Conference Session Descriptions and Speakers
Note: additional speakers may be added to these sessions throughout July
Note: additional speakers may be added to these sessions throughout July
Schedule for Saturday, October 31, 2015
8:45 to 9 am - Welcome
9 to 10:15 am — Morning Keynote Speaker
Author and Publisher, Zhena Muzyka
How to Get Published in Today’s Market
What a writer needs to do to get an agent, a book deal, and to sell books
Zhena Muzyka is a local publishing success story. Not only did she start a tea company with $6.00 that grew into a multi-million dollar business, she stepped out to write a book about the experience. Zhena received a book contract from Atria/ Simon & Schuster, and soon the publisher offered her own imprint, Enliven Books. Zhena is in New York every month working in "THE BIZ." Speaking on her topic, “How to Get Published in Today’s Market,” Zhena gives an insider’s view of today's publishing world. She offers guidance with a simple task list of what a writer needs to do to get an agent, a book deal, and then to sell books. She'll explain everything from the importance of the editing process prior to soliciting an agent, plus what agents and publishers want to learn about a writer when they Google their name. Zhena explains what happens with the deal, within the publishing house, and the all important process. Zhena also present a time-line of how long each step takes. Writers will walk away with in-depth, actionable knowledge.
9 to 10:15 am — Morning Keynote Speaker
Author and Publisher, Zhena Muzyka
How to Get Published in Today’s Market
What a writer needs to do to get an agent, a book deal, and to sell books
Zhena Muzyka is a local publishing success story. Not only did she start a tea company with $6.00 that grew into a multi-million dollar business, she stepped out to write a book about the experience. Zhena received a book contract from Atria/ Simon & Schuster, and soon the publisher offered her own imprint, Enliven Books. Zhena is in New York every month working in "THE BIZ." Speaking on her topic, “How to Get Published in Today’s Market,” Zhena gives an insider’s view of today's publishing world. She offers guidance with a simple task list of what a writer needs to do to get an agent, a book deal, and then to sell books. She'll explain everything from the importance of the editing process prior to soliciting an agent, plus what agents and publishers want to learn about a writer when they Google their name. Zhena explains what happens with the deal, within the publishing house, and the all important process. Zhena also present a time-line of how long each step takes. Writers will walk away with in-depth, actionable knowledge.
TRACK ONE
10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Story Structure
with Author and Screenwriter, Alexandra Sokoloff
Best-selling, Thriller Award-winning author Alexandra Sokoloff worked for ten years as a Hollywood screenwriter for Disney, Fox, Sony, and Miramax before going on to publish twelve supernatural, paranormal and crime thrillers, including the Thriller Award-nominated Huntress Moon series. Her internationally acclaimed Screenwriting Tricks for Authors story structure workshops and workbooks use movies to teach authors and screenwriters essential film structure and visual storytelling techniques. They have helped hundreds of aspiring authors to earn publishing deals and professional authors to write better books. This two-hour master class will illuminate the Three-Act, Eight-Sequence structure of film writing and how to use it to plot your book idea and/or rewrite your novel to make it the best book it can be.
10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Story Structure
with Author and Screenwriter, Alexandra Sokoloff
Best-selling, Thriller Award-winning author Alexandra Sokoloff worked for ten years as a Hollywood screenwriter for Disney, Fox, Sony, and Miramax before going on to publish twelve supernatural, paranormal and crime thrillers, including the Thriller Award-nominated Huntress Moon series. Her internationally acclaimed Screenwriting Tricks for Authors story structure workshops and workbooks use movies to teach authors and screenwriters essential film structure and visual storytelling techniques. They have helped hundreds of aspiring authors to earn publishing deals and professional authors to write better books. This two-hour master class will illuminate the Three-Act, Eight-Sequence structure of film writing and how to use it to plot your book idea and/or rewrite your novel to make it the best book it can be.
