All workshops and events will take place at the conference hotel, the Marriott Mission Valley. Workshops summaries can be found on the Workshops and Events page, and within the working Schedule (when it becomes available).
Staffers conducting optional Advance Submission Critique, followed by one-on-one consultation, are indicated beneath their respective bio. The deadline to submit material is January 20, 2023. Advance Submission Reader selection opens November.
As of 2/3/23
Special Guest Speakers
GAYLE CARLINE is a humor columnist for an Orange County newspaper who transitioned from traditional publishing to indie. She is the author of the popular Peri Minneopa Mysteries, including Freezer Burn, Hit or Missus, The Hot Mess, Clean Sweep, Murder Bytes and A More Deadly Union, featuring a housecleaner-turned-detective living in the OC. Other titles include the stand-alone From the Horse’s Mouth: One Lucky Memoir, and the first of a new equine-themed murder-mystery series, Murder on the Hoof. Writing as G.S. Carline, her latest is the epic historical fantasy Dragon Shadows trilogy, comprised of Blood Dragon Rising, Moon Dragon Falling and recently released finale, New Dragon Soaring.
SCOTT MCGAUGH is a veteran journalist and author of Honor Before Glory, which recounts a riveting mission by Japanese American soldiers to rescue the “lost battalion” of more than two hundred surrounded by German infantry and is now in development as a feature film, the New York Times bestselling Civil War biography Surgeon in Blue, Battlefield Angels, tracing the history of the military medical corps and contributions it has made to America’s health, and Midway Magic, which became the basis for a History Channel program, Hero Ship: The USS Midway. His upcoming Brotherhood of the Flying Coffin: The Glider Pilots of World War II chronicles a force of volunteers involved in every major European invasion of the war that their own government projected would have a 50 percent casualty rate. Of it Publishers Weekly effuses, “[V]ivid and inspiring … This WWII history soars.”
CLAUDIA WHITSITT is an award-winning author and retired special educator teacher who has published four mysteries in the Samantha Series, Identity Issues, Intimacy Issues, Internal Issues and Inherited Issues, as well as a stand-alone, The Wrong Guy. In middle grade historical fiction, set during the Vietnam era, the Kids Like You series consists of Between the Lines, Beyond the Lines, Broken Lines and, the latest installment, Battle Lines. Geared for adults, a new series, Love and Loss, consists of three novels. Black Ice was released in 2021, Lake Fog in 2022, and the third, Lingering Clouds, will be out shortly. When she isn’t writing, Claudia is visiting schools and teaching writing to middle grade students. She’s known for her kind nature, even when telling you that your works sucks, and will make you want to become a better writer.
Authors & Industry Experts
WES ALBERS is Director of the Southern California Writers’ Conference. For more than two decades he has helped to facilitate over $4 million worth of first time book and movie deals for emerging authors through the SCWC and his personal contacts. His own writing draws from some thirty years in the San Diego Police Department, first as a patrolman, then sergeant. He served as Detective Sergeant in charge of Border Investigations, as well as Staff Sergeant supervising the Emergency Negotiations Team, a hybrid team of hostage negotiators from the SDPD, the FBI, and NCIS. Of his debut novel, Black and White, New York Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds (The Book of Spies) hails, “Gritty and rewarding… A top-notch cop novel. Watch out, Joseph Wambaugh!”
- SESSIONS: “How to Make the Most of the Conference,” Cyber Social, Introductions
GAYLE CARLINE is a humor columnist for an Orange County newspaper and author of the popular Peri Minneopa Mysteries, including Freezer Burn, Hit or Missus, The Hot Mess, Clean Sweep and A More Deadly Union, featuring a housecleaner-turned-detective living in the OC. Other titles include the stand-alone From the Horse’s Mouth: One Lucky Memoir, the first of a new equine-themed murder-mystery series, Murder on the Hoof and new historical fantasy Dragon Shadows trilogy, Blood Dragon Rising, Moon Dragon Falling and New Dragon Soaring.
