Conference Speakers

*2010 Write Every Day* Speakers**
	Keynote Speaker Dana Stabenow (http://www.stabenow.com) Dana Stabenow was born in Anchorage and raised on 75-foot fish tender in the Gulf of Alaska. She knew there was a warmer, drier job out there somewhere and found it in writing books. Her first science fiction novel, Second Star, sank without a trace, her first crime fiction novel, A Cold Day for Murder, won an Edgar award, her first thriller, Blindfold Game, hit the New York Times bestseller list, and her twenty-sixth novel and seventeenth Kate Shugak novel, A Night Too Dark, was published in February 2010. Check out this YouTube promo by Dana for her Kate Shugak mystery series.
	Agent Josh Getzler (Russell & Volkening) After almost three fascinating and productive years reacquainting myself with the world of publishing at Writers House, I joined Russell and Volkening, Inc., as a (mostly) fiction and young adult/middle grade agent and their director of Film/Television rights. My story: Left Harcourt in 1993 to get my MBA. After Business School I spent 11 years owning and operating a minor league baseball team. I got out of baseball in late 2006 and rejoined the book world on the agent side. I worked at Writers House until November 2009, building a list of novelists, YA and children's book authors, and the occasional nonfiction writer. I am particularly into foreign and historical thrillers and mysteries, so send me your ruthless doges and impious cardinals...and your farmhouse cozies! Give me atmosphere, let me learn something about another time or another place (or both), and kill off nasty Uncle Mortimer in the process--I'll be yours! I take middle grade and YA mystery or adventure series, but not so much fantasy, and definitely not picture books. (There are many others who specialize in these books.) And please don't send religious fiction--I don't have contacts in the Christian book market.
	Agent Sandra Bishop Sandra is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary, an agency of two which is consistently listed in the top five dealmakers on Publisher Marketplace and members of Association of Authors' Representatives (AAR). A few recent and upcoming FICTION works Sandra represents include WOMEN’S FICTION author Carla Stewart’s A Dandelion Day (Hachette) and Julie Cannon’s I’ll Be Home for Christmas (Summerside Press). Others include HISTORICAL, SUSPENSE, AMISH, and CONTEMPORARY ROMANCES for a variety of publishers including Summerside, Guideposts, Moody, Harvest House, Barbour, and Kensington. She’s typically considers MIDDLE GRADE and YOUNG ADULT projects from authors she otherwise represents. A sampling of recently published and forthcoming NONFICTION projects include the SOCIAL JUSTICE title Will Work for Food (Wesleyan), the story of one woman who changed the face of homelessness in inner city Chicago; The Slave Across the Street (Ampelon), a MEMOIR of an American teenage sex slave; RELATIONSHIP ADVICE and INSPIRATIONAL titles 52 Things Kids Need from a Dad; The Prayer Dare; and Leader of the Pack, a tribute to women's college basketball pioneer and Hall of Famer Coach Kay Yow. Prior to agenting, Sandra worked in the marketing department of a major CBA publishing company, and made a living as a freelance writer. Sandra and her husband Glenn have one son, and an adopted Katrina dog who lives with them in Portland, Oregon.
	Agent Cherry Weiner Cherry Weiner has been agenting since 1977. She started out by handling science fiction, fantasy, and horror. She now handles all genres. Among the all genres, she handles a good number of fairly well-known authors in the field of Romance, Mystery, Westerns and Native American works. Some nonfiction has even crept into the mix but no poetry. Her experience being more tentative she tries not to handle children's and young adult manuscripts, but a few of her authors are doing the Y.A. run so she is trying to learn the genre and submitting for them.
