Charlaine Harris

Sleuthfest: Part 5

Charlaine Harris
Charlaine Harris began her keynote speech by giving an entertaining description of her typical day and all the requests she fields. She discussed how her writing schedule has changed and how the publishing industry has altered in the past ten years. It’s a challenge to agents and publishers as contract negotiations have changed forever. The traditional model may be going the way of the dinosaurs. The difference between traditionally published books in the bookstore and self-published e-books is editing. And to conclude, “All books benefit from editing.”

Indie editors are on the rise. Some are professional; others take advantage of newbie authors. So while e-books are here to stay, they bring along a lot of baggage. Regarding TV/film sales: Be prepared to concede certain rights or walk away from the deal. Charlaine says that when people meet an author, right away they demand to know if you’ve sold to TV or the movies. Writers are in the entertainment industry. We want to deliver our books to readers anyway we can, even if it’s an e-book carried in your purse. Her advice to aspiring authors: “Read, read, read. Put your butt in the chair and write.”

Nancy Cohen and Charlaine Harris

Does Your Muse Need A Makeover?
Lisa Unger, Peter Abrahams, and Julie Kramer, with Elaine Viets moderating.

Lisa began by stating how her first publisher turned down her option book, but she was lucky that another publishing house picked it up. Peter reinvented himself as a YA author. And then he wrote a first-person story from a dog’s viewpoint. His agent suggested he take on a pen name when he started writing with broader humor within the crime fiction genre. Julie’s work got darker over time. She’d already been orphaned by her first publisher. Afraid her current publisher was about to cancel the series, she killed off a significant character. It shook the series up. Peter advises authors to “Have the story come out of you rather than following the latest trend. Find that unique part of you and blow it up.” Lisa says, “Have respect for your own voice.” And Julie wished that she’d changed from journalism to writing fiction a lot sooner.

Stretching Credibility
Marcia Talley, Mary Ann Evans, Nancy Cohen, Julie Kramer, moderated by Bob Williamson

We discussed how we keep our characters real in the midst of absurdity, like dead bodies popping up everywhere in amateur sleuth stories. We talked about the daily news as a source of tales stranger than fiction, and how we might use humor to involve our sleuth in “over the top” situations or as a behavior to mask uncertainty. Grounding the stories are the sleuth’s personal relationships.

Saturday evening, we enjoyed the Sleuthfest cocktail party with appetizing hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. This gave attendees the opportunity to mingle with editors and agents in a social setting. Following was bestselling author Heather Graham’s dinner party at Disney’s House of Blues. The food was amazing and the entertainment—with Heather as vocalist and MWA members in the band—was lively. People danced and chatted and it was great fun. Many thanks to Heather for her generosity in sponsoring this event!

Michael Meeske, Kathleen Pickering, Nancy Cohen, Traci Hall

You can view my Sleuthfest 2012 Photo Album on my Facebook Author Page. Please “Like” the page while you’re there!

Sunday morning wrap sessions and a discussion with the keynote speakers ended the conference, but I skipped out to go to the Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City.

Coming Tuesday: Guest Blogger and Mystery Author Camille Minichino

Editors Roundtable

Sleuthfest: Part 4

Editors Roundtable

Annette Rogers from Poisoned Pen Press said unagented submissions are okay and they are looking for new, unpublished authors. They do mysteries only, not thrillers. Some of their bestselling books are historicals. They have 120 writers. They’re running a contest for previously unpublished mystery authors, so check it out. There’s a $1000 prize and a quick response. Otherwise, submissions may take 2 to 3 months for a response. She likes a calculating, evil villain. Don’t start with backstory. Jump right into the action. Then she looks for author voice. As for topics, she likes unusual settings. World War II is over, and nobody wants to read about Vietnam. However, she’d like a good story about Iraq or Afghanistan as long as it’s not political. She says to send a query letter and then she’ll let you know if she wants to see anything else.

Abby Zidle from Pocket and Gallery Books reported that business has shrunk with ebooks and the loss of Borders. They’re looking for big airport-type stories that they can do in hardcover and follow up with mass market. These are mainly suspense. They will do cozies, i.e. craft and food mysteries, in trade paperback as long as they’re not too narrow a niche. Gallery does the trade paperbacks and hardcovers. All have simultaneous ebook releases. Regarding true crime, it depends on how hot and accessible the story is, if she’d be interested. They take only agented submissions, or you can mention that you met her at a conference or heard her speak at one.

