Speaker Bios for 2010 Conference

Website: http://www.AllenOshea.com

Marilyn Allen is a literary agent and partner in the Allen O'Shea Literary Agency. Prior to that she spent 25 years doing sales and marketing for various publishing houses. Her responsibility culminated in Associate Publisher and Senior Vice President of Marketing for Harper Collins. Prior to that, she had directed sales and marketing teams for Penguin Books, Simon & Schuster, and Avon Books. Through the years she created many innovative marketing campaigns and managed a host of successful author brands including Dr. John Gray (Mars and Venus), Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Barry Sears (Zone), Dean Ornish, Star Trek, NBA, The Simpsons and worked with many best selling writers including Stephen King, Ken Follett, Mary Higgens Clark and Barbara Kingsolver. She spearheaded the nationwide Diet Coke/ book sample promotion and created out-of-the box campaigns with such non-traditional partners as Mattel, Atlantic Records, and PBS. She is an impassioned advocate for innovation in the marketing and selling of books.

Website: http://www.maryandonian.com

Mary Andonian has written two books, Mind Chatter: Stories From the Squirrel Cage and Bitsy's Labyrinth. She is represented by Kimberly Cameron and Associates (formerly Reece Halsey North). (www.kimberleycameron.com) She is the former agents and editors coordinator for the annual Willamette Writers conference (Portland, Oregon). In past years, she was Program Coordinator and Co-Chair. She was also a contributing columnist for the hit Zines, Writers on the Rise (www.writersontherise.com) and Writer Mama (www.writermama.com). In 2009, Mary completed her first two screenplays: an adaptation of Bitsy’s Labyrinth and the original Screenplay comedy, Guardian Joe. Please visit Mary at www.MaryAndonian.com

Jacquelyn Blain is a Writers Guild of America screenwriter with more than 75 hours of produced television and was a staff writer-producer on such series as “Diagnosis Murder,” “VR.5” and “Martial Law.” She has taught screenwriting at The UCLA Writers Program, The Art Institute of Portland, George Fox University, and currently teaches writing at Chemeketa Community College. Her students have written and produced numerous award-winning short films, and she served as script consultant and associate producer for the locally-shot independent feature “Not Dead Yet” which won first place in the Baltimore Women’s Film Festival. Since moving to Portland, she has also been working as a script consultant and has given numerous workshops including several at the Willamette Writer’s Conference where she has also coordinated the Pitch Practice Room for the past eight years.

Website: http://www.addieboswell.com

Addie Boswell is an artist, writer, and arts educator. She has taught hundreds of students through school residencies, library workshops, and community mural projects, collaborating with the Right Brain Initiative, Saturday Academy, Multnomah County Libraries, the Future Problem Solving program, and many others. Her K-6 curriculum focuses on hands-on activities that enhance literacy skills through the arts. Her first picture book, The Rain Stomper, won the 2009 Oregon Spirit Award.

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Website: http://www.storyfix.com

Larry Brooks is a bestselling author of five novels and the creator of Storyfix.com, an instructional resource for writers of novels and screenplays. His book, "Story Engineering: Mastering the Six Core Competencies of Successful Writing" will be published in early 2011 by Writers Digest Books.

Website: http://www.andreabrownlit.com

An agent for almost 30 years, an editor previously at Alfred A. Knopf, worked at Random House and Dell, has sold over 2,000 titles to every publisher. Rated the #1 agency in juvenile sales in 2008 and 2009. Author of Writers and Artists Hideouts: Great Getaways for Seducing the Muse. Executive Director of the Big Sur Writing Workshops.

Stacy Chattaway grew up in Portland, Oregon and earned her B.A. in Film and Television Production at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She worked at Fox 2000 Pictures assisting on the development of films including THE DEVEL WEARS PRADA, 27 DRESSES, MARLEY AND ME, ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS and THE FAMILY STONE. In 2007 she relocated to London where she worked in the Film, Television, and Stage Department at the literary agency David Higham Associates which represents clients including Stephen Fry and the Graham Greene Estate.

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Website: http://www.nancychristie.com

Nancy Christie is the author of the inspirational book The Gifts of Change and a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. A professional journalist whose articles work appears in a wide range of print magazines, custom publishers and informational web sites, she has also written, edited and/or ghostwritten materials for corporations, marketing firms, ad agencies and non-profit organizations. Her fiction and essays have appeared in publications such as Wanderings, The Chaffin Journal, Tai Chi, Experience Life, Woman’s Day and other markets. She is currently finishing her second self-help book and marketing her first novel. Previously, Christie had hosted the weekly Internet radio show “Take Charge of Your Life” on the VoiceAmerica network. She travels widely presenting writing and motivational workshops.

