Harriette Austin Writers Conference

HAWC and MWA collaboration!
The year 2000 marks the first year of collaboration between the Harriette Austin Writers Conference and the Mystery Writers of America. The Southeast Chapter of the MWA is working closely with the HAWC to put together an outstanding mystery thread for the conference. In addition to featured speakers and workshops, the MWA will be bringing an offering of its current published authors to the conference for panels, appearances, and book signings.

This year will mark the second year of association with Authorlink, the online information service for the publishing industry. Doris Booth, Editor-in-chief of Authorlink, will preside over ceremonies to announce and present winners in the Authorlink International New Author Awards Competition. Doris is also President of Authorlink Press, the publishing imprint of Authorlink.com.

Richard Curtis - The Mystery Writers of America Guest of Honor. He is president of Richard Curtis Associates, Inc., a leading New York literary agency since the early 1970s, currently represents close to 150 authors in all fields. He is also a well known author-advocate and author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction including several books about the publishing industry, How to Be Your Own Literary Agent, Beyond the Bestseller, Mastering the Business of Writing, and This Business of Publishing. Curtis recently headed the formation of E-Rights / E-Reads, Ltd., an online publisher, retailer, and electronic rights clearing house. The company's mission is to assist authors, literary agents, and other content providers to take advantage of fundamental changes in publishing and printing technology. Session topic: "E-Publishing - The Future of the Publishing Business." Today the publishing industry is tottering on a precipice, and its future?-E-Publishing! Richard Curtis has always been on the cutting edge of the publishing industry, and now heads E-Rights/E-Reads, Ltd., an online publisher, retailer, and electronic rights clearing house. The company's mission is to assist authors, literary agents, and other content providers to take advantage of fundamental changes in publishing and printing technology. Come discover how E-Publishing can help the unpublished writer to find his/her future in print, and how the published writer can make use of the new wave of publishing opportunities for out of print books! Panel: Mock Negotiation: What REALLY happens when an agent, editor and publisher haggle over the sale/purchase of a novel?

Doris Booth - Doris Booth is the owner and editor-in-chief of Authorlink.com and of Authorlink Press. Before creating Authorlink she was an award-winning newspaper editor for 11 years. She also owned a Dallas-based advertising and marketing agency which served Fortune 1000 accounts, as well as projects for McGraw Hill, Adweek Magazine, Boys Life, D Magazine, and others. An interactive multimedia/ video producer, Ms. Booth earned New York and Chicago Film Festival awards for her work. She has also written for the imminent LeCroy Center for Educational Telecommunications. The programs have been aired to target audiences by PBS Television. She is past vice president of international board of the International Interactive Communications Society. Her intimate knowledge of the publishing industry provides the audience with the thorough, practical information one needs to avoid publishing pitfalls, and to market one's work in the new technological age. Doris sponsors the Authorlink New Author Awards competition.
Session topic: "50 Ways to Scam a Writer: Avoiding underhanded literary agents, book doctors and publishers." This timely and informative session provides the writer with a clear definition of right and wrong in the publishing business, and offers the tools to protect oneself against unscrupulous deals. 50 Ways leads the writer through the entire process of publishing, from finding an agent to reviewing a publishing contract and reading royalty statements, and succinctly defines the differences between an honest deal and a scam. Using actual agent and publisher contracts that contain underhanded or questionable clauses, 50 Ways shows the writer how they stand to lose from an unscrupulous entity, and points out how an ethical deal would likely unfold. In this talk, Doris Booth discusses how writers get scammed in the first place, and launches into four sections, including step-by-step guides, examples, tips, and defensive tactics:

· Literary Agencies: How to Spot the Rotten Ones
· Editorial Services: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
· Negotiating the Potholes and Pitfalls of Publishing Contracts
· Dirty Little Tactics After You're Published

Saturday Luncheon topic: "The E-Book Invasion: Writers Prepare and Beware." Authorlink Press Editor Doris Booth talks about the dawn of a new revolution in publishing-- a revolution that will benefit the writer as never before. She defines three types of e-books, and predicts that one of these, the print-on-demand (POD) book, will emerge as the dominate publishing format during the next few years. Because POD books lower publishers and booksellers risks, more titles can be produced. For the writer, this means writers will have a greater opportunity to become published in the new millennium. Ms. Booth contrasts the differences between traditional and POD publishing, and shows writers how to avoid new scams proliferating in electronic publishing. In addition, she talks about what writers can expect to earn and the kinds of deals they can negotiate in the world of digital publishing.

Joe Veltre - Editor at St. Martin's Press. He is currently editing and acquiring mysteries, thrillers, commercial fiction and non-fiction, literary fiction, and pop culture books. Session topic: "The Good, the Bad, and the Rejected." A look at query letters and manuscript submissions that impress an editor or agent - and those that don't. Panel: Mock Negotiation: What REALLY happens when an agent, editor and publisher haggle over the sale/purchase of a novel?

Jeff Gerecke - A major New York literary agent with the JCA Literary Agency since 1987. Before that he worked as foreign scout (representing such publishers as Hodder & Stoughton, Rizzoli, and Elsevier), and as a publicist for the University of California Press. Among his current clients are the best-selling authors W.E.B. Griffin and Ernest J. Gaines. He also represents numerous mystery writers, including Sinclair Browning, Polly Whitney, Peter King, and Elena Santangelo. Jeff is an active member of the Association of Authors Representatives where he has chaired and worked on the Royalty Statements Committee since its inception. Session topic: "Corporate Publishing and the Writer's Imperative: Selling Your Work in a Changing Marketplace." Faced with the rapidly dwindling number of publishing imprints, writers are finding it harder than ever to get their careers started. At the same time, vast numbers of new outlets for publishing are arising daily, whether as e-books, on-demand editions, downloadable audio, small presses, or almost any format you can think of. Jeff shows you the changing present where it is still possible for new, unpublished writers to see their work in print and sell to the reading audience.

