Craft Panel: How to Use Research In Writing
Advertisement
This event is part of UntitledTown Book and Author Festival, happening in Green Bay, Wisconsin September 25-27, 2026. Including over 11 different locations, 70 authors, 80 individual events and every single one is free admission. More details can be found at www.untitledtown.org.
Transform your writing process by mastering the art of the craft talk: “How to Use Research in Writing.” This session explores how deep, intentional research anchors your narrative, builds authentic worlds, and strengthens your prose, whether you are writing fiction or creative nonfiction. Our panel of experts will share techniques for integrating facts seamlessly into your storytelling without stalling your narrative momentum. You will leave with a toolkit to elevate your drafts through precision and detail.
Attendees will learn to:
Integrate research seamlessly into your narrative voice.
Identify credible, high-impact sources for your specific genre.
Balance historical or technical accuracy with creative narrative flow.
Create immersive settings that resonate with reader expectations.
Location: Neville Public Museum classroom, 221 Museum Place, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Time: Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 10 am
Admission: FREE!
Speakers:
Amanda Skenandore is an award-winning author of historical fiction. Her books have been translated into multiple languages and garnered accolades from the American Library Association, Reader’s Digest, Silicon Valley Reads, and Apple Books. In 2024, she was awarded the Nevada Arts Council Literary Fellowship. Her writing explores lesser-known corners of history and, drawing on her 16 years as a registered nurse, often includes themes of medicine, justice, and belonging. Amanda lives in Las Vegas with her husband and their pet turtle, Lenore.
Jill D. Swenson is the author of THE LAND OF EVERLASTING SKY: A MEMOIR OF LOSS AND LEGACY ON LAKE OF THE WOODS (June 2, 2026, She Writes Press, distributed by Simon & Schuster). For the past fifteen years she has been a literary agent and developmental editor. She grew up in the Twin Cities and moved to Wisconsin in high school. She graduated from Lawrence University and earned an MA and PhD from The University of Chicago before going on to teach journalism and media studies at the University of Georgia-Athens and earn tenure at Ithaca College. For a decade she lived off the grid on a small-scale sustainable farm in upstate New York; now she lives in Appleton, Wisconsin, where she belongs to the curling club and a poetry group, and enjoys walking her dog.
MARY BEHAN was formerly a professor of neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Now retired, she devotes her time to writing fiction, memoir and short stories. Abbey Girls is a memoir she wrote with her sister, Valerie Behan, about their childhood in Ireland. Her debut novel, A Measured Thread, set in Wisconsin and Ireland, was named a Top 100 Indie Book in 2020, a finalist in the Page Turner Awards, and an eLit medal winner. The sequel, Finding Isobel, was awarded a gold medal for best adult fiction e-book by the Independent Publishers (IPPI), a silver medal in women’s fiction from Readers Favorite, and Outstanding Literary Fiction Winner in the Independent Author Network Book of the Year Awards. Kernels, a collection of short stories, featured in the Notable 100 Shelf Unbound Indie Awards in 2022.
Gavin Schmitt is the author of thirteen books on Wisconsin crime and history. As a professional historian, he focuses on state crime within a broader social and political context. Through use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), he has made public over 1,000,000 pages of documents from local, state and federal agencies. His book Milwaukee Mafia: Mobsters in the Heartland (2015) was the first ever to focus on organized crime in Wisconsin, and spawned multiple sequels, as well as speaking engagements for a variety of organizations and private groups. From there, he was asked to co-host the Milwaukee Mafia podcast. With over 100 episodes, this series is regularly among the top five podcasts on organized crime (by number of subscribers). He was a consultant and on camera guest for a PBS special on Al Capone (January 2024), a consultant and guest for the USA Today podcast My Cousin Augie (Summer 2024), and as a researcher and on camera guest for My Haunted Hometown on the Discovery Channel. Gavin was asked to edit and co-author a memoir of Latin Kings leader Alberto Vallejo, as well as co-author a memoir (Life Sentence) of John Balistrieri, son of Milwaukee’s long-time Mafia boss Frank Balistrieri. He is both engaging as a speaker and deeply knowledgeable.
