On this page find:

• Our plans

• Speakers

• Conference Schedule

• Info on submitting first impressions

Briefly

Here is our current lineup of Presenters

Keynote Speaker

Susan Purvis is an acclaimed author and renowned educator with over 25 years of public speaking experience. Susan began her writing career in 2007 at the Flathead River Writers Conference. With help from that strong community, in 2018, Susan launched her best-selling, award-winning memoir, Go Find: My Journey to Find the Lost — And Myself.

Her love for exploration, training K9’s to save lives, and teaching others to do the same put her in print and on-screen with Smithsonian, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, as well as on CNN, the BBC, and Discovery channels. She’s worked at the hottest, coldest, and highest places on the planet, lived with indigenous cultures in the Amazon, Nepal, Africa, and Mexico. She’s traveled by foot, bike, skis, camel, Cessna, and dugout canoe to capture stories of the human spirit. Website
 

Editor and Featured Presenter
 

Val M. Mathews is a big-hearted, fun-loving acquisitions editor at The Wild Rose Press, a small traditional publishing house in New York, and an editorial consultant for CRAFT Literary, a well-established online literary magazine. She also teaches courses in editing for the University of California Berkeley Extension, Queen’s University in Ontario, and the Editorial Freelancers Association in New York City. Val earned an MA in Professional Writing from Kennesaw State University and a BFA from the University of Georgia. Fun fact about Val: She’s been an FAA-certified flight instructor for over twenty-five years, and in the past, she flew Lear jets for a living.

Website

Agent

Lynnette Novak is an agent with The Seymour Agency. She has vast experience in
promoting and polishing new and experienced writers and has an expansive background in
editing. She holds a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Manitoba and now
lives in Minnesota with her husband, twin girls, and many pets. She loves dark and
suspenseful novels with mysterious twists, unique worlds, light and funny, a good love
story, and lots of voice. Lynnette is always looking for diverse and LGBTQ+ authors. Website
 

Film and TV Producer

As founder of Snowfall Films, Inc. Suzanne Lyons has produced twelve features. She has
worked with talent that includes Christopher Walken, Naomi Watts, Alfred Molina, James
Caan and Susan Sarandon. Her films have won a BAFTA, a premier at the Directors
Fortnight at Cannes and acceptance into the Toronto, Berlin, LA, and Montreal Film
Festivals. Suzanne founded Flash Forward Institute, with a focus on marketing oneself in
the industry. She’s been a guest speaker at over seventy industry events and is a member of
the PGA. Suzanne has written a book on “Indie Film Producing,” and has a Film Producing
Masterclass with a number of webinars on IFHacademy.com. Website
 

Poetry

Lowell Jaeger (Montana Poet Laureate 2017-2019) is the founding editor of Many Voices Press
and edited New Poets of the American West, an anthology of poets from eleven western
states. Jaeger is a graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, winner of the Grolier Poetry
Peace Prize, and recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the
Montana Arts Council. Lowell was awarded the Montana Governor’s Humanities Award for
his work in promoting civil civic discourse. He is the author of seven collections of poems,
the most recent of which is Or Maybe I Drift Off Alone (Shabda Press 2016). Website

YA

Jess E. Owen is a professional author and artist residing in the mountains of northwest
Montana with her husband and doggo. She is a current board member and past president of
Authors of the Flathead, and a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and
Illustrators. She published the indie YA fantasy series, The Summer King Chronicles, as well
as a contemporary coming-of-age with Page Street Books titled A Furry Faux Paw. A second
title is due out in the spring of 2023. Jess's stories, whether fantastic or contemporary, are
Noblebright at their core woven with a spirit of determined hope, belief in the power of
kindness, and the faith that good will overcome. Instagram, Twitter and Facebook Website 1, Website 2
 

Business

Connie Cermak, Owner and Creative Director at Social Nectar, LLC, knows how to tell a
story. After all, she’s been writing other people’s stories for 20 years as a marketing
consultant, content strategist, social media expert, web designer, writer, and artist. Her
clients range from best-selling authors to start ups, mid-level markets and enterprise
companies. Though she considers herself somewhat of a not-so-social social media
strategist, she’ll help you discover your own story, target your market, and incorporate the
best social media platforms to garner the attention of your audience and win their loyalty
through a big picture, online marketing strategy. Website

Audiobook
 

Actor and audiobook narrator Eve Passeltiner combines East-coast savvy, a Western soul,
and a wry sense of humor. She has created countless characters on stage and in
audiobooks, narrating for USA Today and NY Times best-selling authors. Her work has
been nominated for numerous awards including the annual Independent Audiobook
Awards, the Audie Awards and Society of Voice Arts awards as well as the Webby Awards
for her voice work for The Washington Post. Eve is a member of both acting unions: Actors
Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, and is a member of the Audiobook Publisher’s
Association. Originally from Manhattan’s West Side she now resides in Whitefish, Montana.

