2015 Conference – Chapter One Conference

2015 Conference

2015 Conference Recap

August 12, 2015 Julia Byers

Oh my gosh, guys. Thank you so much for making Ch1Con 2015 such a success this past weekend. Thank you to everyone who came, and everyone who supported it, and everyone who didn’t murder us for our billion technical difficulties. (Although Google+ did magically cooperate for the day, which has to count as a legitimate miracle or something.) We had such an amazing time and hope you did too.

[Photo courtesy Ch1Con attendee Allison Mulder, @silent_pages on Twitter.]

The day began with an inspiring session by author Ava Jae (BEYOND THE RED, 2016), on the topic of “So You Want to Be a Published Teen Author…”

“Time isn’t working against you… it’s working for you.” — Ava Jae, on pursuing publication as a teen

Next up was an informative and fun writing workshop by author Karen Bao (DOVE ARISING, 2015), titled “Here, There, Everywhere: Build Your Own World.”

Karen led the attendees in filling out a detailed worksheet to help them figure out all the nitty gritty details of their fictional worlds.

Our third speaker was freelance editor Taryn Albright (thegirlwiththegreenpen.com). Taryn wasn’t able to make it to the conference in person, but this didn’t stop her from leading an amazing workshop via Google Hangout on the topic of “Writing the Rainbow: Using Colors to Organize Your Process.”

Taryn spoke and shared a PowerPoint presentation over video.

“You can’t stay on the edge of your seat for three hundred pages in your book.” — Taryn on balancing pacing in novels

After Taryn’s workshop, we broke for lunch, during which we snapped a group picture.

Post-lunch we returned to conferencing with an incredible session by writer and online activist Kaye M., titled “Writing Dangerously (And Diversely).”

“We believe our voices can reach out to other voices and make them feel like they matter.” — Kaye on diversity

After that, it was time for our panel! This year’s “ask anything” panel featured all five of our speakers and we streamed it live online for everyone who couldn’t make it to the conference (check the recording out here). We took questions both online and from our in-person attendees, ranging from “Which fast food restaurant would you ship yourself with?” to more serious ones like “Best piece of inspiration when writing feels tough?”

Thank you to everyone who watched and asked questions!

We snuck a shot of our lovely speakers (minus poor Taryn!) after the panel.

Then, last but certainly not least it was time for our keynote address by author Kat Zhang (THE HYBRID CHRONICLES, 2012-2014). Kat led an awesome session called “From Idea to Shelf.”

Kat captivated the attendees with the story of her publication process.

Kat taught us about how nothing in publishing is easy, but everything is worth it.

We had so much fun putting on Ch1Con 2015 for you! See you next year?

Love,

The Ch1Con Team

Got a Question for the Ch1Con Speakers?

August 2, 2015 Julia Byers

Hey there, cool people!

We are now LESS THAN A WEEK AWAY from Ch1Con 2015! CRAZINESS.

Like last year, one of the sessions at the conference will be a panel featuring our speakers. (You can check out who all is speaking this year here.) Also like last year, we’re going to live stream this on Youtube so all of you amazing young writers who couldn’t make it to Ch1Con 2015 still get to participate in something.

This year’s panel will take place from 2:00 to 3:00 PM central time during the conference on Saturday, August 8th.

This is totally free and you don’t need to sign up for anything; it’s simply our gift to you to thank you for all of your support throughout the year. You can find the live stream at https://youtu.be/ea2el9D5SLM. Ooor I’m also conveniently embedding the video below:

We’ll be asking the panelists a mixture of questions from both the attendees at the conference and those of you watching from home. The questions can be about absolutely anything you want, serious or goofy, writing-related or not. (For example, last year we asked our speakers about their OTPs. One replied that she shipped herself and Panera.)

If you’ll be watching the live stream and would like to ask the speakers a question, there are two ways you can go about doing it:

1.) If you already know what you’d like to ask, you can email your question(s) to us at chapteroneconference@aol.com any time until the day of the conference.

2.) If you come up with a question while you’re watching the live stream, you can tweet it using #Ch1Con.

Either way, feel free to ask as many questions as you’d like. No promises we’ll make it through every single question during the hour-long panel, but we’ll do our best.

Thanks again for supporting us, guys! It means the world to everyone on the Ch1Con team.

See you Saturday,
Julia

2015 Conference, Monthly Online Events

Special Live Chat, Walk-Up Registration Info, and More

July 31, 2015July 31, 2015 Julia Byers

Hey guys,

It’s Friday, July 31st which means the 2015 Chapter One Young Writers Conference is right around the corner! With only one week to go before the conference, it seemed like a good time to update you on a few things:

Special #Ch1Con Twitter Chat on Wednesday, August 5th at 9:30 PM Eastern

This coming Wednesday, we’ll be hosting a special Ch1Con Chat on Twitter to answer any sorts of questions you might have concerning the conference. Tweet using #Ch1Con to participate. (Can’t make the chat? Feel free to email your questions to chapteroneconference@aol.com and we’ll answer them there instead!) Speaking of questions, lately the one we’ve been most getting is:

How many spots are still open for the conference?

This time last week, we would have told you two. However, we’ve since filled those, and made the decision to open up the optional ten bonus spots to attend the conference. Even with these newly opened seats, it’s looking like we have a chance of selling out, so make sure to register soon to ensure you get in.

