Quid Plura?

Apropos of the upcoming Washington Independent Writers Fiction Writing All-Day Seminar on Feb 9th--- for which I'll be chairing the panel on writers's blogs as a new literary genre--- conference organizer John Curry asks me, what do I think of his friend Jeff Sypeck's blog Quid Plura? Well, halleluja, it's an excellent one! Sypeck is the author of Becoming Charlemagne, a book I've had on my reading list for some time. Check out what he has to say about one of my favorite topics, Icelandic literature. More about lit-blogs and writers's blogs anon.

Washington Independent Writers Conference: Authors, Agents, Books & Blogs

Still in recovery after the Washington Independent Writers Conference last Saturday--- for which I chaired the panel on travel writing with Sara Mansfield Taber, who is about to lead creative writing workshops in southern France and Mendoza, Argentina, and L. Peat O'Neill, who, as I write these lines, is on board a plane for Shanghai....signed my books, pitched the almost-finished novel to literary agents, scarfed down canapes and did the meet 'n greet with more writers than you could shake a Mont Blanc pen at--- among them, David Taylor (The Divine Root), Monica Jacobe, founder of Capitol Hill's fabulous "A Space Inside" reading series, Elaina Loveland, whose books on "creative careers" I recommend to all my friends with highschool-age kids, James McGrath Morris, biographer and editor of the spectacularly successful new blog/ newsletter, "The Biographer's Craft", Ann McClellan, author of the perennial Washington area airport and museum best-seller The Cherry Blossom Festival, Mary Kay Zuravleff (The Bowl is Already Broken), Doreen Baingana (Tropical Fish), Linda Leer (Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature), John Curry, Cara Seitchek, Lisa Daniels, Beryl Lieff Benderly... Also chatted with several fellow litbloggers, among them, biographer Ken Ackerman ("Coffee With Ken"), novelist Leslie Pietrzyk ("Work in Progress"), and freelancer Kristen King ("Inkthinker"). Came home with a shoulder-sagging bag o' books--- all by conference participants: Francine Prose's Caravaggio: Painter of Miracles; Rosemary A. King's Border Confluences: Borderland Narratives from the Mexican War to the Present; Peter Miller's Author! Screenwriter!; and Library of Congress librarian Thomas Mann's The Oxford Guide to Library Research. Not for nothing did DC Mayor Adrian Fenty declare June 9th "Washington Independent Writers Day"! More anon.

This Saturday's Washington Independent Writers Conference

This Saturday June 9th is the big bash of the Washington Independent Writers Conference in Washington DC, featuring Francine Prose, writers of all stripes, and literary agents galore. My own panel is on travel writing, with Sara Mansfield Taber, L. Peat O'Neil and Candida Mannozzi, yes, the Candida of the fabulous and unique international treasure trove that is Candida's World of Books. Click here for the details.

"Living on Words": Washington Writers Conference

Here's the schedule for Saturday, June 9, 2007:
"Living On Words: Get Inspired, Get Writing, Get Published!"
The 2007 Washington Writers Conference
Location: the Cafritz Center at George Washington University

The plenary speaker is Peter Bowerman, author and self-publisher, who is known for his books The Well-Fed Writer and the The Well-Fed Editor. In addition to the opening speech, Peter will lead a workshop based on his books and will provide practical steps and tips on marketing and selling your writing.

Our keynote speaker is Francine Prose, award-winning author of 11 novels, including Blue Angel, a finalist for the National Book Award. Her latest book is Reading Like A Writer. She has also written four children's books and co-translated three volumes of fiction. Prose is a contributing editor of Harper's Magazine and writes regularly on art for The Wall Street Journal.

We are offering 14 different sessions throughout the day, covering everything from the practical aspects of writing to the creative process. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet with agents (both fiction and non-fiction) and, most importantly, to network and learn more about this outstanding organization that supports writers in the greater DC area.

Each panel is 75 minutes. Writers confirmed include Pulitzer-winning biographer Kai Bird, environmental historian Linda Lear, travel writer C.M. Mayo, and novelists Leslie Pietrzyk and John Gilstrap, among others.

It's all happening on Saturday, June 9, 2007, in the Cafritz Center at George Washington University. For more information on the conference and how to register, please visit www.washwriter.org.

Breakout Sessions Schedule

10-11:15 a.m.
1—Well-Fed Self-Publishing: Lose Your Fear of S&M (Sales and Marketing) & Put Your Book on the Map!
2—Research Sources: Library of Congress, National Security Archives, FOIA and Personal Investigations
3—Fiction Writing Tool Kit
11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
1—Speechwriting: Process and Profit
2—Fiction Agents Roundtable
3—Non-Fiction Agents Roundtable
4—Refresh & Restart Your Writing Career

2:30-3:45 p.m.
1—Writers and the Web: Marketing and Promotion in Cyberspace
2—Health Writing for the Non-Health Professional
3—Travel Writing: Articles, Essays and Books
4—Johns Hopkins University Craft Session

4-5:15 p.m.
1—Biography: The Writing Life of Writing Lives
2—A Novel Balance: Writing Great Fiction and Maintaining A Serious Day Job
3—Johns Hopkins University Craft Session