Website

Maintaining a Healthy Body and Spirit
 

Dr. Erika Putnam is an author, chiropractor, and yoga instructor advocating for healing in
a pro-active environment that includes physical, emotional, and energetic well-being. She is
co-author of The Ultimate Guide to Self-Healing Techniques, available through her website.
Outside of work, Erika enjoys road biking, hiking, hunting, outdoor sporting, snowshoeing,
cooking, yoga, writing, babies, and her dogs - Zen and Carhartt. Website

Here's our schedule:

 

2022 FLATHEAD RIVER WRITERS CONFERENCE

The Writer's Path: Turning Possibility Into Reality

 

Friday, September 30, 2022

          

MASTER CLASS WRITING WORKSHOP: Make Your Writing Pop

Presented by Val M. Mathews, Editor at The Wild Rose Press, editorial consultant for CRAFT Literary

10:00 AM – 4:15 PM

In-Person only ~ Limited to 25 Participants

 

 

Saturday, October 1, 2022

 

Registration, Refreshments, Socializing

7:15 – 8:00 AM

 

Submit your First Impressions at this time: the First Page Only of your manuscript, double spaced, one-inch margins.

 

Welcome: Craig Thomas Naylor and Kathy Dunnehoff

8:00 – 8:25 AM

 

Keynote - What's Possible? Getting it on the Page and Into the World

8:30 – 9:20 AM Susan Purvis

 

How To Pitch and Market Your Script or Book

9:30 – 10:20 AM Suzanne Lyons

 

The Craft of YA Writing Jess E. Owen

10:30 – 11:20 AM

 

11:20 AM – 12:20 PM Lunch Provided

 

Easy Neck & Shoulder Relief for Writers

12:30 – 12:50 PM Erika Putnam

 

The Poet’s Craft

1:00 – 1:50 PM Lowell Jaeger

 

Capturing the Teen Voice Jess E. Owen

Or

Marketing with Instagram, Part I Connie Cermak

2:00 – 2:50 PM

 

Traditional Publishing Demystified

3:00 – 3:50 PM Lynnette Novak

 

Our Story in the Publishing World - Local Author Panel Discussion

Susan Purvis, Leslie Budewitz, Mark Leichliter, Jess Owen, Debbie Burke

4:00 – 5:00 PM Kathy Dunnehoff, Moderator

 

Social Event at The Book Shelf, 101 S. Main, Kalispell

5:30 – 8:00 PM Snacks and refreshments

Note: Authors may deliver books ahead of time for sale. Contact Kyle at 406 756 2665

 

Sunday, October 2, 2022

 

Registration, Refreshments, Socializing

7:45 – 8:30 AM

 

Active Setting: Make Your Characters Leap Off the Page

8:30 – 9:20 AM Val Mathews

 

Catching the Reader's Mind

9:30 – 10:20 AM Lowell Jaeger

 

Writing with an Ear Towards Audiobooks - Eve Passeltiner

Or

Marketing with Instagram, Part 2 - Connie Cermak

10:30 – 11:20 AM

 

11:20 AM – 12:20 PM Lunch Provided

 

Back Pain Relief for Writers

12:30 – 12:50 PM Erika Putnam

 

Editorial First Aid: CPR for Your Dying Manuscript

1:00 – 1:50 PM Lynnette Novak

 

The Novel to Film Process

2:00 – 2:50 PM Suzanne Lyons

 

Navigating Traditional Publishing

3:00 – 3:50 PM Val Mathews & Lynnette Novak

 

First Impressions

4:00 – 5:00 PM Val Mathews, Lynnette Novak, Susan Purvis, Debbie Burke

The first sentence and the first page are vital to establish a hook to make the reader continue reading. Submit your first page, double-spaced, to a panel of experts. This is your chance to get immediate anonymous feedback that is shared with all the participants.

 

Format the page double-spaced with 1-inch margins and email to: craigtnaylor@gmail.com before September 15.

 

Do not submit to First Impressions if you have an appointment with an agent or editor. Please leave this opportunity open to those unable to have their MS critiqued.