	Agent Terry Burns Terry writes inspirational fiction and is an agent with Hartline Literary http://www.hartlineliterary.com. As a writer he has 30 books in print including 9 novels. A Young Adult entitled Beyond the Smoke came out from BJU Press January 2009 and won the 2009 Will Rogers Medallion, a historical fiction entitled Saints Roost just came out from Mountainview Press, just finished ghostwriting a novel for a publisher, and a series that began with Mysterious Ways from River Oak Publishing ( the series bears that name). The second, Brothers Keeper came out Feb 1, 2006 and Shepherd's Son came out January 1, 2007. Other fiction includes Trails of the Dime Novel, a trade paperback from Echelon Press, Don’t I Know You? and To Keep a Promise from Fictionworks. He has published over 200 articles and short stories. A popular speaker at workshops across the country, a bookstore of his available works as well as a regular blog can be found at
	Editor Kate Angelella (Simon and Shuster) Kate specializes in commercial Middle Grade and tween fiction. Among the titles Kate has edited are: the Canterwood Crest series by Jessica Burkhart, Fiona Finkelstein, Big-Time Ballerina!! by Shawn K. Stout, The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon (the 2010 Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award Winner for New Talent), Dani Noir by Nova Ren Suma, and Devon Delaney Should Totally Know Better by Lauren Barnholdt. Kate treasures a unique voice above all else, but also loves angst-y girl characters, fresh takes on the chick-lit genre with strong commercial hooks, as well as novels with any type of magic or paranormal element.
	Editor Alice Crider (WaterBrook Multnomah [Random House]) Alice Crider, associate editor at WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, began her publishing career in 1998 at Cook Communications, where she helped develop Sunday school curriculum before joining the adult trade book department. She moved to Alive Communications Literary Agency in 2001, and subsequently joined the editorial team at Waterbrook Press in 2004. Recent projects under women’s non-fiction include inspirational story, memoir, relationship, devotional, parenting, marriage, and spiritual growth. Her favorites include faith-in-action stories that deliver authentic experience and inspiration, and messages that enhance relationships and break through to life change.
	Writer Kelly James-Enger (http://www.becomebodywise.com) On January 1, 1997, Kelly James-Enger escaped from the law, but don’t worry—she’s not a fugitive. After five years as an attorney, she changed careers to become a fulltime freelance journalist, eventually writing both nonfiction and fiction books in addition to launching a successful speaking career. While she’s covered a variety of subjects, she specializes in health, fitness, and wellness, and has written for more than 50 national magazines including Family Circle, Health, Parents, Redbook, Self, and Woman’s Day. She’s also an ACE-certified personal trainer.
	Writer Jessica Burkhart (http://www.jessicaburkhart.com) Twenty-two year old Jessica Burkhart is the author of Canterwood Crest series published by Simon & Schuster’s Aladdin MIX. Jess started freelancing at fourteen and has over 100 credits in magazines such as Girls’ Life and The Writer. She wrote Take the Reins, the first book in the Canterwood series, at nineteen and signed her book deal a few months later. Now, she’s a fulltime author living in New York City. Visit her Website at www.canterwoodcrest.com.
	Writer Deborah LeBlanc (http://www.deborahleblanc.com) Award-winning and best-selling author, Deborah LeBlanc, is a business owner, a licensed death scene investigator, and has been an active paranormal investigator for over fifteen years. She's the President of the Horror Writers Association, Mystery Writers of America's Southwest Chapter, and the Writers' Guild of Acadiana. Deborah is also the founder of the LeBlanc Literacy Challenge, an annual, national campaign designed to encourage more people to read and Literacy Inc., a non-profit organization with a mission to fight illiteracy in America's teens. Her latest novel is WATER WITCH. For more information, visit www.deborahleblanc.com and www.literacyinc.com
	Writer Christina Katz (http://www.christinakatz.com) Christina Katz is the author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform and Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids for Writer’s Digest Books. She has written hundreds of articles for national, regional, and online publications, presents at literary and publishing events around the country, and is a monthly columnist for the Willamette Writer. Katz is the founder of #platformchat, The Writer Mama Back-to-School Giveaway, Writers on the Rise, and The Northwest Author Series. She holds an MFA in writing from Columbia College Chicago and a BA from Dartmouth College. A “gentle taskmaster” to her hundred or so students each year, Katz channels over a decade of professional writing experience into success strategies that help writers get on track and get published.
