SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
SESSION AND SPEAKERS BY DAY
SESSION AND SPEAKERS BY DAY
The conference runs from 8:45 am to 5 pm
Saturday, November 5 and Sunday, November 6, 2016.
A Saturday evening reception for writers and speakers will be held from 5 to 6 pm
Four special workshops will be held in conjunction with the conference. Learn more...
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In Praise of the conference...
"I was impressed with the quality of the conference and the information delivered in a usable fashion. This was a conference that kept its promise to bring participants to another level of expertise."
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Saturday, November 5, 2016
All sessions include 15 minutes for Q&A 8:45 to 10 am — Morning Keynote Speaker
Demystifying the Publishing World Zhena Muzyka, Enliven Books Publisher, an Atria/Simon & Schuster imprint Ms. Muzyka wowed everyone last year and returns this year to update you on what is happening in the world of publishing. Spending almost half of each month in New York at one of the major houses, Zhena is privy to what the editors are looking for and purchasing. She will cover these topics and more:
10:15 to 11:15 am — Small Publishers Panel What Independent Publishers Want from New Writers A panel discussion between small publishers including Zhena Muzyka of Enliven Books, Brenda Avadian of North Star Books, Mark E. Cull of Red Hen Press, and Christopher Meeks of White Whiskers Books. These four publishers will discuss what they are looking for from first-time novelists or nonfiction writers and changes in the industry plus:
Panel discussion will be moderated by Kathleen Kaiser. 11:30 am to 12:30 pm Legally Speaking—What Writers Need to Know to Protect Themselves Dana Newman, Literary Attorney and Agent This session will provide an overview of the information writers need to know about protecting their work, using others' work, and contracts. Copyright and fair use will be covered, and an overview of both traditional publishing contracts and license agreements for self-publishing, as well as agent agreements. Specific issues to be addressed include:
12:45 to 2 pm — LUNCH BREAK with Ask the Experts This is a more intimate experience for writers. Experts will dine with one table for 30 minutes and then move to a second table. Lunch is included in all full weekend and one-day passes. Speakers/experts include: Dana Newman, Mark Cull, Christopher Meeks, Brenda Avadian, Toni Lopopolo, Shelly Lowenkopf, Penny Sansevieri and editors David Mathis, Monica Faulkner, and Tammy Ditmore. 2:15 to 3:45 pm — Afternoon Keynote Super Fans—The Secrets of Selling More Books Penny Sansevieri, best-selling author, NYU instructor, and CEO of Author Marketing Experts At the end of the day, for all of the marketing we do, for all of the Tweeting, Facebook-ing, and blogging we really just want to know if it’s paying off. Does any of this sell books? Penny Sansevieri, one of the top book marketers in America, returns to the conference after a huge session last year. She will show you ways to get the most out of your online marketing that produces book sales. Have you ever asked yourself:
4 to 5 pm How to Write the Grabber Query Letter Toni Lopopolo, Literary agent, former Executive Editor at Macmillan and St. Martin’s Press, and writing instructor at Temple University An author has one chance to make a good first impression with an agent. A query letter is your first chance, often your only chance, no matter your genre, fiction or nonfiction, to get an agent interested in reading your work. If she/he reads a terrific query letter, chances are you’ll receive a positive response. Agents take query letters seriously, because that letter represents you, the author, to this agent whose job is to find viable books by professional-level authors, to sell to publishers, and finance the agency. Writers with a polished manuscript or nonfiction proposal ready to sell, must present their writing in a professional, intelligent, intriguing, single-page cover letter. Writers must put as much care and editing into their query, as they put into their manuscript. Session will include info on:
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Sunday, November 6, 2016
All sessions include 15 minutes for Q&A 8:45 to 10 am — Morning Keynote Session
The Importance of Self-reliance and Community in Writing. Julia Fierro, author and founder of The Sackett Street Writers' Workshop in New York It may sound like an oxymoron at first: the importance of both self-reliance AND community in writing and publishing. Ms. Fierro incorporate elements of craft by talking about specific ways writers can become more confident readers, which turns into more confident editors of their own work. She will talk about publishing, in both realistic and optimistic terms, and the importance of being ready at any moment to be your own editor, publicist, agent, cheerleader, etc. 10:15 to 11:15 am The Magic of Editing: What Turns Writers into Authors Emily Heckman, former Simon & Schuster Executive Editor, now freelance editor and author When most writers think about editing, they think about Strunk & White, spellcheck, or a pinched-lipped copy editor brandishing a sharp red pencil. Writers sometimes think editing is only the clean-up that comes at the end of the long, heroic, and usually quite isolated journey to thousands and thousands of words. True, copy editing and line-editing are essential when you’re work is ready for the printing press or the final digital file, but successful authors know that perfect grammar and a stack of neatly formatted pages can only take you so far. What the best writers know is that they do their best work when they engage in the truly alchemical process known as developmental editing. Developmental, or story editing (which applies to both fiction and nonfiction) involves bringing in an editor to read the story from the inside out. The editor’s job is to find the true beating heart of the work and to show the writer where this great hidden gem lies. Once she’s discovered this, the editor then guides and supports the writer while he or she peels away everything that obscures the story’s soul. Then and only then can the real writing begin—the re-writing-- and this is when the writer usually goes into the “zone” and creates work that soars and inspires—often to the writers own astonishment. This is when a writer is finally free to take the deep dive into the magical, transformative work of revision—the mysterious, glorious place where the best writing occurs and irresistible stories are told. And deep down here, in the inky dark space where imagination flourishes, the editor will be there, light in hand. Learn about the powerful, intimate, and astoundingly fruitful work that results when a writer engages with a trusted editor. 