DIGBY DIEHL is a true legend of LA’s literary scene. A veteran book and film critic, Diehl has interviewed countless high-profile people and has written bestselling biographies of Hollywood legends like Esther Williams (Million Dollar Mermaid), Natalie Cole (Angel on My Shoulder), and Bob Barker (Priceless Memories). In addition to his celebrity work, Diehl has turned his talents to fictional books like Soapsuds: A Novel, media tie-in companions to TV series (like HBO’s spooky ’80s camp classic Tales from the Crypt), and controversial red-hot political biographies like A Spy for all Seasons: My Life in the CIA.Diehl has hosted several IWOSC panels and interviewed celebrated film, tv and stage actress Mariette Hartley at an IWOSC Conversation with… evening. in 2007.

NAT SEGALOFF‘s career reads like a one-man Hollywood talent directory, having just finished collaborating with legendary director Arthur Penn on his biography. He has written and produced numerous episodes of A&E Network’s Biography series, and authored nine bestselling books including Hurricane Billy: The Stormy Life and Films of William Friedkin, Segaloff has contributed career monographs on several screenwriters including Orson Welles – most for the University of California Press’s acclaimed Backstory series, and his writing has appeared in a variety of film and entertainment periodicals.Segaloff is also on the board of the Los Angeles chapter of the ACLU.

IWOSC member INA HILLEBRANDT “replaces fear with fun” for new authors tackling memoir writing. She has written several books on the subject including How to Write Your Memoirs, Stories from the Heart, and More Enchanting Tales and Imagination Tools to Help You Write Better Memoirs.She hosts a memoir-writing workshop sponsored by the Burbank Public Library, and is fighting illiteracy with her Literacy Plus program aimed at school-age writers. In addition to working for National Public Radio and PBS, she has been featured in The New York Times and on ABC’s World News Tonight. Her website (a must for animal-lovers) is InasPawPrints.com.

DIANNE De La VEGA‘s memoir, Heaven Knows, Anything Goes (about her life as the final life-partner of the late singer/actor Dick Haymes), won first prize for non-fiction at the prestigious Santa Barbara International Writers’ Conference in 2004, and won rave reviews upon its first publication last year.A psychologist for 30 years, she spent the last two decades of her career as an educator working with Spanish-speaking and immigrant children in the LAUSD. She has lectured extensively on issues of health, wellness, and spirituality in both America and Europe, and is a member of the Hospitaler Order of the Knights of St. John. Her website is DianneDeLaVega.com.

JENNIFER SKY BAND has been a model, actress, philanthropist, illness survivor, rock-star wife, and writer. As a 2008 graduate from UCLA Extension’s Master Class in memoir writing, her first book, A Model Life, tells the story of her journey from growing up as a chubby and awkward child into the fast-lane lifestyle of a sought-after teen model.She’s currently finishing her second book, and also writes a bimonthly column for a Florida newspaper. Her website is JenniferSkyBand.com.

TERESA FOGARTY has held a range of positions in public relations and trade publishing before launching Casarsa Public Relations in 2005, and worked working with self-published authors as consultant, project manager, and publicist. She currently works for the Independent Book Publishers Association as marketing and publicity manager.

ANNETTE FIX is the Senior Editor of Wow-WomenOnWriting.com, an online magazine by, for, and about women in the publishing industry. Under her editorship, the site is celebrating its second year on the list of the Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers. Annette is also the author of The Break-Up Diet: A Memoir, which is a finalist in the memoir category for ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year. Her memoir was recently optioned for development as a cable television series (the direct result of her social networking on Twitter). Annette has two upcoming summer workshops: Online Author and Book Promotion and How to Get the Right Agent for Your Manuscript. She also provides freelance services that include comprehensive editing and manuscript analysis.

THORA GABRIEL’s world — and Chessie’s too — is magical. Her debut novel Chessie Bligh” has won multiple awards, including the Mom’s Choice Award 2008, an iUniverse Editor’s /Reader’s Choice Award 2007, the Midwest Book Review 2007, and The Reading Tub, Summer 2008. Her book trailer, Chessie Bligh and the Scroll of Andelthor, is one of the most watched book trailers on the web. A professional writer for 10 years, Thora has three novels to her credit prior to Chessie Bligh: Aiken Payne – The Adventures of Lily Jack, The Oxborrow Mansion Mystery, and adult novel The Empty Grave. Thora is currently working on another in the Chessie Bligh series – Journey to Antelantiesse, and an adult comedy, Life Under the Bus.