	Writer Margaret Daley (http://www.margaretdaley.com) Margaret Daley is an award winning, multi-published author in the romance genre. One of her romantic suspense books, Hearts on the Line, won the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year Contest. Recently she has won the Holt Medallion, Golden Quill Contest, FHL’s Inspirational Readers’ Choice Contest, Winter Rose Contest, and the Barclay Gold Contest. She wrote for various secular publishers before the Lord led her to the Christian romance market. She currently writes inspirational romance and romantic suspense books for the Steeple Hill Love Inspired lines. She has sold sixty-six books to date. Margaret is currently the Volunteer Officer for ACFW. She was one of the founding members of the first ACFW local chapter, WIN in Oklahoma. She served as vice-president for two years in WIN-ACFW and is still on its board as an advisor. She has taught numerous classes for online groups, ACFW and RWA chapters. She enjoys mentoring other authors. Until she retired last year, she was a teacher of students with special needs for twenty-seven years and volunteered with Special Olympics as a coach. She currently is on the Outreach committee at her church, working on several projects in her community. You can visit her web site at http://www.margaretdaley.com and read excerpts from her books and learn about the ones recently released and soon to be released.
	Writer - Book Doctor Page Lambert (http://www.pagelambert.com) Author Page Lambert writes about the western landscape, mentoring and guiding people who want to creatively connect more deeply with the natural world. She facilitates outdoor creative adventures, often working in partnership with other professional organizations and venues such as the Grand Canyon Field Institute, The Women's Wilderness Institute, and the Aspen Writers' Foundation. Page's River Writing Journeys for Women with Sheri Griffith Expeditions were featured in the January, 2006 issue of Oprah's O Magazine as "One of the top six great all-girl getaways of the year!" Also a presenter for a variety of literary and professional events, Page has conducted more than 150 workshops in the U.S. and British Columbia. She speaks on a variety of writing, motivational, and nature-related topics. Her writing workshops delve into fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Her corporate presentations focus on rediscovering core passions and learning how to more fully integrate them into your personal and professional life.
	Screen Writer Esther Luttrell (http://e-luttrell0.tripod.com/author.html) I began my career as a writer-director-producer of documentaries, educational films, and syndicated TV programs in the Midwest. When I moved to Los Angeles, I joined the CBS Script Department. After a few months, I went to MGM where I went from their executive offices back to my first love: Production. I worked on movies-of-the-week, feature films, episodic TV (I was production coordinator on "CHiPs"), sitcoms, and TV specials. My experience covers Comedy Development, Assistant to the Vice President of MGM-TV and Assistant to the Music Director. (My first experience was a Streisand film!) All this time I had my own script consulting service and managed to sell my first original feature story to Dick Clark Cinema Productions. Paul Rabwin, Emmy-award winning Producer of "The X Files" says, "What Esther teaches is important for you to know if you ever intend to make it as a screenwriter."
	Writer K.D. Wentworth (http://www.kdwentworth.com) K.D. Wentworth got her start winning in the Writers of the Future Contest in 1988, and then later won the Field Publications Teachers as Writers Award in 1991. She has sold over fifty short stories to such markets as Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Aboriginal SF, Pulphouse, Return to the Twilight Zone, Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Realms of Fantasy. She published three novels with Del Rey, The Imperium Game (February 1994), Moonspeaker, (November 1994), and House of Moons, (July 1995). Her more recent Hrrin novels Black/on/Black, and Stars Over Stars, were published by Baen in February1999, with the sequel in 2000. Her most recent book was The Crucible of Empire with Eric Flint published by Baen in March 2010. Her earlier novels have been reprinted by Hawk Publishing Group and are available at bookstores or from Amazon.com. Three of her short stories have been Nebula finalists: "Tall One," "Burning Bright," and "Born Again." Ms. Wentworth is an active member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, (SFWA) and was elected Secretary in 2000 and in 2003. She became a Judge in the L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest in 2000 and now also serves as Coordinating Judge for the contest and teaches in the Writers of the Future Workshop with Tim Powers each summer.
