Panel
Once Upon A Tome: the Art of Storytelling

Monday, March 26, 2007

Storytelling is the ancient art of conveying events in words, images, and sounds, usually characterized by an active dialogue between the storyteller and an audience. Today there is a surge of interest in storytelling, as evidenced by the dozens of storytelling festivals throughout the country. But it is also a useful skill to learn. Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, for page or stage, a strong, narrative story will keep the reader interested and bring your writing to life.

A panel of professional storytellers and creative narrative specialists will share their secrets and techniques for finding your writing voice and applying the art of storytelling to your work. They’ll also explore the marketplace for writers as storytellers.

Meet the panelists

Stacie Chaiken is a writer-performer and the founder/artistic director of the “What’s the Story?” solo performance workshop Los Angeles, which presented its first festival of new full-length solo plays in February 2007. Chaiken’s new play, “The Dig: Death, Genesis, and the Double Helix,” is scheduled for a Los Angeles production in 2007.

Penny Post is a writer, speaker and coach of all who would practice the verbal arts who has also performed as a professional storyteller for 20 years. In 1990 she began teaching her own workshops about storytelling and its transition from the campfire to the conference table. Post has also served as an officer of Toastmasters International.

The oft-honored author of hundreds of magazine articles and more than a dozen non-fiction books, Marvin J. Wolf is the generalist as consummate storyteller. Writing imaginatively and authoritatively on subjects ranging from business to crime, from broadcasting to grantsmanship, and from ethics to technology, his common denominator is people in their infinite variety. Wolf is the author/screenwriter of the bestsellers “Fallen Angels” and “Where White Men Fear To Tread,” and the movie “Ladies Night,” which aired on the USA Cable Network in 2005.

Ina Hillebrandt teaches memoir writing and literacy workshops for adults and children that focus on storytelling, finding your own voice, self-expression, and performing your stories. Hillebrandt is the author of “Pawprints,” a collection of essays about the animals in her life, and “How to Write Your Memoirs: Fun Prompts that Make Writing, and Reading, Your Life Stories A Pleasure.” In her prior business life, she used storytelling in the corporate world as a Fortune 500 consultant.

Terrie Silverman, MFA, is a writer, solo performer and educator who has been writing about her life and performing it since 1995. She has been presented at various theaters and art festivals, including MOCA (the Museum of Contemporary Art), the Getty Center, the HBO Workspace, KPFK Radio, UCLA’s World Arts and Cultures Department, Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, Highways, F.A.R. (Foundation for Arts Resources), the Azatlan Center for International Women’s Day, and Track 16 Art Gallery. Among her career highlights is “4 Women for Women,” which Silverman produced and performed, along with Laraine Newman, Melanie Chartoff, Ann Randolph, and host Julia Sweeney. Silverman has also worked with The Bread and Puppet Theater, and has died on-stage with Sir Ian McKellan.

Moderator

Gary Young’s plays have been produced throughout the U.S. and Europe, at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the White House, the Smithsonian, and other schools and colleges. “Interruptions,” an offbeat but sensitive portrayal of grief and loss, originally produced at the Kennedy Center, ran at the Stella Adler theatre in L.A. His one-person show, “On Hold: the Myth of Male Maturity,” opens soon.

Panel
Flavors of Life: Writing for the Travel, Health, Fitness, and Food Markets

Monday, February 26, 2007

Lifestyle writing offers independent writers a wide selection of writing styles and topics. Like ingredients found in flavorful dishes, the words of lifestyle writers can enhance their readers’ savory exposure to one or more fields. For this program, a melange of seasoned writers and editors who have successfully bridged more than one style of writing will discuss opportunities in the various lifestyle genres, synergies between the different topics, and how to adapt your writing to connect with readers of particular lifestyle markets.

Our panelists include former Gault Millau Guidebooks editor James Burns, an expert on food, wine and travel writing, health writer and editor Elisabeth Deffner, Executive Editor, FMAware Magazine, published by the National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA), and award-winning food and travel writer/editor Barbara Hansen, with others to be announced.

Meet the panelists

After a decade working editor jobs at various sports and sporting goods publications (California Bicyclist, SportStyle, Actiona Sports Retailer, Bicycle Guide, and Triathlete), Roy M. Wallack became an independent writer of health, fitness, and travel stories, and athlete profiles, for many national magazines (Outside, Men’s Journal, Playboy, Bicycling, Triathlete, and others). He also writes a regular biweekly fitness gear column in the Los Angeles Times Health section, and frequently contributes other features to the Health, Calendar, and the now-defunct Outdoors sections of the paper.An endurance cyclist and runner, Wallack has toured the Soviet Union by bike and has completed the Eco-Challenge, the 1,200 km Paris-Brest-Paris bike ride, the 400-mile Trans Alp Challenge mountain bike race, the 2002 Badwater Ultramarathon, and other endurance events. Wallack is the author of The Traveling Cyclist, a how-to book featuring 20 of his bike trips around the world, and the co-author of Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100, a game plan for super-fit longevity through cycling, which is in its fifth printing.