Walk-Up Registration Info

Yes, if spots are still open, we WILL have walk-up registration this year. We’ll let you know for sure the night before the conference whether or not this will be happening. But if it does happen, here’s what you need to know:

The cost to attend the conference based on a walk-up registration will be $74.99 (the same as our usual late rate for anyone registering in August).
Walk-up registration will be open during the regular check-in time at the conference, from 8:30 to 9:00 AM.
Please bring a credit or debit card if you’re registering in person. (We unfortunately cannot accept cash or checks for registrations.)
If the conference fills up before it’s your chance to register, we will, unfortunately, have to turn you away. (Legally we can only allow forty people in the room. Sorry, that’s jut the way it is.)

Speaking of late rate registration: Today (the 31st) is your last day to register for just $49.99!

So, if you want to avoid paying an extra $25.00 for your conference registration, make sure to register before midnight tonight eastern time. Late rate begins at 12:01 AM, August 1st. (For info on how to register, check out www.chapteroneconference.com/register.)

Keep your eyes on the blog for more info coming throughout the week. We can’t wait to see you at Ch1Con 2015!

– The Ch1Con Team

2015 Conference

Ch1Con T-Shirt Giveaway!

July 18, 2015July 18, 2015 Julia Byers

Hey wonderful people,

We’re SO EXCITED to finally get to share the 2015 Chapter One Young Writers Conference with you next month! If you haven’t registered yet and still want to attend the conference, you have until the end of July to snag a spot for $49.99.

Unfortunately, August 1st we have to increase the registration fee to a late rate of $74.99. And because seriously no one wants to pay that much, we’re hoping to fill the last two available spots to attend the conference before the end of July.

Know someone who might want to come? Want to register for the conference yourself? We figured we’d give you a little added incentive.

From now until the end of July, share info about the conference, follow us on Twitter and Facebook, register to join us for the best writing-filled day ever, etc., etc.–and enter to win a free Ch1Con 2015 t-shirt!

The t-shirts are white with our signature tomato logo, the name of the conference, and “Chicago, 2015” on them. They come in unisex and Bella (fitted) styles, sizes small through extra-large. And we’d love to give one to you.

Follow the link below to check out the giveaway:

Click here to enter!

See you August 8th?

Love,

The Ch1Con Team

2015 Conference

One Month!

July 8, 2015 Julia Byers

We are now exactly one month away from the 2015 Chapter One Young Writers Conference!!

(Bear with us a sec. Dance break.)

As we count down the last thirty days until the conference, here are some quick reminders:

1.) Spaces to attend the conference are limited and they’re going fast. At the moment, we (officially) only have four spots left. (Unofficially, we can open an extra ten spots if there’s firm interest in filling them. You just have to let us know that there’s interest so that we have time to work out the details with the venue!)

2.) Directly following the conference will be a book signing with Kat Zhang and Karen Bao. If you don’t already own their books and would like to get copies signed, you can order them through Anderson’s Bookshop until Monday, July 27th and we’ll deliver them straight to you at the event.

3.) For lunch during the conference: You have a couple options. You can bring food from home and eat in the hotel lobby or courtyard (they have plenty of chairs and tables), walk to one of the nearby restaurants to get food there–OR we’ll be doing a group order to Jimmy John’s for anyone who’s interested. (We’ll gather individual orders and money from everyone who’d like Jimmy John’s at conference check-in in the morning, then have them deliver the food to the hotel. If you’d like Jimmy John’s, please have your order already figured out and your money ready when you arrive, as close to exact change as possible.)

That’s it for now! Keep a lookout for more info coming soon.

Can’t wait to see you in a month!!

~Julia

2015 Conference

Partnering with Anderson’s Bookshop!

June 22, 2015 Julia Byers

Ch1Con is pleased to announce that we’re now partnering with Anderson’s Bookshop as our official conference retailer!

From now until July 27th, you’ll be able to purchase books by the Ch1Con speakers using a special order form on the Anderson’s Bookshop website. You’ll then be able to pick up your books at the optional book signing at the end of the conference in order to get them signed by Kat Zhang and Karen Bao.

You can find the order form at: www.andersonsbookshop.com/chapter-one

We can’t wait to see you August 8th!

Love,

The Ch1Con Team

2015 Conference

Ch1Con Blog Tour Wrap-Up

June 6, 2015 Kira Brighton

Hey y’all!

The last few giveaways on the Ch1Con 2015 Blog Tour just ended, which means this is the official conclusion of the tour! I mean, we’ve got one more post coming to you closer to the actual conference, on YA Interrobang sometime in July, but the actual central tour is complet-o! If you won anything, you should be notified soon.

Thanks for joining us across the tour, sharing where you did, entering to win, and also a big, big thanks to the blogs that participated! We couldn’t do it without you, obvs.

Keep watching this space for our usual activities and remember, regular priced Ch1Con 2015 registration is continuing until August for any of you who haven’t taken advantage of it yet! With our full lineup of speakers all fancy and set-up on our Speaker page (and Schedule page), you can now see exactly what you’ll be missing if you don’t. 😉

Thanks, guys!

Kira Budge, Associate Online Admin