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Website: http://www.sagesaidso.com

Sage Cohen is the author of “Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry” (Writers Digest Books, 2009), “The Productive Writer: Tips and Tools for Writing More, Stressing Less and Creating Success” (Writer’s Digest Books, forthcoming in 2010) and the poetry collection “Like the Heart, the World”. Sage has won first prize in the Ghost Road Press poetry contest, been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and been awarded a Soapstone residency. Sage holds an MFA in creative writing from New York University and a BA from Brown University. She teaches the online class "Poetry for the People". Sage founded Sage Communications in 1997; in her “day job,” she has been writing high-impact copy for clients such as Kaiser Permanente, Intuit and Sterling Commerce ever since.

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Website: http://www.fictionwriteideas.com

Charlotte Cook is president of and story editor for KOMENAR Publishing. She has an MFA in Creative Writing as well as practical business experience in the book publishing and selling industry. She has brought to publication far more books, articles and stories than the six award-winning novels she published for KOMENAR. Writers Digest interviewed Charlotte about her career and publishing company in February 2008. Currently she is judging three of the fiction categories for the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, teaching private and public writing classes, and co-authoring with award-winning screenwriter Jon James Miller a book for screenwriters to turn scripts into publishable novels. Charlotte posts to two blogs: http://fictionwriteideas.blogspot.com and http://adapting-sideways.blogspot.com

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Website: http://www.garycorbinwriting.com/

I have been a freelance writer since July, 2005. My published work has appeared in Brainstorm Northwest magazine, The Oregonian, the Portland Tribune, and Global Envision, among others. Contract clients include HDR Engineering, the City of Portland, the State of Oregon, Trilogics Corporation, Innovative Growth Solutions, and Nyquist and Associates. I have performed in nearly 200 improvisational comedy shows since 2002 at ComedySportz, Magenta Theater, Coho Theater, and the Brody Theater. Since 2008, I have taught Improv at Magenta Theater in Vancouver and at Portland’s Coho Theater. Acting credits include “Wit” at the Slocum House Theater, “Arsenic and Old Lace” at Magenta Theater, and “The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa” at Miracle Theater. I live, work and write in Vancouver, WA, with the world’s most expensive free dog.

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Website: http://www.monicadrake.com

Monica Drake is the author of the novel Clown Girl. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in journals including The Sun, Oregon Humanities magazine, Northwest Review, Beloit Fiction Journal, and others, as well as anthologies and on-line. She once wrote an entire issue of the Seattle publication, The Stranger, which came to be known as the “Monica Drake issue.” She has an MFA from the University of Arizona, has been teaching creative writing for the past fifteen years, and is currently an associate professor at the Pacific Northwest College of Art.

Website: http://www.robertdugoni.com

Robert Dugoni is the New York Times bestselling author of The Jury Master, Damage Control, Wrongful Death and Bodily Harm. Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine called The Jury Master one of three "Best of the Best" debut novels of 2006 and the Seattle Times and Library Journal have likened Dugoni to a young John Grisham, calling The Jury Master, "A riveting tale of murder, skullduggery and treachery at the highest level." Dugoni’s highly anticipated sequels to The Jury Master, featuring attorney David Sloane, have also received critical acclaim. Mysterious Reviews touted Wrongful Death as “among the best books to be published” in 2009, and Booklist wrote, “Mixing the suspense of a Grisham legal thriller with the political angle of a Baldacci. Dugoni is knocking on the A-list thriller door.” Dugoni is also the author of the non-fiction expose, The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post 2004 Best Book of the Year.

Website: http://www.kimberleycameron.com

April Eberhardt joined Kimberley Cameron & Associates as a Literary Agent in 2008 after five years of editorial work with Zoetrope: All-Story, a literary magazine, and another agency. Her specialty is adult commercial and literary fiction, particularly contemporary urban fiction, ironic family dramas and realistic midlife tales, often with a twist, preferably involving strong female characters. She is attracted to collections of interlinked stories with a common character or theme. An original voice and smart, speedy delivery are critical, as is a subtle sense of the absurd. She enjoys working with new authors to edit and streamline their manuscripts before submitting them to publishers.

Chris Emerson has served time at MTV, LMNO, Kushner-Locke, Disney, Critical Mass and New Wave Entertainment, but he doesn’t like people very much, so he launched his own company. (dude, totally kidding…) E-Squared is a management/production company with an eclectic mix of working writers and directors for film, television and stage. In lieu of listing a litany of client credits, just ask me. I’ll dish. E2 is also actively developing numerous projects for the big and small screens. Past projects: “Daddy Day Camp” (Sony). Projects in development: “Grounded” (Disney), “Channel Three Billion” (Adam McKay directing), “The Driving Lesson” (with Yvonne Strahovski -- Chuck), “Learner’s Permit” (with George Lopez), and “Meet PJ Riley” (with David Duchovny).