- SESSIONS: “Avoiding Stereotypes, Cliches and the All-Too Common,” “Battle Plan: Everything You Need to Know Before Going Indie” and “The End is Just the Beginning”
ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Fiction, mystery, humor, columns; first 10 pages (or multiple columns up to 10 pages), cover letter
ANNE CLEELAND is the prolific author of over two dozen novels. Her contemporary New Scotland Yard Doyle & Acton mysteries are featured in the Amazon top 100 best sellers. The 16th in the series, Murder in All Fury, is now out. She also writes a historical series of stand-alone books set in the Regency period, which include The Spanish Mask, The Gypsy Queen and her latest, The Blighted Bride. A member of International Thriller Writers, The Historical Novel Society, and Mystery Writers of America, she also holds a degree in English from UCLA as well as a degree in law from Pepperdine University, and is a member of the California State Bar.
- SESSIONS: “How to Quit Your Day Job”
GENE DESROCHERS is the bestselling author of Dark Paradise and Sweet Paradise, the first two novels in his Caribbean noir murder mystery series featuring private investigator Boise Montague. Award-winning author R. D. Kardon (Flygirl and Angel Flight) declares of his latest, “Outstanding writing and the vivid setting will keep you transfixed.” And 6-Time Romantic Times Award winner Laura Taylor hails, “Desrochers delivers a suspense-filled tale overflowing with duplicitous characters and greed-driven agendas in lushly authentic Caribbean environs.” Born and raised on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas himself, Gene current resides in Southern California.
- SESSIONS: “Creating Characters that Suck (Screw Up a Lot!)” and “Setting as Character”
LAURA ENGEL is the author of You’ll Forget This Ever Happened: Secrets, Shame, and Adoption in the 1960s, a memoir of an unwed mother in New Orleans who is forced to relinquish her baby for adoption. Laura is currently President of the San Diego Memoir Writers Association. She is also an active member of the International Women’s Writing Guild and a member of San Diego Writers Ink, San Diego Writer’s Festival, and SD Writers and Editors Guild.
- SESSIONS: “Post-Hybrid Press Publication: A Retrospective”
AMY FISHER’s (writing as Rose Guildenstern) debut novel is out May of 2023 from Schiffer Publishing’s REDFeather imprint. A metaphysical take on life after death, just as Good Omens revamped the book of Revelations and His Dark Materials reimagined Milton’s Paradise Lost, Iago’s Penumbra is described as a modern love story about the darkness that redeems us, rooted in the works of William Shakespeare. Currently she is working on her second novel, Numb. Writing as Juno Lucina, Amy’s nonfiction work includes The Alchemy of Tarot: Practical Enlightenment through the Astrology, Qabalah, and Archetypes of Tarot, The Kingdom Within Tarot (with cards), The Healing Tarot: 78 Ways to Wellness (with cards) as well as her forthcoming Frame This Oracle and Tarot Beyond Belief: Using the Tarot to Choose the Stories We Wish to Live.
- SESSIONS: “Cultivating Your Unique Niche in the Fiction Market” and “Using Tarot to Write Your Story & Demystify Your Process”
MICHAEL STEVEN GREGORY, Executive Director of the Southern California Writers’ Conference, is an award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter. He has scripted network series, directed television and features, and been involved as a writer, producer or director in over 150 short films. His longform projects include the doculogues We, The Writer and We, The Screenwriter, the romantic-comedy A Valentine Carol, and groundbreaking Don King Presents: Prizefighter, for 2K Games. His books include Disc Golf: All You Need to Know about the Game You Want to Play, which remains a periodic bestseller well over a decade after publication. Michael is also the owner of AuthorEdge, a transmedia content producer for publishers. He was recognized as Man of the Year from San Diego Writer’s Monthly, and is a recipient of the Odin Award for Lifetime Achievement from the San Diego Writers/Editors Guild.