Peachtree Publishers, represented by Kathy Landwehr and Vicky Holifield - Associate Publishers. Founded over twenty years ago in Atlanta, Peachtree Publishers is one of the original independent southern book publishers. Peachtree is a general trade book publisher -- they publish books that are sold in book and gift stores and found in libraries and schools. They do not publish professional, scholarly, or textbooks. They focus on a few select categories: children's picture and chapter books; young adult books; self-help titles covering education, parenting, psychology, and health; guides to the American South, including books about hiking, fishing, and walking. They also occasionally publish cookbooks and gardening books, primarily with a southern focus, fiction, gift books, and humor. Session topic: "Working With Your Publisher to Develop and Sell Your Children's Book."

Frances Kuffel - Agent with the Jean Naggar Literary Agency, NY, for 12 years, representing more than 50 clients of her own, including Georgia authors Fred Willard and Phillip DePoy. Frances focuses mainly on literary fiction, narrative nonfiction and "fiction with a twist" -- humor, spirituality, New Age, kinky self-help. Session topic: "What I'm Looking for in a Literary Novel."

Deidre Knight - Deidre Knight established The Knight Agency in 1996 after working in the entertainment industry and in international sales. Her film credits include work on the television series In the Heat of the Night, and the Lifetime feature film Sudie and Simpson. In just four years, Deidre has built a solid client list, selling some seventy books--nearly forty in the past year--in a broad range of categories, including personal finance, business, music, popular culture, African American history, self-help, religion, health, parenting, romance, and literary fiction. Her recent sales include books sold to Doubleday, Bantam Dell, Kensington, BET, Taylor Publishing, Word Publishing, Tyndale House, Harlequin, Barron's, Westminster John Knox Press, InterVarsity Press, Broadman and Holman, TV Books, Dorchester Publishing, AMACOM, Adams Media, and NTC/Contemporary. Deidre belongs to The Association of Authors' Representatives, The Authors' Guild and Romance Writers of America. Session topic: "What a Literary Agent Can Do For Your Career." Deidre will discuss how an agent guides a writer through each stage of the publishing process. The agent's role including giving editorial feedback on the manuscript, targeting appropriate publishers, negotiating all aspects of the deal, reviewing the contract, and seeing the book through publication. After publication, the agent helps strategize the book's ongoing success, and the author's full career.

Ron Pitkin - President of Cumberland House Publishing, Nashville, TN. Ron entered the publishing business with a bang when, as co-founder of Rutledge Hill Press, he oversaw the publication of his first major hit, the best seller Life's Little Instruction Book, and its derivatives, by H. Jackson Brown. Having made his millions, Ron then founded Cumberland House where he currently publishes about 32 new fiction and nonfiction titles each year in a wide range of categories, including biography, humor, self-help, cookbooks, inspirational, thrillers, mysteries, and vampire stories. Among his current noteworthy authors are Lawrence Block, David Hunter, and Beverly Connor's five book Lindsay Chamberlain Mystery series. Session topic: "Something I Want Every Aspiring Writer to Know."

Judy Long - Editor in Chief of Hill Street Press, a publishing company in Athens, Georgia whose editorial goals are to present the best in new writing from the South and to revive and restore to print southern classics. Hill Street publishes literary fiction, women's fiction, non-fiction, mystery-especially anything with a southern flavor. Panel: Crisis Panel - What To Do When the Book Doesn't Sell!; Panel: Mock Negotiation: What REALLY happens when an agent, editor and publisher haggle over the sale/purchase of a novel?

Susan Malone - an award-winning author of both fiction and non-fiction books. Intensive studies into psychology, spirituality, and mythology permeate her writing. She is a Contributing Editor to Authorlink.com, and an Associate Editor of The Literary Magazine, an International literary quarterly. She also operates Malone Editorial Services, providing in-depth manuscript editing. Session Topic: "Surviving Publishing's Maelstrom: Avoiding common pitfalls and becoming successful in an elite business." Malone clearly and succinctly explains the mistakes writers make while trying to break into publishing. She provides guidance and insight into how to be successful, and weather the inevitable storms--both technical and emotional --along the way.

Chris Roerden, M.A. - With 40 years' experience in the publishing industry, Chris became a full-time freelance book editor in 1983 and has helped her clients win 17 awards, including an Agatha and 3 Benjamin Franklins. She started a series of classes for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Outreach on publishing and led it for 8 years. She is the past president of MidAmerica Publishers Association, and regularly leads workshops for the PMA/BEA Publishing University. She has presented at the 1998 and 1999 Southern Mystery Gathering, and was keynoter and workshop leader at Cardinal Stritch College's 2nd Annual Writer's Conference. Session topic: "The Book Doctor is In." How to "take advantage" of an editor." Today, more publishers and acquisitions editors expect authors to hire their own line editors and copy editors. Some agents even insist on a book doctor. Learn what the different manuscript specialists do, how to get your money's worth, and what scams to watch out for. Get answers about costs, turnaround times, and rights, and discover what the editorial process is all about. Panel: Crisis Panel - What To Do When the Book Doesn't Sell! Chris Roerden edits mysteries and most non-fiction. During 40 years in publishing she's also taught at the college level--but vowed to never again teach writing in a classroom after seeing the great results of one-on-one coaching. Chris has edited the mysteries of Steve Brown, S.D. Tooley, and award-winners Alex Matthews and Jeanne Dams.

Robert Morgan - The New York Times Book Review said, "Morgan is among the relatively few American writers who write about work knowledgeably, and as if it really matters. . . . You begin to feel . . . that the author has been typing with blood on his hands and a good deal of it has rubbed off onto your shirtsleeves. . . . His stripped-down and almost primitive sentences burn with the raw, lonesome pathos of Hank William's best songs."