	Writer - Speaker Linda Apple (http://www.lindacapple.com) Linda Apple is the author of Inspire! Writing from the Soul, an instructional guide to inspirational writing. She is a frequent contributor to the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series as well as numerous magazine and devotional guides. She is also a motivational speaker and serves as the Arkansas regional speaker-trainer for Stonecroft Ministries. Her current work in progress is a how-to book on public speaking for writers. For more information please visit her website: www.lindacapple.com
	Writer Gloria Teague (http://www.gloriateague.com) As a little red-haired girl she used to live in what was to become known as “The Zone”. In “The Zone” she sang with Alvin and the other Chipmunks, rode with the Lone Ranger on her trusty stick horse, and wore her mother’s voluminous half slip on her head, visualizing it as long golden tresses sure to capture the heart of her prince. She was born in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains into the most wondrous, crazy family ever to bless a child. Her family told her that her imagination could be her best friend. She’s never had any reason to dispute that since it’s helped her to cope with life’s bumps and bruises. It’s even boosted her checking account a few times. Gloria has dozens of short stories and articles published in national magazines, as well as serial and holiday stories published in regional newspapers. She’s a contributor to Book Marketing from A to Z. Her article about cancer was in Woman’s World, Oct. 2009. She placed first place in several writing contests, including the America Nostalgia Prose category at the OWFI conference in May, 2005 for a short story that spawned her book, Saturday Night Cocoa Fudge. Her latest book, Beyond the Surgeon’s Touch, was released in March 2009. Gloria is a member of Tulsa NightWriters and is the editor of NightScripts, the organization’s newsletter. She’s a long time of OWFI. More information can be found on her webpage www.gloriateague.com.
	Writer p. b. smith p. b. smith is an award-winning humorist, medical reporter and the author of nine published books, including Sleep Disorders for Dummies, and Alzheimer's for Dummies. She wrote for People Magazine for six years and was a columnist and regular contributor to Creative Screenwriting for four years. She's written countless newspaper and magazine articles, and dozens of books and screenplays. She's currently focused on writing and directing the new web comedy series, "The Most Annoying People Ever," seen on YouTube.
	Publisher Jane Friedman (http://www.JaneFriedman.com) Jane Friedman is the publisher, strategic leader, and brand manager of the Writer’s Digest community at F+W Media in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she leads Writer’s Digest magazine, Writer’s Digest Books, and the Writer’s Market series—as well as related online media, education, events, and competitions. She is on a passionate mission to develop the best content and experiences for writers from all walks of life. Jane earned her BFA in creative writing from the University of Evansville, and holds an MA in English from Xavier University (Cincinnati). She blogs on the industry at There Are No Rules (blog.writersdigest.com/norules) and keeps a more personal web presence at JaneFriedman.com.
	Editor Joanna Lutz Joanna Lutz, assistant editor of Focus on the Family Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr. magazines, began her writing career at age eight. When a children’s magazine printed her story about rescuing a baby squirrel, she could hardly contain her excitement. After adding a couple of other “publishing credits” to her childhood portfolio, she entered adolescence and took a correspondence writing course. The skills Joanna learned in that course served her well as a college newspaper editor, as an editorial assistant and for the past two+ years as an assistant magazine editor. Joanna enjoys finding gems among hundreds of manuscripts and polishing those rare jewels until they shine! Her favorite parts of editing include fine-tuning fiction and making deep truths understandable for children.
	Writer Nancy Robinson Masters (http://www.NancyRobinsonMasters.com) Nancy Robinson Masters is an award-winning author of 34 books, and has sold more than 3,000 feature articles. Her warmth, wit, and down-home writing style have made her a popular speaker at writing conferences, schools, organizations, and business events. You can take-off with Nancy, who is a licensed airplane pilot, at www.nancyrobinsonmasters.com where you can also order her book, All My Downs Have Been Ups, a collection of 29 of her most popular personal experience stories sold to magazines and newspapers around the world.
	Writer Dianne Sagan (http://diannesagan.wordpress.com) I enjoy my life as an author, business consultant, seminar facilitator, and public speaker to writers groups and women's groups. I've been writing for much of my life in spare moments, but became a full-time freelance ghostwriter about four years ago. My works of fiction include Rebekah Redeemed, Book 1 in the Touched by the Savior series, Shelter from the Storm, and contributing author to Flash Tales: An Adventure in Words and Tainted Mirror: An Anthology. Coming this summer, The Fisherman’s Wife, Book 2 in the above series. I first got the bug to write from a high school English teacher. I’m one of those odd people who enjoyed and preferred essay questions on tests all through high school and college. Both my husband and I are writers. He writes a regular column weekly and in addition is a freelance editor. I love having an editor in the family when it comes time to polishing manuscripts for submission. We have six children, four grandchildren, and a dog.
