Fresh off her winning a San Diego Book Award for Best Historical Fiction, Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman, author of the rousing Civil War novel Broken Promises, will be Sunday’s special guest speaker. Originally self-published, then picked up by Random House, Kirkus Discoveries hails that, “Hoffman intertwines history, romance, intrigue and fun in a novel that draws readers into her fresh take on the American Civil War.” While Pulitzer Prize winning author David Kennedy (Freedom from Fear) calls it simply, “[A] compelling read and masterful history.” Given Lisa’s road to publication success with her breakout novel is one being trodden by so many today, it’ll be fascinating to learn where the inevitable fork for her lay.
The preliminary schedule is now available for perusal. Don’t marry yourself to it, as there are holes to be filled, sessions to be swapped, drinks to be drank. The schedule will change over the next several weeks. It always does when we’re factoring in what truly are the pressing issues writers need to be dealing with at this particular time. Lots of writers have contacted us expressing big interest in all things “E” (both capital and small case), which we addressed pretty thoroughly at SD25. But that was four months back and times have changed. Don’t fret, we’re on it again with all the latest for LA9.
Among the latest staff confirmed, freelance editor Jean Jenkins returns with her wildly popular “Best Foot Forward: Polishing to Impress” genre-fiction workshops. Author Kathy Porter will debut a vitally needed session on getting you and your book into bookstores — and all the essential must-dos and how-tos an author needs to know to put on a successful book signing. Author/editor Mike Sirota is back, of course. So is author/editor Marla Miller and Sunbelt Publications Editor Jennifer Silva Redmond. They’re putting together a pitch session that you’ll definitely want to sink your teeth into, else risk losing a foot!
Still got a lot of stuff to announce. Please don’t hesitate to let Michael know what topics you’d like addressed in September. Things are moving fast out there. The more current information we all have, the mo’ better prepared we all are to make informed decisions.