TRACK TWO
10:30 to 12:30 am
Self-Publishing Primer
with Leann Garms, Build.Buzz.Launch Founder & Publishing Coach, and Sabrina Ricci of Digital Pubbing, with moderator Kathleen Kaiser
Self-publishing is becoming a viable alternative, if the writer is ready to put in the effort and money required to succeed in this rapidly expanding market. Options open everyday with new ways to publish a book, sell it online and build an audience. Leann Garms is the founder of Build.Buzz.Launch, a book marketing firm that has now developed a book publishing division. She coaches writers through the process, helping overcome technical barriers. Leann will discuss the options and costs of going it alone. Sabrina Ricci is an online expert and author. Her website and newsletter, Digital Pubbing, delivers up-to-the-minute information for selling and marketing books online. Walk away with an overview of the world of self-publishing and ways to produce and market your book.
10:30 to 12:30 am
Self-Publishing Primer
with Leann Garms, Build.Buzz.Launch Founder & Publishing Coach, and Sabrina Ricci of Digital Pubbing, with moderator Kathleen Kaiser
Self-publishing is becoming a viable alternative, if the writer is ready to put in the effort and money required to succeed in this rapidly expanding market. Options open everyday with new ways to publish a book, sell it online and build an audience. Leann Garms is the founder of Build.Buzz.Launch, a book marketing firm that has now developed a book publishing division. She coaches writers through the process, helping overcome technical barriers. Leann will discuss the options and costs of going it alone. Sabrina Ricci is an online expert and author. Her website and newsletter, Digital Pubbing, delivers up-to-the-minute information for selling and marketing books online. Walk away with an overview of the world of self-publishing and ways to produce and market your book.
LUNCH BREAK
1:30 to 2:30 pm — Afternoon Keynote
How I Adapt Fiction for the Tube and Screen
Writer/Producer/Director and Author, John Wilder
interviewed by Shelly Lowenkopf
John Wilder’s extensive experience writing, producing and directing numerous award-winning series for network and cable television now culminates in his debut fiction work, Nobody Dies In Hollywood, a contemporary, criminal intrigue with a protagonist that embodies grit and diversity. His years of experience working with blockbuster novels to create movies or series will be explored through an in-depth interview with editor Shelly Lowenkopf. Wilder wrote and produce numerous award-winning dramas for network and cable television, many with distinguished American authors, including Pulitzer Prize winner Larry McMurtry, James Michener, Anne Rice, John Jakes and Robert B. Parker.
John worked as a writer on 119 episodes of Peyton Place, created and developed Spenser: For Hire, developed and wrote for the mini-series Centennial, as well a producing Streets of San Francisco, to name a few of the successful shows he contributed to over the years. The interview delves into how a book is judged right for the screen and the creative process to turn print into movies.
How I Adapt Fiction for the Tube and Screen
Writer/Producer/Director and Author, John Wilder
interviewed by Shelly Lowenkopf
John Wilder’s extensive experience writing, producing and directing numerous award-winning series for network and cable television now culminates in his debut fiction work, Nobody Dies In Hollywood, a contemporary, criminal intrigue with a protagonist that embodies grit and diversity. His years of experience working with blockbuster novels to create movies or series will be explored through an in-depth interview with editor Shelly Lowenkopf. Wilder wrote and produce numerous award-winning dramas for network and cable television, many with distinguished American authors, including Pulitzer Prize winner Larry McMurtry, James Michener, Anne Rice, John Jakes and Robert B. Parker.
John worked as a writer on 119 episodes of Peyton Place, created and developed Spenser: For Hire, developed and wrote for the mini-series Centennial, as well a producing Streets of San Francisco, to name a few of the successful shows he contributed to over the years. The interview delves into how a book is judged right for the screen and the creative process to turn print into movies.
TRACK ONE
2:45 to 3:45 pm
The Trials and Triumphs of Self-Publishing--
3 authors who did it tell all.
with two award-winning authors, memoirist Ivor Davis and nonfiction author Erin Graffy, and novelist Anna Nicholas with moderator Kathleen Kaiser
Authors have options when it comes to publishing their books and many are opting for self-publishing. But what does it really take to do this right and sell books? The panel has three authors who took this route with three different genres — memoir, nonfiction and novel. Each will detail how they went about it, what worked the best, what they wouldn't do again, and how they marketed their books and achieved sales.
