On August 14, 2021, a free workshop with William Bernhardt will be provided by the Enid Writers Club, Park Avenue Thrift, and The Enid Arts Council.
James and Ann Bryant, owners of the Champlin Mansion, have generously offered this historic residence for the workshop.
Although free, advance registration is required as the workshop is limited to 60 people.
Workshop hours are 10:00 to 4:00 with registration beginning at 9:00. Lunch and snacks are provided.
The local Enid Writers Club is the oldest writing club in Oklahoma in existence since 1923. They have contracted with best-selling author, William Bernhardt, author and speaker, for this event. Bernhardt will take participants on a guided and interactive tour through the essential elements of superior writing, prose that captivates readers and leads to successful writing careers. Bernhardt will provide insight on structure, character, plot, dialogue, and much more. Take your writing to the next level!
Bio: William Bernhardt is the author of over fifty books, most recently the Daniel Pike legal thriller series, starting with the #1 best-selling novel The Last Chance Lawyer. His previous works include the bestselling Ben Kincaid series, the historical novels Challengers of the Dust and Nemesis, two books of poetry (The White Bird and The Ocean’s Edge), and the Red Sneaker books on fiction writing. In addition, Bernhardt founded the Red Sneaker Writers Center to mentor aspiring writers. The Center hosts an annual writers conference (WriterCon), small-group writing retreats, plus a bi-weekly e-newsletter and podcast. More than three dozen of Bernhardt’s students have subsequently published with major houses. He is also the owner of Bernhardt Books, which publishes poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as the literary journal Conclave.
Bernhardt has received the Southern Writers Guild’s Gold Medal Award, the Royden B. Davis Distinguished Author Award (University of Pennsylvania) and the H. Louise Cobb Distinguished Author Award (Oklahoma State), which is given "in recognition of an outstanding body of work that has profoundly influenced the way in which we understand ourselves and American society at large." He has been nominated for the Oklahoma Book Award eighteen times in three different categories and has won the award twice. In 2019, he received the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oklahoma Center for the Book.
In addition to his novels and poetry, Bernhardt has written plays, a musical (book and score), humor, children stories, biography, and puzzles. He has edited two anthologies (Legal Briefs and Natural Suspect) as fundraisers for The Nature Conservancy and the Children’s Legal Defense Fund.
The H.H. Champlin House (The Champlin Mansion) sits strategically one block west of the intersection of Hwy 81 and Hwy 412 at 612 South Tyler in Enid. An historic residential area with Champlin Park across the street, participants will find parking on the street. You will not be able to turn onto Tyler from Hwy 412 because of the concrete median. Sequoyah Drive south of the intersection of Hwy 81 Hwy 412 at the Midgley Museum will lead you west to the mansion. The workshop is limited to the first 60 people who register but is free to the public. Mail your registration form to Enid Writers Club, P.O. Box 327, Enid, OK 73702. Forms can be found on the Enid Writers Club website.
Join us in the morning for coffee and donuts and an afternoon break will provide drinks and snacks. The free boxed lunch from McAlister’s Deli has a vegetarian option on the registration form and let us know if you need handicap or assistance in parking. You must pre-register.
