Schedule – Friday, August 21st, 2026
7:00 – 10:30 AM • Breakfast
Killer Nashville Network Breakfast
– Free to Those Staying at Embassy Suites (Atrium)
– $19.99 for Those Not Staying at Embassy Suites (Atrium)
7:00 AM – 6:00 PM • Registration
Registration Desk (Atrium) and Bookstore (Magnolia/Iris/Azalea) open to receive incoming consignment books
8:00 – 8:10 AM • Welcome
Welcome to Killer Nashville 2026
— Clay Stafford
8:10 – 8:30 AM • Keynote
Why the World Needs Writers Now More Than Ever
— Christine Fairchild
8:35 – 8:55 AM • Agent / Editor Critiques
Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques – Advance Registration Required
— Dawn Barclay [EC1] (Athletic Club)
9:00 – 9:20 AM • Agent / Editor Critiques
Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques – Advance Registration Required
– Miranda Darrow [EC2] (Athletic Club)
– Dawn Barclay [EC2] (Athletic Club)
– Helen Thornton-Gussy [EC2] (Athletic Club)
9:00 – 9:45 AM • Panels, Presentations, & Agent Roundtables
Panels & Breakouts
— Strategic Blogging for Writers (Chestnut)
— Beyond Writing the "End." What Happens Next? (Birch)
— Building Unforgettable Characters Readers Just Can’t Quit (Oak)
Presenter: DP Lyle
— Writing the Novella (Maple)
— Building Action-Driven Stories (Hickory)
— How to Die: A Primer for Authors (Sycamore)
Presenter: Alan Spira
— Action That Moves: Mastering Pace in Storytelling (Redbud)
— Who Solves the Mystery: Writing the Mystery Investigator
— Developmental Editing: Getting Your Manuscript Ready for Prime Time (Williamson) – Breakout, Ticketed Event
Presenter: John DeDakis
Agent Roundtable 1 (ART1) - Advance Registration Required
— Tommy Dean (Franklin)
— Ronald Gerber (Franklin)
— Dean Krystek (Franklin)
— Nicola Pittam (Harpeth)
— Mason Rowlee (Harpeth)
— Kristen Terrette (Board Room)
9:30 – 9:50 AM • Agent / Editor Critiques
Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques – Advance Registration Required
– Miranda Darrow [EC3] (Athletic Club)
– Dawn Barclay [EC3] (Athletic Club)
– Amber Meyer [EC3] (Athletic Club)
– Helen Thornton-Gussy [EC3] (Athletic Club)
10:00 – 10:20 AM • Agent / Editor Critiques
Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques – Advance Registration Required
— Dawn Barclay [EC4] (Athletic Club)
— Amber Meyer [EC4] (Athletic Club)
— Miranda Darrow [EC4] (Athletic Club)
— Helen Thornton-Gussy [EC4] (Athletic Club)
10:00 – 10:45 AM • Panels, Presentations, & Agent Roundtables
Panels & Breakouts
— How to Handle Rejection (Chestnut)
— Writing the Mind of a Killer, While Not Losing Your Own (Birch)
— Feisty Women Protagonists in Historicals (Oak)
— The Power of Short-Form Nonfiction: From Idea to Article (Maple)
— Crime Capers and Comic Timing (Hickory)
— Courtroom Techniques for Storytelling (Sycamore)
Presenter: Lori B. Duff
— Building the Past that Drives the Present (Redbud)
— Writing Edge-of-Your-Seat Fiction: Crafting Gripping Mysteries, Thrillers & Suspense Stories (Poplar) – Breakout, Ticketed Event
Presenter: DP Lyle
— Audiobook Creation; a Painless Step-by-Step Approach (Williamson) – Breakout, Ticketed Event
Presenter: Scott Ellis
Agent Roundtable 2 (ART2) - Advance Registration Required
— Tommy Dean (Franklin)
— Ronald Gerber (Franklin)
— Dean Krystek (Franklin)
— Nicola Pittam (Harpeth)
— Mason Rowlee (Harpeth)
— Kristen Terrette (Board Room)
10:00 – 10:20 AM • Agent / Editor Critiques
Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques – Advance Registration Required
— Dawn Barclay [EC4] (Athletic Club)
— Amber Meyer [EC4] (Athletic Club)
— Miranda Darrow [EC4] (Athletic Club)
— Helen Thornton-Gussy [EC4] (Athletic Club)
11:00 – 11:20 AM • Book Signings & Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques
Authors Book Signing
– Killer Nashville Bookstore – Free and open to the public (Magnolia/Iris/Azalea)
(Will Add Names Later)
Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques – Advance Registration Required
