Wilson to Host Free Creative Writing Seminar on March 9

Wilson College will host a free seminar for aspiring writers age 14 and older from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 9, in the Brooks Science Center. The Wilson College Colloquium on Creative Writing will be led by six published authors ─ including two Wilson faculty members ─ who will offer sessions on fiction and poetry, and discuss such topics as writing technique, developing characters and plotlines, engaging readers, creating concrete imagery and making revisions.

After the included lunch, the colloquium will conclude with a question-and-answer session with all of the instructors, who will answer any question─from how to come up with story ideas and how to get published to writing tips and more.

“The colloquium is for anyone who has a passion for writing or has a desire to learn more about writing creatively,” said Michael Cornelius, Wilson Professor of English and author/or editor of 18 books. “This is a great opportunity to spend time with authors who are working writers, who have published with large publishing houses, multiple books in some cases, to be able to ask them questions about the publishing industry and what it’s like to be a writer in this day and age.”

Colloquium instructors are:

•    Cornelius, an award-winning author whose published works include five novels and short story collections. His short fiction has been published in a number of journals, magazines and anthologies. He is director of Wilson’s Master of Humanities program.
•    Matthew Diltz McBride, a Wilson instructor of English and creative writing whose first book, City of Incandescent Light, was published in 2018.
•    Hagerstown Community College Assistant Professor of English Alicia Drumgoole, a published writer whose first novel, Premonition ─ written under the pen name Agnes Jayne ─ is available through Amazon and major retailers.
•    Fiction and humor writer Seth Fried, author of the forthcoming novel, The Municipalists, and a recurring contributor to The New Yorker’s “Shouts and Murmurs” and NPR’s “Selected Shorts.” In addition to presenting a session on creating compelling plotlines, Fried will also offer a keynote reading of his work ─ open to anyone, whether or not they are attending the colloquium ─ from 12:30 to 1 p.m. in the science center auditorium.
•    Heather Hamilton, a prize-winning poet whose works have appeared in a number of journals and who teaches at Penn State Harrisburg.  
•    Penn State Harrisburg instructor Eric Bliman, whose chapbook, Travel and Leisure, won the Poetry Society of America's National Chapbook Fellowship in 2012 and whose poems have appeared in a number of literary journals.

More information on the colloquium instructors and workshop topics can be found at www.wilson.edu/cwc, where students also may register for the colloquium. Space is limited so those who plan to attend should register early. Registrations must be completed by March 1.

For more information, contact Michael Cornelius at michael.cornelius@wilson.edu or 727-262-4841.