“The Write Stuff Writers Conference” is for anyone, but especially those who want to publish their work online or in print.

The three-day event, March 12 to March 14, covers many topics, including writing techniques, marketing, publishing, editing, motivation and ethics involving AI.

You can schedule a session with an agent or editor to pitch your book, get a publicity photo, go to a book fair, get a chance to publicly read your work, or enter a flash lit contest for entries of 100 words or less. The group welcomes journalists, essayists and playwrights.

Keynote Speaker and Main Presenter is Kristin Bair, novelist, essayist and university professor.

The conference is a project of the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group (GLVWG).

Angel Ackerman, president of GLVWG, and Sarah Karnish, co-chair of the conference, says the event is expected to draw 85 to 100 people.

“We have people in all different phases of a writing career, with only a few full-time writers. Fiction is our bread and butter, but we also get non-fiction and a lot of poets,” Ackerman says in a phone interview.

Bair will present two sessions March 12. Bair teaches in the MA in Writing Program at Johns Hopkins University and at the Yale Writers’ Workshop. Her morning session is about how to open a story. Her afternoon session is about point of view and description through a character’s eyes.

The March 13 morning session by Donna Galanti covers book marketing. Three March 13 afternoon sessions by Lawrence Knorr deal with book publishing trends, the impact of AI on publishing and book sales.

There are 14 smaller sessions on March 14. Many of them take place simultaneously. Session recordings can be purchased.

“The Write Stuff, which began as a one-day event, has been held for about 20 years.

Karnish says there will be many opportunities to network, including a luncheon and an evening soiree.

“Authors will be put at tables corresponding with their writing genres, so they can exchange notes and catch up with each other,” Karnish says in a phone interview.

Ackerman says what authors get out of the conference depends on their individual needs: “You need to know your personal goals.

“There are fewer traditional publishers and agents. You have to know not what editors want to put out now, but what they want to publish two years from now,” Ackerman says.

“A lot of the promotional work that used to be done by an agent now has to be done before you even talk to one,” says Ackerman.

Karnish says GLVWG, which was founded about 30 years ago, now uses more technology. Since the pandemic, meetings are held in-person and via Zoom.

“People are now  accessing books in different ways. Some walk into book stores, while others are reading or listening online,” says Karnish.

Many authors are self-publishing instead of submitting their work to traditional publishers. Karnish says that many new authors don’t realize how much work they have to do to market themselves and introduce themselves to the public.

“It used to be that authors would just sit in their office and write. With social media, they are much more visible. Now, people know what you look like,” says Karnish.

“The Write Stuff Writers Conference,” March 12-14, Homewood Suites, 3350 Center Valley Parkway, Center Valley, 610-351-6400. Conference schedule, registration: https://greaterlehighvalleywritersgroup.wildapricot.org

“Literary Scene” is a column about authors, books and publishing. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com