St. Louis area mystery conference with pitch sessions

THIS JUST IN FROM THE Mystery Writers of America -- The Greater St Louis Chapter of Sisters in Crime will hold its 5th Annual Midwest MysteryFest, September 25-26, 2009. The conference takes place at the St. Charles Community College, 4601 Mid Rivers Mall Drive, Cottleville, Missouri (just outside St. Louis). Keynote speakers will be Carolyn Hart and William Kent Krueger. A four-hour workshop, “Screenplay Techniques for Your Novel,” will be conducted from 1 to 5 pm on Friday by Esther Luttrell, Hollywood screenwriter, TV producer and mystery author. An optional Friday evening “get acquainted” dinner with the authors and speakers will follow the workshop. On Saturday three tracks will be offered: Forensics, The Craft of Writing, and The Business of writing. You will also have an opportunity to sign up for a one-on-one pitch session with an agent. Continental breakfast and buffet lunch Saturday are included in the conference price of $85 for SinC members, $75 for students 18 or older, and $110 for walk-ins (space-available basis only). Authors wishing to be on a panel will be accommodated on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information, email mlmerk@aol.com.

Any aspiring writer who has a manuscript ready or near ready should not pass up a conference with agent pitch sessions! Check it out.

Authors ready for launch of new books

EIGHT CENTRAL IOWA AREA PUBLISHED AUTHORS met this week at a local restaurant to form a local PAL (Published Authors Liaison) group to share ideas for writing and marketing. Three of the members have books scheduled for release within the next few months. From left, Eileen Boggess, Mia the Magnificant, Fall 2009; Rebecca Janni, Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse, February 2001; and Kimberly Stuart, Stretch Marks, September 2009. The group will be meeting quarterly to discuss mutual interests.

Wanta solve a crime? Try this.

HERE IS SOMETHING that sounds like a lot of fun. It’s the Criminal Pursuits workshop November 6-7 in Dallas, Texas.

There'll be a mock crime scene, set up by a local SWAT instructor Attendees will be assigned to teams and will initiate their own investigations of the evidence at hand. They'll also interview the witnesses, then they'll get to quiz a panel of detectives to see how they'd handle things. There'll be a session on How to Process a Crime Scene, along with a couple of others. In addition, there will be authors and an opportunity to purchase their books.

If you are interested, follow this link.

Catholic Writers Conference August 5-7

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WOULD like to write from a faith perspective, this might be a unique conference: The first-ever Catholic Writers Conference Live!

The Catholic Writers Conference Live!, taking place August 5-7, 2009, in conjunction with the Catholic Marketing Trade Show and sponsored by the Catholic Writers Guild, will provide a unique opportunity for Catholic writers of non-fiction and fiction to learn about improving their craft, sharing their faith in their writing and marketing their work. Panel discussions and presentations covering many topics essential for the professional (or professional-to-be!) writer will be offered along with opportunities to ask questions of major Catholic publishers.

The event will be held in Somerset County, New Jersey, at the Doubletree Hotel and Executive Meeting Center SomersetSome of the featured presenters are:

Regina Doman, author/Sophia Press submissions editor (Angel in the Waters)

Mark Brumley , CEO of Ignatius Press (How Not to Share Your Faith)

Susan Brinkmann, Editor, Canticle Magazine

Lisa Wheeler, Executive Vice President of the Maximus Group (PR and marketing firm for The Passion of the Christ)

Matthew Pinto, author/Ascension Press publisher (Do Adam and Eve Have Belly Buttons?)

Claudia Volkman, General Manager, Circle Press Publishing

Tom Hoopes, executive editor of the National Catholic Register newspaper and Faith & Family magazine

John Desjarlais, mystery author, (Relics, Bleeder) website

Sally Shields, author and self-promotional expert website

Arthur Powers , and award-winning short story author

For more information, click here.