Devin Alexander is a veteran in the fight against obesity and she’s winning the war with her unique approach to healthy cooking. Having maintained a 55-pound weight loss for over 15 years, she lives and eats her message: you don’t have to deprive yourself to be fit and healthy.Alexander has shared her secrets for unbelievably decadent, yet healthy foods through frequent appearances on “Good Morning America,” “The View,” “The Biggest Loser,” Discovery Health, HGTV, USA, Style Network and others shows and networks, and through over 100 magazine features in Prevention, Women’s Health, Shape, and Healthy Cooking, to name a few. Alexander’s first cooking show, “Healthy Decadence with Devin Alexander,” will start airing on Discovery Health Channel on March 29.

Alexander has served as culinary advisor to Men’s Fitness magazine and is currently the cooking expert for Women’s Health magazine. Her recently released cookbook, Fast Food Fix, was featured as an editor’s top pick in USA Today. And in October she released The Biggest Loser Cookbook.

For the IWOSC “Flavors of Life” panel, Alexander will discuss how she transformed her chef secrets into articles and story ideas, and how she works with TV producers, print editors, and publishers. (You can learn more about Devin at DevinAlexander.com.)

Lowell Thomas Award-winning food journalist James Burns is a one-man-band of food and travel writing in print and on the Internet. He created the award-winning Cyber Kitchen weekly magazine, and has edited and/or written several hundred articles in Self, Westways, L.A. Style, Los Angeles magazine, Los Angeles Times Magazine, the Philadelphia Enquirer, Newsday, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and the Miami Herald, among other publications. He was the Editor-in-Chief of “Underground Wine Journal” which garnered six award nominations under his watch. He was Senior Editor at the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, where he edited “FoodStyles,” “World’s Fare,” “Berger On Wine,” and Cooking Light magazine’s syndicated material. Now an independent writer and publishing consultant, Burns has also been the editor for various books, including Cooking Without Fat and Baking Without Fat, both books by George Mateljan which have sold a combined 670,000 copies so far.

Along with her stewardship of FMAware Magazine, Elisabeth Deffner also is the editor of NFA’s e-newsletter, FMOnline. As an independent writer, Deffner has contributed to various national and regional publications, including the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register, American Profile, Catholic Digest, and National Geographic KIDS. Her topics have ranged from Gulf War Syndrome to in vitro fertilization and frozen embryos to recovery from sexual abuse. She will provide valuable insight into how to pitch to editors, what health magazines are looking for from independent writers, and any differences between web-based and non-web-based content.

Food is Barbara Hansen’s profession and passion. Founder, editor and writer of TableConversation.com, Hansen brings to her cyberspace readers mouth-watering self-tested recipes, information about traveling to faraway places, and explorations of the various ethnic foods found in Los Angeles. For many years, Hansen wrote food features, restaurant reviews, and travel articles for the Los Angeles Times. In 2004 she won a James Beard award for an article on mezcal in Oaxaca. Mezcal is a distilled liquid made from the hearts (pinas) of various maguey (agave) plants. She was also nominated previously for a Beard award for an article on cooking with Chinese medicinal herbs. Hansen has written for Bon Appetit, Saveur, and Cuisine magazines. So far, she’s produced five cookbooks: Cooking California Style, Good Bread, Barbara Hansen’s Taste of Southeast Asia, Southeast Asian Cooking, and Mexican Cookery. She will discuss what it takes to develop food and travel websites, as well as how to approach food and travel editors with story ideas.

Panel
Unraveling Mystery Writing

Monday, January 29, 2007

Need a clue about how to write a great mystery? Please join IWOSC in January as its panel of expert mystery novelists and screenwriters unravel the mysteries of crime and mystery writing.

The panelists discussed the rules of the genre and their own paths to success. Our panelists also discussed the future for the genre, especially how the Internet will be involved.

Mystery writing, perhaps more than most writing genres, tends to stick to certain guidelines that readers expect. Readers want an intellectual challenge, a crime that fits the criminal, a strong and plausible plot (with or without twists, but no twins, please), and a rational solution. But the detective and the setting make or break the crime! Our panelists’ protagonist detectives include a plus-size paralegal and a feisty female management consultant, a former newspaper reporter and a soap opera actress.

The moderator for this program is DIANA JAMES, a Los Angeles-based literary manager and vice president of Sisters In Crime/LA. She is the co-chair for the upcoming No Crime Unpublished writers conference scheduled for June 10, 2007. She is the wife of one of the panelists, Darrell James.

