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Guest Speakers

18 January 2020 | Featured Speaker Brent Gill | “How to Market Your Book Without Using Social Media”

December 1, 2019 By Natalia Corres

How to Market Your Book Without Using Social Media

Whew!  You’ve finally published your book!  But now you face the daunting task of marketing your work.

These days, it seems that advertising is all about using social media.  However, author Brett Gill has other ideas about book promotion.  Lots of them!  Brett will the guest speaker at the Writers of Kern monthly meeting on January 18, 2020.

Brett knows what he’s talking about.  He has published and successfully marketed two middle school novels, Fire on Black Mountain, and Snow on Black Mountain.  (He also writes a weekly column for the Porterville Recorder). In his presentation, Brett will reveal some effective strategies he uses to both publicize and sell his books.

 Writers attending this event will learn how to:

  • Schedule book signings at various locations, other than bookstores or libraries
  • Schedule book signings around high traffic events or celebrations
  • Get invitations to speak to Service Clubs, and other community organizations and groups
  • Write an introduction letter that creates excitement and makes them want you

You will come away from this presentation with fresh ideas about sales, marketing, and promotion.   You will also be better equipped to recognize unique opportunities for sharing your own work both within and outside your community.

Hope to see you there! You can purchase your ticket(s) here.

18 July 2020 | WOK Conference Rescheduled to be conducted ONLINE

November 17, 2019 By Natalia Corres

Writers of Kern Annual Conference

From Dreaming to Doing

Rescheduled due to Novel Coronavirus to

July 18, 2020 ~ 9am – 4pm

Adam Richardson, Police detective, author, consultant to writers and screenwriters.

“Interviewing Like a Detective”

Dennis Palumbo, Hollywood TV and Film writer, psychotherapist, suspense author.

“Writing from the Inside Out”

Jerry Mathes, Award-winning author, photographer, book critic, and librettist.

“Writing Life”

Keith Silvas, Sci-Fi/Fantasy author, social media marketing specialist

“Social Media Marketing for Authors”

Special Guest Spotlight Speakers:

Registration ~ NOW through 11:30 PM July 17, 2020

$20 Members and Non-members

This Conference will be held ONLINE.

PURCHASE TICKETS THROUGH EVENTBRITE by clicking HERE

16 November 2019 | Featured Speaker: Cyn Bermudez | Writing for the Reluctant Reader

October 19, 2019 By Natalia Corres

Come out to our monthly meeting on November 16th, when WOK’s very own Cyn Bermudez will introduce us to the art of writing for reluctant readers.  There is a growing demand in the education market for high-interest, low-vocabulary stories.

Cyn is the author of 5 “hi-low” books, written using age-appropriate topics of high interest for an audience who struggles with reading.  Word choice is limited to simple vocabulary and the writing  must be concise.  Although a “Hi-Lo” book is much shorter than a typical novel, it still has to be just as emotionally satisfying to read.

So, how do you attract an audience that doesn’t enjoy reading?  And if you manage to attract their attention with an exciting topic, how do you keep them reading to the end?  Don’t miss Cyn’s presentation where she will share her insights and experience with crafting books in this genre.  

Get your tickets now by clicking here.


Cyn Bermudez

Cyn Bermudez is a writer from Bakersfield, California. She attended college in Santa Barbara, California, where she studied physics, film, and creative writing. Her work can be found in the anthologies such as Building Red: Mission Mars, The Best of Vine Leaves Literary Journal (2014), and others. Her fiction and poetry can also found in Middle Planet, Perihelion SF, Strangelet, Mirror Dance, 805 Literary and Art Journal, among others. For more information about Cyn, visit her website at www.cynbermudez.com.

Handouts from Catherine Hodges August 17th WOK Meeting

August 18, 2019 By Natalia Corres

Georgia (O’Keeffe) on my mind.

If you wanted the handouts from the August 17th WOK Meeting, you can download them from here. Click here to get the document.

And click here to get the Powerpoint presentation.

These will open in separate browser windows and you can save them to your computer from there.

17 August 2019 | Featured Speaker Catherine Hodges | “Craft Talk: Georgia (O’Keeffe) on My Mind”

July 17, 2019 By Natalia Corres

Catherine Hodges

Poets and prose writers often find inspiration in other art forms. This is the focus of August’s workshop. We will examine the life and work of visual artist Georgia O’Keeffe, and attendees will create new work with O’Keeffe-inspired exercise.

Georgia O’Keeffe is an American artist who is recognized as the Mother of American Modernism. She is best known for her landscapes and paintings of large flowers.

Writers of poetry, fiction, memoir, and other genres will find this workshop valuable. The workshop will include the writing process, the act and process of seeing, idea-sourcing, and the generative power of juxtapositions.

Click here to purchase tickets to the meeting online.


Catherine Abbey Hodges is the author of the poetry collections Instead of Sadness, selected by Dan Gerber as winner of the 2015 Barry Spacks Poetry Prize, and Raft of Days (2017). Her poems appear widely in venues including The Southern Review, The American Journal of Poetry, Cider Press Review, and Chicago Quarterly Review. They’ve been anthologized, featured on The Writer’s Almanac and Verse Daily, and nominated for Pushcarts and Best of the Net. Catherine teaches at Porterville College, co-coordinates California Poets in the Schools for Tulare County, and collaborates with her husband, musician Rob Hodges. Visit www.catherineabbeyhodges.com for more info.

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