7:00 – 10:30 AM • Networking Breakfast

Killer Nashville Network Breakfast
– Free to Those Staying at Embassy Suites (Atrium)
– $19.99 For Those Not Staying at Embassy Suites (Atrium)

8:00 AM – 3:00 PM • Registration

Registration Desk (Atrium) and Bookstore (Magnolia/Iris/Azalea) open

8:20 – 8:40 AM • Keynote

– Sunday Keynote Speech: Pivoting When Life Doesn't Go As Planned – Debra Goldstein

9:00 – 9:40 AM • Panels & Presentations

Panels & Presentations

– The Agent/Author Relationship (Chestnut)
Panelists: Kristen Terrette, Tara Gelsomino, Ronald Gerber, Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong, Dean Krystek, Katie Monson, James Mustelier
Moderator: Clay Stafford

– Digital Investigations (Birch)
Presenter: Steve Stratton

– Twists and Turns: Crafting Plots That Keep Readers Guessing (Oak)
Panel: R.G. Belsky, Jennifer Sadera, Terry Friedman, Peter Rosch, Kemper Donovan
Moderator: Milie Hast

– Revealing Plot and Emotion with Natural Dialogue (Maple)
Panel: BJ Sloan, Robert Mangeot, Helen Thornton-Gussy, T.O. Paine, Jaden (Beth) Terrell
Moderator: Deborah Dobbs

– The Punch in a Pitch: Crafting Memorable One Liners to Sell Your Story (Hickory)
Presenter: Angela Greenman

– Police Procedures (Sycamore)
Presenter: Mark Zeid

– Money Laundering (Redbud)
Presenter: John Madinger

– How to Successfully Self-Publish Your Book (Poplar)
Panel: Ashley Hagan, JJ Cagney, Mike Faricy, Kay DiBianca, Allison Bettes
Moderator: Cal Stone

– Building Character Arcs (Williamson)
Panel: Lois Winston, Bradley Harper, Jule Selbo, Mitchell S. Karnes, Wendy Gee
Moderator: Paul McHugh

– Writing the Thriller (Franklin)
Panel: JL Hill, Sonja Dewing, John Bukowski, S. Lee Manning, John DeDakis
Moderator: Jessica Noll

10:00 – 10:45 AM • Panels & Presentations

Panels & Presentations

– The Thriller Writer's Hustle: From Book to Sales to Momentum (Chestnut)
Presenter: Sonja Dewing

– An Overview of Law Enforcement (Birch)
Panel: T.G. Brown, Jacob Moon, Sean Mitchell, Ernest Lancaster, Darin Werkmeister
Moderator: Deborah Dobbs

– Creating Compelling Villains: Motivations, Backstories, and Psychology (Oak)
Panel: Kimberly Dana, Kit Sanders, Jule Selbo, Sateash Hime, T.O. Paine
Moderator: Sandy Clements

– Scrivener Hacks: Get Organized and Streamline Your Writing Process (Maple)
Presenter: Chrissy Hicks

– Neuroscience and Positive Psychology for Writers (Hickory)
Presenter: Brent Maguire

– Counterintelligence and Human Intelligence for Writers (Sycamore)
Presenter: Ama Adair

– Writing the Legal Mystery (Redbud)
Panelists: Barbara Newhart, Erika Stribling, Percy Veer, Greg Laird
Moderator: Cheryl Sommers

– Writing Romantic Suspense (Poplar)
Panelists: Allison Bettes, Cal Stone, Ronda Wells MD, Frank DiBianaca, Jordyn Redwood
Moderator: Helen Aitkin

– Gamify Your Writing to Level Up Your Productivity and Reader Engagement (Williamson)
Presenter: Miranda Darrow

– How to Build a Newsletter (Franklin)
Panel: Gregory Stout, Nate Hoffelder, Carol Potenza, Meredith R. Lyons, Ellen Kirschman
Moderator: Carmen Amato

11:00 – 11:20 AM • Book Signings

Authors Book Signing
– Killer Nashville Bookstore – Free and open to the public (Magnolia/Iris/Azalea)

– Kemper Donovan
– Sara Paretsky
– Caitlin Rother
– Samantha Beal
– Allison Bettes
– Venita Bonds
– Elizabeth Crowens
– K. Scott Culpepper
– Natalie Musgrave Dossett
– Wendy Gee
– Angela Greenman
– Julie Hatch
– James L Hill
– D.W. Hogan
– Christy J. Kendall
– Ellen Kirschman
– Meredith R. Lyons
– DL Mitchell
– Jim Nesbitt
– T.O. Paine
– Jeffrey Philips
– Zelly Ruskin
– BJ Sloan
– Alex Thompson
– Christine Mager Wevik
– Lois Winston
– Gay Yellen
– Mark Zeid

