The annual Kentucky Writers Conference brought writers of all levels from all over the area.

The conference was part of the Southern Kentucky Book Fest at the Carroll Knicely Conference Center.

It was a free event, something Kristie Lowry, literary outreach coordinator for WKU Libraries, said is uncommon among writers conferences.

“These are good, quality authors who are giving the secrets of the craft to you for free,” she said.

The conference consisted of sessions for the writers throughout the day. They were designed for around an hour of lecturing, with 15 minutes of questions and answers to follow.

Conferences like this one, Lowry said often are not only about informing writers and giving them tricks of the trade. Inspiration is part of it as well.

“Motivation is a big thing,” she said. “Going to writers conferences and talking to published authors and being among other people who are writing, it’s a great motivator.”

Friday’s conference served as an inspiration for Angela Anderson, who came to Bowling Green from Berea.

“I’ve been here before, and I always get a lot of really good information,” she said. “And it’s a good opportunity to get to meet some of the authors who are here, and it’s just an inspirational place to be if you’re a writer.”

Anderson classified herself as a novice for now. She said she came to the conference more for inspiration than information.

“It’s really helpful, I think, to hear about another writer’s process,” she said.

For authors like Carolyn Wall who try to share that process, the conference was also about giving these writers a voice.

“Because they have things to say,” she said. “Everybody has things to say, and I would hate to see anybody be willing to let that out and not do it.”

“It’s important to me to get writers started.”

The conference hosted about a dozen writers, Lowry said. Around half of them were from Kentucky.

“You’d be surprised how many authors live in Kentucky who are traditionally published authors,” she said. “It’s pretty exciting.”

Anderson thought of the conference as something that doesn’t come around often. She also noted she plans to put what she learned there into practice as soon as she can.

“They’re not very frequent, these types of conferences,” she said. “So you have to take the information and not forget about it, just like studying for any other class. You have to take it home and use it.”