Below is a list of our Panel and Workshop Programming for 2027, as well as Special Activities and Events!
Imaginarium 2027 will feature over 200 Panels, Workshops, Events, and Special Activities at our new home, the Crowne Plaza! This page will be updated regularly as programming is added, so be sure to check back regularly!
See the topics and descriptions for each category!
Panels are listed first, followed by all of the workshops.
Read through topics and descriptions, with presenters for Workshops included.
Access all of our programming with an Imaginarium 2027 Event Ticket!
To get information on Imaginarium 2027 Event Tickets, please visit:
https://www.entertheimaginarium.com/2027-event-tickets/
Panels
Writing and Publishing Panels
Banned Together: Authors, Librarians, Book Store Owners & the Fight for the Freedom to Read. Moderator – Lindsay K. Schultz. In 2025, more books were challenged in America than in almost any year on record, and the targets include everything from YA classics to award winners. Meet advocates fighting back for a frank conversation about who gets to decide what we read, and what you can do about it. (60 min)
Dr. Moreau’s Laboratory: An Animal Mashup Game: Moderated by Barbara V. Evers. Join a hilarious game of animal mashup where a panel of authors creates beastly and strange animal characters using a creature mashup card deck. Each panelist will imagine the beastly animal and write a 1-3 sentence intro of the creature as it first appears in a story. Bring your craziest sense of humor and your wildest imagination. Audience votes on their favorites. One author goes home with bragging rights …and maybe chocolate! (90 min)
First Page Reads: Moderated by Barbara V. Evers. Writers anonymously submit the first page of their novel for expert feedback from a panel of agents, publishers, and editors. (90 min)
Maps, Magic & Machines: Worldbuilding for Fantasy & Science Fiction: Moderator TBA. Fantasy and sci-fi authors, along with screenwriters, will discuss building worlds readers can believe in, including the small details that make the difference between a backdrop and a place. (90 min)
Vampire Sex: Undead and Loving It!: Moderator – Renmeleon. They have no heartbeat, and yet for two hundred years, vampires have been literature’s greatest sex symbols. Join the authors who write them for a frank, funny, and surprisingly craft-focused conversation about the mechanics, the metaphors, and the scenarios readers keep asking about. Bring your questions. There are no wrong ones. (18+) (60 min)
Writing Fearful Thrillers: The Craft of Horror, Dread, and the Twist: Moderator TBA. This panel gets into how to build tension, slow burn, or jump scare. Which is harder to write, and which lasts longer? When to show a killer/monster and when to hide it, and how to land an ending that haunts the reader after the last page. (60 min)
Independent TV/Film and Screenwriting Panels
Talk Is Cheap: Dialogue That Does the Work: Moderator TBA. The screenwriters on this panel break down how they make conversations sound human, carry a plot without sounding flighty, and give every character a voice you can relate to. (60 min)
Workshops
Writing and Publishing Workshops
60 Minutes to Murder: Presented by Virginia Smith. How do you create a spellbinding mystery? In this workshop, you will discover the essential clues you need to craft a killer story. Whether you want to write a classic cozy who-dun-it or an edge-of-the-seat thriller, you will learn the exact mechanics behind breathtaking suspense. Target Audience: writers at all levels of experience. (60 min)
Adventures in Editing: Presented by Ann VanderMeer. Writers, editors, and other professionals in the publishing process we will discuss the life cycle of a story or novel. All the steps of getting the writer’s work out into the world. We will examine the many hats an editor may wear during the editing process, as well as the writer’s relationship with other professionals in the field and how a writer can better manage their part in this endeavor. There are many people involved in each project beyond those who work at the publishing company: agents, booksellers, reviewers, and even first readers! (6o min)
From Real Places to Fictional Worlds: Using History, Landscape and Regional Memory: Presented by James O. Barnes. Every place carries a history, a landscape, and a collection of memories that can give fiction depth and authenticity. In this 90-minute interactive workshop, author James O. Barnes will show writers how to transform real locations into believable fictional settings without merely copying a map or delivering a history lesson. Through guided exercises and audience discussion, participants will identify the physical, cultural, historical, and emotional details that define a place; decide what to preserve, combine, or change; and connect setting to character, conflict, and atmosphere. Attendees will leave with a practical setting blueprint they can apply to a current or future writing project. This workshop is suitable for fiction writers in any genre and at any experience level. (90 min)
How To Be Creative When All You Want to Do is Take a Nap: Presented by Kimberly Hoffman. Many of us are chronically tired either because of health conditions, having too much on our plate, or trying to work a regular job plus write. How can we find time to be creative? Kimberly Hoffman will present information on pacing your energy, grounding, finding ways to engage your creativity in a more meaningful way by finding your purpose/mission, and learning some productivity tips. (60 min)
How to Break Into Media Tie-Ins: Presented by Chris A. Jackson. Breaking in as a tie-in writer is very different than pitching your manuscripts to traditional publishers. Learn the ins and outs of media tie-in writing for games, movies, TV series, and other licensed properties. (60 min)
Marathonarium 5 Premium Short Story Workshop: Presented by Stephen Zimmer. Get ready for our next 3-Hour Short Story Marathon at Imaginarium 2027, where your completion of a short story gets you published in the fifth volume of our Imaginarium Convention Marathonarium Anthologies!
