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NEED AN AGENT? LOOKING FOR A PUBLISHER?

Maybe we can help.

Killer Nashville 2007 (http://www.KillerNashville.com) has made arrangements with New York’s Maria Carvainis Agency’s Donna Bagdasarian and Oceanview Publishing’s editor Maryglenn McCombs to accept pitches from registered authors during Killer Nashville 2007, August 17-19, 2007.

Both agent and editor are actively seeking new authors.

The pitch sessions are a free add-on to Killer Nashville 2007 attendees and are on a first-registered, first-served basis. Pitch times are limited. Signing up for Killer Nashville or the pitch sessions after all times have been taken does not guarantee any new pitch times will be added. Register early to ensure you get a spot

To sign up for a pitch time at no additional cost, or to read agent/editor bios see http://www.killernashville.com/Content2007/agentedsignup2007.htm.

To register for Killer Nashville 2007 visit http://www.killernashville.com/Content2007/registration2007.htm.

Note: Assignment times are given in the order Killer Nashville registration is received, not the time in which the agent/editor pitch request is received.

Mystery Readers International has the following groups listed for Illinois:

• * Carol Stream: IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT evening mystery book series meets at the Carol Stream Public Library, 616 Hiawatha Dr., on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. For more information e-mail cstream@cslibrary.org or call 630-653-0755.   
• * Forest Park: CENTURIES & SLEUTHS mystery reading group. 7419 W. Madison St.; 708-771-7243. Third Saturday at 2 PM. Books are available at Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore the month prior to the reading. Registration required; e-mail augitraj@aol.com.
• * Peoria: BOOK.EM mystery readers discussion group, sponsored by the Peoria Public Library, meets the 3rd Sunday of the month at 2 PM at the Lakeview Branch Library. For more information call Trisha at (309)672-8841 or e-mail trishanoack@ppl.peoria.lib.il.us.
• * Rockford: MYSTERY READING GROUP meets in the mystery section of Barnes & Noble on East State St. on the third Wednesday of the month, except December, at 7:30 PM. For more information, e-mail mysteriesnmoggys@hotmail.com and please reference the reading group in the subject line. New members welcome.
• * Winnetka: SCOTLAND YARD mystery book discussion group, led by Judy Duhl, at 556 Green Bay Road. For more information, call 847-446-2214.
• * Northern Illinois: MYSTPALS BOOK CLUB, mystery reading group, meets in Northern Illinois. Everyone welcome from southeastern Wisconsin or Northern Illinois/Chicago. Meetings held every 6-8 weeks, usually a Saturday afternoon. Contact Cynthia Kilian at CKilian@seic.com or 815-337-6334.

Dorothy L. Sayers Convention 2007
June 13-17, Wheaton, IL

The Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College is joining with the Dorothy L. Sayers Society to host the Annual Dorothy L. Sayers Convention at Wheaton College. This is the first time in ten years that the Convention will be held in the U.S. and is therefore a particularly important opportunity for those with a personal or professional interest in Sayers to learn more about her life and work.

Chris Grabenstein will be the Guest of Homor. His debut mystery novel, TILT A WHIRL, won an Anthony at Bouchercon for Best First Mystery. TILT A WHIRL and MAD MOUSE, the second novel in the series, are both set in New Jersey.

Jane Cleland, Sandra Parshall, Chris Roerden, Meredith Anthony, Lawrence Light, Robert Fate, Robin Hathaway, Troy Cook, John Reisinger, Chris Abbott, Jack Getze, Steve Rigolosi, Roberta Rogow, Jeff Markowitz, Karen Syed, Lee Lofland, Joe DeMarco, Tom Schreck, M.E. Kemp, Frankie Bailey, Laura Bradford, Cheryl Solimini, Ed Rand, Gwen Freeman and Lynn Harris will be among the panelists at Deadly Ink 2007.

Deadly Ink Conference, June 29-July 1, 2007, Parsippany Sheraton

Denise Fleischer of the Gotta Write Network and her co-organizer, Rosemarie Piemonte, invite writers’ groups and book clubs Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana, to the 3rd Annual AuthorFest, June 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Schaumburg Twp. District Library.

Schaumburg Twp. District Library is located at 130 South Roselle Road in Schaumburg, IL. For further information about the library, call 847-985-4000.