Denise Dietz from Five Star Publishing says, “If you drop a dream, it breaks. Don’t give up.” She claims she can fix a book if the voice is there. So she’s primarily looking for voice. What does this mean? You pick up book two or three from an author and you say, that sounds like so and so. It’s unique and distinct. Too many people need to show, not tell. And she’s not looking for a book opening with a weather report. Don’t have your character meet somebody alone in the cemetery at night. Another pet peeve — the killer explains everything at the final confrontation. The most important factors to her characterization, voice, and pacing. You can send her a query letter and she’ll send you the submission guidelines.

Pat Van Wie from Belle Bridge Books would like to see Apocalypse or post-Apocalypse stories, hard-edged thrillers and suspense. They accept cozies but she may pass it on to another editor. She prefers hard-edged material and would be interested in true crime.

Deni Deitz and Pat Van Wie

Robert Gussin from Oceanview Publishing says they put out one book per month and have about 50 authors. They’re looking for exciting, fast-paced stories in the mystery/suspense/thriller genres. He advises authors to build depth of character. Write truly what you know. They like credibility, i.e. a doctor who writes medical mysteries, a pilot who write books about airplanes, or a lawyer who writes courtroom dramas. Half the books they get are about Middle Eastern terrorists, so if you write one, it had better be different. They do hardcover and ebooks with a two book contract. The first book will later come out in trade paperback. About three books per month are going to audio. They take agented submissions only, unless you are previously traditionally published, you’ve met him at a conference, or you’ve heard him speak on a panel.

Nancy Cohen and Deni Dietz

All of my photos are available in the Sleuthfest 2012 Album on my Facebook Author Page.  Please “Like” my page while you’re there!

The Power of Publicity

The Power of Publicity, Part I
Sandra Balzo, Terrie Moran, Joanne Sinchuk, Jerry Healy, moderated by Deborah Sharp

The panelists first spoke about tips for getting noticed. Sandra advises authors to determine your audience and go there. For example, her series is set a coffee shop. So she’s presented at coffee conferences, written an article in trade magazines, and done events at coffee houses.

Joanne, manager of Murder on the Beach mystery bookstore, suggests you start your publicity six months before publication date. Also six months before, begin networking, set up your website, and start participating on the social networks. Understand your audience and target your market. She cautions writers not to send glitter or confetti or chocolate in the mail to reviewers or booksellers. Also, don’t ask every blogger out there if they’ll give you a free interview spot.

It takes 3 to 5 hits to get noticed online. Terrie says to take advantage of opportunities you might not have anticipated. Always be nice. Join MWA and sisters in crime. Criminal element.com is a community website for fans of crime fiction with over 10,000 hits per day, so check this out.

Jerry said you should hit local newspapers. Offer to speak at high schools and libraries. And don’t neglect local cable access TV.

Deborah suggested you develop a thick skin over signings where no one shows up.

And you should be syndicating your blog to other sites.

The Power of Publicity, Part 2
Joanne Campbell Slan, Nancy Cohen, Joan Hartwig, Jeffrey Marks, moderated by Linda Hengerer


We discussed what has worked for us and what has not. Joan has done book fairs and festivals and local book clubs. Jeffrey Marks, who’s written a book on marketing for writers called Intent to Sell, discussed social networking as a promotional tool. Joanne found it fun to run a party on her Facebook author page with guest author spots and giveaways.

Here are the highlights of my recent promo campaign. You can use it as a guideline for yours.

ADS
Romance Sells: $200 for an ad, sponsored by RWA to reach 6500 booksellers and librarians. Members only.  http://www.rwanational.org

BLOGS
Personal Blog, Group Blogs, Blog Tour–Solicit Hosts; Determine Topics; Write Blogs; Publish Schedule; Prizes for Blog Commenters

BOOK CLUBS
Offer Discussion Questions for Book Clubs

BOOK TRAILER

CONFERENCES

CONTESTS and GIVEAWAYS
Goodreads and LibraryThing giveaways
$99 for a Contest on FreshFiction and you get to keep the list of entrants
Personal Blog and Website Monthly Contests

NEWSLETTER
I use http://www.verticalresponse.com for mass mailing email newsletters and have sign up widgets on my website and FB author page.

PRESS COVERAGE
With Shear Murder, my latest mystery release, I’ve been featured in Florida Weekly, Southern Writers Magazine, and The Island Reporter. These came about through social networking or by contacting people I noticed online.

