Schedule

Looking for craft breakouts? Check. Intensives? Check. A gameshow-style contest? Of course. All wrapped up in what we love the most at SWF: Community! Want to hone your marketing skills? Agent One-on-Ones are ten-minute meetings where you can do just that. Tickets are limited and sessions fill up early. You’ll be notified of your exact meeting time closer to the Festival launch.

Day 1: Friday, August 23

1:00-1:50 For those registered for an intensive course, we welcome you at this time to Historiska Museet! All other Main Festival Pass holders will register from 3:30 to 4:30.

2:00 to 4:00 Intensive sessions

Intensive #1: Plot Like a Pro (All Genres)

Plotting a novel in any genre begins with a single, universal concept—a deceptively simple, powerful tool for conceptualizing and constructing great narrative. In this two-hour intensive workshop with freelance developmental editor Rebecca Faith Heyman, writers will learn the storytelling secret that has served Rebecca’s extensive roster of clients for the past twenty years. Attendees of this interactive session will have the opportunity to receive feedback from Rebecca in a dynamic, fun, educational environment that fosters community as much as creativity.  

What you’ll walk away with:

  • A potent understanding of how character, conflict, and plot emerge and interrelate in your manuscript.

  • A method for plotting a novel in any genre that will serve you for the duration of your writing career.

  • The ability to articulate the heart of your novel’s purpose in clear, concise language.

Intensive #2: Fantasy World Building

Fantasy. It’s a genre that with each passing year has grown and evolved. Tackling a fantasy project, with its complex worlds, can be daunting. In this intensive two-hours session, bestselling author, A.Y. Chao takes you through the different approaches to fantasy world-building, from sensory immersion to geopolitical environments. She’ll use live examples from pieces submitted in advance. This class is for authors who have already drafted a Fantasy manuscript, or for those preparing to craft one. Deadline for submitting work: August 20.

What you’ll walk away with:

  • Solid strategies for building worlds that lift your plot.

Intensive #3: Mystery/Crime Bootcamp

Crime novels of all types—cozies, hard-boiled, or thrillers—often appear on the bestseller lists. But they’re challenging to write with complex plots, and the planting of clues and red herrings. Mystery/Crime Bootcamp provides aspiring and experienced writers with the genre-related tools necessary to plan a mystery. Join award-winning author, Lori Rader-Day, as she explores the craft skills all writers need, including POV, capturing a vivid sense of place, and creating characters who leap off the page.

What you’ll walk away with:

  • Context for what constitutes "crime fiction" and what readers expect.

  • Hot tips for populating a crime novel, from sleuth to villain.

  • Practical tools for dropping clues and creating suspense.

3:30 to 4:30 Registration for the Main Festival

4:30 to 7:00 Kickoff SWF24 with a gathering brimming with community fun and a few surprises.

Day 2: Saturday, August 24

8:00 to 9:00 Registration, fika* and mingle

9.00 to 10:00 Trad. Indie. Self. Learn more about the trends in the market you should know about from our expert panel of agents: Jamie Cowen from The Ampersand Agency, Ayesha Pande from Pande Literary, and Laura Williams from Greene and Heaton. Moderated by Paul Rapacioli with audience Q&A.

10:10 to 11:30 Breakout Session 1

  • BREAKOUT 1A: Supercharge your story – Harness the power of MRU with A.Y. Chao

    MRU, or Motivation Reaction Units, are the building blocks of story—a causation chain of stimulus and reaction. Used wisely, MRU can deepen emotional resonance, strengthen character, infer backstory, amplify world building, crank-up tension, and more. Discover the secrets of MRU to super charge your story in this captivating breakout.

  • BREAKOUT 1B: Unlikeable protagonists with Sacha Black

    Discover how to write the perfect unlikeable protagonist or villain-protagonist. This session will give you all the structure, arc, and characterization tips you need to master the unlikeable character. In this session, learn how to define what counts as unlikeable across genres. Discover what a, “Reverse Save the Cat,” is and why you need to use it, and other tools for creating unforgettable characters.

  • BREAKOUT 1C: Managing expectations after submitting with Sally O-J

    Once you've pressed ”send” on your submission to an agent, the agony of the wait kicks in very quickly. Within seconds, as a rule. In this session, book doctor Sally O-J talks about how to manage your expectations once you have submitted your manuscript, and, based on her many years’ of experience working with agents, she will explain what goes on ”on the other side of the curtain”. This isn't a session about how to get an agent. It’s about understanding and coping with the process of submitting. The aim is to help you avoid the agony while waiting for a response and, crucially, to help you to ‘decode’ the response when it comes.

11:30 to 12:30 Lunch

12:30 to 1:00 Author book signing Get your faculty book signed by the author or use the time to mingle with fellow writers

1:00-2:20 Breakout Session 2

  • BREAKOUT 2A: Using the senses to power up your writing with Sacha Black

Do you want to improve your writing but have no idea where to start? Are you worried your prose is flat and full of weak descriptions? Are you ready to power up your writing and create prose that glues your reader to the page? In this course, learn how to create sensory-rich writing. Explore the psychology behind the senses as well as how to connect sensory detail with memory to deepen both your characterization and imagery.

