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Jessica Vitalis is an award-winning, Columbia MBA-wielding author. Her books have been translated into three languages, received multiple starred reviews, Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections, and a 2025 NCTE Notable Verse Novel designation. In addition to appearing on “Best Book” lists for Kirkus and CCBC, Jessica also won the Reading the West Book Award, the WWW 2024 WILLA Literary Award, and the High Plains International Book Award. She is also a 2026 Forest of Reading Red Maple Nominee. An American-Canadian, Jessica currently lives and writes in Ontario but speaks at schools, conferences, and festivals all over North America. She also works as a developmental editor helping middle grade and young adult authors find the stories they are truly meant to tell.
In this hands-on writing workshop, participants look at what makes characters come alive in readers’ hearts and minds and learn how to develop memorable characters using the author’s secret technique to show and not tell.
Using the building blocks of story, we’ll work through a flexible pre-writing strategy that provides authors with a framework to draft or revise a novel without bogging them down or making the drafting process feel too prescriptive.
From Dull to Dazzling: In this hands-on presentation, we'll look at various types of symbolism and practice strategies for including it in your own work. Q&A included.