ANTOINETTE KURITZ is the founder of the La Jolla Writers Conference, host of Writer’s Roundtable Radio Show, a published author, and President of Strategies Literary PR, a multi-media literary management and promotions firm. A speaker at conferences nationwide, Antoinette has shepherded writers from their project’s infancy to the NY Times and Wall Street Journal lists and beyond. Her radio show features people of note in the publishing industry, providing information and an ongoing workshop for authors throughout the country.

PENNY C. SANSEVIERI, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. (AME), last visited IWOSC in April. She is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. She is the author of five books, including Red Hot Internet Publicity, which has been called the “leading guide to everything Internet.” AME is the first marketing and publicity firm to use Internet promotion to its full impact through The Virtual Author Tour™, which strategically works with social networking sites, micro-blogs, blogs, book videos, and relevant sites to push an author’s message into the virtual community and connect with sites related to the book’s topic, positioning the author in his or her market. Visit Penny’s website at aMarketingExpert.com to learn more about Penny and to subscribe to her free ezine.

JOHN SEELEY, IWOSC board member, is a best-selling author of the book Get Unstuck! The Simple Guide to Restart Your Life, and a motivational speaker with a difference. Seeley has a way of cutting through the complexities of the human condition in a very compassionate and caring way, helping people to find their answers to their problems; and allowing them to choose a new life of joy and satisfaction. He’s been called “Dr. Phil with soul.”

TERESA FOGARTY has held a range of positions in public relations and trade publishing before launching Casarsa Public Relations in 2005, and worked working with self-published authors as consultant, project manager, and publicist. She currently works for the Independent Book Publishers Association as marketing and publicity manager.

ANNETTE FIX is the Senior Editor of Wow-WomenOnWriting.com, an online magazine by, for, and about women in the publishing industry. Under her editorship, the site is celebrating its second year on the list of the Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers. Annette is also the author of The Break-Up Diet: A Memoir, which is a finalist in the memoir category for ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year. Her memoir was recently optioned for development as a cable television series (the direct result of her social networking on Twitter). Annette has two upcoming summer workshops: Online Author and Book Promotion and How to Get the Right Agent for Your Manuscript. She also provides freelance services that include comprehensive editing and manuscript analysis.

THORA GABRIEL’s world — and Chessie’s too — is magical. Her debut novel Chessie Bligh” has won multiple awards, including the Mom’s Choice Award 2008, an iUniverse Editor’s /Reader’s Choice Award 2007, the Midwest Book Review 2007, and The Reading Tub, Summer 2008. Her book trailer, Chessie Bligh and the Scroll of Andelthor, is one of the most watched book trailers on the web. A professional writer for 10 years, Thora has three novels to her credit prior to Chessie Bligh: Aiken Payne – The Adventures of Lily Jack, The Oxborrow Mansion Mystery, and adult novel The Empty Grave. Thora is currently working on another in the Chessie Bligh series – Journey to Antelantiesse, and an adult comedy, Life Under the Bus.

ANTOINETTE KURITZ is the founder of the La Jolla Writers Conference, host of Writer’s Roundtable Radio Show, a published author, and President of Strategies Literary PR, a multi-media literary management and promotions firm. A speaker at conferences nationwide, Antoinette has shepherded writers from their project’s infancy to the NY Times and Wall Street Journal lists and beyond. Her radio show features people of note in the publishing industry, providing information and an ongoing workshop for authors throughout the country.

PENNY C. SANSEVIERI, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. (AME), last visited IWOSC in April. She is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. She is the author of five books, including Red Hot Internet Publicity, which has been called the “leading guide to everything Internet.” AME is the first marketing and publicity firm to use Internet promotion to its full impact through The Virtual Author Tour™, which strategically works with social networking sites, micro-blogs, blogs, book videos, and relevant sites to push an author’s message into the virtual community and connect with sites related to the book’s topic, positioning the author in his or her market. Visit Penny’s website at aMarketingExpert.com to learn more about Penny and to subscribe to her free ezine.

JOHN SEELEY, IWOSC board member, is a best-selling author of the book Get Unstuck! The Simple Guide to Restart Your Life, and a motivational speaker with a difference. Seeley has a way of cutting through the complexities of the human condition in a very compassionate and caring way, helping people to find their answers to their problems; and allowing them to choose a new life of joy and satisfaction. He’s been called “Dr. Phil with soul.”