  • BREAKOUT 2B: Writing between the lines with Rebecca Faith Heyman

    Voice. Tone. Style. These terms are often used to identify what makes great writing so great, but what do they actually mean? In this session, we’ll demystify the voice/tone/style trifecta and reveal how to leverage each element to strengthen your writing. To put theory into practice, we will examine sample work submitted in advance from attendees. Deadline for submitting work for review is August 1.

  • BREAKOUT 2C: Using setting to move story with Adnan Mahmutović

    The details you use in your prose should serve as more than just “window dressing.” By creating vivid descriptions of setting, authors can signal the inner turmoil of a crisis, convey tone, and telegraph feelings the characters in a story may not even realize they’re experiencing. In this breakout with professor Adnan Mahmutović, learn how to infuse every word in your manuscript with more power to carry the themes of your writing.

2:20 to 2:45 Break Grab a fika. Make a(nother) friend. Buy a book. Be happy.

2:45 to 3:30: In Conversation - Why you must have an editor. Book doctor Sally O-J shares why it's crucial to work with an editor before submitting to an agent or considering self-publishing. Moderated by Paul Rapacioli with audience Q&A.

4:00 to 5:30 First Line Frenzy: Experience the fast-paced, fun, whip-smart phenomenon beloved by writers around the globe! First Line Frenzy® emerged from Rebecca Faith Heyman’s belief that writers can learn a lot from just a single line of text – and what better line to start with than the first? Using first lines sourced from the audience (submitted in advance), Rebecca will offer live critiques, edits and teachings you’ll be able to apply to your novel’s first line – and every line after. Learn how to strengthen your novel’s opening and avoid common pitfalls in a session that will keep you laughing and learning in equal measure. Deadline for submission is noon on the day of the event, August 24.

17:30 Mingle

Day 3: Sunday, August 25

8:30 to 8:55 Mingle and fika

9:00 to 10:20 Buttonhole the Expert Buttonhole the Expert is one of the highlights of our conference. In the Baroque Room, our main plenary room, we station faculty members at different tables. Participants find a seat and chat informally with an expert. When the (world famous) SWF cowbell rings, everyone rises and heads to another expert’s table and we begin again for a total of three rounds. Kinda like speed dating, but not at all romantic, and for writers.

10:30 to 11:45 Breakout Session 3

  • BREAKOUT 3A: Tackling the White Whale with Lori Rader-Day

    In 2012, an award-winning writer got a story idea that was too big, too unwieldy, too MUCH—a story she had to attack from every direction. If you have a story that obsesses you but darts away unfinished or a story feels as though it will swallow you whole, this session will help you make fish sticks of your elusive quarry, once and for all.

  • BREAKOUT 3B: Revision versus Redrafting with A.Y. Chao

    A common pitfall for new writers is to mistake redrafting for revision. Authors rewrite, thinking they’re addressing problems, but in reality they end up with a different story suffering from the same issues. In other words: they redraft instead of revise. In this session we’ll discuss the three stages of revision and learn practical tips and strategies to effectively revise your manuscript. 

  • BREAKOUT 3C: Writing to market with Sacha Black

    The concept of understanding the market and how your book fits within it isn't new. But when teachers talk about it they focus on understanding advertising, brand and pitch. But what about the writing and craft of writing to market? In this session, deconstruct bestselling books through a three-step methodology. Explore the craft of genre tropes. Slip TikTok-able/marketable scenes into your work to hook readers.

11:45 to 1:00 Lunch

1:00 to 1:30 p.m. Author book signing and mingle

1:30 to 2:50 Breakout Session 4

  • BREAKOUT 4A: Nailing the beginning and ending of your manuscript with Sally O-J

It’s absolutely vital to get the beginning of your book as good as it can possibly be. You want to hook your readers and keep them turning the pages, but you must also be able to convince prospective agents to read on, too. This is a well-known truth.  But it’s just as crucial to put the same time and energy into getting the end of your book perfect. In this breakout, Sally will give you the tools you need to do both. As little jargon as possible, but as much information as you could want. And diagrams for those who’d like them!

  • BREAKOUT 4B: Finding the ring of truth in dialogue with Adnan Mahmutović

    Nothing pulls a reader into your story faster than well-written dialogue. Voices that sound authentic and conversations that have the ring of truth immediately bring your characters to life on the page. Find out how to craft dialogue that serves your protagonist and plot in this session. Your teacher will use in class exercises, so come with your cursor sharpened.

  • BREAKOUT 4C: Tension: the secret ingredient for an unputdownable story with A.Y. Chao

    Tension is the secret ingredient that makes all stories zing, the propulsive force that keeps readers turning pages into the wee hours of the night. We’ll discuss different types of tension and explore methods of introducing and maintaining tension in story.  

3:00 to 4:30 Literary Idol

At SWF18—our very first year—we debuted this event. Now we’ve made it a regular feature. What is it? A fun (yet respectful) gameshow-style happening where the first page of an anonymous manuscript is read to our expert panel of agents and editors. Judges indicate when they would stop reading and give constructive critique. One shining manuscript will be chosen as winner and will receive a prize to be announced onsite.

4:30 to 5:00 Reveal of the SWF24 Microfiction Contest winner

5:00 to 6:00 Mingle


Agent One-on-Ones

In these sessions, participants get ten minutes with the agent of their choice to pitch their work and receive feedback. These are booked according to demand throughout the Festival. We will come back with your time slot if you buy this additional ticket.


Every effort will be made to adhere to this schedule. However, all program elements and times are subject to change.

*The Swedish word for coffee break.