STORY 360 Writing
Conference and Celebration

In honor of Free Expressions’ 30th Anniversary!

May 30 - June 1, 2025
Tampa, Florida

You’re invited to an in-person learning event
with some of our most popular instructors!

  • Participate in workshops designed to challenge even the most experienced writers.

  • Dive deep with literary agent Donald Maass during his one-day intensive masterclass, BEYOND THE BREAKOUT: WRITING WITH SOUL.

  • Celebrate our anniversary with a Saturday night party and booksale/signing!

  • Participate in add-on twenty-minute consultations with literary agents (in-person and virtually).

  • Get help for story conundrums and get the inside scoop on publishing during faculty-led Ask Us Anything sessions.

  • Help support two amazing literary organizations—Kitchen Table Literary Arts and Bess the Book Bus.

Conference Venue

CENTRE CLUB
123 S West Shore Blvd Fl 8
Tampa, FL 33609

Hotel / Sleeping Rooms

WESTSHORE GRAND
4860 West Kennedy Boulevard
Tampa, FL 33609
813-286-4400

  • Hotel is part of the same complex as Centre Club with a one-minute walk between venues.

  • Group code will be provided for a rate of $119/night.

Some of our amazing faculty. Full agent roster and signups to be posted soon.

Event Schedule

  • WRITING WITH SOUL IN THE AGE OF AI

    Fiction matters more than ever, but there are pressures: cultural, political, industry, income, and brand. How do you write stories for a world that needs them, when the world wants to dictate the stories you tell? How do you keep your integrity? There are ways to do that even while your write stories that grip, thrill, and move us.

    Topics in this day-long, intensive workshop include:

    • What is authenticity?

    • Why we connect—or not

    • The two modes of story: outer & inner

    • The inner journey of active heroes

    • How to make passive protagonists dynamic

    • Outpacing the reader

    • The human carnival

    • Worlds ordinary and extraordinary

    • Achieving story freedom

    • The true engine of story power

      And more!

    Join literary agent and craft guru, Donald Maass, for a challenging, deep dive into writing with humanity, depth, and scope—to help your work stand out in a crowded marketplace. Learn the keys to writing timeless fiction, finding and keeping your audience, and drawing from personal experience to speak universal truths. With new material and a sneak peek from his upcoming craft book, BONES OF THE GODS.

    Coffee/tea/water available all day. Lunch provided.

  • Soak it all up in jam-packed 75 minute sessions.

    Keynote from Donald Maass, classes, one-on-one agent meetings, Ask Us Anything, and panel discussions to include:

    • In for the Long Haul - Keynote with Donald Maass

    • The Power and Perils of Backstory with Dorian Cirrone

    • Glow up for Your Prose with Grace Burrowes

    • The Power of Throughlines with Rob Sanders

    • Internal and External Worldbuilding with Emma Dryden

    • Private Parts: Getting the Intimacy Right with Damon Suede

    • Take the Hero’s Journey with a Trailblazer with Chris Vogler

    • Creating Stronger Conflicts with Janice Hardy

    • Tension and Anticipation: The Keys to Story Success with Lorin Oberweger

    • And more!

    Coffee/tea/water available all day. Lunch provided.

    EVENING CELEBRATION:

    Party! Come enjoy some libations and nibbles, listen to music, dance, chat, buy books, and celebrate our thirtieth anniversary!

  • Dig deep in rich two-hour sessions designed to put you to work!

    Workshops, one-on-one agent meetings, Ask Us Anything, and panel discussions to include:

    • The Elements of No-Fail Openings with Donald Maass

    • Revision: Gaining Perspective and Changing Perspective with Emma Dryden

    • Forging the Character of My Characters with Chris Vogler

    • Finding the Plot in Your Premise with Janice Hardy

    • Making Description Do Double Duty with Dorian Cirrone

    • Character Dynamics: Action Figures with Damon Suede

    • And more!

      Coffee/tea/water available all day. Lunch provided.

Story 360 Conference and Celebration - FULL PROGRAM 
This entitles the participant to the complete Story 360 Conference and Celebration, including the Friday masterclass with Donald Maass, the Saturday and Sunday Learning Event, and the Saturday Night party!
Story 360 Conference and Celebration - Sat and Sun Daytime Only 
This entitles the participant to the Saturday and Sunday daytime classes but NOT the Friday Masterclass with Don Maass or the party.
Story 360 - Donald Maass Masterclass Only 
This entitles the purchaser to the WRITING WITH SOUL Masterclass with Donald Maass on Friday, May 30, 2025 ONLY. Purchase does not include Saturday and Sunday classes or Saturday night party.
Story 360 Conference: Saturday Night Party Add-on 
For those participating in a portion of the conference who still want to attend the Saturday party. This will entitle the participant to a drink ticket, nibbles, and other goodies, but is for the PARTY ONLY!