60th Annual Cape Cod Writers Conference is back – in person

Editor's note: This story was modified Aug. 1 to correct the name of the writer, Barbara Clark, and to add registration details supplied to the Cape Cod Times after deadline.

The Cape Cod Writers Center will host its annual conference from Thursday through Sunday, as more than 100 attendees from all parts of the country will convene at the Resort and Conference Center in Hyannis.

“We’re meeting in person again,” Center President Barbara E. Struna said.

From 2020 through 2022, COVID-19 restrictions meant the center held no on-site annual conferences.

Learning the writing ropes

The schedule for the convention, which includes two-and-a-half days of courses that focus on the fast-changing world of publishing and its latest trends, will have classes such as “Selling on Amazon,” “Screenwriting,” “Self-Publishing” and “Genre Bending.” The conference format features individual speakers, an agent panel and participation by instructors and mentors with a track record of literary expertise. A major focus is the opportunity for attendees to meet with instructors and other writers for one-on-one manuscript mentoring sessions.

The keynote speaker on Saturday is the American nonfiction author Verlyn Klinkenborg, a member of the editorial board at The New York Times from 1997 to 2013, who now teaches at Yale University.

Author and center member Ray Anderson of Hingham, who has attended the annual conferences for more than a decade, said that the in-person ingredient offers a unique opportunity for aspiring writers. For Anderson, the “networking aspect” with colleagues and consultants has been invaluable. It’s how he “learned the ins and outs of the trade,” taking advantage of the opportunity to share preliminary manuscripts for each of his three thriller novels with on-site mentors and trade expertise with other writers.

A later-in-life writing career for former businessman Kevin Symmons turned into the successful publication of five novels beginning in 2012. Becoming part of the Cape Cod center “changed my writing life,” said Symmons, who went on to serve as a board member and president. Conference participation, he said, offers a real opportunity to learn the craft.

"It was the genesis of my writing,” Symmons said. With such a wide area of expertise on site, he added, that "there are people there who are going to help you.”

A decade of rapid change

The many changes taking place in the publishing world have added new facets to conference programs.

One major change is the growing diversity in publishing options that have transformed the industry, opening up new routes for aspiring authors to get their work “out there.” The “Big Five” traditional publishing houses now share the publishing stage with a host of mid-size publishing groups that offer a variety of ways to go about making a book available to the public in digital or print format.

In addition, book publishing services for self-published authors have continued to explode, adding a whole new layer to the publishing industry. According to Struna, over the past few years the self-publishing option “has gotten a better image,” as writers become knowledgeable about locating services that can produce a “more professional effort” in the finished book.

After starting out with a small publisher, Struna, herself the author of five books of fiction and nonfiction, has gravitated to publishing her own books. “I wanted to own” all my works, she said. Rather than contracting with a publishing service, she manages the process herself, working with a longtime editor, formatter, cover designer and proofreader.

Artificial intelligence on the horizon

“Like it or not, we’re going to have to understand and negotiate with the increasing dominance of AI,” according to Nancy Rubin Stuart, executive director of the center since 2011. Stuart, who has authored eight books since 1981 with mainstream publishers, said the center seeks “to remain current with the fast-moving changes” in the publishing industry, and will continue to assess the major impact of today’s “technological advances that loom over all creative work.”

Both Stuart and Struna noted the similar issues surfacing in the ongoing Hollywood writers strike. “It’s going to become a new battle for publishers,” Stuart said.

Here's how to participate in the conference

The 60th Annual Cape Cod Writers Conference is held Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 3-6 at the Emerald Resort and Conference Center, 35 Scudder Ave., Hyannis. Struna said walk-in registration will be available on opening day only, from 2-4:30 p.m., at the hotel for sessions which still have openings. For more information, visit https://capecodwriterscenter.org/conference-2/.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Annual Hyannis writers event will address new technology in publishing