Spokane Authors & Self-Publishers

Program Schedules 

2008-2009 Speaker Schedule

September 4, 2008

Doug Clark, a columnist for the Spokesman-Review will speak, largely upon subjects of his own choosing. It was suggested that he speak with regards to writing and putting forth one’s opinions, but whether or not he will, remains to be seen. Doug approaches and writes about life and events in this area from a unique perspective. The fact that he is both revered and reviled by readers of our local paper attests to his effectiveness as an opinion writer. His presentation, if not informative and educational, is a surefire bet to be entertaining. (General consensus is that he agreed to speak because SASP buys the speaker’s lunch!)

October 4, 2008

Mark Cochran was enticed to speak before our group by Bob Weldin, SASP’s vice president. Mark and his partners are in the process of starting a publishing company.

November 6, 2008

This month marks the TENTH ANNIVERSARY of SPOKANE WRITERS AND SELF PUBLISHERS. We will mark the occasion by a presentation by two or the group’s four founders. Chuck O’Conner and Dan Vollmer will be joined by long time member Peggy De Hart.

December 4, 2008

Anne Mini, Ph.D., writer, editor, raconteuse, and battle-hardened book doctor will walk us through the often-intimidating process of writing a query letter that works, as well as the synopsis that conveys the essence and meaning of a story.

          For writers pursuing the traditional publishing route, finding an agent is the first step -- and the first step to landing an agent is the query letter. The sole duty of this one-page missive is to inspire the agent of your dreams to ask you to send pages of your manuscript.  By learning what makes a good query letter, you can substantially increase your chances of being asked to submit a partial or complete manuscript.  

This class will guide participants through the basics of successful querying, with particular emphasis on avoiding the most common mistakes first-time queriers make.  In learning how to summarize a story or argument for marketing purposes, participants will also learn how to construct a winning synopsis, guidelines for creating an author bio, and tips for pulling together the other materials agents and small publishers often ask writers to submit with their query letters.

          Anne Mini, Ph.D. is a writer, editor, and online writing guru.  She specializes in helping other writers refine their work for submission and publication. The youngest child in a family of writers, Anne grew up helping writers smooth their prose and reconfigure their plots.  Her friendship with one science fiction writer spawned her Zola Award-winning memoir, A FAMILY DARKLY: LOVE, LOSS, AND THE FINAL PASSIONS OF PHILIP K. DICK.  She holds an undergraduate degree (magna cum laude) from Harvard/Radcliffe, a master's degree from the University of Chicago, and a doctorate from the University of Washington. A former intrepid writer/researcher for the LET'S GO series of travel guides, Anne has written professionally on everything from fashion to political platforms to wine chemistry.  She is currently working on her second novel, and of course answering aspiring writers' questions daily on the highly popular Author! Author! at www.annemini.com. 

January 8, 2009

Sarah Conover’s interests lie with world traditions of wisdom and spirituality. She holds a BA in religious studies from the University of Colorado, a degree in education from Gonzaga University, and an MFA in poetry from Eastern Washington University. Harmony: A Treasury of Chinese Wisdom for Children and Parents is her fourth book in the This Little Light of Mine series, of which she is the founder and general editor. The inaugural volume, Kindness: A Treasury of Buddhist Wisdom for Children and Parents, a collection of Buddhist tales, was recommended by Booklist as one of the five best spiritual books for children of 2001, while the second, Ayat Jamilah, Beautiful Signs: A Treasury of Islamic Wisdom for Children and Parents, was cited by Newsweek as one of the best multicultural books of 2004 and was also the winner of the 2004 Aesop Prize, presented by the American Folklore Society. In addition, Conover was a contributing coeditor of the third volume in the series, At Work in Life’s Garden: Writers on the Spiritual Adventure of Parenting, a collection of literary essays. She is also the coauthor of Daughters of the Desert: Remarkable Women from the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Traditions (Skylight Paths Press, 2003). Her poetry has appeared in Rock and Sling, the Santa Clara Review, and Pontoon 10, as well as in the anthology Family Pictures. Conover lives in Spokane, Washington, where she teaches English and radio production. Through her own writing, as well as through international collaborations with other educators, she strives to bring multicultural perspectives into the classroom. A grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environment Education Department allowed her to develop a year-long interdisciplinary project, Environment bridge that involved high school students in both the United States and Brazil. She was managing editor of the Pearl Project; an international online news magazine aimed at high school students, and is the creator of Media Mosaic, a media literacy curriculum. Prior to her work as a writer and public educator, she was a senior producer for Internews, an international NGO committed to fostering open media around the world. In that capacity, she was the American producer for the United Nations television series "Agenda for a Small Planet," which aired in thirty-three countries, in addition to many programs for public television and the National Academy of Science’s "The Medical Implications of Nuclear War."

February 5, 2009

Celebrating all the poets in SASP! This will be an “open mike” session in which any and all of our poets may present tidbits of their work.

March 5, 2009

Information will be put up when a presenter is scheduled. If no speaker is identified for this date, we will fall back on the highly successful “open mike” format that was used during the summer months.

April 03, 2008

SASP Members’ Book Fair! Bring your published works to sell, trade, or otherwise promote. Non-published members are encouraged to bring query letters, synopses, assorted other pitch material or complete manuscripts. Hopefully they will find readers who can help them put a final polish on those stories.

May 01, 2008

Wendy Carroll will be speaking on The Nuts and Bolts of Screenwriting and Script 1 Screenwriting. She will be discussing the differences between novels and screenplays, particularly regarding writing style. She also will be addressing issues such as, why some excellent novels either don't succeed as films or never adapted to film. She will offer an overview of the film industry, the process by which a novel or screenplay makes it to the big screen, and She will discuss screenwriting contests.

Wendy has been involved in the film industry for 26 years. From 1980 to 1993, she was a producer and story analyst at Disney Studios. In response to urging from a befuddled novelist, Wendy began offering seminars The Nuts and Bolts of Screenwriting and Script 1 Screenwriting and private lessons on the craft of screenwriting in 1994. For five years, she was on the adjunct faculty at Scottsdale Community College in Scottsdale, Arizona teaching both beginning and advanced screenwriting, and for three years she operated the Film in Arizona Screenwriting Competition for the Arizona Film Commission.

Wendy has been a guest speaker at a number of writers’ conferences including the Southwest Writers Conference, Women Writing the West Conference, Romance Writers of America and at several writers’ group meetings in Arizona and Idaho. She is also a contributing writer for Markee Magazine, a national publication specific to the film industry.

Wendy offers private lessons, group lessons, seminars and story analysis services.

Substitute

Jackie Forney will speak on Family Memoir/Scrapbooking Pictorial History. Jackie will share what she has learned about constructing an attractive scrapbook and talk about why this is an important thing to do for the family generations to follow. She wants her posterity to be able to know from whence they came and know that she cared. Jackie’s presentation will be interesting!

Jackie has been doing genealogy and scrapbooking for years. She felt all those boxes of family photos needed to have their story told. This last winter she was doing research for a book she wanted to start and in her internet genealogy experience, she found that her ancestor's immigration from England and Ireland, and pioneer stories were way more interesting than her story idea. Jackie feels her time would be better spent to compile a book of her knowledge of her ancestry, and her own story to fit those family pictures.

Jackie has been writing stories and drawing pictures since she was a child. She took up painting and photography, becoming a member of Tri-County Association of the Arts in Deer Park. She has just completed a brilliantly illustrated book of children garden rhymes for her granddaughter titled, Hailee’s Garden Party.

Spokane Authors

& Self-Publishers

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