AUTHORS, READERS AND FRIENDS SPENDING TIME TOGETHER
EDITORS AND AGENTS
Harlequin/Mira
Penguin
Invoke Books
Writers for New Orleans
August 30 - September 1, 2019
Hotel Monteleone
New Orleans, Louisiana
Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh, my!
Well, first, readers, writers, panels, and a meeting of friends, old and new.
So, I'll start at the beginning! Special guests this year will include
the incredible Hank Phillippi Ryan. Not only is she an award-
winning author, but she's an award-winning broadcast journalist
as well. If you've been up in the Boston area in the last decade or
so, you might well have caught a glimpse of her on the news.
Brilliant--and one of the nicest people I know. We're delighted
that we've lured her down! Please check out her novels, including
Trust Me, The Other Woman, The Murder List, and many more!
Hank's publisher, Tor, is co-sponsoring the breakfast Saturday
morning, where we'll find out lots more about Hank!
We'll also have author James O. Born, known for numerous series
on his own--and for NYT best sellers written with James Patterson.
He is also the author, along with Lou Dobbs, of the books Border
War and Putin's Gambit, and if you're looking to catch up on some
of his great fiction, please check out Scent of Murder, Field of Fire,
or any of his wonderful books written with imagination and
expertise--Jim has been a special agent with the Florida Department
of Law Enforcement and is a wealth of information in dozens of
those fields needed by authors working in any kind of crime fiction.
Publishing is a wild open arena these days with many authors doing
well in traditional publishing, small press, and independent venues. We do our best to accommodate all, and in that line of thought, we bring in some of our favorite people from the Big 5 in NYC, including editors and agents. We also like to talk about self-pub. A pet peeve of mine! Oh, I'm all for it--I just want writers to remember that they are--publishing! Line editing, copy editing, thinking about cover and cover copy, art, marketing and promotion.
We bring you panels in these areas, too.
In that arena, we're definitely welcoming back Meg Ruley, one of my very favorite people in the business for more years than I actually care to admit. She has represented some of the most amazing voices in publishing and continues to do so--and will bring us her expertise on what the heck is going on in the ways of many, many companies, big and small--just what makes a proposal or synopsis intriguing? Is it true most editors only read one to three pages of the manuscripts that come her way? There are rumors, there are truths, and, of course, differences--publishing is made up of people, and as we know, writing, reading, and publishing will always be different as well.
Back to the lions, tigers, and bears!
Author Rebecca Barrett (Trouble in Paradise, Trouble Under the
Mistletoe) and I are delighted to tell you about our welcome
party--Lions, Tigers, and Bears. (Okay, Connie really wants to do
up some great circus decorations.) But our group of writers,
readers, and friends tends to be animal lovers and while the
circus may now be something of the past, we all still love animals
and celebrate those who rescue them and care for them. We'll
have some raffle baskets with the proceeds going this year to
one of my favorite places in the world, The Dolphin Research
Center, where one can find Jax--a beautiful rescue when he and
his mom came under shark attack. Jax is thriving--and wouldn't
be if it weren't for his care at DRC. He could never survive in the
wild. There's also a blind sea lion in their care and many other
creatures given loving attention.
But back to what will hopefully be the fun part--we're going to give you some circus history and a few circus personages and you will answer the questions, of course, some cool prizes, or prizes we hope you will think are cool. Music, food, and whatever mayhem you choose--costumes are welcome! Jeans are welcome--it's all up to you.
Saturday will start with breakfast, and our panels are geared to give you all kinds of information--and a good time, too. Lunch is out in the city--we began this with the intent to show people that NOLA was up and running again after the devastation of the storms. Well, Nola is up and running again--but you step out of the hotel and walk in anywhere in the French Quarter and you'll find a great place to eat, a bit of history, culture, music, art--you name it! So, lunch, in the city.
Saturday Night, well, we couldn't help it!
Heather with
R. L. Stine, Jeff Ayers, Lee Child,
George R.R. Martin and David Morrell
Last year, I was privileged to be a panel with George R. R. Martin, author of the books that become the mega-hit series, Game of Thrones. I was happy to discover that he was just a great guy, one beneath a shimmering light of success now, but happy to share his own trials and tribulations with others. Again, all in all, just a really nice guy!
So . . . prepare . . .
Saturday night, get ready, be your favorite character, invent a character, or dress up to the nines, or . . . Come however you like.
But our dinner theater will bring you our version of Game of Thrones . . .
GAME OF PLASTIC THRONES
And you just never know who is really going to take that throne! (We don't have a real dragon, and playing with fire would be outrageous.) So . . . our throne will remain--and be taken by someone!
As always, we strive to give you all kinds of information or insight--and lots of fun, too.
We'll keep you posted--more to come on other authors--and our editors and agents!"
Hope to see you at Writers,
Heather
To register, please go to www.writersforneworleans.com. For those of you who have been to Writers, we look foward to seeing you again. And for those newbies coming in for the weekend, we hope to give you great writing panels and fun events, so you will return in the future. If you need any help with anything, call 337 319 5783 for Connie Perry or email connie@perryco.biz.
New Orleans, come and enjoy true Southern Hospitality!
Shayne, Derek, Chynna, Caitlyn, Paul, Bryee-Annon and Jason