PRINT MATERIALS
Bookmarks, flyers, postcards, Romance Trading Cards.

QR CODES
We discussed adding QR codes to business cards. People with smart phones can scan these and you can set them to go to your website, Amazon author page, or elsewhere.

REVIEWS
Determine Target Reviewers, Write Query Letters, Mail ARCs, Check for Reviews, Post Quotes on your Website; Thank Reviewer.

SOCIAL NETWORKING
Facebook, Twitter, Networked Blogs, Goodreads, Pinterest, Google +, and more. Does it sell books? Who knows? But it definitely gets your name out there.

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS & SIGNINGS
Set these up four to six months in advance. Post schedule on your website and elsewhere online.

SWAG
Magnets, pens, and other giveaways. It helps if they’re related to your book in some manner.

WEBSITE
Make sure you add Buy links to your book when they become available. Refresh content often, and include some fun pages like recipes or bonus world building details for readers.

Coming Next: Editors Roundtable

Jeffery Deaver

Sleuthfest: Part 2

In his keynote luncheon speech on Friday, bestselling author Jeffery Deaver said, “Writing is a craft, and it can be largely taught.” He writes multi-length thrillers in the crime genre. There are certain rules that he follows.   

Rule One: “Writing is a business. We are manufacturers of our product, not ‘artistes’. We are professionals and meet our deadlines.” We work with partners, who are publishers, booksellers, etc.

Rule Two: “We need a business model.” Who is your audience? Write for your fans, to make them happy and to keep them turning pages.

Rule Three: Your book should move like lightning. What’s going to happen next? Write a compelling book. Move the story forward. It shouldn’t just be interesting but should cause sweaty palms.

Rule Four: We don’t want the book to digress. For example, his tales move so fast that there’s no time for a romantic interlude.

Rule Five: Avoid “give me a break” moments, or things that are illogical or convenient excuses.

Rule Six: Do not have ambiguous endings. Have a definite resolution. Jeffery prefers happy endings for his stories.

Rule Seven: Make your characters real and give them depth. The good guy should have flaws and the bad guy should have niceties.

Rule Eight: We rewrite. Jeffery writes a first draft quickly and then rewrites.

Where do his ideas come from? “I look for an idea that will scare you and keep you turning pages.” He does an outline and research first.

What the fans think is more important than reviews. Find out what people are saying about your book. Jeffery prefers to keep the gore off-camera and to focus on the emotional component of suspense.

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Disclaimer: Any errors in interpretation or transcription are mine.

Coming Next: The Power of Publicity

Sleuthfest: Part 1

SleuthFest Orlando 2012

I had a great time at Sleuthfest held in Orlando this year. Attendance was fabulous and everyone was friendly and eager to make new friends. The Royal Plaza worked out fine, just minutes from Downtown Disney. Aside from speaking on three panels, I attended several sessions that I will describe for you here. Day 1 began on Thursday with a special fee and workshops for aspiring authors. You could also sign up for evening events, but since we have a condo in the area, I didn’t partake of the dinner opportunities except for the final night. So beginning on Friday, here is a summary of what I learned. Any errors in interpretation or transcription are mine.

Registration Desk

THE PLOT THICKENS with Keith Thomson, Elizabeth Hand, Chris Grabenstein (moderator), Michael Wiley, Maris Soule, and John Gilstrap.

Chris uses a paradigm for screenwriters. Consider a two hour movie. Plot Point 1 is where a twist turns the film in another direction. It occurs about 30 minutes in. Act 2 is midway, at 60 minutes. Then there’s another Plot Twist at 90 minutes. He used Sister Act with Whoopie Goldberg as an example. She’s a nightclub singer who confronts her lover only to witness him getting killed by the Mob. The FBI puts her into witness protection at a convent, which is Plot Point 1. During the first half, she hates the place and wants to leave. Midway, she goes out with the nuns and has a good time. Act 2, Part 2—She’s making the best of her situation and teaching the nuns to sing in the choir. This section ends with Plot Point 2: The mobsters see her on TV. Act 3 is a chase scene where the thugs are after her. For a 50,000 word book, the plot points would come at 12,500, 25,000, and 37,500 and then a final twist at the end.

John outlines the beginning, middle, and end. He includes character development in his plotting. Changes to main characters occur slowly over the course of a multi-book canvas. In a hostage rescue tale, the kidnap victim might be the one who has a full story arc. The bad guys also need to be well motivated. What do they want? What do they have to hide? What’s at stake in the big picture?

