Alice B. Acheson

August 23, 2:00-3:00: "What does a Publicist Do; Should You Care?"

Is she responsible for all the marketing of your book? What are her Four Basic Publicity Principles? How can you apply the Six Secrets of Success to your book? What is The Greatest Marketing Tool of All -- and how/why all writers must employ it? The copious handouts will ease your marketing now and "forever."

August 24, 2:00-3:00: "Publicity for Pennies"

How/when do you encourage - and then assist - the publisher to market your book? When/where do you effectively spend/save money - and should you? Learn how/when to use creativity instead of cash to develop marketing campaigns that cost "pennies." Your head will be buzzing with effective "cheap and easy" ideas, and you'll walk out with abundant handouts to implement them.

Alice B. Acheson utilizes her experience -- editor at major NYC publisher, followed by publicity director at three others; 25 years as independent marketing and publishing consultant -- to answer your marketing questions. Some methods catapulted numerous New York Times bestsellers (four simultaneously), others spearheaded selling 800,000 copies of OLD TURTLE by Douglas Wood, its winning ABA Book of the Year, and earning her the Literary Market Place Outside Services Award for Advertising, Promotion, and Publicity

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Marvin Bell

August 16-20, 4:30-5:30: "What I Have Learned about Writing Poetry by Writing It"

This class is always at heart an excuse for conversation about whatever interests the group. This time, Marvin Bell will carry a book or two or three of his to class and ask the group what is on their minds about poetry writing and then miraculously find examples in the books from which to begin each response.

Marvin Bell's wartime collection of poems, Mars Being Red (2007), was named a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Awards. His most recent book is a collaboration titled 7 Poets, 4 Days, 1 Book, co-authored with the poets Istvan Laszlo Geher (Hungary), Ksenia Golubovich (Russia), Simone Inguanez (Malta), Christopher Merrill, Tomaz Salamun (Slovenia), and Dean Young, published by Trinity University Press in 2009. Mr. Bell taught forty years for the Iowa Writers' Workshop and served two terms as Iowa's first Poet Laureate. He and his wife, Dorothy, live in Iowa City and Port Townsend, Washington, and he serves on the faculty of the brief-residency MFA program based in Oregon at Pacific University. He often performs with the bassist Glen Moore of the jazz group Oregon and is the creator of an original poetic form known as the "Dead Man" poem.

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Mark Cull

August 18, 3:15-4:15 Basics of Book Design

The purpose of a publication should be to exemplify words and ideas without drawing attention to the physical publication itself. I teach designers how to make their work as transparent as possible so the work of the writer can be best presented and consumed. The art of publishing is the art of sending words and ideas into the world without confusing them with the art of the publication itself.

August 19, 3:15-4:15 Basics of Literary Magazine Design

While the craft of journal design might be thought to be similar to book design, special consideration must be given to the fact that designers and editors find themselves working with a variety of styles. How literary magazines are designed is different than a book of poems or a work of prose. In this class we will look specifically at the special requirements of literary journal design.

Mark Cull cofounded Red Hen Press in 1994 and serves as lead designer for Red Hen Books and the Los Angeles Review Literary Magazine. The press has published 170 books, specializing in poetry.

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Kate Gale

August 16, 3:15-4:15: Being a Literary Citizen Can Lead to Publication

You want to be a published author? Be a player. Be part of the solution. We will discuss how to become part of the literary life. Babies used to be born behind swinging doors. All a mystery. That's where editing used to happen. What we are going to do is go behind the swinging door and find out what actually happens at the editor's desk. Being a literary citizen is like being a writer with special powers. You're part of the in crowd. You want to be published whether you're a poet, creative non-fiction writer, novelist, short story writer, graphic novelist or even a humor writer. Connect, dream. You can make it happen.

August 17, 3:15-4:15: Your Editor is Not Your Mother, Your Mother is Your Mother

You write in solitude, you read your work, it seems pretty good to you, but it keeps getting rejected. Over and over. They don't get it. They don't see the brilliance of what you're doing. Are they missing something or are you? We'll talk about the steps in editing, what you do yourself and what you need help to do well. We will discuss what it takes to edit a manuscript well and to prepare it so that an editor will understand the magic you are creating. Editing makes magic be realized.

Kate Gale is full-time Managing Editor of Red Hen Press. She is an editor, writer, literary citizen and arts manager. She has been a visiting poet at Pomona College and has taught in the Graduate Humanities Program at Mt. St. Marys. She teaches publishing courses at Antioch University Los Angeles. She speaks at universities, writing conferences, low residency and residency MFA programs on inedependent publishing, editing and publicity.

Her latest work is Mating Season from Tupelo Press and librettos Rio de Sangre with Don Davis, Disney Hall, 2005 and Paradises Lost with Stephen Taylor, VOX, New York City Opera, 2006. She has published five collections of poetry, an autobiographical novel, Lake of Fire, a bilingual children's book and she is the editor of three collections of short fiction and one collection of essays. Her poetry has appeared in various literary magazines including Poetry Flash, Hayden's Ferry Review, Gargoyle, Eclipse, Poems and Plays, and Quarterly Review.