	Writer Michael Sasser Former newspaper and magazine editor, political consultant and college teacher Michael W. Sasser is an internationally published journalist and author. For 20 years he has made a living as a freelance newspaper/magazine writer and publishing consultant. His work has appeared in thousands of newspaper editions in the United States. He is also an award-winning short story writer and is the author, co-author or editor of some 20 commercial nonfiction and custom travel books. Today, Sasser freelances for regional publications, writes a regular political column for a Florida newspaper and is at work on several fiction projects as well.
	Writer M. Carolyn Steele (http://www.mcarolynsteele.com) Educated in journalism and commercial art, Carolyn owned a graphic art studio. She didn’t start out to be a writer, but a promise to her dying mother set her on that path. In the process of keeping her word, she has won numerous awards, including a smattering of first place and crème-de-la-crème honors. Carolyn is published in eleven anthologies, including three of the Heavenly Patchwork series and two of the My Hero series and is currently developing a collection of stories based on the Creek Removal to Oklahoma. Her love of history, especially Civil War and Native American, compliments another passion––genealogy. She teaches writing workshops to genealogy enthusiasts eager to craft family stories and is a frequent speaker on the subject to libraries, genealogy societies, writing clubs, church and civic organizations. Common writing problems encountered by her students inspired her recent book, Preserving Family Legends for Future Generations. This compact and easy to read volume was written as an aid to both genealogists and aspiring writers and has been featured in a number of newspapers, among them The Daily Oklahoman and Tulsa World. Most recently, Preserving Family Legends for Future Generations was recommended in the literature section of Tulsa People, February 2010 issue.
	Writer Jory Sherman (http://www.jorysherman.com) Jory Sherman began his literary career as a poet in San Francisco’s famed North Beach in the late 1950s, during the heyday of the Beat Generation. His poetry and short stories were widely published in literary journals when he began writing commercial fiction. He has won numerous awards for his poetry and prose and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in Letters for his novel, Grass Kingdom. He won a Spur Award from Western Writers of America for The Medicine Horn. He has also won a number of awards from the Missouri Writers Guild, and other organizations. Sherman was a book producer, packaging books for many major publishers, including Avon, Bantam, Berkley, Harper Collins, Doubleday, Paperjacks, Pinnacle, Harlequin Gold Eagle, Zebra, and others. His CHILL series of mysteries, published by Pinnacle, appeared in 14 countries. He has published more than 400 books since 1965, more than 1000 articles and 500 short stories. His latest collection is entitled Little Journeys, published by AWOC.COM Publishing, with an introduction by distinguished novelist Richard S. Wheeler. In 1995, Sherman was inducted into the National Writer’s Hall of Fame. He lived in the Ozarks for over 20 years, last making his home in Branson. His writing regularly appears in The Ozarks Mountaineer and Ozarks Monthly his latest collection of Ozarks pieces are in The Hills of Home, published by Hardshell Word Factory and The Sadness of Autumn, published by AWOC.COM publishing in Denton, Texas. He now lives on a lake in northeast Texas. Literary critics consider Sherman to be among the top 5 of western writers, according to Dale Walker, historian. Warren French, former professor of literature at the University of Florda, wrote that: “Jory Sherman has a strange and powerful knowledge of language and an almost perfect ear.”
	Editor Amy Lyons (http://www.globepequot.com) Amy is the Editorial Director of Travel at Globe Pequot Press (GPP) in Guilford, Connecticut—the leading publisher of regional travel and outdoor recreation titles, and also home to Knack books and Lyons Press (no relation). She began her career at Wine Spectator and Cigar Aficionado magazines where she was a book editor developing titles for the luxury market on wine, travel, dining, and cigars. She moved on to John Wiley and Sons where she became a Senior Editor for Frommer's Travel Guides and the For Dummies Travel series. In her position at GPP she is responsible for acquiring and developing upwards of 100 titles yearly.

OWFI Writers Conference 2010