V. O. I. C. E Writer's Conference
Saturday, February 13th, 2010
(9am-3pm)
Pullman Plaza Hotel
1001 Third Avenue Huntington, WV 25701
$150.00 Early VIP (w/room) registration is available between Dec 1st 2009 -- February 1st 2010
Late registration rates are as follows:
$100.00 (Hotel room not included) for 3 seminars including luncheon and tickets to evening events sponsored by Chapter’s Ink (Inc.)
$200.00 VIP—all inclusive seminars, luncheon, coffee & tea service hotel room with free breakfast buffet and dinner at Coach Bobby Pruett’s Steakhouse, pool and other lavish amenities.
(9am-3pm)
Pullman Plaza Hotel
1001 Third Avenue Huntington, WV 25701
$150.00 Early VIP (w/room) registration is available between Dec 1st 2009 -- February 1st 2010
Late registration rates are as follows:
$100.00 (Hotel room not included) for 3 seminars including luncheon and tickets to evening events sponsored by Chapter’s Ink (Inc.)
$200.00 VIP—all inclusive seminars, luncheon, coffee & tea service hotel room with free breakfast buffet and dinner at Coach Bobby Pruett’s Steakhouse, pool and other lavish amenities.
Chuck Sambuchino
10am-11am
- Session Topics (Presentations):
This workshop is a thorough crash course in dealing with agents. After quickly going over what an agent is and what agents do for writers, we will discuss resources for finding agents, how to ID the best agents for you, as well as the most important things to do and not to do when dealing with representatives. This topic often leads to a lot of Q&A. Handouts provided. This session targets fiction, children’s and nonfiction writers, both novice and intermediate. Attendees will come away with a firm grasp of knowledge needed before contacting an agent.
3. What Editors Want: Professional Writing Practices
This is a general presentation examining good writing practices that all editors appreciate—whether writing for books, magazines, newspapers or online. This workshop goes well near the beginning of the conference. Handouts provided. This session targets all levels of writers in both fiction and nonfiction.
5. Mastering the In-person Pitch (Pitch Perfect)
This is a chance for anyone and everyone to practice their “agent pitch” on me. I’ll critique the pitch for all to hear. Individuals can pitch or simply attend to listen in on other pitches. It’s an opportunity for writers to rehearse their elevator pitch before sitting face-to-face with agents. This session targets fiction and nonfiction writers, both novice and intermediate. This is a good session for early at a conference where people will pitch agents later. The speech breaks down what needs to be in a pitch, and what NOT to include in a pitch. Before I listen to sample pitches, I spend 20-30 minutes talking about what a pitch is, and what not to do when sitting down next to an agent.
6. The Business of Scriptwriting: You’ve Written a Play or Screenplay—Now What?
This workshop examines what writers need to do if they’ve finished that play or screenplay and don’t know what to do now. We’ll address targeting markets, getting plays read/workshopped, writing script queries, agents and managers, and more. Everything is discussed, from writing and rewriting to contests and dealing with directors. Handouts provided. It’s not a session about craft; it’s a session about business—for writers who have a script and no idea what to do with it.
Cherry Weiner
1130am--Noon
GLA: You request that writers not cold query you, but instead meet you at a conference before querying—why?
CW: I have been in the business for 30 years now, and I am not a new agency looking for authors. I have my established ones, but leave room for new people that I meet at conferences. By talking to the author first, I get a sense of the person and if we can work together. More importantly, though, I think that an author should meet the agent that is going to handle their "baby." I do tell the authors to try and meet all the agents that are at a conference, get a sense of them as agents and people, and then decide who they would like to work with, and then contact them.
CW: I have been in the business for 30 years now, and I am not a new agency looking for authors. I have my established ones, but leave room for new people that I meet at conferences. By talking to the author first, I get a sense of the person and if we can work together. More importantly, though, I think that an author should meet the agent that is going to handle their "baby." I do tell the authors to try and meet all the agents that are at a conference, get a sense of them as agents and people, and then decide who they would like to work with, and then contact them.
