Superstars: Creative Writing Seminar

I recently attended the Superstars Writing Seminar and this is a summary of my experience.

Created in 2010 primarily by Writers of the Future judges, Superstars has become a career booster and networking event for authors.

The 2023 Superstars Writing Seminar took place February 9–11 in Colorado Springs, CO, with over 300 authors and aspiring writers in attendance, including Writers of the Future Contest Judges, Winners, Finalists, Honorable Mentions, and many more who routinely enter the Contest.

Superstars Writing Seminar is an intense business seminar targeted to aspiring writers looking to break in or enhance their careers. It was founded by Writers of the Future Contest judges Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, David Farland, Brandon Sanderson, Eric Flint, and author James A. Owen to teach writers how to succeed in the “business” of writing. Panels on creative writing, story inspiration, and story prompts are some of the most popular topics. It brings together top professionals from the publishing industry to share their knowledge. Instructors include bestselling authors, editors, agents, managers of indie publishing platforms, and many more.

It’s amazing what a great job, Kevin, Rebecca, James, Mark Leslie Lefebvre, and their stellar crew have done to grow and make Superstars the powerhouse it has become.

Panels

A panel on Writers of the Future with Contest Judges Rebecca Moesta, Dean Wesley Smith, Todd McCaffrey, and First Reader Kary English, which I moderated, addressed the Contest and its history and tips on what judges are looking for. This was well attended as was to be expected with Writers of the Future being so popular.

Another panel asking, “Should I write short stories?” featuring Jonathan Maberry, Todd McCaffrey, and me, established that short stories are a great way to improve one’s creative writing and are a viable way to get oneself known to a reading audience and constitute a bulk of what Hollywood looks for in movie projects.

I also delivered a special presentation, “Creating a Successful Podcast,” to attendees wanting to start or grow their podcast. It was based on the successful Writers and Illustrators of the Future Podcast, now in its third year with over 2 million listens per episode.

Old Friends and New

Many old friends, judges and past winners, and new friends were in attendance, working to hone their skill set and improve their craft of writing. It was great connecting with them to see how they have progressed in their career. I was fortunate to get photos of and with several of them as you will see below!

A Haven for Incredible Podcast Interviews

The conference also provided an excellent interview opportunity for the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Podcast! Seven interviews were recorded during the three days going late into the night to fit them all in!

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Happy 40th Anniversary, Battlefield Earth

Because Pikes Peak (referred to as High Peak in the novel) was the setting for Battlefield Earth, it was appropriate that Dave Chesson, CEO of the Kindlepreneur, recognized the 40th anniversary of the international bestselling adventure science fiction novel with a presentation in front of the mountain. As a note, L. Ron Hubbard predicted the Kindle device in an interview with the Rocky Mountain News following the release of Battlefield Earth.

In the interview, Mr. Hubbard was asked, “Do you think books will become a relic of the past? Will writers?” To which he responded, “Books, too, will change. You will be able to carry your own pocket computer library. Later, the computer will be able to ‘talk’ to you and ‘read’ to you. Writers will have to keep up with these changes, for there will always be writers as there will always be artists and musicians.”

Closing Ceremony

And then it was time to say good-bye for another year.