- SESSIONS: No-Host Mixer, Introductions
- ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Screenplays, TV and short-form scripts; first 15 pages in proper format, cover letter
KELLEY GUSICH is the author of mystery and young adult novels. Her debut (as Kelley Kaye), Death by Diploma, was released by Red Adept Publishing in February, 2016, reaching #1 on Amazon for cozy mysteries in August. Two more books in the Chalkboard Outlines series have followed, Poison by Punctuation and Strangled by Simile. Writing as Kelley Kay Bowles, Down in the Belly of the Whale was released in 2018 by Aionios Books, clenching their title Victor Indie Book of the Year. A new YA paranormal series, The Meld, had the prequel and Book 1 released in late 2022 by All Things That Matter Press. The Audible audiobook for Book 1, Magic, Please, was released in January 2023.
- SESSIONS: “Making Procrastination and Other Human Obstacles Work for You”
JILL G. HALL is the author of a dual timeline trilogy about women searching for their place in the world connected by vintage finds. The bestselling Anne McFarland series was the 2021 Next Generation Indie Awards Winner in Fiction, The first of the series The Black Velvet Coat, was an International Book Award Finalist. The second, The Silver Shoes, was a Distinguished Favorite in the NYC Big Book Awards. The third, The Green Lace Corset, received a National Indie Excellence Award. Her poems have appeared in a variety of publications including A Year in Ink, The Avocet, and Wild Women, Wild Voices.
- SESSIONS: “Post-Hybrid Press Publication: A Retrospective”
MELANIE HOOKS started out spinning tales on playgrounds as the perennial ‘new kid’ as an Army brat. These days she’s found new audiences in podcasts (Classic Movie Recall), journalism (Pasadena’s ColoradoBoulevard.net), TV writing (Quarterfinalist for NBC Universal’s ‘Writers on the Verge’) and screenwriting (‘Queen of Wishful Thinking’). She loves classic film, comedy, sci-fi/fantasy and historical fiction. Someday she will figure out how to merge Room with a View with Galaxy Quest … and it will blow your mind!
- SESSIONS: “The Craft of Feedback – What It Is, What It Isn’t, and How to Use It” and Rogue Read & Critique: SciFi/Fantasy (both with Laura Perkins)
ROBIN “R.D.” KARDON is the award-winning author of Flygirl, a work of fiction inspired by her own aviation experience. It was a solo Medalist for General fiction in the 2019 New Apple Literary Summer EBook Awards, and an Award Winning Finalist in the 2020 International Books Awards in the categories of Best New Voice and General Fiction. Angel Flight, her second novel, examines the personal and professional pressures faced by Captain Tris Miles as she plans and executes a critical “angel flight,” designed to carry a critically ill woman from a remote area in Canada to the US for medical treatment while struggling with a new relationship. Robin herself had a twelve-year flying career as a corporate and airline pilot. Holding an Airline Transport Pilot certificate and three Captain qualifications, she has traveled the world over in every type of airplane from small single-engine Cessnas to the Boeing 737. Book 3 of the Flygirl Trilogy, Flying Home, is out February, 2023.
- SESSIONS: “Prose at the Speed of Light: Writing a Page-Turner”
SCOTT MCGAUGH is a veteran journalist and author of Honor Before Glory, which recounts a riveting mission by Japanese American soldiers to rescue the “lost battalion” of more than two hundred surrounded by German infantry and is now in development as a feature film, the New York Times bestselling Civil War biography Surgeon in Blue, Battlefield Angels, tracing the history of the military medical corps and contributions it has made to America’s health, and Midway Magic, which became the basis for a History Channel program, Hero Ship: The USS Midway. His upcoming Brotherhood of the Flying Coffin: The Glider Pilots of World War II chronicles a force of volunteers involved in every major European invasion of the war that their own government projected would have a 50 percent casualty rate. Of it Publishers Weekly effuses, “[V]ivid and inspiring … This WWII history soars.”