Miriam Kriss (Literary Agent)--11am-1130am
Miriam Kriss joined the Irene Goodman Literary Agency just as she was finishing her master's degree in Fine Arts at New York University in early 2004, and quickly became one of the hottest young agents in town. Going from Michelangelo to Nora Roberts was not as great a leap as it might seem, as Miriam had been obsessively reading commercial fiction since she found a copy of Judith McNaught's classic Whitney, My Love in a rented lakeside cabin when she was thirteen. A few pages in, not only were some gaps in her Catholic school education filled, but she was hooked. She reads fast: one hundred pages an hour, a novel a day, and well, that adds up to a lot of books a year. Miriam likes to say Irene knows the market because she's been doing this for over twenty-five years and is savvy as all get out, but Miriam herself knows the market because she is the market. And that knowledge has paid off for both her and her clients in a big way.
Miriam's focus remains on commercial fiction and she represents everything from hardcover historical mysteries to all subgenres of romance, from young adult fiction to kick ass urban fantasies, and everything in between. If it's fun to read, she probably represents it. She doesn't look for specific stories, focusing instead on finding a voice she can fall in love with and champion. This strategy of taking on only clients she's passionate about has lead to six-figure deals for first-time authors and numerous clients appearances on the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists. During one memorable week, she had two authors appear on the Times list at the same time.
Miriam's focus remains on commercial fiction and she represents everything from hardcover historical mysteries to all subgenres of romance, from young adult fiction to kick ass urban fantasies, and everything in between. If it's fun to read, she probably represents it. She doesn't look for specific stories, focusing instead on finding a voice she can fall in love with and champion. This strategy of taking on only clients she's passionate about has lead to six-figure deals for first-time authors and numerous clients appearances on the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists. During one memorable week, she had two authors appear on the Times list at the same time.
Registration!
V. O. I. C. E Writer's Conference w/room
$
200.00
Standard Registration
w/o room & amenities
$
100.00
There are plenty of vendors tables available at only $25.00 take advantage of this great money making opportunity!
Enjoy the beautiful hills of West Virginia in the fall at this year's VOICE Writer's Conference. We are glad to present you with a day filled with good food, good books and the finest creative minds in the Appalachian region.
*Word Up! Writer's Workshop Awards
*Playwrights spotlight
*Spoken Word Festival
*How to get published?
*Novel writing
*Writer's Markets
*Literary Agent Miriam Kriss of the Irene Goodman Agency
*Editor of Writer's Digest Chuck Sambuchino
A portion of all registration proceeds will be donated to the Freedom Writer's Foundation.
Vendor Table
Sale books, multimedia and apparel at one flat rate of registration!
$
25.00
African American Literary Award winner for non-fiction 2009!
Chuck Sambuchino
Chuck Sambuchino is an editor for Writer’s Digest Books (an imprint of F+W Media). He is the editor of two annual resource books: Guide to Literary Agents, as well as Screenwriter’s & Playwright’s Market. He also assists in editing Writer’s Market (www.writersmarket.com). He recently helmed the third edition of Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript (a WD trade book). He has a forthcoming humor book with Ten Speed Press / Random House, due out in Fall 2010.
Chuck is a former staffer of several newspapers and magazines. During his tenure as a newspaper staffer, he won awards from both the Kentucky Press Association and the Cincinnati Society of Professional Journalists.
Chuck is also a writer and freelance editor. He is a produced playwright, with both original and commissioned works produced. He is a magazine freelancer, with articles appearing in Watercolor Artist, Pennsylvania Magazine, Cincinnati Magazine and New Mexico Magazine. During the past decade, more than 500 of his articles have appeared in newspapers, magazines and books.
To read his blog, visit www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog.
Chuck Sambuchino is an editor for Writer’s Digest Books (an imprint of F+W Media). He is the editor of two annual resource books: Guide to Literary Agents, as well as Screenwriter’s & Playwright’s Market. He also assists in editing Writer’s Market (www.writersmarket.com). He recently helmed the third edition of Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript (a WD trade book). He has a forthcoming humor book with Ten Speed Press / Random House, due out in Fall 2010.
Chuck is a former staffer of several newspapers and magazines. During his tenure as a newspaper staffer, he won awards from both the Kentucky Press Association and the Cincinnati Society of Professional Journalists.
Chuck is also a writer and freelance editor. He is a produced playwright, with both original and commissioned works produced. He is a magazine freelancer, with articles appearing in Watercolor Artist, Pennsylvania Magazine, Cincinnati Magazine and New Mexico Magazine. During the past decade, more than 500 of his articles have appeared in newspapers, magazines and books.
To read his blog, visit www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog.