11:30 am to 12:30 pm The Big Three of Fiction—Dialogue, Interior Monologue, and Narrative Shelly Lowenkopf, Author of over 35 books, former Executive Editor, and 30 years Masters in Writing Professor at USC and UCSB There are three approaches to relating story. Narrative is the sense of movement and action as seen through the filter of one or more characters. The instructor will provide enough examples of narrative to distinguish it from the other two devices within the writer’s toolkit. Interior monologue is the thought process of key characters as they experience and, through their actions, advance the story. The instructor will provide examples, then make sure the audience can distinguish interior monologue from narrative, providing examples of how narrative and interior monologue can be combined. Dialogue is spoken dramatic information, which characters use as the third way of advancing story, driving it toward combustion points, and in the bargain, keeping the writer from getting in the way with story-stopping description and commentary, neither of which have been welcomed guests in story for at least this century. 12:45 to 1:45 pm — LUNCH BREAK - with Ask the Experts This is a more intimate experience for writers. Experts will dine with one table for 30 minutes and then move to a second table. Lunch is included in all full weekend and one-day passes. Speakers/experts include: Emily Heckman, Paul Willis, Toni Lopopolo, Shelly Lowenkopf, R. Daniel Foster, and editors: Barbara Ardinger, Greg Elliot, and Flo Selfman 2 to 3 pm The Most Important Writing Skill to Master—Your Character's Voice Toni Lopopolo, Literary agent, former Executive Editor at Macmillan and St. Martin’s Press, and writing instructor at Temple University What Toni hears from editors in publishing houses: “I look forward to building a list that is centered on fun, commercial fiction driven by great characters and told with a strong voice.” Christopher Morgan, Editor: Tor and Forge Books “What links the authors on my list are the quality of the writing, a distinct, compelling authorial voice, and a strong narrative.” Keith Kahla, Executive Editor: St. Martin’s Press “Captivating voices and vividly-realized settings are what get my attention.” Toni Kirkpatrick, Editor: Thomas Dunne Books “What speaks to me most is a strong narrative voice with a commercial bent.” Kelley Ragland: Editorial Director, Minotaur Books “There are a number of storytelling qualities that particularly grab my attention. One of them is a strong, distinctive, compelling voice. Another is the sense that in reading this work of fiction, I’m learning something real about the world.” Patrick Nielsen Hayden: Senior Editor: Tor Books “The biggest factor when I consider for a novel is voice; without that, the game 's over, no need to read beyond page 10. Everything else is secondary. A memoir needs to have both terrific writing and a compelling story, but if the voice is mesmerizing enough, the story will automatically be compelling; it doesn’t work the other way around.” Tracy Bernstein, Editor, Random House, NAL Books The above represents what Toni hears over and over from editors in New York City’s Big 5 publishing houses and also from smaller established houses, and exclusive literary publishers. Notice the same word mentioned in each of the above quotes? Voice is what we ‘hear’ when we read a novel, or a work of narrative non-fiction such as Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. The strongest voice stays with us, becomes unforgettable. Toni will discuss how you can create your own distinctive voice for a novel or memoir. 3:15 to 4:15 pm Phantastic Fiction: A Shamanic Approach to Story Matt Pallamary, Author, Editor and Shamanic Explorer The roots of storytelling literally go back to prehistoric oral traditions that have carried on perennial myths, themes, and archetypes that infuse the human experience from its beginnings all the way up through modern times. Writing a well-written narrative is mastering the energies of your story – the multi-faceted energies that determine the moods, reactions, choices and traits of your characters, the energies between characters, the drive of the pacing, action and dialogue to create a deeper, emotionally powerful resonance within your total story structure. If you’re serious about your writing, this hands-on dramatic writing workshop will bring a new perspective to understanding these elements that make solid, well-paced stories that grab your audience, emotionally connect them with your characters and pull them all the way through your hero’s journey to a powerful climax and rewarding resolution. This lecture will focus on bringing a greater understanding of how these story elements interact, support each other, and drive the unfolding of the overall story arc. Narrative flow, time and space transitions, scene openings and closings, and many other effective tips and tricks will be shown to help your story move with authority and create a vivid, believable landscape for your protagonist to pass through. 4:30 to 5:30 pm The Swiss Army Knife: Tools for 21st Century Writing Toni Lopopolo, Literary agent, former Executive Editor at Macmillan and St. Martin’s Press, and writing instructor, and Shelly Lowenkopf, Author of over 35 books, former Executive Editor, 30 years Masters in Writing Professor at USC, and UCSB We want to make sure you’ve learned what you think you’ve learned. Let’s review to make sure you take home the Swiss Army Knife of writing tools for the 21st Century set of skills you’ll need for today’s competitive book market. Toni and Shelly will go over the basic skills, the techniques that you need to write the grabber first page, the grabber first novel, the grabber memoir. They’ll review fiction techniques that must be mastered in order to write viable fiction, viable narrative nonfiction. This is an interactive session, so bring a list of the questions you want answered by two street-cred veterans of the publishing wars on the east and west coasts since Hector was a pup. Discussions as time permits:
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