January 9: Center for Fiction Writers’ Conference

Over the last few years, I’ve been a guest speaker at a number of excellent writers’ conferences and other publishing trade events, mostly to discuss how authors and publishers can put online social media tools to effective use. But I’ve also been thinking about other topics I’d like to see covered—topics that move beyond the two (very important) questions that draw most aspiring writers to conferences (how do I become a better writer? how do I become an agent?) to address the concerns of those of us who are lucky enough to be on the path towards making a career out of writing.

Basically, a conference for writers who may already have an agent (or are awfully close to having one), or might even have a book deal, and are asking themselves, “How can I make sure this book does well enough that I’ll have the opportunity to publish another?”

The good folks at Manhattan’s Center for Fiction, where I’ve been curating a reading series for the last year or so, shared my enthusiasm for such an event, and thus we’re presenting the Center for Fiction Writers’ Conference on Saturday, January 9. It’s a full day of publishing industry insights for just $170—and for those of you in the New York area, it also includes a free month’s access to the Center’s writing studios, which offer a quiet midtown location where you can concentrate on your craft.

Highlights of the day include a keynote speech from former Random House editor-in-chief Daniel Menaker; a frank discussion about what it takes to make self-publishing work with authors Hilary Thayer Hamann and Maryann McFadden, Spiegel & Grau’s Cindy Spiegel, and agent Larry Kirshbaum, and a panel on “what editors want to see now” that includes representatives from HarperCollins, Graywolf Press, and FSG’s Sarah Crichton Books. Altogether we’ve got more than two dozen speakers for nine separate presentations; take a look at the full lineup and see if we’re talking about the sort of things you want to learn. Space is limited, so you’ll want to sign up soon… or, if you know somebody else who’s committed to making it as a writer, this conference could make a great gift… I’m just saying!

I’ll try to tell you a bit more about the topics and the guest speakers between now and the end of the year, but I really hope you’ll come and get the full benefit of our guests’ collected expertise. It’s going to be something special.

17 December 2009 | events |

Come Meet Jeff, Jeffrey, & Geoff at Borders!

Tomorrow (Saturday, November 21) I’ll be moderating a discussion with Jeff VanderMeer, Jeffrey Ford, and Geoff Manaugh of BLDGBLOG to talk about some interesting intersections between fantasy/science-fiction and life in the big city. It’s going to be a free-floating conversation, really: We’ll talk about imaginary cities like Jeff’s Ambergris or Jeffrey’s Well-Built City, and urban planning theory—realized or unrealized—which is crucial to Geoff’s The BLDGBLOG Book. So we’ll probably hit upon J.G. Ballard at some point, and I wouldn’t mind if Mervyn Peake came up, but honestly you should just come join us and see what happens. It’ll be at the Borders at the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle; we’ll start at 5 p.m. with some short readings and move into the conversation from there, and then I’m told we might conceivably go drinking afterwards.

20 November 2009 | events |