Best-selling author Lisa Wingate to keynote writers’ workshop

Lisa Wingate, author of the New York Times best-seller “Before We Were Yours,” will share the true story that inspired her novel at FSU Panama City’s Fall Festival of Readers and Writers 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, at FSU Panama City’s Bland Conference Center.

In addition to serving as keynote speaker during lunch, Wingate will open her writer’s tool kit during an afternoon session on “Story 101” to share the secrets learned from a 20-year career in the publishing industry. Whether your goal is to write for fun or for profit, preserve your personal history or find creative ways to share your family stories, this hour of tips and Q&A is for you.

Also presenting will be novel-to-film authors Robert Cvornyek and Corinda Marsh. Cvornyek, who edited Baseball Hall of Fame’s Effa Manley’s autobiography, will present “Knocked Out of Time: Contested Identities and Historical Fiction,” and Marsh, author of “Holocaust in the Homeland,” will present “Finding Your Voice: Becoming a Writer.”

Romantic suspense writer Kathy Holzapfel, who writes under the pseudonyms Cate Noble and Lauren Bach, will explore the building blocks of an effective story in “Writing an Effective Scene.”

General registration is $30. Registration for senior citizens (55+) is $25, and FSU students with a valid FSU ID is $5. Lunch is included with registration. Payment may be made the day of the event with cash, credit or check made payable to “FSU PC Foundation.” To register or for more information, email mroberson@pc.fsu.edu or call (850) 770-2150.