Keith says to “concentrate on one or two fundamentals.” Get a character up a tree and then figure out how to get him down.

Michael writes a PI series set in Chicago. He devises strong beginnings and endings. Michael explained three types of plot:

1. Take two seemingly unrelated story threads and weave them together.

2. Have historical and present day dimensions that relate to each other later on.

3. Go from Point A to Point Z without any secondary story. A hostage situation or a bomb about to explode would go here. This is often the choice for thrillers.

He sets up his conflict within the first few pages rather than choosing to build it slowly. Within the first fifty pages, the reader may suspect who is the bad guy but then doubts are raised with twists and turns. Two-thirds of the way through, there’s a crisis followed by a chase. At the end is a final twist, so the bad guy might turn out to be someone else.

Elizabeth comes from a playwriting background. “Everything should come from character.” She doesn’t outline. She’ll create a memorable character and follow that character wherever he goes. She’s drawn to disturbing landscapes. “What could possibly go wrong here?” Find a place where things can happen and then put your character there. A cascade of reactions follows. Elizabeth may have two endings in mind and not know until she gets there which way the character will go. That brings an element of surprise to the story.

Maris, an art major and teacher, says “You pick up plotting from the act of having read.” She began her career in romance writing and had to write synopses as a sales tool. So she knows the beginning and end but the “middle can become the hairy thing.” She recommends Debra Dixon’s book on GMC: Goal, Motivation & Conflict and Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structures for Writers.

Chris recommends Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee. If a scene starts positive, he says, it should end negative—and vice versa.

FAMILY TIES with Hank Phillippi Ryan (moderator), Julie Compton, Reed Farrel Coleman, Patricia Gussin, Donna Andrews, and Nancy J. Cohen.

I participated on this panel. We discussed the importance of family ties in our mysteries, and I added how this factor motivates the characters in my romances as well. It doesn’t matter if the story is set in modern day times, a historical setting, or outer space. Family is what matters to our protagonists.

Our stories center around relationships. In the mystery/suspense genre, the focus may be on the criminal’s background and what made him the way he is, the victim’s family and how the crime affects them, or the relationships among the suspects. Plus, giving your sleuth a dynamic relationship with family and friends will round her out and make her more real.

Vicki Landis, Gregg Brickman, Ann Meier, the Boa Ladies selling raffle tickets.

Coming Next: Bestselling Author Jeffery Deaver’s Luncheon Speech

Conference Prep

How long does it take you to prepare for a writers conference? Soon I’ll be heading off to the Space Coast Writers Guild Conference in Cocoa Beach, SleuthFest in Orlando, and Malice Domestic in Bethesda. It can take me up to a week to get ready for each event.

Conferences necessitate a lot of preparation, especially if you’re going as a speaker. Aside from determining what you hope to accomplish, i.e. attending specialized craft sessions, learning about new publishing options, meeting editors, etc., there’s the physical prep. Here’s a checklist of things to consider.

1. Prepare for your talks. If you’re a panelist, it’s easier because you don’t have to do much prep, unless each person is expected to give a presentation. Moderator-run panels mean more work for the moderator but less work for the panel guests. If you are conducting a workshop on your own, you’ll need to compose or update your material.     
2. Get copies made of handouts. If you’re speaking on different topics, assemble each handout in a separate manila envelope to keep them organized.
3. Order business cards unless you have them ready. Consider updating them with QR codes or with your social network URLs.
4. Pack brochures, bookmarks, and flyers about your books.
5. If you are driving, toss a box of extra books into your trunk in case the bookseller in charge of the signing doesn’t get your books in time. Bring a checkbook because the bookseller might offer to sell you leftover stock at a discounted price. Also consider giving away a book or two at your talks as a door prize or at the Q&A session.
6. If you’re donating a raffle basket, get this ready.
7. Bring a signup sheet for your newsletter.
8. Print out the conference workshop schedule and highlight your appearances. List these on your website and other online sites and include these papers in your suitcase. Bring a highlighter along so you can go through the conference schedule on site and mark things you want to attend.
9. Box promotional items for goody rooms, i.e. pens, magnets, and other swag.
10. Print out contact info for friends you hope to meet at the conference.
11. Decide which outfits to wear to the different events. Business attire for daytime, dressier clothes for evening? Don’t forget matching shoes, handbags, and jewelry.
    