— Dawn Barclay [EC6] (Athletic Club)
— Amber Meyer [EC6] (Athletic Club)
— Miranda Darrow [EC6] (Athletic Club)
— Helen Thornton-Gussy [EC6] (Athletic Club)
— Tommy Dean [AC1] (Franklin)
— Ronald Gerber [AC1] (Franklin)
— Nicola Pittam [AC1] (Harpeth)
— Mason Rowlee [AC1] (Harpeth)
— Kristen Terrette [AC1] (Board Room)
11:30 AM – 1:10 PM • Networking Lunch
Killer Nashville Networking Lunch
– Free to all paid attendees with ticket
11:35 – 11:45 AM • Presentation of Agents & Editors
12:00 – 12:20 PM • Keynote
Friday Lunch Keynote Speech: Throw Your Hat Over the Wall: Taking the Leap Into a Bold, Creative Writing Life – Steven James
Free to all paid attendees with lunch ticket (Birch/Chestnut)
12:30 – 1:10 PM • Guest of Honor Interview
Clay Stafford Interviews Guest of Honor Noelle Ihli (Birch/Chestnut)
1:20 – 1:40 PM • Book Signings & Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques
Authors Book Signing
– Killer Nashville Bookstore – Free and open to the public (Magnolia/Iris/Azalea)
(Will Add Names Later)
Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques – Advance Registration Required
— Dawn Barclay [EC7] (Athletic Club)
— Miranda Darrow [EC7] (Athletic Club)
— Helen Thornton-Gussy [EC7] (Athletic Club)
— Tommy Dean [AC2] (Franklin)
— Mason Rowlee [AC2] (Harpeth)
— Nicola Pittam [AC1] (Harpeth)
1:50 – 2:35 PM • Panels, Presentations, & Agent Roundtables
Panels & Breakouts
— Building Buzz for Your Event (Chestnut)
— How to Co-Write a Book with a Friend – and Stay Friends (Birch)
Presenter: David Bruns— Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Trouble (Oak)
— Sisters In Crime Panel: Form Without Formula: How a Novel's Structure Supports Creative Freedom (Maple)
— Crime Without Murder: Keeping Stakes High When No One Dies (Hickory)
— Narco-Terrorists In This Hemisphere (Sycamore)
Presenter: Mike Chavarria
— Writing the Book Is the Easy Part: What Comes Next? (Redbud)
— How to Build a Solid Writing Community (Poplar)
— Pitching, Querying, Synopsis: Goal, Motivation & Conflict: The Three Essential Building Blocks of Every Novel, Synopsis, Pitch, & Back Cover Copy (Williamson) – Breakout, Ticketed Event
Presenter: Lois Winston
Agent Roundtable 3 (ART3) - Advance Registration Required
— Tommy Dean (Franklin)
— Ronald Gerber (Franklin)
— Dean Krystek (Franklin)
— Nicola Pittam (Harpeth)
— Mason Rowlee (Harpeth)
— Kristen Terrette (Board Room)
1:50 – 2:10 PM • Agent / Editor Critiques
Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques – Advance Registration Required
— Dawn Barclay [EC8] (Athletic Club)
— John DeDakis [EC8] (Athletic Club)
— Miranda Darrow [EC8] (Athletic Club)
— Helen Thornton-Gussy [EC8] (Athletic Club)
2:20 – 2:40 PM • Agent / Editor Critiques
Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques – Advance Registration Required
— Dawn Barclay [EC9] (Athletic Club)
— Amber Meyer [EC9] (Athletic Club)
— John DeDakis [EC9] (Athletic Club)
— Miranda Darrow [EC9] (Athletic Club)
— Helen Thornton-Gussy [EC9] (Athletic Club)
2:50 – 3:40 PM • Panels, Presentations, & Agent Roundtables
Panels & Breakouts
— Be a Better Podcast Guest and a Fabulous Podcast Host (Chestnut)
Presenter: GP Gottlieb
— The One-Two Punch: Crafting Character's Setbacks and Payoffs That Transform a Characters' Arc (Birch)
— Writing Diverse Characters (Oak)
— Freelance Writing: Pitch, Publish, Repeat (Maple)
— Blueprints for Other Worlds: Building Immersive Settings From Reality to Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror That Keep Readers Turning Pages (Hickory)
— How Detectives Think: Building the Case on the Page (Sycamore)
— Conflictology: The Art of Creating Conflict in Your Writing (Redbud)
— The Basics of Military Ranks and Organization (Poplar)
Presenter: John Bukowski
— The Book Launch Plan: Turning Publication into Visibility, Connection, and Sales (Williamson) – Breakout, Ticketed Event
Presenter: Jeniffer Thompson