I found the following in a comment left on the interview with Maine author, Peter McGinn and thought it was too important to leave there. 

Hello,

I hope you will overlook my barging into your e-mail, but I am very excited
about personally inviting you, and anyone you know who might be interested, to sign up for the Downeast Writers Conference to be held at Stonington June 14th-16th.

No matter how learned, talented, and user-friendly the faculty — or how lovely a setting chosen for the conference — the success of such a conference lies highly in what the participants bring to the table. Reputations of local writers which preceded them was one of the factors which convinced us that the upcoming conference can be a huge success. Not only are your writers serious about learning new methods and being inspired to better writing, but they have their own ideas and techniques and suggestions which will enrich anything we can offer.

I would suggest that you go to the website for the conference to get an idea of what can be expected and to “meet” the fine authors and other writing people who will be sharing with those who participate. I have worked with the group from FIU for a number of years and can guarantee quality with these people. The folk I have yet to meet come highly recommended, and I am excited about the privilege of spending time with them in this environment.

Some Maine writers have already signed up for the Writers Conference, joining authors from all over the nation. I understand that there are some folks who may have other obligations at that time and cannot commit to the entire conference. I want to make sure that,as much as we hope that many of you will be full participants, we also want to emphasize that the evening sessions– in which the faculty will be reading from their works –are open to the public at no cost.

If you have questions, feel free to contact me at 207-367-2773 or catch Stephen York at his book store. We have recently arrived on the island for the summer and are committed to making this wonderful event as successful as it can be! I hope you will share this information to those who may appreciate the information — by mouth or by e-mail.

Happily anticipating meeting you!

Charlotte Jones Cabaniss Robertson
Conference Sponsor

I am continually amazed by my ignorance (you, of course, might be appalled). I was reading one of the latest posts on Kestrell’s Blind Bookworm Blog - something about WisCon and WisCon Access Witches. I have no idea what WisCon is and blew right by it to the word “witches.” Hmm, now there’s something I didn’t know about her!

Then she had this:

Friday 2:30-3:45 “Hermiones Unite! The Politics of Reading and Being a Female Reader” How does identity intersect with reading? How does access to books continue to be a political issue for readers with print disabilities? Who are the “technopeasants”? Why are audio books, podcasts, and other forms of reading aloud still looked down upon as less valuable than “real” books, and how does this intersect with the politics of literacy? How is it that girl readers get passionate about science fiction and yet are still underrepresented in the science classroom?

Okay, so now she had my attention. How DOES identity intersect with reading? Since this blip was only an excerpt, I followed the link for the full article. Come to find out, there’s going to be a panel on “Half-lives, Orphans, & Other Tiptree Oddities” and a discussion of “Boys and Gender Expectations in Contemporary YA Fantasy and Science Fiction.”

I skimmed the rest before deciding that whether or not to gender my droid wasn’t really an issue for me, but that it might be for some of you. so here’s the poop: WisCon — the World’s Leading Feminist Science Fiction Convention, May 25-28, 2007, The Concourse Hotel in Madison, Wisconsin.

I’ve been learning all sorts of good things about Murder in the Grove.

For one, Ms. Snark is recommending the contest sponsored by The Popular Fiction Assn of Idaho, Inc. She says:

“Even if you don’t “win,” everyone who enters is a winner because you’ll receive detailed information on how your work was judged, which can be invaluable in helping with revisions and corrections.

“Don’t miss out. Go to Murder In The Grove and click on “Contest.”

THE DEADLINE IS MARCH 31, 2007. You do NOT need to attend the conference to participate in the contest.

Second, at least two folks had a great time at Murder in the Grove in the past: Pari Noskin Taichert and Sylvia Hubbard.

Oh, how I wish I had been invited to participate! But, nope, I haven’t. However, I was reading on Murder Must Advertise (forum) that one lucky author has: Sandra Tooley.

The events are: 

1. the Midwest Literary Festival in Aurora, IL. It will take place Oct. 6 and 7. Writer workshops will take place Oct. 5. Sandra writes that she was told this will be their “permanent date,” i.e., it will always be the first weekend in October.

2. The Joliet Book Fair in Joliet, IL will take place on Oct. 20.

Tooley’s website; J.A. Konrath on Tooley; Lee Goldberg on Tooley.