Chris Baty founder of NaNoWriMo in his Berkeley apartment. Photo courtesy of Crossroads Writers Conference

Crossroads Writer’s Conference will be held this weekend beginning Friday, October 5 through Sunday, October 7 at the Marriot City Center in the heart of Macon. This marks the fourth year of the conference, and its first year at the Marriott’s downtown conference facilities. The keynote speaker will be Chris Baty, founder of NaNoWriMo, author of “No Plot? No Problem!”

Crossroads began in 2008 through the hard work of many volunteers and the vision of its founders: Chris Horne, Dr. Heather Braun, Dr. Kelly Whiddon and Dr. Monica Young-Zook. Over the four-year history of the conference, the group has brought hundreds of writers together to learn from some of the best authors in the country. Featured conference speakers have included Rick Moody, Joshilyn Jackson, Adam Mansbach and Kevin Maurer, just to name a few.

Crossroads’ founders: Dr. Heather Braun, Dr. Kelly Whiddon, Chris Horne and Dr. Monica Young-Zook. Photo courtesy of Crossroads Writers Conference.

Along with the annual conference, Crossroads also gives back to the community. Earlier this year, the group donated 100 copies of “Project Dreams,” a children’s book by local author Rhonda Singletary, to a literary event held at Mercer University. They also received a Knight Neighborhood Challenge grant in 2011 to replace broken sidewalks in Macon’s College Hill Corridor with new sidewalks featuring poetry, lyrics and other literary works.

The conference features many workshops and speakers but also hosts Crossroads Writers Book Fair on Sunday which is free and open to the public. The fair will present two official book launches as part of the event. Kelly Whiddon, a Macon-based poet and Crossroads co-founder, and Emilie P. Bush, a Georgia-based writer, will both launch new books at the fair—”The House Began to Pitch” by Whiddon and “Steamduck Learns to Fly!” by Bush.

For more information on Crossroads Writers Conference, visit www.crossroadswriters.org/conference.