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Website: http://www.elizabethengstrom.com

Elizabeth Engstrom is the author of eleven books and had sold over 250 short stories, articles and essays. Her latest book, The Northwoods Chronicles, was a critical success, and her new book, York’s Moon, will be released in hardcover next January. Engstrom lives in the Pacific Northwest where she teaches the fine art of fiction at conferences and conventions around the world, and is always working on the next book. Photo by Mary Bartnikowski

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Hallie Ephron is the crime fiction book reviewer for the Boston Globe and author of six suspense novels. Her latest, Never Tell a Lie, received a starred review inPublisher’s Weekly (“stunning; a deliciously creepy tale of obsession”) and is a finalist for the 2009 Mary Higgins Clark Award and the 2009 Salt Lake Libraries Readers Choice Award. She also is the author of two books about books, including “The Bibliophile’s Devotional.” Her how-to book on mystery writing, “Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel: How to Knock ‘Em Dread with Style” was an Edgar Award finalist. Hallie lives in in a suburb south of Boston, far from Southern California where she grew up in a family of formidable literary talent. She is the third of four writing Ephron sisters: Amy Ephron (One Sunday Morning, A Cup of Tea), Delia Ephron (Hanging Up, The Girl with the Mermaid Hair), and Nora Ephron (I Feel Bad About My Neck, Sleepless in Seattle). Her parents were Henry and Phoebe Ephron, the screenwriting duo who wrote screenplays for movie classics like The Desk Set and Carousel.

Website: http://www.juliefast.com

Julie A. Fast is a bestselling author, speaker, radio host and multimedia publishing consultant. Her books include Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder, Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder, Get it Done When You’re Depressed and The Official Geezer Guide to Creating and Selling eBooks. Julie was a pioneer in the eBook industry and watches with fascination as the publishing world changes from print to electronic products. She believes that writers will soon create their own multimedia projects and ultimately focus on electronic self publishing with self hired PR agents. She feels the publishing world now offers positive, lucrative and limitless opportunities for fiction and nonfiction authors. Julie recently created the Grayson OmniMedia Publishing Group, a print and electronic media publishing house.

Website: http://www.jfisherlogomotives.com

Jeff Fisher, author of "Identity Crisis!" (HOW Books, 2007), is the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives. A 32-year design veteran, he has been honored with over 600 regional, national and international design awards and is featured in over 130 books about logos, the design business, and small business marketing. Fisher writes on design, business, marketing and social networking topics for webzines, blogs, and print publications such as HOW Magazine, UCDA Designer, ASMP Bulletin and Legal Management News. He speaks internationally on the same topics at design and business conferences, design schools, universities, high schools and other events. His first book, “The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success” was released in 2004 and has been reissued as a PDF on CD. Fisher is currently writing a new volume, “Logo Type: 200 Best Typographic Logos from Around the World Explained,” on the topic of typography in identity design. A fourth book is already in the works.

Website: http://www.christinefletcherbooks.com

Christine Fletcher is the author of two young adult novels, Tallulah Falls and Ten Cents a Dance, which was named an ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults and a BCCB Blue Ribbon Book, among other honors. Christine lives in Portland, Oregon, and is currently working on her third novel.

Website: http://www.sourcebooks.com

I moved to New York City in 1999 to pursue a career in fashion editorial. After almost two years as an editorial assistant at Harper's BAZAAR magazine, I realized that the cut-throat, competitive environment of fashion was not for me and moved to the other end of the publishing gamut--children's editorial. Since then, I've been editing and acquiring at Random House, Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins. I've been with Sourcebooks Jabberwocky since May 2009 and continue to build the new imprint with picture books, chapter books, and middle grade novels.

Julie Gray is the founder of The Script Department, Hollywood’s premier script coverage service. She also directs the Silver Screenwriting Competition and authors the popular screenwriting blog, Just Effing Entertain Me. Her columns have been published in Script Magazine in the US and in Moviescope in the UK. Julie consults privately with a wide variety of writers and teaches classes at Warner Bros., The Great American PitchFest, The Creative Screenwriting Expo and has spoken at San Francisco University in Quito, Ecuador, West England University in Bristol and The Oxford Union at Oxford University. Julie lives in Los Angeles, California; her book Just Effing Entertain Me is slated for release in late 2010.

