your manuscript ready for on-demand printing. Pressbooks is a great option if you want complete control over your own content or the ability to collaborate with other authors and editors.
Choose the time that works best for you: 12 - 1 p.m., 2-3 p.m., 4-5 p.m. You can use the Library's computers to follow along or feel free to bring your own laptop.
Networking & Resources for Writers
Looking to make friends with and learn from other authors? Need help getting your manuscript ready to print? From accountability partners and feedback on each other's works-in-progress to writing tips and advice for avoiding pitfalls and navigating the publishing (and self-publishing) worlds... Whatever genre you're working in, there's a writer's group that's right for you!
Drop by the Conference Level Learning Space anytime between 12 - 5 p.m. on Friday, September 20, for networking and resources. We'll be joined by representatives from Authors Roundtable of Northeast Florida, First Coast Romance Writers, Women Writing for (a) Change Jacksonville, Mystery Writers of America Florida Chapter, and others.