Author of Oprah's Book Club pick Gap Creek, Robert Morgan will be the Keynote Speaker: "The Voice of the Story."
    Morgan was born and raised in Green River, a small community in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. He studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and in 1968 he earned an MFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In 1971 Morgan began teaching at Cornell University where, since 1992, he has been the Kappa Alpha professor of English. His childhood memories of growing up in a small and isolated valley in the North Carolina mountains are a fertile and constant inspiration for his fiction, which deals with such powerful and formative experiences as attending Pentecostal services, farming, marriage, and fighting disease.
    In addition to Gap Creek, Morgan has published four books of fiction since 1969, including The Hinterlands (1994) and The Truest Pleasure (1995) named a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and a New York Times Notable. He has published nine volumes of poetry and has published poems in many magazines, including: The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, Poetry, The Southern Review, The Yale Review, The Carolina Quarterly and The New England Review.
    Additional awards and honors include four NEA Fellowships, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Fellowship, the North Carolina Award for Literature, the James G. Hanes Poetry Award from the Fellowship of Southern Writers, the Jacaranda Review Fiction Prize, and inclusion in New Stories from the South and Prize Stories: the O. Henry Awards. Session topic: "The Voice of the Story," in which Morgan will talk on narration, voice in writing, and discovery of voice.

John McCormack, DVM - Dr. McCormack has taught at veterinary colleges at Auburn University, Louisiana State University, University of California-Davis, and the University of Georgia. His specialty is farm animal practice.

Dr. McCormack's latest novel, Hero of the Herd (1999), like his two previous novels, is a Book-of-the-Month Club selection. His first hardback, Fields and Pastures New, My First Year As a Country Vet (Crown 1995) was selected by Reader's Digest and published in condensed version in August 1995. It was an alternate selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Conservative Club, and is available on tape from Audio Renaissance. A production company in Hollywood has purchased an option on this book, with plans for a movie, perhaps a series. His second hardback, A Friend of the Flock, Tales of a Country Vet (Crown 1997) was selected by Doubleday as a Book-of-the-Month Club alternate, and is available on tape from Audio Renaissance.
Dr. McCormack has presented seminars and humorous after dinner talks at numerous local, state, regional, national and international meetings. His Saturday After Dinner Speaker topic: "The Importance of Humor and Laughter in Writing and in Life."

Carrie Allen McCray - Author of Freedom's Child: The Life of a Confederate General's Black Daughter (Algonquin 1998, 1999) and other works. When Carrie Allen McCray was a child, she was afraid to ask about the framed photograph of a white man on her mother's dresser. Years later she learned that he was her grandfather, a Confederate general, and that her grandmother was a former slave. In her late seventies, Carrie McCray went searching for her history and found the remarkable story of her mother, Mary, the illegitimate daughter of General J. R. Jones, of Lynchburg, Virginia. Jones would later be cast out of Lynchburg society for publicly recognizing his daughter. Mary spent her life beating down the kind of thinking that ostracized her father. She was a leader in the founding of the NAACP and hosted the likes of Langston Hughes and W.E.B. Du Bois as they plotted the war against discrimination at her kitchen table. Session topic: "Researching and Writing the Personal History."

Ronda Rich - Former sports-writer, public relations consultant and first-time author, her What Southern Women Know (That Every Woman Should Know), Putnam 1999, now in its sixth printing, earned her a "handsome" six figure advance after three days of bidding wars between three major New York Publishers orchestrated by her agent, Richard Curtis. Since its publication, What Southern Women Know zoomed into the Amazon.com best-seller list; it has been chosen as a Doubleday Book of the Month; Publishers Weekly gave the audio version the 1999 Listen Up award as one of the best books of 1999; and her audio book has just been named among the finalists for the prestigious Audie awards in the personal development category--along with syndicated radio talk show host Dr. Dean Edell and television actor Alan Thicke. Ronda has made dozens of TV appearances, including an appearance on Barbara Walters. Session topic: "How to Market Yourself To Agents and Publishers." Understanding and utilizing publicity and marketing and their role in a publisher's decision to buy or pass on a project. Panel: "Mock Negotiation: What REALLY happens when an agent, editor and publisher haggle over the sale/purchase of a novel?" Hosted by agent Richard Curtis, with editor Judy Long of Hill Street Press, and editor Joe Veltre of St. Martin's Press.

Barbara T. Russell - Author of Last Left Standing (YA, Houghton Mifflin 1996), Blue Lightning (Middle, Viking Books 1997), and The Taker's Stone (YA, Dorling Kindersley DKInk 1999), The Remembering Stone (Picture Book, pending Dorling Kindersley DKInk) and Olivia and the Duppies (Picture Book, pending Knopf Books for Children). Barbara grew up in Jamaica, West Indies, and in Florida. She graduated from Florida State University with degrees in Writing and Anthropology, and has worked for Delta Airlines for 22 years. She currently lives in Atlanta with her husband and three children. Session topic: "Writing For Young Adults Workshop." This workshop will explore the facets of young adult fiction that make it individual, as well as theme and style in this highly evocative, 'cutting edge' genre. How does a writer capture the appeal of the young adult voice and character? This workshop will offer an opportunity to take an in depth look at this brave, not-so-new world through interaction and writing exercise.

Serita Stevens - Writer of numerous professional articles and 26 published books (fiction and non). Listed in Who's Who of American Women and International Women. A member of DMET (National Disaster Medical Emergency Team). Team 9. On the board of directors for Hearts For Romania, assisting Romanian orphans. Author of Deadly Doses: A Writers Guide to Poisons (Writer's Digest Books), and about a million other things. Current book project, Silent Language: forensic nurses making a difference (St. Martin's Press, 2000). Serita is trained and experienced in forensic photography, crime scenes, evidence collection, sexual assault exams, rape investigations, medico-legal death investigations, criminal profiling, and victim/witness interviewing. Research on domestic violence. In addition, her dog is being trained as a cadaver dog. Session topic: "Who and what is a profiler?" What are the ingredients which go into making one? How do they operate? Do they all have psychic powers? Well some do...and some just have a good instinct. As a forensic nurse with a specialty in psychiatry, Serita Stevens RN has been trained to do just that and will share some of the secrets she has learned.

