Conference Schedule

Friday, September 9
7:30 am - 8:45 am Zone Breakfast

Make face-to-face connections with ACFW members from your area. Tables will be designated by zones for this buffet-style meal. Swap stories and contact information, share local research interest, and establish friendships or the beginnings of new ACFW local chapters.

 Empire Ballroom AB-2nd floor
8:45 am - 9:15 am Worship, Devotions, and Announcements

 Empire Ballroom AB-2nd floor
8:00 am - 11:00 pm Prayer Room

 Strand 9
8:00 am - 11:45 am Registration

 Empire Ballroom Foyer (2nd Floor)
9:30 am - 11:45 am Appointment Desk

 Bolden Foyer-2nd Floor
9:30 am - noon Bookstore

 Empire Ballroom CD-2nd Floor
9:30 am - noon Continuing Education Tracks

CE 01: Title: AI Artillery: Fortifying Your Tactics: Strand 10 CE 02: Title: Bootcamp Into Indie: Strand 11 CE 03: Title: Atten-hut! Preparing Your Manuscript for Inspection: Strand 12 CE 04: Title: Recognizing the Belt of Truth at Attention: Strand 13 CE 05: Title: Explore Your Publishing Options: Strand 1

 
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Lunch

 Empire Ballroom AB-2nd floor
1:45 pm - 2:30 pm Keynote address: Tosca Lee

Address by Tosca Lee

 Empire Ballroom AB-2nd floor
2:00 pm - 5:30 pm Registration

 Empire Ballroom Foyer (2nd Floor)
2:00 pm - 5:30 pm Appointment Desk

 Bolden Foyer-2nd Floor
2:30 pm - 10:00 pm Bookstore

 Empire Ballroom CD-2nd Floor
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Workshops 1-4

WS 01: At Attention Plantsing: Strand 10 WS 02: Write From Freedom: Strand 11 WS 03: Forming Double Battlelines: Thriving as a Hybrid: Strand 12 WS 04: Battle Preparation: Estate Planning for Authors: Strand 13

 
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm Workshops 5-8

WS 05: Tactics and Strategy-The Basics: Strand 10 WS 06: Strategies From Spark to Story: Strand 11 WS 07: Army-Crawl of Publishing: It’s a Turtle Race: Strand 12 WS 08: Writing From the Trenches: Strand 13

 
8:00 pm - 9:00 pm Zone Meeting

Meeting with the Zone Coordinator, Zone Directors, Area Coordinators, and Chapter Presidents

 Strand 6
9:30 pm - 10:30 pm Worship and Write

Come bask in worship music. Bring your laptop, tablet, or paper to write as you are inspired.

 Empire Ballroom AB-2nd floor
Saturday, September 10
8:00 am - 11:00 pm Prayer Room

Spend some time in prayer...come alone, or as a group...pray alone or with the volunteer in the room. Meet Him at the conference.

 Strand 9
8:15 am - 12:15 am Registration Desk

 Empire Ballroom Foyer (2nd Floor)
8:30 am - 9:15 am Worship and Announcements

Start your day off with morning worship and don't miss all of the daily announcements!

 Empire Ballroom AB-2nd floor
9:30 am - 12:00 noon Appointment Desk

 Bolden Foyer-2nd Floor
9:30 am - 12:15 pm Bookstore

 Empire Ballroom CD-2nd Floor
9:30 am - 10:30 am Workshops 9-12

WS 09: On the Radar for the Hot Topics: Strand 10 WS 10: MASTERCLASS: Basic Training on Marketing Tips with Canva (the basics): Strand 11 WS 11: Marching Forward: You’re Published, Now What?: Strand 12 WS 12: Fighting The Good Fight: Strand 13

 
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Lunch

 Empire Ballroom AB-2nd floor
1:45 pm - 3:30 pm Registration

 Empire Ballroom Foyer (2nd Floor)
11:00 am - 12:00 noon Workshops 13-16

WS13: MASTERCLASS: Trad and Hybrid and Indie, Oh My! : Strand 10 WS14: Anchored Writing: Nurturing Spiritual and Mental Health for Christian Writers: Strand 11 WS15: Building a Full-Time Career: Strand 12 WS16: Make ‘Em Laugh…Not Sweat: Behind Enemy Lines: Strand 13

 
1:45 pm - 4:45 pm Appointment Desk

 Bolden Foyer-2nd Floor
1:30 pm - 4:30 pm Bookstore

 Empire Ballroom CD-2nd Floor
1:45 pm - 2:00 pm Gala Ceremony Rehearsal

Rehearsal for all Carol Award and Genesis finalists

 Empire Ballroom AB-2nd floor
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Workshops 17-20

WS17: Under the Tent—Unveiling Structure to Unleash Your Story: Strand 10 WS18: FightWrite: Tactical Bootcamp: Strand 11 WS19: Iron Sharpens Iron-The Good Ammo: Strand 12 WS20: Battle Plan: Finding Your Motivation to Write: Strand 13

 
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Photo Booths

 Empire Ballroom Foyer (2nd Floor)
6:00 pm until... ACFW Awards Gala

Finalists WITH card allowed to enter at 5:30pm. MUST Have Ticket to Enter

 Empire Ballroom AB-2nd floor
30 minutes after gala until 11:00 pm Bookstore

 Empire Ballroom CD-2nd Floor
Sunday, September 11
8:00 am - 11:00 am Post Conference Session:(optional add-on session)

