2025 Pocono Writers Conference

SCHEDULE

9:00: MICHAEL A. VENTRELLA: Registration, check-in, and introductions

9:15: KELLY JENSEN: “Get Covered: Appealing and Professional Book Covers”: How to work with your publisher or a graphic designer to produce eye-catching and market-appropriate covers. This presentation is for people working with traditional publishers (large and small press) and those publishing independently. Topics will range from how and when to provide input to a designer to how to approach doing it on your own.

10:30: JON McGORAN: “Exposition & Economy”: Info dumps and other expository writing can bog down your prose and turn your fast-paced thriller into a slog. This session will help you identify clunky exposition in your writing, and show you techniques and strategies to minimize expository writing while still getting across the information your readers need to get the most from your story.

11:30: Lunch (not provided, but there are lots of places nearby or you can bring your own)

12:30: CAITLIN ROZAKIS: “Past the First Draft: Revising Your Work”: You’ve typed the last sentence—does that mean you’re done? Unfortunately, most work is not ready to go after the first draft. But how can you identify which darlings need killing? We’ll talk about some of the different kinds of editing your book may need, revision strategies, and how to get the final version of your work closer to your goals.

1:45: JONATHAN MABERRY: “Emotional Complexity for Heroes and Villains”: Heroes and villains are, and should always be, emotionally and psychologically complex. There are some fun and useful ways to build compelling lead characters that turn characters into ‘people’, and that invites readers to bond with them, thereby enriching the entire reading experience. NY Times bestseller Jonathan Maberry will share some tips, tricks, and insights for crafting the characters that will make your novel come alive!

3:00: MICHAEL A. VENTRELLA: Panel Discussion and Question and Answer session with all panelists

Admission is free but seating is limited. Please only sign up if you are sure you will be attending. If you later discover you cannot attend, please delete your reservation so there will be enough room for everyone. Do not reserve space for anyone other than yourself — if there is more than one reservation under your name, the extra ones will be deleted.

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CRITIQUES

Each of the participants are holding smaller sessions during the presentations where you can get individual critiques and comments. (Alternatively, the presenters may instead do this entirely by zoom or through email, depending on schedules.)

These sessions are $20 each. You can sign up for as many as you want but you must pre-register because space is limited. Please note that by signing up for these personal sessions, you will miss some of the other presentations.

The panelists will contact you by email prior to the session to discuss writing samples and other requirements.

Note that the deadline for signing up for these sessions is APRIL 1 (no fooling).

9:15: Caitlin Rozakis

10:45: Jonathan Maberry

12:30: Jon McGoran

1:45: Kelly Jensen

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ABOUT THE PRESENTERS

If aliens ever land on Earth, KELLY JENSEN will not be prepared, despite having read over a hundred stories of the apocalypse. Still, she will pack her precious books into a box and carry them as she strives to survive. It’s what bibliophiles do. Kelly is the award-winning author of seventeen novels, including the critically acclaimed Chaos Station series, co-written with Jenn Burke. Some of what she writes is speculative, but mostly it’s just about a guy losing his socks or burning dinner. Because life isn’t all conquering aliens and mountain peaks. Sometimes finding a happy ever after is all the adventure we need. Her web page is https://kellyjensenwrites.com/

JONATHAN MABERRY is a NYTimes bestseller, 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, 4-time Scribe Award winner, Inkpot Award winner, and author of over fifty novels. He is also a comic book writer, poet, executive producer, and writing teacher. His vampire apocalypse book series, V-WARS, was a Netflix original series; his novel, Rot & Ruin, is in development for film with Alcon Entertainment; and his Joe Ledger thrillers are being developed for TV by Chad Stahelski, director of the JOHN WICK movies. He writes horror, sci-fi, fantasy, adventure, thrillers, and more. He’s president of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers, and the editor of Weird Tales Magazine. His web page is https://www.jonathanmaberry.com/ (NOTE that Jonathan will be appearing virtually by zoom)

JON McGORAN is the author of eleven novels for adults and young adults, including his latest science fiction thriller, The Price of Everything, coming April 2025 from Solaris Books. His other books include the YA science fiction thrillers Spliced,Splintered, and Spiked and the science thrillers Drift, Deadout, and Dust Up. He has also written numerous short stories. Spliced was named to the American Library Association’s inaugural LITA Excellence in Children’s and Young Adult Science Fiction Notable List and shortlisted for the 2019/2020 South Carolina Young Adult Book Award. Both Spliced andSplintered were named Best Books for Young Readers by the American Bookseller’s Association. McGoran is a developmental editor and ghostwriter, and he teaches in Drexel University’s Creative Writing MFA program. He lives outside Philadelphia with his wife Elizabeth, a librarian. For more, visit www.jonmcgoran.com or @JonMcGoran on social media.

CAITLIN ROZAKIS is the New York Times bestselling author of Dreadful. Her contemporary romance novella Leah’s Perfect Christmas, written as Catherine Beck, was adapted as the Hallmark Channel Original Movie Leah’s Perfect Gift. After graduating from Princeton, she has had too many career changes, including mechanical engineering (cut short after the murderous robot incident), finance (amortizing tequila receivables is not as fun as drinking tequila), and the American Museum of Natural History (who knew emus had birth certificates?), and a number of marketing positions, some at companies you may have even heard of. Her next book, The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association, is coming from Titan Books in May 2025. Her web page is https://www.caitlinrozakis.com/

MICHAEL A. VENTRELLA is a Stroudsburg writer with five novels so far, including Big Stick and Bloodsuckers: A Vampire Runs for President. He’s edited a dozen anthologies, including the Baker Street Irregulars anthologies (co-edited with New York Times Bestselling author Jonathan Maberry); Three Time Travelers Walk Into…, and Release the Virgins. His short stories have appeared in other anthologies and magazines. He’s also written nonfiction books about the US Constitution, The Beatles, and the Monkees. At his web page (MichaelAVentrella.com), he interviews authors and editors and gives advice for the starting writer. In his spare time, he is a lawyer.

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The members of The Pocono Liars are committed to making this conference one where every person in attendance feels supported and respected for their endeavors, and a place where all writers feel welcome and are treated with courtesy, patience and respect. While we as individuals might not share the same world views, we in The Pocono Liars believe it is imperative to develop a safe environment for creatives from all backgrounds and beliefs to gather in support of one another. It is our collective wish to provide such a venue in support of the intellectual integrity of all those who attend and wish to participate.

Additionally, as writers, we feel it is especially important that we respect the boundaries of each individual. Therefore, while proactive critiques are most certainly welcome and appreciated, we especially request that those in attendance refrain from putting fellow writers in a position of validating their choice of genre, lifestyle or story. Thank you.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Hughes Library, 1002 North 9th Street, Stroudsburg, United States