Stephen Michaud - After several years as a successful writer and reporter for Newsweek and Business Week, in 1983 Michaud with Hugh Aynesworth authored his first big hit, The Only Living Witness : The True Story of Serial Sex Killer Ted Bundy, to widespread critical praise. The New York Daily News called it one of the ten best true-crime books ever written. Criminology professors made it required reading. In 1989, Ted Bundy was executed and Michaud and Aynesworth published an edited transcript of their interviews with Ted, called Conversations With A Killer. The book was a New York Times best-seller. Michaud has had a varied and distinguished writing career. Most recently, author of The Evil That Men Do by Roy Hazelwood (Contributor), Stephen G. Michaud (St. Martins 1999, 2000). This year saw the re-release in paperback of Ted Bundy: Conversations With A Killer (Authorlink Press April, 2000), The Only Living Witness: The True Story of Serial Sex Killer Ted Bundy by Stephen Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth (Authorlink 1999). The Only Living Witness ranked 19th among the top 20 bestselling POD titles earlier this year. Session topic: "Reporting and Writing True-Crime." Stephen discusses how one goes about reporting and writing a true-crime book, and the market for true-crime books. His presentation is liberally sprinkled with personal anecdotes. Session topic: "As Told To . . . the Ghost Writer." Stephen has ghost-written some outstandingly successful books, including Witness to War, a memoir of Dr. Charles Clements' year spent treating civilian victims of El Salvador's brutal civil war. His second book, entitled Insider, was an account of life among Cuba's revolutionary elite as recalled by Jose-Luis Llovio-Menendez, a former high official in Fidel Castro's communist government. This year saw the publication of Left for Dead, the story of a Dallas doctor Beck Weathers who survived the blizzard on Everest that Jon Krakauer described in Into Thin Air.

Les Standiford - Author of seven novels, including Spill (released as a feature film), Done Deal, Raw Deal, Deal to Die For, Deal on Ice, Presidential Deal, and most recently, Black Mountain. His articles and stories have appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines, including the New York Times best-seller, Naked Came the Manatee, Fodor's, Writer's Digest, and many more. He is a past recipient of the Frank O'Connor Award for Short Fiction, a Florida Individual Artist Fellowship, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction. He is currently Professor of English and Director of the Creative Writing Program at Florida International University in Miami. Booklist calls his recurring character John Deal, "the most emotionally centered protagonist in contemporary crime fiction." And Thrilling Detective calls Standiford "one of the very best crime fiction writers alive." Session topic: "The Five Essential Questions: Structure in Stories, Novels & Screenplays." A discussion of the essentials of plot and structure as they apply to all narrative genres, along with a checklist designed to guide a writer through this most difficult process. Participants are invited to bring along a one-sentence description of a story, novel, or screenplay in progress (limit: 25 words).

Eleanor Taylor Bland - The matriarch of black mystery writers. Eleanor Taylor Bland has become one of the top mystery writers on today's crowded shelves, thanks to the appeal and originality of her lead character, African American police detective Marti MacAlister, and the depth of Bland's gracefully written--and utterly believable--stories. Find out how to keep your series as fresh as Bland has in her long running series. Author or many novels, including See No Evil (1998, 1999), Tell No Tales (1999), Dead Time, Keep Still (1998), Slow Burn, Gone Quiet, Done Wrong, and the recently released Scream in Silence. Session topic: "Developing Characters Editors, Agents and Readers Love."

R. Robin McDonald - Author of two true crime books -- Black Widow: the True Story of the Hilley Poisonings (New Horizon Press, 1986, St. Martin's Press, 1987) and Secrets Never Lie: the Death of Sara Tokars -- A Southern Tragedy of Money, Murder and Innocence Betrayed (Avon Books, 1998). A graduate of Duke University McDonald has been a professional journalist for 23 years. She has won more than 20 state, regional and national awards for newspaper and magazine stories and has been recognized for her investigative, breaking news, and feature writing for newspapers -- The Anniston (Ala.) Star; The Wichita (Ks.) Eagle, The Fort Worth (Tx.) Star-Telegram, and most recently The Atlanta Journal Constitution. She has also been a senior staff writer for Atlanta Magazine. She has spent about 17 years of her career covering police and courts. Session topic: "Writing true crime: a how-to of getting information from difficult sources." This will include relationships with police and federal agents, what is public record and what is not; gleaning material from court hearings and court documents, reconstructing dialogue, interviewing witnesses, working with victims.

Wes DeMott - Former FBI agent, graduate of the FBI's New Agent Training School, Special Weapons & Tactics (SWAT) School, High Performance Driving School, Motorcycle School, and the Defense Language Institute (Arabic Egyptian) in Monterey, CA. Wes investigated bank robberies, chased fugitives, worked on a "rolling" surveillance team, and then joined Group 1 (highest priority) undercover operation targeting Organized Crime. He says he writes thrillers he knows by heart, having hunted down the characters that end up in his books. Wes believes in the Stanislavski method of acting applied to his writing, so he is heavily into physical stuff that lets him approximate the world of the characters he creates, to give honesty to his writing, a viscera quality that he values. He denies allegations that he lives on the edge, but does admit to frequent visits there. He is the author of two published novels, Walking K (1998) and Vapors (1999), and the forthcoming thriller Heat Sync. Session topic: "Turning Fact into Fiction: Writing the Political Thriller."