Agent Roundtable 4 (ART4) - Advance Registration Required
— Tommy Dean (Franklin)
— Ronald Gerber (Franklin)
— Dean Krystek (Franklin)
— Nicola Pittam (Harpeth)
— Mason Rowlee (Harpeth)
— Kristen Terrette (Board Room)
2:50 – 3:10 PM • Agent / Editor Critiques
Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques – Advance Registration Required
— Dawn Barclay [EC10] (Athletic Club)
— Amber Meyer [EC10] (Athletic Club)
— John DeDakis [EC10] (Athletic Club)
— Miranda Darrow [EC10] (Athletic Club)
— Helen Thornton-Gussy [EC10] (Athletic Club)
3:20 – 3:40 PM • Agent / Editor Critiques
Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques – Advance Registration Required
— Dawn Barclay [EC11] (Athletic Club)
— Amber Meyer [EC11] (Athletic Club)
— John DeDakis [EC11] (Athletic Club)
— Miranda Darrow [EC11] (Athletic Club)
— Helen Thornton-Gussy [EC11] (Athletic Club)
3:50 – 4:35 PM • Panels, Presentations, & Agent Roundtables
Panels & Breakouts
— Grow Your Audience One Newsletter at a Time (Chestnut)
Presenter: Becky Tuch
— Best Self-Publishing Practices (Birch)
— The Buddy Dynamic: When Two Protagonists are Better Than One (Oak)
— From Survival to Story: Translating Lived Experience into a Compelling Memoir (Maple)
— Historical Mystery: The Dusty Corners of The Past (Hickory)
— History of Forensics (Sycamore)
Presenter: Bradley Harper
— The Architecture of Dread: Sensory Details in Fiction (Redbud)
— Using the News and Current Events to Develop Plot (Poplar)
— INSIDE THE DETECTIVE'S HEAD: The Real Thinking Process Behind Crime-Solving (Williamson) – Breakout, Ticketed Event
Presenter: Chris Berg
Agent Roundtable 5 (ART5) - Advance Registration Required
— Tommy Dean (Franklin)
— Ronald Gerber (Franklin)
— Dean Krystek (Franklin)
— Nicola Pittam (Harpeth)
— Mason Rowlee (Harpeth)
— Kristen Terrette (Board Room)
3:50 – 4:10 PM • Agent / Editor Critiques
Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques – Advance Registration Required
— Dawn Barclay [EC12] (Athletic Club)
— Amber Meyer [EC12] (Athletic Club)
— John DeDakis [EC12] (Athletic Club)
4:20 – 4:40 PM • Agent / Editor Critiques
Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques – Advance Registration Required
— Dawn Barclay [EC13] (Athletic Club)
— Jaden (Beth) Terrell [EC13] (Athletic Club)
— Amber Meyer [EC13] (Athletic Club)
— John DeDakis [EC13] (Athletic Club)
5:00 – 5:20 PM • Book Signings & Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques
Authors Book Signing
– Killer Nashville Bookstore – Free and open to the public (Magnolia/Iris/Azalea)
Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques – Advance Registration Required
— Dawn Barclay [EC14] (Atrium Front)
— Amber Meyer [EC14] (Atrium Front)
— Tommy Dean [AC3] (Franklin)
— Ronald Gerber [AC3] (Franklin)
— Nicola Pittam [AC3] (Harpeth)
— Mason Rowlee [AC3] (Harpeth)
— Kristen Terrette [AC3] (Board Room)
5:20 – 8:00 PM • Dinner
Dinner on your own
5:20 – 5:40 PM • Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques
Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques – Advance Registration Required
— Dawn Barclay [EC15] (Atrium Front)
— John DeDakis [EC15] (Atrium Front)
— Tommy Dean [AC4] (Franklin)
— Ronald Gerber [AC4] (Franklin)
— Nicola Pittam [AC4] (Harpeth)
— Mason Rowlee [AC4] (Harpeth)
— Kristen Terrette [AC4] (Board Room)
5:30 – 7:00 PM • Open Bar
Killer Nashville Open Bar
– Free to Those Staying at Embassy Suites (Atrium)
– Bar Tab for Those Not Staying at Embassy Suites (Atrium)
5:40 – 6:00 PM • Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques
Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques – Advance Registration Required
— Dawn Barclay [EC16] (Atrium Front)
— John DeDakis [EC16] (Atrium Front)
— Nicola Pittam [AC5] (Harpeth)
— Mason Rowlee [AC5] (Harpeth)
— Nicola Pittam [AC5] (Harpeth)
— Kristen Terrette [AC5] (Board Room)
6:00 PM • Registration Closes
Registration Desk (Atrium) and Bookstore (Magnolia/Iris/Azalea) close