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Andrea Hurst

August 20, 3:15-4:15: MAKING THE LEAP: From the Craft of Writing to the Business of Publishing

Learning the techniques and mechanics of writing, studying the classics and renowned authors, and becoming a polished writer yourself, is the best way to begin for any serious writer. However, it is often difficult to translate your knowledge and your written work into a publishable product. In this talk, agent Andrea Hurst, will discuss what it takes to make that leap. You will learn how to be prepared, understand the business, and move into marketing mode - everything you'll need to launch your successful writing career.

August 21, 3:15-4:15: GETTING CAUGHT: What Happens When Writers Lie!

Beginning with the exposure of A Million Little Pieces, the literary world has seen a multitude of memoirs in the last few years that have turned out to be a hoax. In December of 2008, a long awaited memoir, Angel at the Fence, a story that had circulated the globe for years, been on Oprah twice, and in a several anthologies was exposed as another such fraud. As the literary agent for the author Herman Rosenblat, Andrea and her literary agency learned first hand just what impact an author's lies can have. In this talk, she will reveal what really happened and what implications it may have for other memoir writers. Andrea will touch on such other areas as plagiarism and how to protect yourself as an author.

Andrea Hurst, President of Andrea Hurst Literary Management, works with both major and regional publishing houses, and her client list includes emerging new voices and NY Times best-selling authors. Andrea represents high profile Adult Nonfiction and well crafted Fiction. Her clients and their books have appeared on the Oprah Show, Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Morning America, National Geographic network and in the NY Times.

In addition to working in the publishing field for over 20 years, Andrea is a published author, skilled development editor, key note speaker, and educator. She is the founder of www.writers-ed.com, a site that offers expert instruction and resources for writers. She enjoys working with authors who have something worthwhile to share and are driven by their enthusiasm and desire to create books that touch lives and make a difference. www.andreahurst.com

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Patrick Jennings

August 23, 3:15-4:15: I Could Say That It Was a Pretty Good Book

Sometimes it's just one kid driven to write to the author of the book she just read. Other times it's twenty-four letters from a class assigned to write to the author of the book they were all assigned to read. In them you will find overheated superlatives, faint and damning praise, pans, chitchat, autobiography, poetry, and prose that at times may be indecipherable, inscrutable, or deliciously ambiguous (e.g., this talk's title). In this presentation I will take up the little discussed topic of posted reader feedback (i.e., letters and reviews from readers) and what they say about how kids read, how they would read if they had more say in the matter, and what they think of the books we adults write and publish for them. I will share excerpts from letters I've received from young readers, as well as emails and reviews posted online.

August 24, 3:15-4:15: "Ask"

At a SCBWI conference recently, I turned the tables on an audience of writers by peppering them with questions. I asked what they knew about young readers, why they were writing for them, and what they hoped to achieve. I claimed that questioning is the motor of writing. Forget "show, don't tell," I said, "What you need to do is constantly ask." For this session, I will reset the tables, and take questions for the hour. The questions can regard writing, the writing life, publishing, trends in kidlit, publicity, speaking engagements, you name it... just ask. You might go to my website, patrickjennings.com, and read the full list of questions from my SCBWI talk (I didn't get through half of them) to get some ideas - or your dander up.

Patrick Jennings is the author of fourteen published books of fiction for young readers. His books have earned starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus, and The Horn Book, and have been honored by the PEN Center USA, the Junior Library Guild, BookSense/IndieBound, the Chicago Public Library, the Texas Library Association, the Woman’s National Book Association, and the editors of Smithsonian Magazine. His book, Faith and the Electric Dogs, is currently being adapted for the screen. Jennings has also had published several short stories for young readers, including "Flit" for Ann M. Martin's anthology Friends, and “The Guinea Dog,” which won the 2006 Distinguished Achievement Award for Children’s Fiction by the Association of Educational Publishers.

Patrick studied writing, art, and education at Arizona State University, and cinema, early childhood education, and adult education at San Francisco State University. He has worked as an English, ESL, EFL, and preschool teacher, and a librarian. He currently writes full time in his home in Port Townsend, Washington. For more information, visit his website at patrickjennings.com.

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Allyn Johnson

August 16, 2:00-3:00: Leave Me Alone with a Latte: One Editor's Revision Process

Step behind the scenes and discover how a number of award-winning picture books came to be in this dynamic slide presentation.

August 17, 2:00-3:00: Bringing it on Home: Picture Book Endings

Picture books are all about rhythm and pacing, and that final page-turn is the key to everything.

August 18, 2:00-3:00: A Nutz-n-Boltz-Question-n-Answer Hour

The submission process, the publishing climate, the state of the world - anything goes in this fresh and frank discussion. Come with challenging questions!

Allyn Johnston is VP & Publisher of Beach Lane Books, a small imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing that is located on a flower-filled lane in San Diego, CA. Beach Lane publishes for all ages and across all genres, with a primary focus on lyrical, emotionally engaging, highly visual picture books for young children. Among the authors and illustrators with whom Allyn works are Mem Fox, Lois Ehlert, Marla Frazee, Debra Frasier, Jan Thomas, Avi, and M. T. Anderson. Recent titles she's edited are New York Times bestseller Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, and A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee, which received a Caldecott Honor.