Walter Sorrells - Nominated for the Edgar Award three times in the past half decade. Both of his most recent mystery novels (written under his Ruth Birmingham pen name) – Atlanta Graves and Fulton County Blues – were Edgar nominees for best original paperback. Session topic: "Unleash your editor within." The most important step to becoming a professional writer is learning how to recognize the flaws in your own work. But just seeing the problems isn't enough. The session leader, Walter Sorrells, will share a wide range of practical techniques that he has developed which will help you not only recognize the weaknesses in your own work...but more importantly to fix them.

Nora DeLoach - Author of the "Mama" series with an African American mother and daughter amateur detective team featuring Grace Covington, nicknamed "Candi" because of a golden brown complexion that looks like candied sweet potatoes, and her daughter Simone. Mama Solves a Murder, Mama Traps a Killer, Mama is Accused, Mama Rescues a Victim, Mama Stalks the Past, and Mama Rocks the Empty Cradle. Session topic: "How to Write and Sell Genre Fiction."

Panels and Panelists
Sponsored by the Southeastern Chapter
Mystery Writers of America
Mock Negotiation
What REALLY happens when an agent, editor and publisher haggle over the sale/purchase of a novel? Come experience a MOCK NEGOTIATION hosted by agent Richard Curtis, with writer Ronda Rich, editor Judy Long of Hill Street Press, and editor Joe Veltre of St. Martin's Press. Get the inside info. When you are published, you will have a clearer understanding of the negotiation process!

How to Create a Character an Editor will LOVE!
5 well known mystery writers will share their proven tips for creating a character that an editor will want to serialize. Is your character just a bit cardboard? Just a bit dull? Just a bit too rough-and-ready or perhaps too sweet? Learn how to smooth off the rough edges and give your hero or heroine that special spark an editor will LOVE… and BUY! Moderated by Tamar
Myers, with Nora DeLoach, Mignon Ballard, Elizabeth Daniels Squire, and Beverly Connor.

Who Wants to be a Published Author?…Is That Your Final Answer?
5 oft published mystery authors offer answers to the BIG questions… How do I get Published? How do I get an agent? What mistakes do I need to avoid? What info is included in a query letter and what should be left out? What is the BEST way to approach one of the editors or agents here at the conference? What is a blurb, and how does one deliver it? Moderator Toni Kelner, with Beverly Connor, Tamar Myers, Evelyn Coleman, and Kathy Trocheck.

Crisis Panel
You have written a fabulous book - everyone says so! BUT! It hasn't sold. WHAT DO YOU DO? 5 specialists share how to handle the emotional effects of rejection and how to turn a losing book into a winner! And into SOLD! Participants are encouraged to bring queries and rejection letters for evaluation. (Letters will not be returned. Writer names may be blocked out. Please give letters to Gwen Hunter before start of panel) Moderated by writer Gwen Hunter, with self-published author Steve Brown, book doctor Chris Roerden, agent Jeff Gerecke, specialist in the psychology of writing Steve Kelner, and editor Judy Long.

The JOY of Writing!
Caught up in the pathos of rejection? Mired in the twisted plot lines of the perfect murder? Four winning authors and a specialist in the psychology of the creative process share with you the JOY of writing. Together they remind us that writing is a soul-deep journey. Moderated by Mignon Ballard, with Steve Kelner, Sarah Shaber, Eleanor Taylor Bland, and Steve Brown.

About the Panelists . . .

Steve Brown lives in Greenville, SC. A member of the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, Steve is the author of Color Her Dead, a Susan Chase Mystery, Of Love and War, a historical love story set around the attack on Pearl Harbor. Black Fire, a suspense novel, is set in the modern South. Color Her Dead, and the sequel, Stripped To Kill, have been recommended by Barbara D'Amato, president of Mystery Writers of America. A self-published author, with his first two books already in their second printings.

Mignon Ballard, a graduate of UGA's Grady School of Journalism, is the author of eight published mysteries. Aunt Matilda's Ghost, her only YA book, received the Excellence in Writing Award at Winthrop (then College) Writers' Conference for the best novel for juveniles by a SC writer. St. Martin's published her latest mystery, Angel at Troublesome Creek, in Nov. 1999. A sequel, an Angel to Die For, is due this fall. She lives in SC.

Evelyn Coleman's adult mystery, What A Woman's Gotta Do was called an inventive, funny, assured debut thriller by Publisher's Weekly. Switching gears her second mystery is one of the popular American Girl, History Mysteries. She has a contract for another history mystery and a new adult thriller on the way. Evelyn Coleman's other children's books, garnered much recognition including a Parents Choice Honor Book, ABA Pick of the Lists, Children's Book of the Year, a Smithsonian Notable Books, and a Carter G. Woodson Honor Book. She is the President of the Southeast Region of the MWA.

Beverly Connor - Beverly Connor says some of her favorite things are bones. (You heard right!). "One of my favorite jobs is analyzing animal bones from archaeological sites. I also like mysteries. I combined these two favorite things and write mysteries in which I weave my professional experience as an archaeologist and my lifelong experience with Southern culture into interlinked stories of the past and present." Originally from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, she now lives in the woods of Oglethorpe County, Georgia, with her two dogs, a horse, two cats, an occasional emu, and a husband. She is author of the Lindsay Chamberlain archaeological mystery series (A Rumor of Bones, 1996; Questionable Remains, 1997; Dressed to Die, 1998; Skeleton Crew, 1999; Airtight Case, 2000).

Elizabeth Daniels Squire writes novels about a Southern sleuth who uses memory strategies to solve murders. In number seven, Forget About Murder, sleuth Peaches Dann gets a job as a reporter for a rural newspaper, and becomes involved with some wild and suspicious mountain characters. Squire herself once covered murder trials in "Bloody" Madison County North Carolina. To write this one Squire used interviews with former moonshine transporters and learned more about making mountain moonshine.