Armed, Equipped, and Battle-Ready Presented by Hallee Bridgeman

 Empire Ballroom B-2nd floor
8:00 am - 10:00 am Bookstore Close Out and Book Pickup

We will begin book pickup and bookstore close-out on Sunday morning, beginning at 8:00 am. To expedite your pickup, please bring your inventory sheet, and be prepared to sign the accounting/inventory sheet. Please do not attempt to box the books yourself, as staff requires certain information and counts and will box your books. Books will NOT be available for pickup prior to Sunday morning at 8:00 am. IF your flight is prior to that, you MUST notify the staff at cd@acfw.com and ct@acfw.com prior to August 14, 2024. If books are not picked up by Sunday at 10:00 am, they will be considered donated to hotel staff.

 Empire Ballroom CD-2nd Floor
Thursday, September 8
8:00 am - 5:00 pm Registration

Pick up your registration packet

 Empire Ballroom Foyer (2nd Floor)
8:00 am - 1:00 pm Early Bird Session (optional add-on session)

The Story Cube Presented by Steven James

 Strand 13
8:00 am - 11:00 pm Prayer Room

Spend some time in prayer...come alone, or as a group...pray alone or with the volunteer in the room. Meet Him at the conference.

 Strand 9
8:00 am - 5:00 pm Bookstore

Authors who have already signed up to have their books in the bookstore....bring your books and your inventory sheets, as well as any promotional materials you may have purchased packages to exhibit to the bookstore.

 Empire Ballroom CD-2nd Floor
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Honoree Reception

By invitation only: A private reception to honor all contest finalists, as well as other award recipients, special guests and speakers, and sponsors.

 Strand 11
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm First Time Attendees Orientation

This session is designed not only to orient you to the conference but also help you meet others, all while having some fun.

 Strand 12
3:15 pm - 3:30 pm Opening of the 2024 ACFW Conference

Official opening of the conference given by CEO, Colleen Coble

 Empire Ballroom AB-2nd floor
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm Worship and Prayer

Start your day off with morning worship and don't miss all of the daily announcements!

 Empire Ballroom AB-2nd floor
4:15 pm - 5:00 pm Keynote address: Tosca Lee

Come let Tosca Lee inspire you. Tosca Lee is a New York Times bestselling author of twelve novels including The Line Between, The Progeny, The Legend of Sheba, Iscariot, and The Long March Home (with New York Times bestselling author Marcus Brotherton). Her work has been translated into seventeen languages and optioned for TV and film. She is the recipient of multiple awards including ECPA Book of the Year in fiction, two International Book Awards, and Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion. In addition to the New York Times, her books have appeared on the IndieBound and Christian bestseller lists, and Library Journal’s Best Of lists.

 Empire Ballroom AB-2nd floor
5:30 pm - 6:45 pm Milestones Celebration Dinner

Milestones Celebrations Dinner. ACFW will bestow another honor for member novelists whose careers have reached significant publishing milestones. This special recognition will be awarded to novelists who have reached landmarks of 25, 50, 75, 100, or 100+ published novels (traditionally, QIP*, or a combination), and they will receive a beautiful ACFW pin marking that accomplishment. Pins will be reserved based on criteria determined during authors’ registration for the conference. An author must be present at the Thursday night dinner at the conference in September to receive their pin. As stated earlier, pins are awarded for book titles in increments of 25, rereleases not included. This is not only an honor, but a photo opp that will resonate throughout the industry.

 Empire Ballroom AB-2nd floor
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Spotlight On...Part One

Agent Panel # 1: A panel of agents who represent Christian fiction: Lynette Eason, Ali Herring, and Steve Laube. - Strand 10A Spotlight 1 - HarperCollins Christian Publishing - Kimberly Carlton - Strand 1 Spotlight 2 - Love Inspired (Harlequin) - Tina James and Melissa Endlich - Strand 2 Spotlight 3 - Bethany House Publishers - Jessica Sharpe - Strand 10B Spotlight 4 - Kregel Publishing - Rachel Kirsch - Bolden 1

 
8:30 pm - 9:30 pm Spotlight On...Part Two

Agent Panel #2-- A panel of agents who represent Christian fiction: Kristy Cambron, Linda Glaz, Tamela Hancock Murray, and Cynthia Ruchti. - Strand 10A Spotlight 1 - Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group - Kelsey Bowen - Strand 1 Spotlight 2 - Tyndale House Publilshers - Stephanie Broene and Elizabeth Jackson - Strand 10B Spotlight 3 - WaterBrook & Multnomah - Jamie Lapeyrolerie - Strand 2

 
Wednesday, September 7
4:00 pm - 8:00 pm Registration

Welcome to the 2024 ACFW Conference! Come pick up your registration packet.

 Empire Ballroom Foyer (2nd Floor)
10:00 am - 9:00 pm Bookstore: Drop Off

Authors who have already signed up to have their books in the bookstore....bring your books and your inventory sheets, as well as any promotional materials you may have purchased packages to exhibit to the bookstore.

 Empire Ballroom CD-2nd Floor