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Naseem Rakha

August 23, 4:30-5:30: Fact to Fiction

What is the difference between being a journalist and a novelist? What are the similarities? And what new things must one learn in order to switch from writing about real people doing real things in their real lives, to the imaginary world of fiction? Former public radio reporter Naseem Rakha will describe what both helped and hindered her as she wrote her first novel.

August 24 4:30-5:30: Making your Writing Work.

The discovery draft is done. Now what? Whether you've written a novel, a chap book, or your memoir, how can you tell if it "works"? Every story needs a focus, rising tension, believable, well-developed, and connected characters with important stakes, unresolved questions, and enough conflict to leave readers both engrossed and engaged. But with so many pages on the table in front of you, where do you start? Naseem will describe her method of performing scene by scene assessment of her work after it is written, and give writers a method to analyze their own work.

Naseem Rakha is an award-winning journalist whose stories have been heard on NPR's All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Marketplace Radio, Christian Science Monitor, and Living on Earth. Prior to journalism Naseem taught Holistic Resource Management to farmers, ranchers and tribes throughout the US and Canada interested in finding sustainable ways to live and grow food. Naseem is a graduate of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale where she received her degree in Geology. She now lives in Oregon with her husband, son, and many animals. Naseem was selected as a BookExpo America Emerging Voice and her debut novel, released in July through Random House Broadway Books, has been selected as a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers pick. When Naseem isn't writing, she's reading, knitting, hiking, gardening, collecting rocks, or just watching the seasons roll in.

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Bruce Holland Rogers

August 21, 4:30-5:30 Essentials of Copyright

Whenever we license someone to publish our work, we are granting that publisher a share of our copyright. If we don't understand how copyright works, we risk losing the ability to require payment for our creations. Writers can have a successful career and never have a problem with plagiarism or the unpaid use of their work, but the rare writers who have had problems know that the worst possible time to learn about protecting your rights is after they have been infringed. This session will cover the basics of copyright law, along with a few pointers about contracts.

Bruce Holland Rogers has taught creative writing seminars in Greece, Portugal, and Finland as well as lecturing about writing in London and Vienna. He is the author of four collections of stories...all of the protected by copyright!

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Ana Maria Spagna

August 19, 2:00-3:00: Peeling Back: Plot in the Personal Essay

This presentation explores how a writer can create plot in a personal essay through a movement toward honesty. The writer may begin with one idea - a perfectly honest observation about everyday life - but then, like peeling back the skin of an onion, moves toward a deeper, sometimes surprising, truth. We'll look at examples from essayists with radically different voices - Joan Didion, David Sedaris, and Anne Lamott - and Ana Maria will walk through the process of crafting a single short essay from her own book Now Go Home: Wilderness, Belonging, and the Crosscut Saw.

August 20, 2:00-3:00: Where Stories Converge

Most personal narratives tell more than one story at a time (think subplot in fiction, or backstory in memoir, or cultural information in a travel essay). This presentation explores the advantages of telling more than one story, and the ways that doing so can create unexpected connections, both actual and metaphorical, that add depth and resonance to your work. We'll discuss ways of weaving stories together, allowing them to meander rather than forcing them to connect where they don't, letting them run alongside each other like tributaries in a river. Finally, we'll home in on the critical moment, or moments, in a piece, where the stories converge.

August 21, 2:00-3:00: The Telling Part: Reflection in Memoir

Memoir, at the very least, does two things: tells a story from the past and tries to make sense of the past. Storytelling is the showing part of the equation since it requires you to use familiar tools - dialogue, character description, setting description - to create scenes. Reflection, or trying to make sense of the past, is something entirely different, something largely unique to memoir. It requires ruminating on the page, thinking aloud, sifting through thoughts and feelings from your own unique point of view. Reflection, in other words, is the telling part. In this presentation we'll examine several different techniques memoirists use when writing reflection: "now" reflection, "then" reflection, "we" reflection, humorous, analytical and lyrical reflection, and finally, reflection on the nature of memory itself.

Ana Maria Spagna lives and writes in Stehekin, Washington, a remote community in the North Cascades accessible only by boat or float plane. After fifteen seasons maintaining hiking trails for the National Park Service, she now teaches writing online and in Stehekin's one-room school, a combination that she says suits her well. Ana Maria's work has appeared in numerous journals including Orion, Utne, Mountain Gazette, North American Review, Fine Homebuilding, Backpacker and High Country News, and in anthologies such as Wild Moments: Adventures with Animals of the North, A Mile in Her Boots, and Best Essays NW. Her first book, Now Go Home: Wilderness, Belonging, and the Crosscut Saw, was named a Seattle Times Best Book of 2004. Test Ride on the Sunnyland Express: A Daughter's Civil Rights Journey, a memoir about discovering her father's involvement in the early civil rights movement, has won the 2009 River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Prize from the University of Nebraska Press. Nebraska will publish the prize-winning manuscript in 2010.

www.anamariaspagna.com

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