Gwen Hunter lives in South Carolina. She has published six novels, many of which were sold in the US and in 5 foreign countries, with Betrayal winning the WH Smith award for best first novel in the UK and becoming a Bestseller there. She has just sold a 3 book deal to MIRA Books for her medical mystery series. Delayed Diagnosis will be available in April 2001.

Stephen P. Kelner, Jr., ED.M, PH.D Steve Kelner is a motivational psychologist, educator, and Internet company employee, formerly a management consultant, who writes mysteries and science fiction whenever he can stay awake later than his daughters. After helping his mystery-author wife Toni finish her first book, she suggested he teach other writers about motivation. Instead of sensibly writing a pamphlet right away, he spent several years studying published authors. The results include a manuscript called Motivate Your Writing.

Toni Kelner: Thomas Wolfe said you can't go home again, but Toni L.P. Kelner does her best. After moving from North Carolina to Massachusetts, she started writing Southern mysteries to combat homesickness. Death of a Damn Yankee, the sixth, was published in August 1999. Since she writes full-time and has two daughters, Kelner has no hobbies, but is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the American Crime Writers League.

Tamar Myers was born and raised in a remote part of the Belgian Congo where books were understandably scarce, so when she was ten years old, Tamar wrote one of her own to entertain herself. As an adult, she was still in love with writing but it took twenty-three years for her to get published. Determined and persistent, Tamar is now the successful author of two ongoing mystery series and is writing her fifteenth mystery. Most recent titles are The Hand That Rocks The Ladle and Estate of Mind.

Sarah R. Shaber: In 1996 the manuscript of her first mystery, Simon Said, won the St. Martin's Press annual contest for best traditional mystery written by an unpublished author. St. Martin's published Simon Said in April of 1997. It is now available in paperback. The sequel, Snipe Hunt, was published in March 2000. It was an alternate selection of the Mystery Guild in May. Ms. Shaber lives in Raleigh, NC, in Cameron Park, with her husband and family.

Kathy Hogan Trocheck is the author of ten mysteries, including the eight Callahan Garrity mysteries, all published by HarperCollins. Her most recent work is IRISH EYES. She has been nominated for the Agatha, Anthony and Macavity awards. Trocheck turned to fiction after a 14-year career in journalism, the last 11 years of which were spent as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She has taught fiction writing at The Antioch Writer's Workshop, Evening at Emory, Rice University and The Sandhills Writer's Conference.

Write authoritatively about crime scene investigation, forensics, police procedure and detection of deception from the experts who do it. Enter the world of laser lights, super glue, gene code matching, personality profiling and good old fashioned detective work.

Special Agent Terry Cooper - Crime Scene Expert with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, is specially trained and equipped with the latest technology for crime scene analysis. He will demonstrate current crime scene investigation techniques and technology. When your local sheriff says, "We better call in the state crime lab on this one," Agent Cooper will show you what the sheriff is calling for. Session topic: "Crime Scene Investigation Procedures."

Sgt. Gary Leveille - Co-wrote and published 2 Warner Books' police novels, Death Warrant and Death Sentence in the 90s - he knows what a writer needs to provide the kind of realism seen in television and big screen drama. Go with him behind the scenes for a technical demonstration of tactics, surveillance, and equipment, and see what it takes to plan, coordinate, and execute the gathering of evidence and successful arrests of often violent suspects. Gain insight into problems of logistics, legal requirements police and investigators MUST adhere to, and KISSing Murphy's Law! Give your book or screenplay that extra JOLT of reality that will set it above the rest. Session topic: "Giving True Crime, Hardboiled Mystery, and Police Drama a Jolt of Realism."

Sgt. Tom Atchison - Sergeant with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) and a veteran of 10 years of law enforcement experience. He is the team's defensive tactics instructor, firearms instructor, and is a certified instructor with H&K MP5 submachine gun. He has been on hundreds of SWAT activations with hostage rescue, high risk warrant services, and activations resolving arrests of barricaded suspects. Session topic: "A Realistic Overview of Hostage Rescue and SWAT Activations." Sgt. Atchison will expose some of the myths of a SWAT team and explain both tactics and rules of engagements that these specialized members of the law enforcement community act under. Walk with him through a SWAT team activation involving barricaded suspects and hostage rescue with official SWAT equipment. Get a close-up look at the specialized equipment used by SWAT teams. Give your novel or screenplay that realistic edge that will catch an agent's eye and help sell your manuscript. Get answers to questions that pertain to your specific writing needs.

Larry M. McDaniel - A polygraph examiner, a Clinical Psychologist and a Senior Behavior Specialist, Larry uses polygraph examinations and handwriting analysis professionally in the detection of deception. His talk and examples promise to give you insight into the techniques that reveal the minds of liars, thieves, and other criminals. Session topic: "Handwriting Analysis and Detection of Deception."

Manuscript evaluations and a one-on-one meeting with an editor, agent or writing instructor are available for $30. Submit a two-page manuscript synopsis and up to fifteen double-spaced, typed sample pages. Must be received no later than June 16. The number of manuscripts that can be accepted is limited, so submit early.

Doris Booth - Mainstream commercial fiction, mystery / thriller / suspense, women's. Some historical fiction.
Richard Curtis - Science fiction, fantasy, romance, westerns, thrillers, horror narrative and journalistic nonfiction, history, biography, business, computers, medicine, science, and mainstream fiction.
Jeff Gerecke - Crime fiction and thrillers, pop culture, politics, business, and history.
Deidre Knight - Personal finance, business, music, popular culture, African American history, self-help, religion, health, parenting, romance, and literary fiction.
Frances Kuffel - Literary fiction, narrative nonfiction & "nonfiction with a twist" -- humor, spirituality, kinky self-help.
Judy Long - Literary fiction, women's fiction, non-fiction, mystery. Especially anything with a southern flavor.
Susan Malone -Literary fiction, women's fiction, most genres (no science fiction, please), and almost all nonfiction.
Peachtree Publishers - Children and young adult, selected self-help, fiction, humor, cookbooks, guides to the South.
Ron Pitkin - Non-fiction, biography, cookbooks, how-to, humor, mystery, thriller.
Chris Roerden - Mysteries and most non-fiction.
Joe Veltre - Thrillers, commercial non-fiction, and literary novels.

