Books Alive! 2016 Schedule of Events
Get Writing! Get Published!
Friday, April 29
5-7 p.m.: Party (cash bar)
7:15-8:30 p.m.: Agent Panel 1: How to Pitch an Agent
Moderator: Jennifer Weltz
Kirsten Carleton, agent
Claire Anderson-Wheeler, agent
Saturday, April 30
8 a.m.: Agent Panel 2: Writing Your Query and Synopsis
Moderator: Amanda Holmes Duffy
B.J. Robbins, agent
Peter Rubie, agent
Dawn Michelle Hardy, agent
8-9 a.m.: Registration/coffee. During registration. Writing your query and synopsis
Pitch sessions start at 9 a.m.
Morning Plenary Sessions:
8:50 a.m.: Welcome
David O. Stewart, president of the Washington Independent Review of Books
9-9:45 a.m.: Books and Books: Industry Overview
Moderator: Holly Smith, managing editor of the Washington Independent Review of Books
Brenda Copeland, executive editor, St. Martin’s Press
Deborah Grosvenor, literary agent
George Gibson, publishing director, Bloomsbury
10-10:45 a.m.: To Market, to Market: Self-Publishing and E-Books, an Ever-Changing Scene
Moderator: Salley Shannon, former president, American Society of Journalists and Authors
Audrey R. Wolf, veteran literary agent and publisher
Larry De Maria, veteran journalist, columnist and author of 15 self-published books
Mark LaFramboise, head book buyer in the adult category, Politics and Prose
11-11:45 a.m.: The Plot Thickens: Conspiracy Theory in Fact and Fiction: Mark Olshaker in conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning and bestselling novelist and former film critic Stephen Hunter.
12-1:30 p.m.: Lunch (provided)
Lifetime Achievement Award to Kitty Kelley, celebrity biographer and longtime fighter for the right to publish (presented by David O. Stewart)
Keynote speaker: Bob Woodward, famed journalist and author of 18 books (introduced by Gene Meyer)
Concurrent Afternoon Panels:
1:45-2:30 p.m.: Play Ball! Books on Baseball, A National Pastime
Moderator: Will Pittman, conference committee chair
Paul Dickson, author of 65 books, including many with baseball themes
Barry Svrluga, Washington Post sports writer and author of The Grind: Inside Baseball's Endless Season
Hal Bock, AP sports writer for 40 years, author of several baseball books
1:45-2:30 p.m.: Memoir – The Importance of Voice
Moderator: Pat McNees, past president of the Association of Personal Historians
Nora Pouillon, owner of Restaurant Nora and author of My Organic Life
Donna Britt, memoirist and award-winning former syndicated columnist
2:45-3:30 p.m.: Fiction to Die For
Moderator: E.A. Aymar, crime novelist and columnist for the Washington Independent Review of Books
Neely Tucker, Washington Post writer and author of crime novels
Jim Grady, author of thriller novels, including Six Days of the Condor
Ron Childress, author of the prize-winning novel And West Is West
2:45-3:30 p.m.: Historical Nonfiction – How to Build the Narrative
Moderator: David O. Stewart, author of several books of historical nonfiction and historical fiction
John Ross, biographer and a former editor of American Heritage and Smithsonian
Dina Gold, author of Stolen Legacy and a senior editor at Moment Magazine
James Swanson, Edgar Award-winning nonfiction crime writer
3:45-4:30 p.m.: Book to Film
Moderator: Paul Levine
Debbi Mack, screenwriter
Jim Grady, author of a bestselling book made into a film
Adam Chromy, agent with a special interest in film/TV adaptation
3:45-4:30 p.m.: Small Press Panel
Moderator: Michael Landweber, author of two novels and numerous short stories
Jen Michalski, a novelist whose work has appeared in more than 80 publications
Andrew Gifford, founder and director, the Santa Fe Writers Project
Marcos L. Martínez, founding editor of Stillhouse Press
5 p.m.: Conference concludes
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