Bring True Crime Expertise to Your Conference or Event
Award-winning true crime author and former investigative journalist Carla Conti delivers field-tested workshops on the craft, ethics, reporting, and legal protection every true crime writer needs. Perfect for beginner through intermediate authors across all genres interested in nonfiction storytelling and self-publishing legal protection.
Watch Sample Clips and Slides From Her Latest Workshop
The Workshop—True Crime Uncovered: Writing with Purpose, Precision, Power, and Protection
True crime is one of the fastest-growing categories in publishing, and one of the most legally and ethically complex to write. This field-tested workshop gives aspiring and working true crime authors a practical, journalist-tested roadmap for doing it right: from finding the right story to protecting yourself after you publish.
Attendees receive a two-page printed field checklist covering all workshop content, plus key true crime statistics, liability definitions, and recommended resources—a reference they’ll return to long after the event.
Download the Speaker One-Sheet
A one-page PDF overview of the workshop, speaker bio, Pennwriters reception, and awards.
Format
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- 35-40 minute workshop
- 20-slide PowerPoint presentation
- Q&A + discussion follows
- Length can be adapted depending on programming needs
- PDF checklist to download via QR code on screen
What Attendees Learn
A framework organized around four Ps:
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- PURPOSE — How to identify stories with built-in narrative tension, cultural significance, and a defensible reason to write.
- PRECISION — FOIA requests, court records, multi-source corroboration, call recording, consent laws, and documentation habits that double as legal protection.
- POWER — Scene reconstruction, dialogue conventions, pacing, cliffhangers, and portraying real people with dignity and nuance.
- PROTECTION — E&O insurance, LLC formation, release forms, literary attorney review, defamation and fair use basics, and pen name strategy.
Workshop Reception from May 2026, 39th Annual Pennwriters Conference
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- Among the largest workshop audiences
- 4 Pennwriters board members in attendance
- Generated strong post-session engagement and book sales
“You’ve inspired me to write another true crime book.”
— Jim Rada, Pennwriters author/board member, Published Penns program manager, and conference speaker coordinator
“What a really popular and fantastic workshop … it obviously filled a need for true crime and other writers.”
— Christina VandePol, author of the forthcoming memoir Madam Coroner: A Memoir of Death and Politics in Suburbia
About Speaker Carla Conti
Carla Conti is an award-winning indie true crime author and former investigative journalist who covered the police beat and criminal courts. She is the author of Chained Birds: A Crimemoir—a multi-award-winning true crime exposé of a corrupt prison program—and the forthcoming The Jacklighter: Murder, Betrayal, and Justice in Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains (Fall 2026).
She has appeared on over a dozen podcasts and radio shows, and publishes Crimemoir Confidential, a true crime newsletter with 5,000+ subscribers on Substack.
Proven Track Record
Awards for Chained Birds include:
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- 1st Place Nellie Bly Journalism Award—Chanticleer CIBAs
- 1st Place True Crime—Next Generation Indie Book Awards
- Silver True Crime—IPPY Awards
- 1st Place True Crime—IndieReader Discovery Awards
Ideal Audiences
Writers conferences · Mystery & thriller conventions · True crime events · Library programming · Journalism schools · Writing groups · Indie author conferences
Invite Carla to Your Event
The workshop is fully developed, slide-ready, and available for conferences, conventions, library programs, and writing groups nationwide.
Contact Carla
Download the Speaker One-Sheet
Carla Conti is a journalist and the award-winning author of Chained Birds: A Crimemoir. Her next true crime book, The Jacklighter, is set for release in 2026. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, who supports her true crime habit.