Label your manuscript as to genre or type and specify your preferred evaluator (We cannot guarantee your first choice). Make check for $30 payable to HAWC Manuscript Evaluations, and mail two copies of writing sample directly to :

Dr. Charles Connor
HAWC Manuscript Evaluations
G-2 Aderhold, UGA
Athens, GA 30602-7101

Friday, July 14, 7:00 - 10:00 PM

Come meet and mingle in a casual atmosphere with editors, agents and writers-- the people who make the industry work and who will be presenting the sessions at our conference. The reception will feature the beginning of a silent auction that will continue throughout the day on Saturday. Conference goers will have the opportunity to bid on many one of a kind items, such as autographed books, original manuscripts, works of art, Saturday lunch or dinner with your favorite author, agent or publisher, and items donated by local business and supporters.

Special Appearance: John Winterhawk - Native American spiritual leader, teacher and lecturer. John is a Muscogee Creek tribe spiritual leader who is well known and honored for his Native American teachings and lectures. He demonstrates to his listeners how to achieve a more harmonious lifestyle that focuses on the principles of love, honor, respect, and integrity. Through his ancestral teachings he brings a new understanding of the old ways of living -- living out of our hearts and not our heads. John will be accompanied by friends and members of his family who will provide music and will perform Native American dance. Visit the Winterhawk website at http://www.johnwinterhawk.com/

Friday Evening, July 14

5:00-7:00 PM Conference Registration
8:00-10:00 PM Reception with agents, publishers, and writers.
Featuring John Winterhawk - Native American Music and Dance

Saturday, July 15
8:00-8:30 AM Conference Registration
8:30-9:40 AM General Session, Keynote: Robert Morgan - "The Voice of the Story"
9:50-10:50 AM
1-a	Wes DeMott - "Turning Fact into Fiction: Writing the Political Thriller"
1-b	Ron Pitkin - "Something I Want Every Aspiring Writer to Know"
1-c	Les Standiford - "Five Questions: Structure in Stories, Novels & Screenplays"
1-d	Joe Veltre - "Query Letters: The Good, the Bad, and the Rejected"
1-e	Agt. Terry Cooper - "Crime Scene Investigation Procedures"
1-f	Crisis Panel - Gwen Hunter, Steve Brown, Chris Roerden, Jeff Gerecke, Steve Kelner, Judy Long
11:00 AM -12:00 PM
2-a	Barbara T. Russell - "Writing For Young Adults Workshop"
2-b	Jeff Gerecke - "Selling Your Work in a Changing Marketplace"
2-c	Stephen Michaud - "As Told To . . . the Ghost Writer"
2-d	Susan Malone - "Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Becoming Successful"
2-e	Sgt. Gary Leveille - "Giving Your Writing a Jolt of Realism"
2-f	Panel: How to Create a Character an Editor will LOVE! - Tamar Myers, Nora DeLoach, Mignon Ballard, Elizabeth Daniels Squire, Beverly Connor
12:00-1:30 PM Lunch - with speaker Authorlink CEO Doris Booth: "The E-Book Invasion: Writers Prepare and Beware." Announcement of the Winners of the 2000 International New Author Awards Competition
1:30-2:30 PM
3-a	Richard Curtis - "E-Publishing: The Future of the Publishing Business"
3-b	Frances Kuffel - "What I'm Looking for in a Literary Novel"
3-c	Carrie Allen McCray - "Researching and Writing the Personal History"
3-d	Serita Stevens - "Who and What is a Profiler?"
3-e	Sgt. Tom Atchison - "Hostage Rescue and SWAT Activations"
3-f	Panel: The JOY of Writing! - Mignon Ballard, Steve Kelner, Sarah Shaber, Eleanor Taylor Bland, Steve Brown
2:40-3:40 PM
4-a	Ronda Rich - "How to Market Yourself To Agents and Publishers"
4-b	Nora DeLoach - "How to Write and Sell Genre Fiction"
4-c	Eleanor Taylor Bland - "Developing Characters Editors, Agents and Readers Love"
4-d	Doris Booth - "50 Ways to Scam a Writer: Avoiding the Unscrupulous"
4-e	Stephen Michaud - "Reporting and Writing True-Crime."
4-f	Panel: Who Wants to be a Published Author? - Toni Kelner, Beverly Connor, Tamar Myers, Evelyn Coleman
3:50-4:50 PM
5-a	Deidre Knight - "What a Literary Agent Can Do For Your Career"
5-b	Chris Roerden - "The Book Doctor is In"
5-c	Walter Sorrells - "Unleash Your Editor Within"
5-d	R. Robin McDonald - "Writing True Crime: A How-To of Getting Difficult Information"
5-e	Kathy Landwehr - "Working With Your Publisher to Develop and Sell Your Children's Book"
5-f	Mock Negotiation - Richard Curtis, Ronda Rich, Judy Long, and Joe Veltre
5:00-6:00 Authors' Mega Book Signing - 24 Authors!
7:00-8:30 Dinner with Dr. John McCormack - "The Importance of Humor and Laughter in Writing and in Life."