- SESSIONS: “The Secret Ingredient to Great Writing ” and “Where Nonfiction and Novels Meet”
JEFF POLLAK is the author of First Second Coming, his debut novel, and its forthcoming sequels. A supernatural romantic suspense in which the New Testament God retires after more than two thousand years of service, only to be replaced by a new deity who must decide the fate of humanity under new management, the novel is currently being adapted for film by Voyage Media. A former trial attorney who spent his career in and around civil litigation, Jeff is now retired, pursuing his passion of writing fiction.
- ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Suspense, sci-fi, fantasy and historical.; up to 10 pages double-spaced, cover letter
JUDY REEVES is a writer and teacher who has published four books on writing including the award-winning A Writer’s Book of Days, and, most recently, Wild Women, Wild Voices. Her work has appeared in the San Diego Reader; The Frozen Moment; Connotations Press; Serving House Journal; Waymark; Expressive Writing, Classroom and Community, and other journals and anthologies. She is also an editor for manuscripts, journals, and chapbooks. She has been leading writing groups and teaching creative writing for 25 years at writing conferences internationally and at San Diego Writers, Ink, a nonprofit literary center she cofounded. Judyreeveswriter.com.
- SESSIONS: “Into the Deep: Description & Details,” “Into the Deep: Scene,” “Into the Deep: Time,” “Post-Hybrid Press Publication: A Retrospective” and “Write Like Nobody’s Editing: A Free-Writing Free-for-All”
- Advance Submission Critique: Memoirs, narrative non-fiction, women’s fiction; up to 10 pages double-spaced, cover letter
JANIS THOMAS is the author of such domestic suspense novels as All That’s Left of Me and What Remains True, both with Lake Union, and three critically acclaimed humorous works of women’s fiction—Something New, Sweet Nothings, and Say Never—as well as the mystery Murder in A-Minor. She has written more than fifty songs and two children’s books, which she created with her dad, is a passionate writing advocate, a popular workshop leader, speaker, and editor. Her latest novel is the paranormal thriller Finding Grace, which Kirkus Reviews calls “An authentically creepy tale.”
- TRACK: Novel Boot Camp (SOLD OUT); Pantser to Plotter: Pros & Cons
- ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Women’s fiction, suspense, mystery; first 10 pages double-spaced –SOLD OUT
ROBERT WEINBERG has spent 40 years in the trenches doing every kind of strategic marketing imaginable. He creates insightful marketing plans, compelling websites and collateral, and eye-catching giveaways suitable to any audience. From planning to tactics, budgeting to implementation, this Renaissance marketer seamlessly and wisely blends marketing, promotion, & public relations skills with an innate talent for finding unusual partners. As Managing Partner of Write Away Books, Rob instinctually takes complex messages and turns them into easily digestible language. His successful communication skills have removed the mystery from marketing for professionals, corporations, and authors in virtually every discipline and area of interest. He dispenses free marketing advice through his weekly newspaper column called Ask Mr. Marketing. You’ll find him at www.writeawaybooks.com, and is currently working on his third book.
- SESSIONS: “Unconventional Book Marketing” (with Robert Yehling)
CLAUDIA WHITSITT is an award-winning author and retired special educator teacher who has published four mysteries in the Samantha Series, Identity Issues, Intimacy Issues, Internal Issues and Inherited Issues, as well as a stand-alone, The Wrong Guy. In middle grade historical fiction, set during the Vietnam era, the Kids Like You series consists of Between the Lines, Beyond the Lines, Broken Lines and, the latest installment, Battle Lines. Geared for adults, a new series, Love and Loss, consists of three novels. Black Ice was released in 2021, Lake Fog in 2022, and the third, Lingering Clouds, will be out shortly. When she isn’t writing, Claudia is visiting schools and teaching writing to middle grade students. She’s known for her kind nature, even when telling you that your works sucks, and will make you want to become a better writer.
