Keynote Speaker Tess Gerritsen

Internationally bestselling author Tess Gerritsen took an unusual route to a writing career. A graduate of Stanford University, Tess went on to medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, where she was awarded her M.D.

While on maternity leave from her work as a physician, she began to write fiction. In 1987, her first novel was published. Call After Midnight, a romantic thriller, was followed by eight more romantic suspense novels. She also wrote a screenplay, "Adrift", which aired as a 1993 CBS Movie of the Week starring Kate Jackson.

Tess's first medical thriller, Harvest, was released in hardcover in 1996, and it marked her debut on the New York Times bestseller list. Her suspense novels since then have been: Life Support (1997), Bloodstream (1998), Gravity (1999), The Surgeon (2001), The Apprentice (2002), The Sinner (2003), Body Double (2004), Vanish (2005), The Mephisto Club (2006), and The Bone Garden (2007). Her books have been translated into 31 languages, and more than 15 million copies have been sold around the world.

As well as being a New York Times bestselling author, she has also been a #1 bestseller in both Germany and the UK. She has won both the Nero Wolfe Award (for Vanish) and the Rita Award (for The Surgeon.) Critics around the world have praised her novels as "Pulse-pounding fun" (Philadelphia Inquirer), "Scary and brilliant" (Toronto Globe and Mail), and "Polished, riveting prose" (Chicago Tribune). Publishers Weekly has dubbed her the "medical suspense queen".

Now retired from medicine, she writes full time from her home in Maine.

OWFI’s Own Famous Authors!

In addition to our keynote speaker at the Friday evening dinner, Amy Shojai will present a tribute to the “famous authors” among OWFI members who have succeeded in having a book published in the previous year calendar (2008). To keep the program to a reasonable length, we’re limiting it to the first 25 authors who submit the required information (below), and to only one title per author. If we have more than 25 responses, preference will be given to authors published by traditional, royalty publishing houses.

You must be registered at the conference and present at the banquet to be included.

Submit the following information to Amy Shojai (shojai@verizon.net) by March 15, 2009:

1. Title of book, publisher, author’s legal name and pseudonym, if used.

2. Brief author bio, not more than 25 words.

3. Any awards, great cover quotes, endorsements or other honors your book received.

4. An author photo and the cover image from your book. Color images preferred. Send electronically if possible (jpeg attachment) or mail hard copies to Amy at the address below. (Amy will do her best to return hard copies.)

5. A brief synopsis or excerpt from the book (think jacket blurb) not to exceed 50 words. Other books you published in the same year may be mentioned here.

6. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Read your synopsis/blurb to a friend to get feedback. The blurb should make people want to read your book! Include a note about the book’s genre to help Amy interpret the text to best advantage.

7. E-mail to shojai@verizon.net with “AUTHOR” in subject line; or snail-mail to Amy Shojai, OWFI Author Presentation, PO Box 1904, Sherman, TX 75091-1904. Questions? Telephone her at 903.868.1022.