Sunday Morning, July 16

8:00-10:00 Spillover manuscript evaluation interviews

2000 International New Author
Awards Competition

sponsored by

The Best of Show award winner

will be announced and presented at

12:00 Noon Ceremonies, Saturday, July 15

Entries are now in for the third annual Authorlink 2000 International New Author Awards Competition, and judging is now underway. Submissions to the contest come from across the United States and as far away as the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, Canada, United Arab Aeuae, Netherlands, Australia and Indonesia.

Eleven category winners will be notified and posted on the Authorlink! site (http://www.authorlink.com) in late May or early June. This year's final selections will be judged by a distinguished panel of recognized editors and literary agents.

Cash prizes will be awarded for Best of Show, ($500), and for First Place ($100 each) in eleven categories. The top award recipient will have their winning first chapter published on the Authorlink web site, and will receive an expense paid trip to the Harriette Austin Writers Conference where top editors and agents will speak.

All first place winners will receive a free six-month listing in the Authorlink manuscript showcase.

Three winners of the Authorlink New Author Awards competition have landed major publishing contracts within the past 18 months. The latest Authorlink contestant to become published is Cynthia G. Alwyn (pen name), who placed among the top three in the 1999 Authorlink awards competition. Cynthia finalized her business partnership with her agent, Anne Hawkins, at the 1999 Authorlink Awards presentation at the 7th Annual Harriette Austin Writers Conference. A short time later, her novel Best Served Cold was bought by St. Martins Press for an undisclosed amount.

Contact Information

. . . about scheduling, accommodations, facilities? Contact Barbara Marable. E-mail marableb@gactr.uga.edu. Georgia Center for Continuing Education. Phone 706-542-1585, Fax 706-542-6465.

. . . about sessions, activities, manuscript evaluations or presenters? Contact Dr. Charles Connor, Program Director. E-mail cconnor@coe.uga.edu. Phone 706-542-3876, Fax 706-542-0360.

Registration Form

You may Download a Registration Form from the Georgia Center for Continuing Education conference site. You need a copy of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print this application form.

Four Ways to Register

1. MAIL the completed Registration form to:

Harriette Austin Writers Conference #39414
Attn: Conference Registration, Room 129
Georgia Center for Continuing Education
The University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602-3603

2. FAX the completed Registration Form to:
LONG DISTANCE: 1-800-884-1419 LOCAL FAX: 706-542-6596

3. ON-LINE REGISTRATION: Coming very soon to this spot!

4. PHONE: 1-800-884-1381 LOCAL: 706-542-2134 Please mention you saw this web page.

Registration Fees

Registration entitles you to attendance at the Friday evening reception and Native American entertainment, all general and concurrent sessions, Saturday lunch, refreshment breaks, and the authors' book signing.

Pre-Registration - Received by June 30,

Check or credit card only $145

Registration after June 30 $160

Friday Dinner (optional) $17

Saturday Breakfast (optional) $10

Saturday Dinner (optional) $17

Total

Note: The Georgia Center has a dining room and a coffee shop to serve you. Because of the number of participants expected at the conference, you are encouraged to pre-order meals to assure timely service and to avoid waiting lines that might interfere with your conference schedule.

Payment of Fees

The Georgia Center for Continuing Education accepts payments for registration by cash (on-site), check (payable to the University of Georgia), and credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover).

Lodging Reservations

Please complete the following to have lodging reserved at or by the Georgia Center.

Hotel Room Rates

Classic Single (2 Single Beds)	$60 single occupancy, $72 double
Classic Queen (1 Queen Bed)	$64 single occupancy, $76 double
Select Double (2 Double Beds)	$67 single occupancy, $79 double
A limited number of suites are also available. Ask your reservationist about them.

Two and three room suites are available. If requested room type is unavailable, the best alternative will be confirmed.

Advance payment for lodging is not required.
A credit card number is required to guarantee your reservation.
7 % sales tax will be added to quoted rates.

Georgia Center Hotel Switchboard 706-548-1311
Hotel Reservations 706-542-6364
Hotel Reservations (toll free) 800-774-2760

Conference Facility Information

The site of the conference is Georgia Center for Continuing Education, a full service residential conference center on the campus of The University of Georgia.

If you require special services or facilities to support your participation in the conference, please call Barbara Marable at 706-542-1585.

Lodging: The Georgia Center provides a variety of accommodations -- some suites may be available. Standard rooms contain two twin size beds or one queen-size bed or more spacious preferred rooms similarly furnished. Some smoking rooms are available.

Transportation: Airport Shuttle Service

            AAA Airport Express provides shuttle service from Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport directly to
            the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. See their web site or call 1-800-354-7874 for more
            information. Shuttle service is also available from PalmTrans (1-770-725-9111). You should call in
            advance to reserve space on a shuttle.

You may find it helpful to consult our page on Directions to the Georgia Center.

Program Cancellation Policies: (1) Cancellation of pre-registration must be made at least 72 hours before the conference begins in order to avoid being billed 25 percent of the registration fee. Substitution of personnel is recommended in lieu of cancellation. Pre-registrants who fail to attend or to send a substitute are liable for the full late registration fee. To cancel a preregistration, call (706) 542-2134. (2) In the event a program is canceled for any reason, the conference sponsors will not be responsible for any cancellation changes/charges assessed by airlines or travel agencies.

Registration Fees

Payment of Fees

Hotel Room Rates

For questions about anything, e-mail the Torrance Center for Creative Studies at hawc@coe.uga.edu or Charles Connor at cconnor@coe.uga.edu

Come see us in Georgia on July 14!

Check or credit card only	$145
Registration after June 30	$160
Friday Dinner (optional)	$17
Saturday Breakfast (optional)	$10
Saturday Dinner (optional)	$17
Total

Registration Fees

Payment of Fees

Hotel Room Rates

For questions about anything, e-mail the Torrance Center for Creative Studies at hawc@coe.uga.edu or Charles Connor at cconnor@coe.uga.edu

Come see us in Georgia on July 14!

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