Writing and Publishing Panel Discussion

Are you a writer interested in exploring writing and publishing? Are you working on a memoir, or would like to start one? Have you ever wondered about what it would be like to put your life story into words? Join Detroit Writing Room Coaches Elizabeth Atkins and Justin Brouckaert for a panel discussion to learn more! 

Elizabeth Ann Atkins gets really excited about verbs and totally turned off by periods and commas placed on the wrong side of quotation marks. She’s happiest when writing her fiction and nonfiction books, as well as ghostwriting projects for clients across America. Elizabeth has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and loves to help aspiring writers. She is an inspiring, high-energy speaker who has taught writing at Wayne State University, Oakland University, Wayne County Community College District and at national conferences.

She created her “PowerJournal” workbook to show how to use journaling for self-discovery and empowerment. “The Oprah Winfrey Show” featured Elizabeth as a guest to celebrate her 100-pound weight loss and lifestyle as a health and fitness enthusiast. Elizabeth co-hosts the award-winning “MI Healthy Mind,” a weekly TV show that aims to shatter stigmas around mental illness. A former Fox 2 Detroit News writer and Detroit News reporter, she has been a guest on Montel, NPR, Good Morning America Sunday, The CBS Evening News and other national TV shows. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The San Diego Tribune, Essence, Ebony, HOUR Detroit, HOUR Home, BET.com, Ms. and BLAC Detroit.

Born and raised in Metro Detroit, Justin Brouckaert lived in Columbia, South Carolina and Hoboken, New Jersey before moving back home in 2020. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Saginaw Valley State University and an MFA from the University of South Carolina, where he was a James Dickey Fellow in Fiction. As a literary agent at Aevitas Creative Management, Justin represents journalists, novelists, memoirists, academics, humorists and thought leaders in business and tech. As a Detroit Writing Room coach, he hopes to help make the publishing world less opaque and more accessible to clients, whether they’re still drafting their first novel, getting ready to query agents or simply looking for feedback on how to best plot their writing careers. In his free time, Justin likes to write experimental fiction, tour the state’s great breweries, play rec league soccer & basketball, and scare his dogs by cheering too loudly for his beloved Detroit Pistons.