The Marathonarium 5 workshop will be conducted by award-winning author, editor, and podcaster Stephen Zimmer, and will include a short presentation focusing on marathon-style writing and the craft of writing short stories.
At the end of the presentation, the three-hour creative writing adventure begins!
The presentation will begin at 5 PM on July 22nd
At 5:30 PM, we begin writing.
By 8:30 PM, each participant will transmit his or her story to Stephen for the next steps, which will include editing and time for you to make any needed corrections or revisions to your short story.
Then, the stories will be published in the Marathonarium Anthology Volume 5, which will be released in both print and digital formats, with proceeds supporting the Imaginarium Convention! Stories are non-exclusive, meaning that you will be able to use them right away in any project that you would like!
Note: this is a Premium Exclusive Workshop requiring a small additional fee with a limitation of 18 participants. To register for one of the spaces on this workshop, visit: https://www.entertheimaginarium.com/marathonarium-5-premium-workshop-sign-ups/
Publishing Without Expensive Mistakes: Presented by James O. Barnes. Publishing mistakes are often expensive because decisions are made in the wrong order or before the author has enough information. In this 60-minute practical workshop, author, accountant, and former small-press operator James O. Barnes will explain the decisions writers should make before spending money on publication. Topics include editing, cover and interior preparation, ISBNs, metadata, distribution, proofing, inventory, and promotional spending. Participants will learn which tasks they may be able to handle themselves, when professional assistance is worth the cost, and how one publishing decision can affect later options. The workshop includes real-world examples, time for questions, and a practical framework attendees can use to plan a book release while avoiding preventable costs. (60 mins)
Seeking Alternative Income: The Basics of Business Writing: Presented by Barbara Evers, John Palisano, and Carma Haley Shoemaker. We will explore the importance of audience, goals, and content, as well as look at a variety of business writing opportunities and how writers can increase their writing income through them. John Palisano and Carma Haley Shoemaker also offer angles slightly different from mine in this often untapped area. (60 min)
Self-editing Like a Pro: Presented by R.C. Reid. Author R.C. Reid takes the audience through many types of basic mistakes and issues (both the simple and the more complex) that a writer should be able to catch themselves to make the job easier and more fruitful for a future professional editor or publisher, or to impress a potential agent. (60 mins)
Show Your Empathy Card to Attract Readers: Presented by Barbara V. Evers. This workshop will look at the definition of empathy and explore its application to developing realistic characters. Also, we’ll look at how reading enhances the audience’s empathy. We will explore emotions and how to use them appropriately within the context of revealing your character. (60 min)
The DOs and DON’Ts of Self-Publishing: Presented by Taylor Woodland. Taylor Woodland, a five-time indie author, will be going over her self-publishing process step by step. She’ll give advice on things you should avoid, programs to help your process, and things to make your books sell better. (90 min)
The Science of Conflict in Fiction: Presented by David Simms. Discuss how to employ several layers of conflict in your stories to deepen reader engagement, amp up tension, and reveal character depth. (60 mins)
You Wrote the Book. Now Sell It!: Presented by Terry Chambers. Drawing on real-world experience, Terry helps authors discover how to build an audience, attract publicity, and turn a finished manuscript into a book people notice without spending a fortune.(60 min)
Writing Dangerous Relationships: Building Tension in Dark Romance & Psychological Suspense: Presented by Sabrina Black. Why are readers so drawn to relationships that are obsessive, complicated, or downright dangerous? This interactive workshop will look at how writers can build tension between characters while keeping readers emotionally invested.
We’ll cover writing morally complicated relationships, using secrets and manipulation to create suspense, and developing unreliable characters well.
The workshop would be intended for writers of all experience levels. (90 mins)
Independent Film and Television Workshops
Film-Ec: Presented by Herschel Zahnd. A candid and straightforward overview of the economic reality of working as a film professional in today’s world. (60 min)