The 2018 Montezuma All-Iowa Writers' Conference will be held on Saturday, Sept. 15 at the Community Hope Church at 501 N. Front St. in Montezuma from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the doors opening at 8:30. If you pre-register by September 12, the cost for the all-day conference is only $30 and that includes lunch. If you choose to pay at the door, the cost is $40, which also includes your lunch. A pre-registration form is available here: 2018_pre-registration_form.pdf
2018 Presenters
Laura McHugh is the author of The Weight of Blood, winner of an International Thriller Writers Award and a Silver Falchion Award for Best First Novel, and the Missouri Author Award for Fiction. The Weight of Blood was named a Best Book of the Year by BookPage, the Kansas City Star, and the Sunday Times (UK), and was also nominated for an Alex Award, Barry Award, and GoodReads Choice Award (Best Mystery and Best Debut). Her second novel, Arrowood, is a finalist for the 2017 International Thriller Writers Award for Best Hardcover Novel. A lifelong Midwesterner, McHugh lives in Missouri with her husband and children.
Rena Olsen is a writer, therapist, teacher, sometimes singer, and eternal optimist. By day she tries to save the world as a school therapist, and at night she creates new worlds in her writing. Her debut novel, THE GIRL BEFORE, a Booklist top mystery debut of 2016, is now available and her follow-up novel, WITH YOU ALWAYS, is available for preorder. Rena is represented by Sharon Pelletier of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC. You can contact Rena through Facebook, Twitter, or by email via the contact page on her website – www.renaolsen.com.
Craig A. Hart is the stay-at-home father of twin boys, his most important job. Secondly, he is the author of the Shelby Alexander Thriller Series and the SpyCo Novella Series. A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Craig lives in Iowa City, Iowa.
Rob Cline is an arts professional, writer, and former pizza delivery driver. He lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with his wife and three children, none of whom tip him when he brings pizza home.
Jan Walters grew up and still resides in central Iowa. She and her husband own a farm. Jan's first novel, Believe, was published in August 2013. Believe is a romantic fiction/time travel set in the Victorian Era. In September 2014, York Street- A Ghost & A Cop Series was released. And in the January 2017, Red Sunset Drive- A Ghost and a Cop Series was released. Jan is currently working on book 3 in the 'Ghost and A Cop' series. In 'Tempest Court', Brett O'Shea and Michael, the ghost, face a new supernatural killer. Jan was also published in Behind the Badge, a collection of historical stories of the Des Moines Police Department.
Bill Zahren is a fifth-generation Iowan born in Lake Park. He graduated from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, and worked for the Le Mars Daily Sentinel and Sioux City Journal before moving to West Des Moines where he now lives with his wife, Rhonda. Bill and Rhonda have two daughters, Haley and Jena. Bill works as a full-time freelance marketing writer when not drafting the latest adventures of Tom Kingman and Hillary Reed.