books with IGW Logo in front of them
2026 IGW Genre Conference in Huntington, WV on July 25-26

Join us in person or virtually! Pitching will mostly take place over Zoom.

Workshops:

Workshop Presenters we have so far…

Participating Publishers and Agents can be found here.

Workshops can be found here.

 PARTIAL LIST, WE ARE STILL BUILDING THIS. CHECK BACK FOR MORE DETAILS 🙂

  • Pitch, Please! with Tobi Doyle and Sheila Redling. If you are pitching at GenreCon, this workshop is mandatory. We’ll walk you through exactly what to expect, help you polish your logline and elevator pitch, and demystify the whole process—so you can shake off the heebie-jeebies, calm those ants in your pants, and show up with only the usual amount of nerves. AND, we’re having another pitch workshop for those of you who want to practice later in the day. You’re welcome to attend if you’re not pitching but practice will focus on those who have scheduled pitch sessions. This is a great stress reliever and past participants have been very happy (and received requests) after making minor tweaks.
  • Pitch Practice: Get Ready to Wow ‘Em with Tobi Doyle and Sheila Redling. Nervous about tomorrow’s pitch? Let’s work out the kinks together. Join Sheila and Tobi for a hands-on session where you’ll fine-tune your logline, sharpen your elevator pitch, and walk through exactly how the pitching process works. We’ll workshop your pitch until it’s polished, powerful, and ready to impress.
  • Character, Take the Wheel! with Misty Simon. Every story comes into being through our thoughts and experiences. We want to tell a specific story, and we want that story to be good, but how do you make it resonate with readers? Let the character take the wheel! We’ll talk about concrete ways to bring your characters to life on the pages of your story and make the reader wish they could find you protag and have coffee with them, even if it’s in some far off world or a small town like the one where you live.
  • Settings that breathe even more life into your story with Misty Simon. You’ve heard that setting often shows up as a character all its own and in this class we’ll explore ways to plumb the depths of the where and why this story is set and then how you make it breathe all on its own. From places to vibes, you can make the setting do a lot of the work for you once you look at it as its own being!
  • Villains We Love to Hate with Sheila and Tobi. To make your main character strong and hero-worthy, you need to have a strong villain. Join us and discover the traits to perfectly match your villain and hero, with hands-on work too.
  • Craft Deep Dive – Jen Graybeal – details to come
  • Creating Your Author Website with Marsha Blevins. You can be a beginner or intermediate for this workshop. Marsha will walk you through the steps to help you create a website so you can find your readers and connect with them.
  • Creating Your Author Substack with Marsha Blevins. Like above, learn how to set up your author substack. With changing rules and owners of social media, it’s increasingly important to have your own list of subscribers and not just followers who might see your content. You want to be able to deliver information directly into their inbox AND pop up while their scrolling. Join Marsha to learn how to get started!
  • Write in the Gut: A Guide to Visceral Imagery in Poetry with Amber Decker Koch. This workshop strips away all pretense and pretty, decorative language, and dives straight into the soft, squirming center where your rawest poems live.
    • We’ll break down what visceral imagery actually is, why it works, and how to use it without flinching. Expect a mix of craft, controlled chaos, and a few slightly unhinged exercises designed to make your work hit harder, linger longer, and maybe make someone a little uncomfortable (in a good way).
    • Bring your nerve and leave your filter at home where it belongs.

Panels:

Consultations

  • Jen Graybeal – Author Life – Editor – Creative Coach – and More – Sign up to talk to Jen about anything. She’s been in the business forever and can answer your questions and help point you in the right writing direction!
  • Henlo Press – Here’s your chance to talk to real editors about what they are looking for, you can even have them peruse your query letter or more. Don’t miss this opportunity!

The Schedule – not yet available.

Registration for pitches ENDS 8:00 am ET, July 1, 2026 – SPOTS FILL FAST

REGISTRATION – 2 steps!!!

1 – Pay here (click)

Yes, we’re sending you to our sister site, StoryMagicCards.com because I would have to upgrade this site to include WooCommerce and we are keeping our costs down every way imaginable while still providing quality!

2 – Fill out this Google Form! (click)