    Nancy Cohen, Allison Chase, Cynthia Thomason

12. If you’re driving, print out directions to the venue. If you’re flying, make sure you have all the required documents.
13. Determine what gadgets to bring along: iPad or Laptop? Kindle or Nook? Camera to photograph authors, panelists, and parties so you can document your post-conference blog?
14. Notebook to take notes.
15. Sharpie pens for signing books and ballpoint pens for note taking.
16. All the usual things you bring when traveling: toiletries, cosmetics, medicines, etc.

And the countdown begins. What else would you add to this list?

     

Sleuthfest: Dennis Lehane

Bestselling Author Dennis Lehane gave some great writing advice during his luncheon speech on Saturday at Sleuthfest as the rapt audience hung on his words.

Disclaimer: Any misinterpretations are mine alone. This is what I heard to the best of my ability. The words were flying so fast, it was sometimes hard to catch them.

Bestselling Author Dennis Lehane

So here is the essence of the speech which was full of wonderfully practical advice:

A story or a novel must have action, i.e. a character doing something in pursuit of a goal.

Motive does matter when it comes to writing.

If you’re a writer to make money, you’re insane. Why do you write?

We want to seduce, enlighten, engage readers and make them wonder What Happens Next.

Story is about engaging the reader and illuminating the human condition.

Don’t become a comedian if no one has told you you’re funny. Similarly, don’t become a writer if no one has said you’re a good storyteller.

You have to have a reason to tell the story and the reader must have a reason to read it.

Ten Tips on Writing:

1. Does the story begin on page one?

2. Does the main character act soon enough? Stasis in a novel is death. Someone must be doing something in chapter one.

3. Does the main character have a recognizable want? Want leads to action which leads to the inner life of the character. Want is plot.

4. Does the main character have a recognizable need? The writer may not know what this need is at the outset. Need is theme.

5. Does the main character’s action come across as authentic?

6. Does the main character go on a journey that results in an epiphany? The story is a journey. A plot shouldn’t call attention to itself. Anyone can write Act 1. Act 2 is where you discover who you are as a writer.

7. Do events in the story have dramatic inevitability? By the end, the reader should feel a universal truth.

8. Is something at stake in the story? Preferably what’s at stake is a piece of the main character’s soul. Otherwise, the story is just an amusement ride.

9. Write the book you want to read (and not the Great American Novel or you’ll write a pretentious piece of crap).

10. When in doubt, just tell the damn story. Try to transcend the genre in which you write. Never stop learning.

Sue Peek, Sharon Hartley, Cynthia Thomason (standing)

Sandra Madden, Carol Stephenson, Nancy Cohen

Auctioneer Cynthia Thomason

Britin Haller & Neil Plakcy

Sleuthfest: Part 2

Here is my continuing report on Sleuthfest.

Reinventing Yourself

Speakers: PJ Parrish, Carol Cope, Lisa Unger, Jonathan King, Moderated by Elaine Viets

· Keep writing; don’t give up.

· Think about what you love to write and see if you can give it a new spin.

· It’s humanity that pushes stories no matter what you write.

· Come out there in different forms.

· Don’t count on this career to pay the mortgage.

· Pigs get fed; hogs get slaughtered (referring to modest versus big advances).

· Paperback originals are dead.

· Write every day. Write from the heart. Write from the best of your ability.

· Try to be a better writer than you were the day before.

· By the time you figure out the market, it’s over. Write the book that’s in you.

Nancy Cohen & Christine Kling

Pearl Wolf, Shelley Freydont, Sue Peek

 

Dr. Christine Jackson & Sharon Potts

Sue from Murder on the Beach & Randy Rawls

 

Sharon Hartley and Nancy Cohen

 

 

Alternatives to Publishing

Panelists were Paul Levine, Jonathan King, Mike Jastrzebski, Moderated by Neil Plakcy

There are three ways to get published in ebook form:

1. Legacy Publishers, who put out traditional print books and who will also make your book available in ebook formats

2. Dedicated e-publishers (sometimes called “digital first” publishers)

3. Self-publishing

For self-pubbed authors:

Unlike the other two choices, you’re responsible for cover design, editing, formatting, pricing, and uploading to all the different online sites.

You’ve got to work at the book. You can’t just put it up online. It must be your best work.

Consider the free preview. The first page and the first chapter must grab the reader.

Re Promotion:

Promotion and marketing are very distracting and time consuming and they do take away from writing time.