Meet the panelists

PATRICIA SMILEY’s debut mystery novel, “False Profits,” which introduced Los Angeles businesswoman Tucker Sinclair, received a starred review from Booklist and was a Book Sense recommendation. Her follow-up novel, “Cover Your Assets,” was a Romantic Times Top Pick. Both novels were Los Angeles Times Bestsellers. “Short Change,” her third novel in the series, is set for release in July 2007.

SUE ANN JAFFARIAN is a paralegal and the author of the Odelia Grey mystery series, which features a middle-aged, plus-size paralegal as a humorous amateur sleuth. After being previously self-published, the first two books in the series, “Too Big To Miss” and “The Curse of the Holy Pail,” were republished by Midnight Ink. Jaffarian has just completed the third book in the series, “Mother Mayhem,” which is scheduled for release in February 2008. “Too Big To Miss” has been optioned for television. Jaffarian also writes general fiction and short stories.

DARRELL JAMES is the author of “Body Count: A Killer Collection,” an anthology of fifteen mystery short stores. He has written over 24 works in the short story or novel form. His work has appeared in numerous mystery magazines, including Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, Armchair Aesthetic, and most recently in the book anthology, “LAndmarked for Murder.” James is the 2004 winner and a prior year finalist of the Fire to Fly Competition. He is a member of Mystery Writers of America (MWA) and a board member of Sisters In Crime/LA.

ROBERT S. LEVINSON has written many best-selling books, including “Ask a Dead Man” and “Where the Lies Begin.” He is also the author of the Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner series of mystery-thriller novels, which to date consists of “The Elvis and Marilyn Affair,” “The James Dean Affair,” “The John Lennon Affair,” and “Hot Paint (The Andy Warhol Affair).” Levinson’s short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (EQMM), and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. His 2005 story “Death Conquers All” was voted an EQMM Readers Award, making it the third consecutive year he has been honored by readers.Levinson was a newspaperman before entering the field of public relations, where his company serviced numerous international performers, including Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac, The Who and The Osmonds. He wrote and produced the MWA’s 2003 and 2004 Annual Edgar Awards show and the inaugural Thriller Awards show of the International Thriller Writers organization which led to an invitation to produce ITW’s second Thriller Awards scheduled for July 2007 in New York. He has served on the national and Los Angeles boards of Mystery Writers of America. Among his various professional memberships, he is a member of the Writers Guild of America/West, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Hollywood Radio and Television Society, International Thriller Writers, and Sisters In Crime.

THOMAS B. SAWYER is a novelist, screenwriter, and playwright. He was head writer/producer-showrunner for the hit CBS series “Murder, She Wrote,” for which he wrote 24 episodes. He has written nine network TV pilots, 100 episodes, and has been writer, producer or showrunner on staff of 15 network series. He is co-librettist/lyricist of “Jack,” an opera about JFK. He wrote, directed, and produced the cult film comedy, “Alice Goodbody.” His first mystery-thriller was “The Sixteenth Man” and his next book, “No Place To Run,” will be published in 2007. Sawyer has been nominated for an Edgar and an Emmy. He’s taught writing at UCLA and other colleges and universities, and he also teaches at numerous writers conferences. In addition, Sawyer is the co-creator of Storybase software. Both his latest book, “Fiction Writing Demystified,” and Storybase are Writer’s Digest Book Club Selections.

Bookseller Linda Bivens of Crimetime Books will be selling the panelists’ books at the meeting.

To read more about the panelists you can also visit the Los Angeles chapter of Mystery Writers of America site or the Sisters In Crime site.

Panel
PUBLISHING 101: Trends in the Book Biz

Monday, January 28, 2007

“When did the rules change?” Many writers and journalists have pondered this question over and over about book publishing, which has completely undergone a metamorphosis in the past decade. The Internet, media consolidation, big-box vs. independent bookstores, the boom in self-publishing/online “e-books” and blogs, and Hollywood-style demographics, age discrimination, and target-audience issues have transformed what was once the most stable and reliable of media industries into a completely new — and relatively uncharted — landscape.

IWOSC kicks off 2008 with a panel created to untangle some of these knotty career issues. It includes experts from every checkpoint of modern publishing -an agent for one of Hollywood’s most A-list literary and talent agencies and a top book publicist. Plus, two of LA’s most prominent booksellers — one anchored in the independent bookseller world while the other hails from one of the nation’s premiere chain bookstores.

A sampling of issues to be addressed:
*The boom in non-fiction publishing over the last 25 years * why it is more difficult to acquire an agent and a major publishing house *the decline in traditional paperbacks * when preppy, buzzy, young first-time authors are paid top dollar — where does that leave young and mature writers starting out? * What carries more weight? A fiction author’s career, platform, and education or how well an author writes? * The trend toward specific markets such as gay/lesbian, black or Latino, chick or lad lit, etc. * What booksellers are looking for in new books and new authors * What types of books are considered hot for the foreseeable future and which ones are so last year.

Moderator, Telly Davidson