9:00AM-11:00AM
COMMUNITY ARRIVAL+OPENING CEREMONY
11:00AM-12:00PM
Whose Stories Get Published? A Frank Conversation on Power, Access, and the Future of Diverse Books
The publishing industry is shrinking and writers of color are paying the price. Imprints are folding. The editors and agents who spent their careers fighting for our stories, who went to bat for authors the industry would have otherwise overlooked, are losing their seats at the table. And when they go, they take the doors they opened with them. So what does this mean for us, for writers of color who are still writing, still submitting, still believing their stories deserve to be published? Join us for an unfiltered conversation about the state of publishing, what is truly at stake for diverse voices and how we refuse to be erased.
Panelist:
Caroline Bleeke (Flatiron Books/MacMillan- Editor), Angela Quezada Padron (Dream Jar Publishing-Editor),
Marcela Landres (Editorial Consultant), Leslie Zampetti (Open Book Literary-Literay Agent), Nancy Mercado (Penguin Random House-Editor), and Rita Veras (Rosecliff Literary-Literary Agent)
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Moderator: Angy Abreu, Executive Director of Dominican Writers Assoc.
12:00–1:00 PM
MASTERCLASS w/ Adriana Herrera
When Publishing Says No: Funding the Work Anyway
Join Adriana Herrera, a USA Today bestselling author born and raised in the Dominican Republic Wikipedia, for an intimate discussion on decision-making under constraint. Drawing from her successful Kickstarter campaign for "After the End: A Dystopian Romance Collection," which demonstrated how writers can bypass traditional publishing gatekeepers and build direct relationships with readers Substack, explore when to wait, when to pivot, how to protect creative control, and how to resource your work responsibly. Lunch is included.
1:00 PM- 1:55PM
KEYNOTE BY ANGIE CRUZ
Angie Cruz is one of the most essential voices in Dominican and American literature. A writer whose work Julia Alvarez herself has called "so right for this moment" - Cruz takes the stage for a keynote address that sits in the intersection of story, community, and what it means to write Dominican life in honesty and love. A conversation not to be missed.
2:00PM–2:45 PM
The Dominican Graphic Novel Movement
Graphic Novels and illustrated storytelling have become one of the most dynamic spaces for Dominican creators, where image and narrative, memory and myth, folklore and futurism collide. But what does it mean to tell Dominican stories visually in an industry still catching up to the form? Join Dominican graphic novelist and illustrators from the island and diaspora, for a conversation on craft, representation, and the growing presence of Dominican voices in one of publishing's most exciting and evolving spaces.
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Panelist: Eddaviel Montero, Barbara Perez Marquez, Kelly Fernandez, and Kiara Valdez
Moderator: Gabriel Castillo
3:00PM–4:00 PM
Middle Grade: The Page Is Listening: Writing Middle Grade with Purpose
Middle grade is where young readers first see themselves, or don't. For Dominican and Latinx writers, the stakes are deeply personal: how do we create stories that affirm identity, honor cultural specificity, and expand what young readers believe is possible for someone like them? Join Dominican authors for a conversation on craft and responsibility of writing for young readers who are paying attention.
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Panelist: Jasminne Mendez, Hilda Eunice Burgos, Julian Randall, Jasminne Paulino
Moderator: Amaris Castillo
4:15–5:15 PM
The Poem as Memory: Dominican Voices, Craft, and Inheritance
Poetry is where Dominican Writers have long stored what cannot be said any other way - memory, migration, grief, joy, and the spaces between languages. Join Dominican poets for a conversation on craft, lineage, and what it means to write poetry that carries the full weight of who we are and where we come from.
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Panelist: Roberto Carlos Garcia, Roxana Calderón, Yaissa Jimenez, Stephanie Pacheco and JP Infante
Moderator: Aide Montilla