Aspiring and seasoned writers alike are invited to hone their skills at the Imanoli Creative Writers Conference 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, at the Chickasaw Cultural Center’s Anoli' Theater in Sulphur, Oklahoma.
The Imanoli Creative Writers Conference is designed for those who want to develop and improve their literary styles.
Professionals from diverse fields of writing will share their knowledge about different aspects of the writing process.
The keynote presenter is Meg Gardiner, the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of 16 novels. Her thrillers have won the Edgar Award and have been summer reading picks by “The Today Show” and O, The Oprah Magazine. Called “Hitchcockian” (USA Today) and “nail biting and moving” (Guardian), her books have been translated into more than 20 languages.
Other featured presenters include Gina DiDesidero, Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer, Kate Hart, Rebecca Weir and Stanley Nelson.
Gina DiDesidero is a debut Chickasaw author, born and raised in the Tri-Cities, Washington. She grew up knowing she had Chickasaw roots and marveling at her grandpa Cutchentubby’s name. DiDesidero earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from Simpson University and a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Washington State University.
Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer is a story archaeologist who digs up shards of past lives, hopes and truths, and pieces them together for readers today. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian honored her as a literary artist through their Artist Leadership Program for her work in preserving Choctaw Trail of Tears stories. Sawyer is the author of the novel “Anumpa Warrior: Choctaw Code Talkers of World War I.” A tribal member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, she writes historical fiction from her hometown in Texas, partnering with her mother, Lynda Kay Sawyer, in continued research for future works.
Rebecca Nicholson-Weir is a writing and literature professor whose research centers on 20th- and 21st-century multicultural American literatures, global modernism and film. Weir has earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and English, and a master’s degree in literary studies, both from Texas Tech University. She was awarded a Ph.D. in theory and cultural studies from Purdue University in 2012. Weir has been teaching writing since 2002 and teaches in the English, philosophy and modern languages department at West Texas A&M University.
Stanley Nelson serves as a senior staff writer for Chickasaw Press and is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation. He joined the Chickasaw Press staff in 2010, after spending 30 years as a manager, editor and columnist for newspapers and other media-related enterprises in Oklahoma, Colorado and Arkansas. He is the author of “Toli: Chickasaw Stickball Then and Now,” published by Chickasaw Press in 2016, and “A Chickasaw Historical Atlas,” published in 2018.
Attendance is open to the public and registration by Nov. 13 is required. Registration is available at Chickasaw.net/Imanoli.