Join poet Juan Pablo Luzuriaga and Blue Light Press publisher Diane Frank for a masterclass on the realities of literary publishing. Together, they will discuss how poems move from the page to literary journals and book manuscripts, how editors evaluate submissions, and how writers can build a path toward publication. Through conversation and practical advice, participants will gain insight into the editorial process, submission strategies, and the steps that transform a collection of poems into a published book. The session will conclude with a Q&A, giving participants the opportunity to ask questions about publishing and the submission process. 


DATES: Friday, September 25, 2026

TIME: 9:00am-12:00pm

FEE: $150

LOCATION: San Luis Obispo Campus Room TBD

Meet the Presenter's

 Juan Luzuriaga

Juan Pablo Luzuriaga was born in Ecuador and immigrated to the United States in 2000. He studied Neuroscience at Rutgers University and English at the University of California, Merced. Juan teaches poetry in prisons, currently at California Men’s Colony, and at Cuesta College. He has been a featured panelist at UC Merced, the Central Coast Writers’ Conference, the San Francisco Writers Conference, Litfest, and other literary events. His work appears in Acentos Review, San Diego Poetry Annual, Monterey Poetry Review, Cholla Needles,  
Poetry Breakfast, as well as in numerous anthologies. Find more information at juanology.com. 

Diane Frank

Diane Frank

Diane Frank is the author of nine books of poems, three novels, and a photo memoir of her 400- mile trek in the Nepal Himalayas. While Listening to the Enigma Variations: New and Selected Poems won the 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Award for Poetry. Her new book of poems, Prayer to the Invisible, was an overnight bestseller – #3 for American Poetry, #3 for Poems by Women. She teaches poetry, flash fiction and memoir workshops at San Francisco State University and Dominican University. Her first novel, Blackberries in the Dream House, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Her new novel, Mermaids and Musicians, is an unusual love story, full of music and a plea to save the Earth. Find more information at dianefrank.com.