Come learn the art of writing from well-known author and publisher Janis F. Kearney during this free, virtual workshop at 10 a.m. Nov. 9!

Our 'Writing Out Loud: Creating Powerful Oral Histories' virtual workshop is for new or emerging writers and includes both lecture and interactive sessions. Registrations are required.

During the workshop, Kearney will talk about the importance of research and effective interviewing techniques. She will discuss how to shape your story on the page and then transfer it to the microphone.

Participants will write, then share with the class one paragraph from their personal stories with the theme: “The One Who Got away.” Ten students from the Nov. 9 workshop will be selected to join the Writing Out Loud live reading session on Dec. 1, where each student will share his or her 3 to 5 minute story.

The webinar will end with a Q&A and evaluation session.

Kearney is a writer, publisher, journalist and instructor. She was inducted into the Arkansas Writers Hall of Fame in 2016. She has penned several books and founded a publishing company, called Writing our World Publishing, or “Wow! Publishing.”

Kearney fell in love with the sound and feel of words as a child in the southeast Arkansas Delta. She creates stories about hers and other Southerners’ lives through short stories, memoir, biography and fiction.

She served as publisher of the Arkansas State Press founded by civil rights legend Daisy Gatson Bates. Kearney served eight years in the Clinton Presidency as a Whitehouse media affairs specialist, then as the director of public communications for the U.S. Small Business Administration. She served the last five years of Clinton’s presidency as the personal diarist to President Clinton.

Her two passions are writing and the Celebrate! Maya Project, a nonprofit she and a handful of women created after the death of the iconic Maya Angelou in 2014. “The Project creates forums for young people to learn their own history and create their own stories, and in the process, discover their own voices,” she says.

Please let staff know if an attendee needs support for accessibility, including sight and hearing. For more information, contact Janet Perkins at 501-324-9775 or at [email protected].