T-minus six-ish months until Write to Publish 2016! We are already well into the planning stages of the writing conference and have been working tirelessly to secure exciting raffle donations, knowledgeable panelists, and amazing vendors.

First off, we are ridiculously excited to announce that Arthur Bradford has agreed to be our keynote speaker! Arthur is an O. Henry Award-winning writer, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, and Moth grandSLAM winner. He is the author of the books Dogwalker (Knopf) and Benny’s Brigade (McSweeney’s McMullens), and his latest book Turtleface was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux this year. He directed the How’s Your News? documentary series for HBO and MTV as well as the film Six Days to Air, about the making of South Park, for Comedy Central. He is currently shooting a feature documentary about Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of South Park and the musical The Book of Mormon. He lives in Portland, Oregon, and works part-time at a juvenile detention facility.

Arthur is experienced in multiple areas of writing and publishing and will make for an engaging and inspiring keynote.

We are also excited to announce our presenting sponsor, Desert Palm Press. Desert Palm Press was established in June 2013 and has proudly published twenty-one books in the ensuing two years. Their authors are gaining recognition in a number of areas: Awaiting My Assignment by AJ Adaire was named in E. B. Mulligan’s “Top 20 Lesbian Romances from 2013.” In 2014, Wolf’s Eyes by Rae D. Magdon, Chronicles of Osota – Warrior by Michelle Magly, and Dark Horizons by Magdon and Magly were finalists in the Rainbow Awards Sci-Fi/Futuristic category. Desert Palm Press’s authors are women who write about women in challenging, thought provoking, sometimes frightening, and often familiar situations. Their books span many genres (fantasy, romance, erotica, mystery) and are available as ebooks and in paperback. Check out their website at www.desertpalmpress.com and “like” them on Facebook.

And, buckle your seat belts because we’re going to have copious amounts of Voodoo Donuts for consumption!