11:30 AM – 12:15 PM • Panels & Presentations

Panels & Presentations 

– Harnessing Ethical Dilemmas in Crime Fiction(Chestnut)
Presenters: Chris Berg & Paul James Smith

– 10 Ways to Make Your Mystery Mediocre (Birch)
Presenters: Jack Wolff, TG Wolff

– Connecting to Characters: How to Write Characters Readers Engage With (Oak)
Panel: S. Lee Manning, Sam Severn, Becki Willis, Sateash Hime, Jennifer Sadera
Moderator: Robert Mangeot

– How to Build the Scene / Writing Suspense: From Crime Scenes to Spy Scenes (Maple)
Panel: Angela Greenman, Traci Abramson, Bret Hurst, Angela Greenman, Christine M. Fairchild
Moderator: Sam Stone

– Hand Selling Books (Hickory)
Panelists: Tilia Klebenov Jacobs, John DeDakis, Bill Cusano, Sara Johnson, Deb Gaskill
Moderator: R. Weir

– Medical Pitfalls When Killing Your Characters: Strategies to Accurately Depict Medical Fact in Your Fiction (Sycamore)
Presenter: Jordyn Redwood

– Running Your Writing Like a Business (Redbud)
Panel: Pam Ebel, James Glass, Sandy Clements, Carmen Amato, T.O. Paine
Moderator: David Ryan

– Writing the Medical Mystery (Poplar)
Panelists: Gloria Casale, Percy Veer, JJ Renek, Renda Knapp, Ronda Wells MD
Moderator: IM Jones

– Crafting Killer Synopses (Williamson)
Presenter: Jaden (Beth) Terrell

– Writing the Historical Novel (Franklin)
Panelists: Natalie Musgrave Dossett, Mally Becker, Amber Meyer, Shelley Blanton-Stroud, Paul Sinor
Moderator: Randy Overbeck

12:30 – 1:15 PM • Panels & Presentations

Panels & Presentations 

– The Art of Red Herrings (Chestnut)
Panel: Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes, Mitchell S. Karnes, Kemper Donovan, Kelly Oliver, S.C. Merritt
Moderator: IM Jones

– Worldbuilding in Any Genre (Birch)
Panel: Leigh Hull, Elizabeth Crowens, Leigh Hull, Vladi Avdi, JS Morrison
Moderator: JL Yarrow

– The Author's Journey: From Concept to Publication and Beyond (Oak)
Presenters: Frank DiBianca & Kay DiBianca

– When the Crime Isn’t the Point: Writing Character-Driven Mysteries (Maple)
Panel: Poppy Gee, Lynn Slaughter, Warren Moore, Thomas Burns, Bill Cusano
Moderator: Jim Nesbitt

– Novel Malpractice (Hickory)
Presenter: Ronda Wells

– A Day in the Life of a U.S. Secret Service Agent (Sycamore)
Presenter: Steve Stratton

– Writing Horror (Redbud)
Panelists: Nikki Nelson-Hicks, K. Scott Culpepper, Jacob Moon, Peter Rosch
Moderator: Carol Gyzander

– Writing YA (Poplar)
Panelists: Tilia Klebnov Jacobs, Irene Schindler, Roy Hiller, Gregory Stout, Marco Patitucci
Moderator: Judy Lyn Gregg

– Top 21 Editing Mistakes Authors Make (Williamson)
Presenter: Lisa Wysocky

– Writing Rural Mysteries
Panel: Phil Hardwick, Jeffrey "Hammerhead" Philips, Deb Gaskill, Patrick Balester, Becki Wills
Moderator: PK Richard

1:30 – 1:50 PM • Book Signings

Authors Book Signing
– Killer Nashville Bookstore – Free and open to the public (Magnolia/Iris/Azalea)

– Kemper Donovan
– Sara Paretsky
– Caitlin Rother
– Samantha Beal
– Carla Conti
– K. Scott Culpepper
– Angela Greenman
– James L Hill
– D.W. Hogan
– Tilia Klebenov Jacobs
– Ellen Kirschman
– Ernest Lancaster
– Meredith R. Lyons
– Sean Mitchell
– T.O. Paine
– Jeffrey Philips
– Michael Rigg
– Alex Thompson
– Lois Winston
– Gay Yellen
– Mark Zeid

3:00 PM • Registration Closes / Conference Ends

Registration Desk (Atrium) and Bookstore (Magnolia/Iris/Azalea) close