Please Note: this information is from last year's Institute. Save the date: the 2013 Writers' Institute will be held April 12, 13, and 14.

General Information

Times, lunch, and break information

On Friday, April 13, and Saturday, April 14, registration starts at 8 am. Refreshments are available both days, and are included in the fee.

Please pre-register for critique workshops, agent and editor appointments, private pitch sessions, advanced manuscript critiques with staff and/or speakers; room numbers will be posted in the lobby and listed on the schedule in your packet.

The fee for the special Friday networking lunch and workshop is $15.

Lunch on Saturday, April 14, is on your own. Most breaks are included in the workshop fee.

On the lakeshore, lots of things to do. Want to bring the family?

The Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St., is on the shores of Lake Mendota, with a hiking path along the lake. Lowell Center, 610 Langdon St., is one block east. Both buildings are a block away from colorful State Street, which leads to the State Capitol and downtown square (10-minute walk), with many restaurants, stores, a movie theater, the Overture Center for the Arts, and more along the way. Our conference center also sits across from one of the nation’s finest historical libraries, housing genealogical treasures and one of the nation’s largest movie industry collections. You can rent bikes up the street. For the family, the free Henry Vilas Park Zoo is very nice, with a nifty new habitat for endangered frogs and more. Check out www.visitmadison.com for more visitor information.

Your fee includes goodies

Early bird registration—$150 for Friday or Saturday/Sunday or $250 combo fee by March 20 ($175/$275 after March20). Fee includes instruction, handout materials, morning continental breakfast Friday and Saturday, afternoon refreshments, and Sunday coffee/tea. Pitches, practice pitch sessions, other critiques, contest, and Friday luncheon extra; please see registration form. Must be enrolled for Friday or Saturday/Sunday in order to pitch or enter contest.

Goody Room

This year, as part of our book store, we will be offering a Goody Room. A Goody Room is the place where you the author can place your free bookmarks, sample chapters, postcards, business cards and/or other promotional goodies for free. So if you have a stack of items that sell you and/or your writing please notify conference director Laurie Scheer by March 30th, 2012.

Additionally, if you are an author and you want to sell your books during our book signing event to be held on Saturday morning at 10:50AM, please notify conference director Laurie Scheer by March 30th.  You will be responsible for bringing your own books, handling the monetary transactions and collecting and taking your books with you when the event has finished.

Please note that the University of Wisconsin, the Continuing Studies Department here at UW Madison and the Pyle Center are not responsible for any wrong doing or theft while on the premises. You are completely responsible for your materials.

Again, if you are interested in selling your books-e-book downloads and POD books included, please notify Laurie Scheer (lscheer@dcs.wisc.edu or 608-265-3972) by March 30th, 2012 to assure there is space for you.

Continuing Education Units (CEU)

Participants earn 0.6 CEU Friday or Saturday, 0.3 on Sunday (total 1.5). A CEU is a nationally recognized way of recording your participation in noncredit professional development.

Teachers: The University of Wisconsin–Madison programs are approved toward re-licensure by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

What to wear

“Dressy casual” clothes and good walking shoes are the norm. Outside, early April in Wisconsin can be anything from winter to spring, the 30s to 70s, sunny, rain, or late-season snow, so please check weather forecasts before packing.

Parking

You receive parking information with your enrollment confirmation, but we recommend the “State Street/Campus” parking facility, with two entrances on the 400 blocks of either N. Frances or N. Lake Streets. Both of our centers are only one block away from there. You can also call 608-262-1122 for advice and maps. UW parking permits cost $13 per day. Hotels usually offer free parking; some offer free shuttles to campus.

Childcare

Call the Office of Campus Child Care, 608-262-9715

Accommodation

Overnight accommodations that are closest to us—make your reservation NOW!
Lodging is on your own. We have reserved a block of rooms in two hotels:

  • Lowell Center, 610 Langdon St., 608-256-2621 (free parking, breakfast, pool, one block away from Pyle Center conference building). The room rate is $89/single/standard room.  If any guests are interested in our deluxe rooms, the rate is $105/single/deluxe.   If there is a second person in the room, the charge is an additional $12/extra person/night. Please call with the code WRITER or follow this link to reserve a spot with the speical rate: http://bit.ly/writer12apr.
  • The Dahlmann Campus Inn located at  601 Langdon Street in Madison (one block from the Pyle Center), is offering rooms at a special rate for Writers’ Institute attendees ($125/night).Follow this link to reserve a spot with the special rate: http://booking.ihotelier.com/istay/istay.jsp?groupID=706543&hotelID=14121 Please note: Individuals should make their reservations by March 13, 2012.

A tip: If the Lowell Center (listed above) is full the day you call, call back shortly before the conference. Rooms frequently open at the last minute as other reserved conference blocks are released to the public.

Also in the campus/downtown area:

  • University Inn, 441 N. Frances St., 608-257-4881 (borders State St., next to State Street Brats Bar & Grill; two blocks from Pyle Center)
  • Inn on the Park, 608-257-8811 (located on the Capitol Square, at other end of State Street from our conference center, a leisurely 20-minute walk)
  • Hilton Madison Monona Terrace, 608-255-5100 (newer luxury hotel, located just off the Capitol Square, a 25-minute walk)

  • DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 525 W. Johnson St., 608 251 5511 (about five blocks towards Campus South)

  • Concourse Hotel, 608-256-6000 (located at other end of State Street from us, an easy 20-minute walk; very nice and with amenities)
  • The Edgewater, 608-256-9071 (about five blocks, on Lake Mendota, pricier)

West of the State Street area:

  • Best Western Inn Towner, 608-233-8778 (five minute drive or 45-minute walk from the west side of campus; free shuttle both ways until 10 p.m.)

Most lodging chains have locations in Madison. The drive from your favorite hotel/motel at our outer edges and shopping areas to the Pyle Center won’t take you more than 20-30 minutes in even heavy traffic.

Bed-and-Breakfasts, hostels near your conference location

  • Mansion Hill Inn, 608-255-3999 (10 blocks on N. Pinckney near the lake)
  • Madison Hostel, www.madisonhostel.org, 141 S. Butler St., 608-441-0144 (just off the square, about 25-minute walk). The Madison Hostel welcomes nonmembers, offers private rooms. About $45/day.

Contact Information

For more information contact director Laurie Scheer, 608-265-3972 or lscheer@dcs.wisc.edu or Laura Kahl, 608-262-3982 or lkahl@dcs.wisc.edu.

Critique services after the conference

We critique throughout the year, including novels, articles, poetry, nonfiction book proposals, short stories, and screenplays. Fees vary, depending on the project. Please contact us first before sending material: Critique Services, UW-Madison Continuing Studies, 21 N. Park St. Room 7348, Madison, WI 53715.  You can also call or e-mail Laurie Scheer at 608-265-3972 or lscheer@dcs.wisc.edu. Laurie will be glad to give a quick look at a one-page synopsis or a query letter any time at no charge .

How to register

For this event there is no online registration. Please phone, fax, or mail.

See the registration page for details and registration instructions.

Special thanks to:

A Room of One’s Own Bookstore in Madison for continued support of UW-Madison programs for writers.

The Writer magazine, for support of UW-Continuing Studies writing programs.

UW-Madison Anonymous Fund, for support of writing programs.

This conference is offered through a partnership between UW-Madison and UW-Extension.