Transform your writing process by mastering the art of the craft talk: “How to Use Research in Writing.” This session explores how deep, intentional research anchors your narrative, builds authentic worlds, and strengthens your prose, whether you are writing fiction or creative nonfiction. Our panel of experts will share techniques for integrating facts seamlessly into your storytelling without stalling your narrative momentum. You will leave with a toolkit to elevate your drafts through precision and detail.
Attendees will learn to:
Integrate research seamlessly into your narrative voice.
Identify credible, high-impact sources for your specific genre.
Balance historical or technical accuracy with creative narrative flow.
Create immersive settings that resonate with reader expectations.
Location: Neville Public Museum classroom, 221 Museum Place, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Time: Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 10 am
Admission: FREE!
Speakers:
Amanda Skenandore is an award-winning author of historical fiction. Her books have been translated into multiple languages and garnered accolades from the American Library Association, Reader’s Digest, Silicon Valley Reads, and Apple Books. In 2024, she was awarded the Nevada Arts Council Literary Fellowship. Her writing explores lesser-known corners of history and, drawing on her 16 years as a registered nurse, often includes themes of medicine, justice, and belonging. Amanda lives in Las Vegas with her husband and their pet turtle, Lenore.
Jill D. Swenson is the author of THE LAND OF EVERLASTING SKY: A MEMOIR OF LOSS AND LEGACY ON LAKE OF THE WOODS (June 2, 2026, She Writes Press, distributed by Simon & Schuster). For the past fifteen years she has been a literary agent and developmental editor. She grew up in the Twin Cities and moved to Wisconsin in high school. She graduated from Lawrence University and earned an MA and PhD from The University of Chicago before going on to teach journalism and media studies at the University of Georgia-Athens and earn tenure at Ithaca College. For a decade she lived off the grid on a small-scale sustainable farm in upstate New York; now she lives in Appleton, Wisconsin, where she belongs to the curling club and a poetry group, and enjoys walking her dog.
MARY BEHAN was formerly a professor of neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Now retired, she devotes her time to writing fiction, memoir and short stories. Abbey Girls is a memoir she wrote with her sister, Valerie Behan, about their childhood in Ireland. Her debut novel, A Measured Thread, set in Wisconsin and Ireland, was named a Top 100 Indie Book in 2020, a finalist in the Page Turner Awards, and an eLit medal winner. The sequel, Finding Isobel, was awarded a gold medal for best adult fiction e-book by the Independent Publishers (IPPI), a silver medal in women’s fiction from Readers Favorite, and Outstanding Literary Fiction Winner in the Independent Author Network Book of the Year Awards. Kernels, a collection of short stories, featured in the Notable 100 Shelf Unbound Indie Awards in 2022.
Gavin Schmitt is the author of thirteen books on Wisconsin crime and history. As a professional historian, he focuses on state crime within a broader social and political context. Through use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), he has made public over 1,000,000 pages of documents from local, state and federal agencies. His book Milwaukee Mafia: Mobsters in the Heartland (2015) was the first ever to focus on organized crime in Wisconsin, and spawned multiple sequels, as well as speaking engagements for a variety of organizations and private groups. From there, he was asked to co-host the Milwaukee Mafia podcast. With over 100 episodes, this series is regularly among the top five podcasts on organized crime (by number of subscribers). He was a consultant and on camera guest for a PBS special on Al Capone (January 2024), a consultant and guest for the USA Today podcast My Cousin Augie (Summer 2024), and as a researcher and on camera guest for My Haunted Hometown on the Discovery Channel. Gavin was asked to edit and co-author a memoir of Latin Kings leader Alberto Vallejo, as well as co-author a memoir (Life Sentence) of John Balistrieri, son of Milwaukee’s long-time Mafia boss Frank Balistrieri. He is both engaging as a speaker and deeply knowledgeable.
Advertisement
Where is it happening?
Neville Public Museum, 210 Museum Pl,Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherUntitledTown
