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Family secrets, messy dynamics, and unexpressed grievances are the fuel for some of the most compelling stories in literature. Join three accomplished regional authors—Christina Clancy, Jill Swenson, and Josh Rank—for an intimate, craft-focused conversation exploring the art of writing family drama.Set against the cozy backdrop of Pages and Pours on Friday, September 25, this panel dives deep into how writers translate the complexity of real-world domestic relationships onto the page. From navigating toxic dynamics and generational trauma to balancing multiple perspectives without losing narrative momentum, these authors will share how they construct fictional families that feel uncomfortably, beautifully real.
What you'll walk away with:
Examine techniques for building authentic, high-stakes family tension and realistic domestic conflict.
Learn how to balance multiple character viewpoints within a household to reveal shifting loyalties and buried secrets.
Discover strategies for grounding emotional family dynamics in vivid, specific settings that drive the plot forward.
Gain practical insight into how real-life emotional truths can inspire compelling fiction without losing nuance.
Where: Pages and Pours, Main Street De Pere, Wisconsin
When: Friday, September 25, 2026 at 5 pm
Admission: FREE! Cash bar available
Christina Clancy is the bestselling author of The Snowbirds, Shoulder Season and The Second Home. Her novels have been featured in People Magazine, Good Morning America, CNN, Travel & Leisure, Buzzfeed, Pop Sugar, and Shelf Awareness. The Second Home has been optioned for television and film and was selected by independent booksellers as an Indies Introduce and Indie Next pick. Her short stories and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Sun Magazine, and in various literary journals. She was born in Denver and raised in Milwaukee. She graduated from the University of Minnesota and worked at IBM before returning to school to earn a PhD in creative writing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. After graduating, she taught English at Beloit College before turning to writing full time. She lives in Madison with her very tall husband in their 1916 prairie-style house when she isn’t “snowbirding” in Palm Springs. She has two grown children who live in Chicago and New York City, and she has a little white dog named Bunny who loves everyone. Christi is a super smeller who can’t stand cilantro, a frequent flyer junkie, a terrible cook, a former cycling instructor, and an avid reader who wishes everyone would read on airplanes. She loves to practice yoga and barre, swim, travel, write, teach, visit book clubs, and join other writers in conversation.
Josh Rank is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and lives in Appleton, WI with his wife and two dogs. Publications include THE PRESENT IS PAST (Unsolicited Press, 2023) and CHANCE TO FADE & OTHER STORIES (Running Wild Press, 2025). His next novel ESTUARY (Unsolicited Press) is forthcoming in 2026. He keeps himself busy putting together ugly woodworking projects, cooking for his wife, and wishing his dogs were better behaved. Find him at www.joshrank.com.
Jill D. Swenson is the author of THE LAND OF EVERLASTING SKY: A MEMOIR OF LOSS AND LEGACY ON LAKE OF THE WOODS (June 2, 2026, She Writes Press, distributed by Simon & Schuster). For the past fifteen years she has been a literary agent and developmental editor. She grew up in the Twin Cities and moved to Wisconsin in high school. She graduated from Lawrence University and earned an MA and PhD from The University of Chicago before going on to teach journalism and media studies at the University of Georgia-Athens and earn tenure at Ithaca College. For a decade she lived off the grid on a small-scale sustainable farm in upstate New York; now she lives in Appleton, Wisconsin, where she belongs to the curling club and a poetry group, and enjoys walking her dog.
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Event venue
De Pere, Wisconsin, United States
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