Carla Conti | Speaking & Workshops

2027 Conference Schedule

Next year, I’m branching out beyond true crime and nonfiction writing to share what I’ve learned about indie publishing and promotion. I can confirm one speaking engagement so far and will keep this page updated with more workshops as they get booked.

Liberty States Fiction Writers Conference—April 10, 2027

I will present a workshop titled: Promotion on a Shoestring: Street Teams, NetGalley, and Press & Podcasts, and More for Indie Authors at the 16th Annual Liberty States Fiction Writers Conference, held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Hamilton, New Jersey. The one-day event brings together published and aspiring authors for a lineup of workshops on craft, business, promotion, and indie publishing, plus free pitch sessions with agents and editors.

The 2026 conference sold out, and registration for 2027 opens November 1, 2026.

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

- 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:

- 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

- 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 Jacklighter: Murder, Betrayal, and Justice in Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains (Oct. 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:

- 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