- SESSIONS: “Infusing Micro-tension into Your Story, “Supporting Cast: Crafting Purposeful Secondary Characters,” “Voice: Finding Your Unmistakable Own” and Read & Critique
- ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Middle-grade fiction, mystery; first 10 pages double-spaced, cover letter
ANASTASIA ZADEIK-HIPKINS is a writer, editor, and storyteller. Kirkus declared her debut novel, Blurred Fates, “[A]s chilling as it is affecting … A hypnotic page-turner about the frightening haziness between past and present.” After graduating summa cum laude from Smith College with a degree in psychology, Anastasia had an international career in neuropsychological research. A frequent performer of narrative nonfiction, her work has appeared in the San Diego Decameron Project, Literary Vine Review, and the award-winning anthology, Shaking the Tree: Short. Brazen. Memoir. She now serves as Director of Operations for the San Diego Writers Festival and as a board member for the literary nonprofit So Say We All.
- SESSIONS: “Post-Hybrid Press Publication: A Retrospective”
Agents & Editors
CATHIE HEDRICK-ARMSTRONG is an agent with The Purcell Agency. She deliberately keeps her author list small in effort to give her authors the time dedication each deserves. She looks for manuscripts that catch her attention within the first few pages. If you can evoke an emotional reaction in the opening pages—make her laugh out loud, cause her pulse to race, make her cry, etc.—you’ve likely got a winner. While never interested in sci-fi or fantasy, some paranormal aspects in the vein of Victoria Laurie’s Abby Cooper and Ghost Hunter Series, or a more contemporary version of something akin to Karen Marie Moning’s Highlander Series may will be considered.
- ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Young adult, new adult, contemporary romance, general women’s fiction and suspense; BIPOC, Own Voices, and LGBTQ+; first 10 pages, double-spaced, cover letter –SOLD OUT
HOLLY KAMMIER is a former journalist who has worked everywhere from CNN in Washington, D.C. and KCOP-TV in Los Angeles, to the NBC affiliate in small-town Medford, Oregon. The UCLA honor grad currently splits her time between San Diego, CA and Henderson, NV. She recently published her second book, Kingston Court, a chick-lit novel with an edge. Holly is an avid reader with a passion for timeless books and beautiful writing. Along with novelist Jessica Therrien, she co-founded Acorn Publishing, a new model approach for enabling quality authors to indie publish under a single imprint.
- SESSIONS: “Acorn Publishing: Exploring the Benefits of Hybrid Publishing” (with Jessica Therrien)
- ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Fiction, all genres; first 10 pages, cover letter
CHERIE KEPHART‘s award-winning memoir, A Few Minor Adjustments, is called by Kirkus Reviews, “A rich and complicated story, told on each page with clear dialogue and memorable anecdotes,” and by Publisher’s Weekly, “A story of gut-wrenching perseverance and determination.” Her other publications include, The Healing 100 and Poetry of Peace, as well as essays, short stories, and poems in various literary journals and anthologies. Cherie is also a freelance editor, writing coach, and workshop facilitator with a passion for helping writers on all aspects of their writing journey. A graduate with first class honors from the University of Auckland in Medical and Cultural Anthropology, Cherie also holds a BA in Communications from UCSD and a Certification in Scientific and Technical Writing.
