Winter Writing Festival returns Saturday to downtown Ravenna

Diane Smith, Ravenna Record-Courier
·3 min read

Ravenna's Winter Writing Festival returns Saturday.

The event will be in various locations in downtown Ravenna between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Amanda Flower, a best-selling novelist, will be the keynote speaker.

The Winter Writing Festival is Feb. 17 in Ravenna.
The Winter Writing Festival is Feb. 17 in Ravenna.

"We have a nice variety of artists and workshops this year," said Arasin Hughes, executive director of Main Street Ravenna.

The festival will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Ravenna 7 movie theater. Student winners of the annual writing contest will be recognized, and receive $50 cash prizes in various age categories. Hughes said this year, in addition to the Ravenna City Schools, students from the BioMed Science Academy, Crestwood Local Schools and local home-school students were invited to participate. The topic was memoir writing, with students asked to write about a time that was impactful in their lives.

After the awards are presented, Flower will speak. The local mystery author has published 50 books in 13 years, including contemporary, magical, historical, Amish and children's mysteries. Flower is a USA Today best-selling and Agatha Award-winning author. Her first Emily Dickinson Mystery, "Because I Could Not Stop for Death," was an Agatha Award winner and Mary Higgins Clark nominee.

After Flowers speaks, the group will attend various breakout sessions throughout downtown Ravenna.

The Learned Owl bookstore will be at Reed Memorial Library, and Books A GoGo will be at Bean and the Baker for popup book sales and author signings. The ArtSpace at Popped! will host a visual showing of incarcerated storytelling.

The tentative schedule includes:

  • Amanda Flower: 10:30-11:4 a.m., Ravenna 7 Theater.

  • Self-Publishing: It's possible and feasible, with writers Jay Brakenrich, Janet R. Fox, Dave Daniels and Sandy Engle: Noon to 1:15 p.m. at Reed Memorial Library.

  • Video Game Storytelling with Steven Schneider: 1:30 to 3:45 p.m. at Reed Memorial Library.

  • Writing Letters to the Heart with Lynn Bango: 1:30 to 2:15 p.m. at Bean & The Baker.

  • Brainstorm Your Story writing workshop with Susan Terkel: 1:30 to 2:15 p.m. at Main Street Ravenna

  • Telling the Story of Places with Dr. Angela Bilia: 2:30 p.m. at West Main Winery

  • WICK Poetry Society-Poetry Out Loud: noon to 2:15 p.m.

  • Lora Gray: Writing Speculative Fiction Short Stories with Lora Gray: 2:30 to 3:45 p.m. at Main Street Ravenna.

  • The Dos and Don’ts of Short Story Writing with Seth Borgen: 4 to 5:15 p.m. at Reed Memorial Library.

  • Poetry in Motion with the Ohio Poetry Association: 3 to 5 p.m. at Tavern 1888.

  • Taking the Words Right Out of Your Mouth-Recycling Published Poems into Original Works with Dr. Leah Schell-Barber: 2:30 to 3:45 p.m.

  • Look at this! Writing for Marketing & Advertising in the Digital Age with Justin Barber: 3:45 to 5 p.m.

After the workshops, participants and hosts are invited to an after-party to discuss the day's events.

The Winter Writing Festival launched in 2019. This year's event will be the first in-person since 2020.

Cost is $10 per person, and registration is available on Main Street Ravenna's website.

Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at 330-298-1139 or dsmith@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Winter Writing Festival is back Saturday in downtown Ravenna