2:45 to 3:45 pm
The Trials and Triumphs of Self-Publishing--
3 authors who did it tell all.
with two award-winning authors, memoirist Ivor Davis and nonfiction author Erin Graffy, and novelist Anna Nicholas with moderator Kathleen Kaiser
Authors have options when it comes to publishing their books and many are opting for self-publishing. But what does it really take to do this right and sell books? The panel has three authors who took this route with three different genres — memoir, nonfiction and novel. Each will detail how they went about it, what worked the best, what they wouldn't do again, and how they marketed their books and achieved sales.
TRACK TWO
2:45 to 3:45 pm
How to Sell Books by the Truckload on Amazon
Penny Sanservieri, CEO Author Marketing Experts and NYU Adjunct Instructor
Amazon is 40% of the book market in America. Learn exactly how to turn Amazon into your 24/7 Sales Machine! Discover every secret you need to sell a truckload of books. Amazon wants you to sell a lot of books. And How to Sell Your Books by the Truckload teaches you exactly how to do it. Internationally renowned Amazon book marketing expert, Penny Sansevieri, has created the ultimate guide for mastering the Amazon marketing system. And in moments it can be right at your fingertips! The savings in time you’ll gain is enormous—when compared to painstakingly researching this information yourself. When you follow Penny’s time-tested proven formulas you’ll instantly skyrocket the exposure you receive and kick your book promotion campaign into overdrive! Plus, you can bypass all of the misinformation out there about how Amazon works. That’s because every secret you need to know to understand the Amazon marketing system inside and out is right here. Penny Sanseveri takes you step-by-step through simple and dynamic processes that show you how to get top visibility for your book on Amazon.
2:45 to 3:45 pm
How to Sell Books by the Truckload on Amazon
Penny Sanservieri, CEO Author Marketing Experts and NYU Adjunct Instructor
Amazon is 40% of the book market in America. Learn exactly how to turn Amazon into your 24/7 Sales Machine! Discover every secret you need to sell a truckload of books. Amazon wants you to sell a lot of books. And How to Sell Your Books by the Truckload teaches you exactly how to do it. Internationally renowned Amazon book marketing expert, Penny Sansevieri, has created the ultimate guide for mastering the Amazon marketing system. And in moments it can be right at your fingertips! The savings in time you’ll gain is enormous—when compared to painstakingly researching this information yourself. When you follow Penny’s time-tested proven formulas you’ll instantly skyrocket the exposure you receive and kick your book promotion campaign into overdrive! Plus, you can bypass all of the misinformation out there about how Amazon works. That’s because every secret you need to know to understand the Amazon marketing system inside and out is right here. Penny Sanseveri takes you step-by-step through simple and dynamic processes that show you how to get top visibility for your book on Amazon.
4 to 6 pm — Closing Keynote: Literary Agents Panel
With Angela Rinaldi, Marleen Seegers, BJ Robbins, Toni Lopopolo, Karen Grencik, Dana Newman,
and Steve Hutson
Moderated by Shelly Lowenkopf
This year, seven literary agents are on the panel to discuss the trends being requested from New York and indie publishers. They discuss what they are looking for, submission guidelines and more. Time has been allotted for ample Q&A. Prior to this panel, AGENTS 1|on|1 will be arranging private meetings with agents to review author submitted pages and discuss the material. More information on this program coming in August.
With Angela Rinaldi, Marleen Seegers, BJ Robbins, Toni Lopopolo, Karen Grencik, Dana Newman,
and Steve Hutson
Moderated by Shelly Lowenkopf
This year, seven literary agents are on the panel to discuss the trends being requested from New York and indie publishers. They discuss what they are looking for, submission guidelines and more. Time has been allotted for ample Q&A. Prior to this panel, AGENTS 1|on|1 will be arranging private meetings with agents to review author submitted pages and discuss the material. More information on this program coming in August.