- SESSIONS: “Editing Explained” (with Laura Perkins), “Slice of Life: Sculpting Your Memoir’s Story,” “Soul Therapy: The Spiritual Side of Writing Memoir” and Read & Critique (Memoir/Narrative Nonfiction)
- ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Memoir, personal stories, wellness, self-help, personal transformation, metaphysical; first 10 pages, cover letter
MARLA MILLER is an author and freelance editor. She wrote for the OC Register’s lifestyle magazine for 16 years before becoming founding editor-in-chief of an O.C. coastal lifestyle magazine. Her first book, All American Girls, the only authorized biography of the iconic World Cup/Gold Medal winning U.S Women’s National Soccer Team, was published by Simon & Schuster in 1999, and her sports oriented columns appeared in Oxygen.com. Marla launched MarketingtheMuse Workshops in 2003, motivated by her recognition that most traditionally published authors receive little help from “big house” marketing departments. Her experience in the entrepreneurial author movement includes “with author” bylines for two indie books, The Booty Bible and Decode the Black Box of Group Health Insurance, along with her own Days Gone By and first e-novel, Deadly Little Secrets, published under MarketingtheMuse Publications. MarlaMiller.com is a resource center for writers with emphasis on marketing information in publishing/epublishing.
- SESSIONS: “Cold Openings: Your First Five Pages,” “The Emotional Hook: Reeling Readers in from the Start,” “Pitch Witches: What’s Your Book About?” (with Jennifer Silva Redmond), “Talking Truth to Publishing” and Query Letter Critique
- ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Fiction, narrative and prescriptive nonfiction, columns (Note: anything emphasizing medicine or psychology, Marla’s your reader); first 10 pages, cover letter
LAURA PERKINS has penned five young adult fantasy novels and serves as a freelance editor and writing coach. She has an extensive background in facilitating groups as well as conducting personal feedback sessions, assisting clients with motivation issues, goal setting and strength assessment. She brings first-hand knowledge and experience in many areas writers often use as their story worlds, including the Criminal Justice Department, probation, psychiatric facilities, wilderness programs, adventure sports, middle schools and high schools – internationally and in the states. She has lived in Europe and South America and traveled extensively internationally and domestically. While her passion is fantasy, young adult, character driven fiction and sci-fi, she works with many different genres. Under the pen name Mercy Hollow, she is the author of the dark fantasy novels Scythe – Legions of the Claimed and the second book in the series Grim – Legions of the Claimed.
- SESSIONS: “Car Chases, Fist Fights, and Battles – Oh My!, “Editing Explained” (with Cherie Kephart), “The Craft of Feedback – What It Is, What It Isn’t, and How to Use It” and Rogue Read & Critique: SciFi/Fantasy (both with Melanie Hooks)
- ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Fantasy, young adult, sci-fi, fiction; first 10 pages (or multiple columns up to 10 pages), cover letter
JENNIFER SILVA REDMOND spent more than a decade as editor-in-chief/acquisitions editor at Sunbelt Publications before becoming a freelance publishing consultant and editor. On the staff of the Southern California Writers Conference and San Diego Writers, Ink, she was also prose editor for A Year in Ink Vol 3, and co-founder of the Sea of Cortez Review. Her essays, articles, and short fiction have been published in various anthologies, such as Latinos in Lotusland, and national magazines. She is always looking for “great new stuff” and has a wide circle of agents, editors, and publishers with whom to share marketable fiction and nonfiction. More information, a short list of edited titles, and client testimonials can be found at www.jennyredbug.com.
- SESSIONS: “Become Your Own Sensitivity Reader: Eliminating Sexist and Racist Language,” Constructing Compelling Nonfiction 1: Expository,” “Constructing Compelling Nonfiction 2: POV” “Constructing Compelling Nonfiction 3: Structure” and “Pitch Witches: What’s Your Book About?” (with Marla Miller)
- ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Fiction, nonfiction, memoir, short stories; first 10 pages double-spaced, cover letter –SOLD OUT
TINA P. SCHWARTZ is the founder of The Purcell Agency (TPA). In addition to being a literary agent, she has written ten traditionally published nonfiction books for children and teens. Since opening the agency in 2012, TPA has sold 52 books for its 70-plus authors from around the world, spanning several countries. Tina is seeking middle grade and young adult fiction in particular, along with women’s fiction, especially debut and book club genres.
- ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Middle-grade, young adult, realistic fiction, coming-of-age, sports, romance, friendship, family, #ownvoices; non-fiction, and LGBTQ; first 10 pages, double-spaced, cover letter –SOLD OUT
BONNIE SWANSON is an agent with The Purcell Agency. She has been a mentor for many authors through the WriteMentor program started by author Stuart White, and some of her mentees have gone on not only to publish successfully, but best-selling success with their titles. Her favorite authors include Dean Koontz, J.K. Rowling, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, S.A. Stovall, Suzanne Collins, Jen Mann, Danielle Paige, Christopher Paolini, Neal Schusterman, and Ally Condi. An active member of SCBWI, Bonnie is also a co-rep for her local chapter.
- ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Children’s, LGBTQ, NA, YA, picture books, romance, science-fiction, urban fantasy, women’s fiction, BIPOC, own voices, and LGBTQ+; first 10 pages, double-spaced, cover letter –SOLD OUT
LAURA TAYLOR is an author and freelance editor, whose work has received endorsements from Pat Conroy, W.E.B. Griffin, and Stephen King. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her writing, including 6 Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement, Reviewer’s Choice, and Career Achievement Awards, 2 Maggie Awards from GRW/RWA, 2 Golden Heart Finalist Awards (RWA), an RWA RITA Finalist Award, and a Golden Rose Award from the Gold Coast Chapter of RWA. Having sold over a million books in print, an additional 550,000 digital editions have been downloaded by e-book readers. Her novels feature sassy, strong-willed heroines and determined alpha male heroes. Her romance e-books include: Desert Rose, Midnight Storm, Heartbreaker, More Than Friends, Fallen Angel, Wilder’s Woman, Warrior Series Boxed Set, Moment By Moment, The Christmas Gift, Anticipation, Seduction, Surrender, Sublime, and the Love at the Beach Boxed Set.
- SESSIONS: “Indie Excellence: Glocalization and the Key to Survival” and Rogue Read & Critique (All-Genre)
- ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Mainstream, historical and genre fiction, romance; first 10 pages double-spaced, cover letter
JESSICA THERRIEN is the author of the young adult paranormal fiction series Children of the Gods. Book one in the series, Oppression, became a Barnes & Noble best-seller shortly after its release. Aside from her wildly popular trilogy, Jessica’s work can also be found in a published collection of flash fiction stories called Campaigner Challenges 2011. Out of over 350 submissions her story, “The Soulless,” won first place for people’s choice and fourth place in the judging round. After being published by a small press out of Los Angeles and hitting the #3 best-selling book for Teens on Barnes & Noble, Jessica discovered that the world of traditional publishing isn’t for everyone, got her rights back and, with novelist Holly Kammier, co-founded Acorn Publishing, a new model approach for enabling quality authors to indie publish under a single imprint.
- SESSIONS: “Acorn Publishing: Exploring the Benefits of Hybrid Publishing” (with Holly Kammier)
- ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Fiction, all genres; first 10 pages, cover letter
ROBERT YEHLING is the award-winning author, co-author and ghostwriter of numerous books, as well as long-time journalist, editor and writing instructor. Through his company, Word Journeys, he has edited more than 130 fiction and nonfiction titles that have found homes with publishers of all sizes. Bob’s latest titles include the biography of autistic surfer Clay Marzo, Just Add Water: A Surfing Savant’s Journey with Asperger’s (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), and musician Stevie Salas’ When We Were the Boys: Coming of Age on Rod Stewart’s Out of Order Tour (Rowman Littlefield). Voices (Open Books Press), a novel set against a half-century of rock and roll, is his latest.
- SESSIONS: “The Muddle in the Middle” and “Unconventional Book Marketing” (with Rob Weinberg)
- ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Commercial fiction, memoir, biography and poetry; first 10 pages double-spaced, cover letter –SOLD OUT