Advantages of Indie Conference: Writing With Great Independent Publishers a Success

Many thanks to all who attended Advantages of Indie Conference: Writing With Great Independent Publishers!

Due to the resounding success of the conference, we will present an expanded event on Saturday, September 12, 2026.

Check back with us to learn more. 

Date: Saturday, September 13
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Venue: Ridgefield Library
Address: 400 Main Street, Ridgefield CT
Phone: 203.438.2282
Registration: Free at Advantages of Indie: Writing With Great Independent Publishers

Join us Saturday, September 13, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Ridgefield Library in Ridgefield, Connecticut, for the inaugural Advantages of Indie Conference: Writing for Great Independent Publishers.

This free event features morning and afternoon sessions with outstanding independent presses: Woodhall Press of Connecticut and Bordighera Press of New York.

The conference begins with a keynote on traditional and indie publishing with David Legere, editorial director for the FalconGuides and Globe Pequot imprints of Globe Pequot Press and CEO of Woodhall Press, followed by a panel discussion with Legere and Woodhall authors on the inner workings of the editorial process.

The afternoon session features a roundtable discussion with representatives of Bordighera Press, a cultural heritage imprint of the Calandra Institute of Queens College CUNY, on the soup-to-nuts submissions and publishing process.

Both sessions include opportunities for audience Q&A, networking, and author book sales and signings.

Publishing areas include:

• Essay
• Fiction
• Memoir
• Nonfiction
• Poetry

The event is free but requires registration. To register, click on Advantages of Indie: Writing With Great Independent Publishers.

For questions, email Adele Annesi a.annesi@sbcglobal.net or Lucy Handley lthandley@ridgefieldlibrary.org.

Authors and publishers will have books available for signing, purchase and discussion. A full event schedule is below. We look forward to seeing you!

Conference Schedule
Attendee sign-in
9:45 a.m.
Morning Schedule
10:00 a.m. – Introduction: Indie author Adele Annesi
10:15 a.m. – Keynote: David Legere, CEO Woodhall Press
10:45 a.m. – Break
11:00 a.m. – Moderated Woodhall publisher/author panel with audience Q&A
11:45 a.m. – Networking with publisher and authors plus author book sales and signings
Lunch Break
12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. – Break for lunch at area eateries
Afternoon Schedule
1:30 p.m. – Introduction: Indie author Adele Annesi

Bordighera Press

1:45 p.m. – Moderated roundtable with Bordighera Press and attendee Q&A
2:30 p.m. – Networking with publishers and authors plus author book sales and signings
3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Reception with publishers, representatives, authors and attendees

Author of New Children's Book Melds Joy and Learning in Unique Format

Emerging children’s book author Laran Woods has a new all-in-one children's book/workbook geared toward children in second grade. Published by Dorrance, a longstanding publishing services company, The Carousel Kids reflects Woods' imagination, love for learning, and longtime experience as a teacher of children in grades K-12.

Here, Woods speaks about her writing and publishing journey.

What is your teaching background?
I was a K-12 teacher and administrator for more than twenty years, and my mother was an elementary-school teacher for twenty-five years.

I specialized in teaching French, German and Spanish, and my mother, special education.  Most of my experience was in Grades 8 and 9, while my mother’s experience was with second grade.

What is it about storytelling that appeals to you?
Because stories make learning effective, and because children engage so well with storytelling, my mother came up with the idea of creating a workbook showing children from all ethnicities in the primary grades enjoying learning while using different animals, both magical and real as a vehicle. Since I was an only child, I spent a lot of my childhood entertaining myself by telling imaginative stories.

How did your new children's book come into being?
I wrote the story for The Carousel Kids and contributed to the activities. My father, who was both a multilinguist and Liberal Arts graduate, wrote poetry after retiring from the FBI. He also served briefly as a high school French teacher before moving on to the FBI. He helped my mother write the poem and the lyrics for the song for my all-in-one story and workbook. In summary, this book was a family project.

What were your main obstacles to writing The Carousel Kids, and how did you overcome them?
My primary obstacles were my extensive vocabulary and complex sentence structure. The way I addressed these so that elementary-age children can understand and enjoy the stories I have written was twofold.

For The Carousel Kids, I had my mother help me edit. For the next book, I included a dictionary at the end of the story. I also paid an artist to do the artwork. Even so, it is easier, I think, to write a children’s story than it is to write an adult novel.

What drew you to writing this book in particular?
As much as I would like to say that I mostly write to delight children, I must honestly admit that I do it because I have a passion for the craft of telling fanciful tales. I include the workbook to help children become good enough readers to comprehend what I write and, thereby, like it too.

What is your next project?
I have another book and workbook coming out next year where I share one of my girlhood stories, one that I originated about my dogs and cats, along with workbook activities designed to build vocabulary. The future book/workbook is best-suited for Grades 4 and 5 and possibly Grade 6 due to the level of word sophistication.

The Carousel Kids is available from Amazon.

Laran Woods is a bilingual French and English consumer relations representative for J.M. Smucker. She previously worked for PepsiCo in the same role. Woods’ specialty is educating children and adults. She inherited her talent for learning foreign languages from her father. Her passion is writing and telling imaginative stories for children. Her next book is due out in 2026, from Dorrance Publishers.