Speak Up: So You Want To Be An Author?
Monday-Friday, August 4-8, 2025
1:30 – 3 p.m. EST
Online via Crowdcast
Miami Book Fair’s Speak Up creative writing program presents: So You Want To Be An Author? A free, virtual week-long professional development series for teens ages 13-19 interested in learning about the journey from first sentence to first book sale and beyond. Students will learn directly from established authors and publishing industry professionals and have the opportunity to receive personalized feedback on creative work.
No previous experience necessary.
Topics included:
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How to manage time as both a writer and student
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Models to give and receive peer-friendly feedback on creative work
Possible career paths in storytelling (i.e. publishing, video game design, etc.) -
How the publishing industry works
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How to build a successful author platform
…and more!
Von Wise received his MFA from Florida International University and is the author of Grow a Cowboy, winner of the 2025 Beyond Words Poetry Chapbook Awards. His poetry and prose have been published and anthologized by Lucky Jefferson, Inverted Syntax, Gulf Stream Literary Magazine, Philadelphia Stories, Red Ogre Review, and elsewhere. His work has been nominated for Best of the Net and selected as a finalist in the Bateau Press chapbook contest and the Letter Review poetry contest. He was a runner-up in the Philadelphia Stories National Poetry Contest, and his chapbook Celebrity Poems was shortlisted for the Letter Review Prize for unpublished manuscripts. He teaches English and Creative Writing in Philadelphia, where he lives.
