Poetry With Pizzazz! Using Multimedia
by Jude Johnson
There's more to presenting your poetry (or any other genre!) than just
reading it. Ned Mackey will show us how to utilize multimedia for your
next public signing to make an indelible impression and increase interest
in your work.
Ned used fine art for writing prompts during his thirty-six year career
as a high school English teacher. He has won first prizes in poetry from
the Society of Southwestern Authors and the Arizona State Poetry Society.
"Art for Poetry's Sake," twenty-six ekphrastic poems accompanying a
visual presentation and discussion of fine art images, will emphasize
how the connection of spoken word and visuals can create a memorable
experience.
Join us at the Sheraton Four Points Conference Center on August 17th.
As always, you can either call in your reservations to 546-9382 OR e-mail
forums@ssa-az.org by the Wednesday prior (in this case, August 13th).
Wrangling With Writing Conference
"How to Write and Sell Your Work"
Top Publishers, Agents, Editors and Keynoters
Coming to
The Society of Southwestern Authors Conference
HURRY: Top publishers, agents, editors and keynote
speakers will join hundreds of published and aspiring
authors in Tucson Sept. 27-28 for the 36th annual
Wrangling With Writing conference.
The conference, at the Holiday Inn Palo Verde, will
feature more than 30 workshops and keynote presentations by Taylor
Mali, the nation's foremost poetry slam specialist and passionate
teacher's advocate (with a rousing performance of his poetry); Corey
Blake, instrumental in the development of more than 300 screenplays
and manuscripts ("Your Book, Your Legacy"); and multiple book author
Deborah LeBlanc, President of the Horror Writers Association and
Mystery Writers of America's Southwest Chapter ("When Everyone
Else Says You Can't").
Complete information, including a downloadable registration form,
is currently available at the Wrangling With Writing website, www.ssaaz.
org/conference.htm or call Registrar at (520) 296-5299. Cost is $275 for members
of the Society of Southwestern Authors, and $350 for non-members. The fee includes
five meals and registration packets. In addition, there is a $20 fee for each pitch
or consultation interview scheduled with guest editors, agents, publishers and
marketing consultants.
Full-time writing, English, and literature teachers can receive a $75 discount.
Two full scholarships will be awarded to deserving participants. Essay on "Why
I Love to Write" required.
In addition to keynote speeches, presentations, and professional interviews, books
from faculty members and other authors will be available for sale. The conference
will run from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27, and from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on
Sunday, Sept. 28. Workshops begin each day at 9:15 a.m.
Wrangling With Writing enjoys a lasting reputation as one of the nation's most
affordable and valuable conferences, in terms of both presentations and marketing
opportunities. It also enjoys the presence of many of the country's top workshop
presenters and agents.
"We always try to accomplish two things above all with Wrangling With WritingÑ
providing as much technical and marketing inside information to our participants
as possible, and to give participants the best possible opportunity to sell their work,
or receive the best advice on doing so," Wrangling With Writing Director Penny
Porter said. "We've had quite a few book deals come out of this conference, and
many other leads and consultations that led to book deals."
Wrangling With Writing is anchored by a faculty of 30-plus editors, authors,
workshop presenters, publishers, and marketing consultants Ñ including National
Book Award and Pulitzer nominees, Burroughs Award and Independent Publishers
Book Award recipients, and publishers St. Martin's Press and Harlequin. Workshop
topics cover creative and technical points of all forms of writingÑfiction, non-fiction,
essays, memoir, screenwriting, and poetry. Topics will also address the business side
of publishing, including marketing, self-editing, preparing manuscripts for agents
and publishers, selling to non-traditional markets, and more.
"One of the things that, I feel, distinguishes our conferences from others is the
attention we pay to all forms of publishing," Porter said. "You can't be a writer in
today's publishing world and expect the publisher to buy your book, expect them
to do all the work, and wait for the advance and royalty checks. While this can and
does happen, it's very important to know the many ways to publish todayÑand how
you can help your own cause by being informed. Like our other presentations, these
workshops give the very latest information and tips on the publishing world."
For more information, contact Penny Porter at (520) 296-5299 (wporter202@aol.
com) or Barbara Stahura at (520) 575-9650 (Barbara@BarbaraStahura.com).
For a great inside look at how to get the most out of your
Wrangling with Writing experience, see the article, "Meet Me In The Bar:
Notes on Working A Writer's Conference" by one of our favorite workshop
leaders, Bob Yehling, at ssa-az.org/meet_me.htm
