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Welcome Home…
The RMFW Board and newly formed Conference Committee is excited to announce our Colorado Gold Writers Conference will be held once again at the Renaissance Hotel, in the Central Park neighborhood in north Denver, during the weekend of October 15-17.
NOTE: Our in-person conference does mandate vaccinations, or for those unable to vaccinate, a negative PCR test within 72 hours of the beginning of the conference.
We look forward to seeing familiar and new faces this fall, whether in person or on camera! Check back soon for hotel booking information.
Physical Conference Pricing:
Early Bird Registration
June 1 – June 30
Member: $349.00
Non-Member: $399.00
Regular Registration
July 1 – September 25
Member: $399.00
Non-Member: $449.00
Late Registration
September 25 – October 10
Member: $549.00
Non-Member:$599.00
Virtual Conference Pricing: VIRTUAL CONFERENCE HAS BEEN CANCELLED
Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers sadly announces that the virtual option for our 2021 Colorado Gold Writers Conference did not reach enough registrations to proceed. With only half of the participants needed to make the virtual element cost-effective, we made the tough choice to cancel that portion of our event and are instead moving forward only with the in-person conference at the Renaissance Central Park Hotel in Denver, Oct. 15-17.
Our organizers are certainly disappointed, and we know you are, too. However, all virtual conference registration fees will be refunded, with refunds arriving within one month, or can be rolled over into an in-person registration. Note: Our in-person conference does mandate vaccinations, or for those unable to vaccinate, a negative PCR test within 72 hours of the beginning of the conference.
Again, RMFW apologizes for the unexpected change and appreciates your understanding as we navigate organizing a conference during an ongoing pandemic. Direct any questions to conference@rmfw.org.
If you have any questions about Conference, please reach out to conference@rmfw.org.
Accommodations
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Come stay with us at the Renaissance Denver Central Park Hotel. Room rates from October 11th thru October 20th 2021 are $118 per night at our group rate, which must be booked before September 23rd, 2021.
3801 Quebec St, Denver, CO 80207
Keynote Speakers
Gail Carriger
![Gail Carriger Picture](https://rmfw.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Gail-Carriger_VanessaApplegate.jpg)
Gail Carriger writes comedies of manners mixed with steampunk and urban fantasy (plus sexy queer joy as G.L. Carriger). Her books include the Parasol Protectorate, Custard Protocol, Tinkered Stars, and San Andreas Shifter series for adults, and the Finishing School series for young adults. Also nonfiction: The Heroine’s Journey: For Writers, Readers, and Fans of Pop Culture. She is published in many languages, has over a million books in print, over a dozen New York Times and USA Today bestsellers, and starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus, and Romantic Times.
Her debut made Audible’s Best list, was a Publishers Weekly Best Book, an IndieBound Notable, and a Locus Recommended Read. She has received the ALA’s Alex Award, the Prix Julia Verlanger, the Elbakin Award, the Steampunk Chronicle’s Reader’s Choice Award, and a Starburner Award. She was once an archaeologist and is fond of shoes, cephalopods, and tea. For more information, visit www.gailcarriger.com
Rachel Howzell Hall
![Rachel Howzell Hall](https://rmfw.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Rachel-Howzell-Hall-Pic-2020-819x1024.jpg)
Rachel Howzell Hall is the critically acclaimed author and Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist for And Now She’s Gone, which was also nominated for the Lefty-, Barry- and Anthony Awards. A New York Times bestselling author of The Good Sister with James Patterson, Rachel is an Anthony-, International Thriller Writers- and Lefty Award nominee and the author of They All Fall Down, Land of Shadows, Skies of Ash, Trail of Echoes and City of Saviors in the Detective Elouise Norton series. She is a former member of the board of directors for Mystery Writers of America and has been a featured writer on NPR’s acclaimed Crime in the City series and the National Endowment for the Arts weekly podcast; she has also served as a mentor in Pitch Wars and the Association of Writers Programs. Rachel lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter. For more information, visit www.rachelhowzell.com
John DeDakis
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Novelist and writing coach John DeDakis [pronounced: dee-DAY-kiss] is a former editor on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.” DeDakis is the author of five mystery-suspense novels. His fourth novel, Bullet in the Chamber, is the winner of Reviewers Choice, Foreword INDIES, and Feathered Quill book awards. In his most recent novel, Fake, protagonist Lark Chadwick is a White House correspondent trying to walk the line between personal feelings and dispassionate objectivity in the era of “fake news” and #MeToo. Fake earned Honorable Mention for the Reviewers Choice Award and was a Finalist for Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion Award. DeDakis, a former White House correspondent, is a manuscript editor, and regularly teaches novel writing online and at literary centers, writers’ conferences, and bookstores around the country and abroad. He is also a jazz drummer. Website: www.johndedakis.com
Master Classes – $75.00 Add On
Deep Listening & Key Scenes – John DeDakis Intermediate/ Professional A master class for intermediate writers with a special emphasis on writing and revising a key scene, and developing “deep listening” skills in order to help a writer gain empathy and understanding about people of other genders, races, and cultures to create characters of depth and dynamism. |
Queries: Simple, Solid, Striking – Ashley Wyrick Professional This 3-hour publishing workshop will train writers in the art of creating a query letter. Ashley Wyrick would like to work with authors in brainstorming, drafting, and finalizing an efficient, effective, and captivating query letter. Authors who attend her workshop will leave with a final query letter ready to be sent out to agents and publishers. This workshop is for intermediate or advanced writers who have a finished or almost finished manuscript and are ready to query. |
Ideas to Novels – Rachel Howzell Hall Beginner Critically-acclaimed author Rachel Howzell Hall shares her step-by-step process for turning ideas into a novel of suspense. She will share her toolbox and all that she knows about writing novels, so that you can write your own story. There are no shortcuts—but there is a process that you can learn to love. Topics include: creating complex characters, plotting and editing, and fitting living into your writing. |
The Heroine’s Journey – Gail Carriger Beginner We’ve all heard about the Hero’s Journey, but how often do we hear about the Heroine’s Journey? Multiple NYT Bestseller and chronic writer of the Heroine’s Journey, Gail Carriger, provides a full break down of what aspects of heroine’s journey make for compelling narrative and voracious readers, where these elements originate, why they’re successful, and how to write them. Take control of story structure by delving behind the scenes for hidden messages. Learn hacks and tips to improve your writing and make it more commercially viable. Gain insight into under-studied narrative conventions and modern publishing markets. Guaranteed to leave you looking at plot structure in pop culture differently for the rest of your life. |
Conference Info
Conference Code of Conduct
The RMFW Colorado Gold Writers Conference is dedicated to providing an inclusive, harassment-free conference experience for everyone regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, age, disability, physical appearance, level of education, or writing experience. We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form. Conference participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the
conference without a refund at the discretion of the conference organizers. Our anti-harassment policy can be found at: Code of Conduct
Volunteers
RMFW runs on volunteer support, and our conference is no exception. Please consider volunteering to help at the conference this year. Details and contact information will be posted in upcoming newsletters.