Think about adding the first chapter of another one of your books at the end of your self-pubbed work as a teaser.

Promote on blogs, Kindle Nation Daily, Goodreads, Library Thing, yahoo groups for readers. Add to discussions on the Kindle & Nook boards and on FB.

Post on your friends’ FB pages and ask them to post to their friends.

Offer to give away a copy of your book to a reader who agrees to post a favorable review on Amazon and B&N if they like the story.

Aim for the top 100 in your chosen genre. If you get a high rating, use the snipping tool and show the pix to your fans or in your next newsletter.

If you choose to go with POD at Createspace, remember to put a spine on your book. You’ll have to buy the proof and then you’ll need to review and approve it. Their premium service gives you better pricing options.

Disclaimer: Any misinterpretations are mine alone. This is what I heard to the best of my ability.

More Photos may be accessed here: http://bit.ly/gj5Up3

Sleuthfest: Part 1

Sleuthfest, the annual mystery writers conference sponsored by the Florida chapter of MWA, was in full swing when I arrived on Saturday.

I attended several sessions which I’ll describe in three pieces so come back tomorrow for more.

This is from my panel on Keeping It Real.

The Editors Panel

A panel with five editors spearheaded the morning on Saturday. Following is a paraphrasing of what I heard.

• The more platforms we have, and the more e-books, the more books we’ll sell.
• Formats may shrink when the dust settles on the e-book revolution.
• Bookstores are just one of the places today where you can buy books.
• The real problem is the American economy. When workers are laid off, it creates an instability in the entire industry.
• Small press haven’t had to reduce staff like the big companies. They offer a miniscule advance and have a small print run, but then they consider 3,000-4,000 books sold to be a good number and 5,000 or more even better. Most often the print runs are set on expected sales.
• Library sales have been decreasing due to the economy.
• It’s easier to get reviews for a debut author than for an author on their fourth or fifth book. It’s also easier to sell someone without a track record.
• Small press may be okay with steady sales as opposed to soaring growth, although they do like to see some growth. They might try different sales incentives to raise an author’s profile.
• If you want to sell outside the U.S., you have to write what the foreign market understands. Certain sports games, for example, will need to be explained. Dark thrillers do better in foreign markets than cozies.
• Series are easier to sell than stand-alones because readers fall in love with the characters. When a series starts to falter, a stand-alone novel can reinvigorate a career.

Disclaimer: Any misinterpretations are mine alone. This is what I heard to the best of my ability.

Mary Lou Wymer & Victoria Landis

Julie Compton & Suzanne Adair

Oline Cogdill & Linda Hengerer

Lynette Hallberg & Barbara Bent

More Photos may be accessed here: http://bit.ly/gj5Up3

SLEUTHFEST

Come to Sleuthfest in warm and sunny Ft Lauderdale February 25 – 28, 2010!

Sleuthfest is the largest conference for mystery writing in the US. This year’s theme is Lights, Camera, Write! with a focus on screenplay and script writing. If you haven’t registered yet, here is a very good reason to attend :

Guest of Honor Stephen J. Cannell

Stephen J. Cannell sold his first script to the TV show “It Takes a Thief” in 1968. His first steady job in television was as a story editor on “Adam-12″ (1968). He created a character named Jim Rockford for a script he wrote for the series “Toma” (1973), a show he was producing at the time. That script was rejected by ABC, so it was rewritten and eventually became the pilot for the classic NBC series, “The Rockford Files” (1974). From there it becomes nearly impossible to list all of his work. He has either written or co-written over 300 television scripts, and created or co-created over two dozen television series. He has won an Emmy, two Writer’s Guild Awards, two Edgar Award nominations, and has a star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame. Despite his many accolades, his first love continues to be writing.

At Sleuthfest, Stephen J. Cannell will be the keynote speaker at lunch on Saturday February 27. At 2:30 on Saturday, he will be participating in a session “Hollywood War Stories: Tales From the Trenches” with Paul Levine, writer of the TV series JAG, and other shows. Then on Sunday at Brunch, he and Neil Nyren, Senior VP, Publisher, and Editor in Chief of G.P. Putnam’s Sons will be interviewed by Oline Cogdil, Mystery Book Reviewer.

If you haven’t registered yet, it’s not too late to get the early registration discount. Tracks on the craft of writing and business aspects of writing are also being offered.

Go to http://www.sleuthfest.com