by Whitney Hale
The non-workshop experience at the 2013 Kentucky Women Writers Conference, being held Sept. 20-22, will be anchored by two outstanding presenters, publishing consultant and author Peggy DeKay and award-winning poet Paisley Rekdal.
Peggy DeKay, author of "Self-Publishing for Virgins: The first-time author’s guide to self-publishing," will teach two seminars on self-publishing and e-book opportunities for emerging and established writers, delving into case studies of poets, novelists, and essayists who have reached wider audiences through these new publishing paradigms. "Self-Publishing and Today’s Writer" will be presented 1:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20. DeKay will lead "E-books: The Future of Publishing Is Here" at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 21. Both seminars are available to conference registrants only and will be presented at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning.
DeKay is an award-winning author and freelance writer, blogger, podcaster, publisher and book coach. As a book coach, she has helped hundreds of authors self-publish their books through direct coaching, podcasts, live seminars and her annual Business of Writing Today International Summit. Her podcast, "The Business of Writing Today," helps authors and would-be authors achieve their dream of becoming full-time writers by approaching their writing as a business. A former newspaper columnist and a past director of Women Who Write Inc., DeKay is also the founder and former editor of their online newsletter, Writer’s Wire.
Writer Paisley Rekdal will present two craft talks on poetry and nonfiction as part of the Kentucky Women Writers Conference. “Forgiveness and Empathy in the Lyric Imagination,” a poetry craft talk will be presented 10:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 20. Rekdal will also deliver “Forgiveness, Empathy and Photography: a Discussion of Visual Nonfictions" starting at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21. Both craft talks are available to conference registrants only and will be held at the Carnegie Center. Rekdal will also take part in a reading with fellow poet Kiki Petrosino at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, at the Carnegie Center. The reading is available to conference registrants only.
Paisley is the author four books of poetry, most recently "Animal Eye," published by University of Pittsburgh Press and voted one of five best poetry collections in 2012 by Publishers Weekly. A finalist for the Kingsley Tufts Prize, she has received the University of North Texas Rilke Prize, an Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Fellowship, a Village Voice Writers on the Verge Award, an NEA (National Education Association) Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize, the University of Georgia Press’ Contemporary Poetry Series Award, a Fulbright Fellowship, inclusion in the "Best American Poetry" series and various state arts council awards. Her poems and essays have appeared in or are forthcoming from The New York Times Magazine, American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, Poetry, The New Republic, Virginia Quarterly Review and Tin House. Paisley has also been featured on National Public Radio.
Outside of poetry, Paisley is also the author of two nonfiction works, "The Night My Mother Met Bruce Lee" and "Intimate," a memoir combining poetry, fiction, nonfiction and photography. She teaches at the University of Utah and has been active in Kundiman.
The Kentucky Women Writers Conference is an annual event known for bringing notable women writers to Lexington for readings, writing workshops and discussions. A program housed in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, the conference is made possible in part by continued community partnerships, including its primary venue, the Carnegie Center.
To register or to find more information on the conference and events featuring Peggy DeKay and Paisley Rekdal, visit online at www.kentuckywomenwriters.org.