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Website: http://www.melissahart.com

Melissa Hart is the author of the memoir "Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood" (Seal, 2009), set in Los Angeles and Oxnard, California. Her travel articles and essays have appeared in "Hemispheres,"" The Boston Globe," "Horizon Air Magazine," "The Oregonian," "The Register Guard," "The Christian Science Monitor," "Oregon Coast," "Open Spaces," and "Northwest Travel." Hart teaches journalism at the University of Oregon, including a course on travel writing. She also teaches memoir writing for U.C. Berkeley’s online extension program. She’s a contributing editor at "The Writer Magazine," and maintains a blog for emerging writers at www.butt2chair.wordpress.com.

Kohel Haver is an attorney specializing in copyright, licensing, trademark and representation of creative people in connection with their business matters. His clients include writers, publishers, illustrators, artists, photographers, film makers, performers, musicians and playwrights. He has worked on behalf of self publishers and writers with publishing agreements from small specialty press to major international publishers. He has committed his professional life to working with and serving the creative community. He is a frequent presenter at universities, workshops and conferences in Oregon and across the country. He is a founding member of NWLA, Independent Publishers Resource Center in Portland, The PDX Bridge Festival. Kohel's memberships include: Authors Guild, Society of Children's Book Authors and Illustrators, Northwest Association of Book Publishers, Oregon Media Production Association. He is the recipient of the 2009 Willamette Writers Humanitarian Award.

Website: http://www.pamelasmithhill.com/

Pamela Smith Hill is the author of the award-winning biography Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer's Life and three young adult novels. At 18, she sold her first story to her hometown newspaper and has been writing professionally ever since. She's also taught professional and creative writing classes at universities in Oregon, Washington, and Colorado.

Website: http://www.andreahurst.com

Andrea Hurst, President, works with major and regional publishing houses, and her client list includes emerging new voices and New York Times best-selling authors. Andrea represents high profile adult nonfiction and well crafted fiction. Her clients and their books have appeared on the Oprah Show, Ellen DeGeneres, Good Morning America, National Geographic network and in the New York Times. Andrea has worked in the publishing field for over 20 years, is a published author, skilled development editor and founder of Just Write educational classes. Andrea offers professional insight into the book business and works with motivated authors to edit, polish, and perfect their proposal and manuscript. She enjoys working with authors who have something meaningful to share and are driven by their enthusiasm to create books that touch lives and make a difference.

Website: http://www.randalljahnson.com

Randall Jahnson has been a professional screenwriter for more than 23 years. Among his credits are The Doors, The Mask of Zorro, episodes of Tales from the Crypt, and the Western video game, Gun. He now lives in Oregon. Randall speaks about screenwriting on this video posted on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/oregonwritersspeak

Website: http://www.storyispromise.com

Bill is author of A Story is a Promise & Deep Characterization, a writing workbook that explores how to create dramatic, engaging stories. He is a skilled story analyst and teacher and has taught writing workshops around the United States. He currently reviews screenplays and novels. He is also the backbone of Willamette Writers, serving as Office Manager and on the Conference Committee in charge of registration. His website on YouTube (Oregon Writers Speak) features local authors speaking about the craft of writing.

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Website: http://www.christinakatz.com

Christina Katz is the author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform and Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids for Writer’s Digest Books. She has written hundreds of articles for national, regional, and online publications, presents at literary and publishing events around the country, and is a monthly columnist for the Willamette Writer. Katz publishes a weekly e-zine, The Prosperous Writer, and hosts The Northwest Author Series. She holds an MFA in writing from Columbia College Chicago and a BA from Dartmouth College. A “gentle taskmaster” to her hundred or so students each year, Katz channels over a decade of professional writing experience into success strategies that help writers get on track and get published.

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Website: http://www.jillkellyeditor.com

Jill Kelly, PhD, a freelance editor and writing coach and a former college professor of grammar and writing, has been helping writers of fiction, memoir, and nonfiction move their work into print and web for 15 years. Her own memoir, Sober Truths: The Making of an Honest Woman, was a finalist for a 2008 Oregon Book Award. She is pitching her novel, Witnessing the Creation, and is writing a second. She writes an editing column for the Willamette Writers newsletter.

Josh is a producer and manager with Principal Entertainment where he recently produced Frank Oz’s “Death at a Funeral” as well as the Chris Rock remake with the same title. He is currently in post-production on “Isolation” directed by Stephen Kay. Josh is developing several films including “Cowboys and Indians” with Walt Becker directing, “Obey” with Reny Harlin directing, and “A Few Best Men” with Stephan Elliot directing. He also has a sizeable roster of writer and director clients who are responsible for such films as: “Apaloosa;” “Hachiko;” and “Easy Riders, Raging Bulls.” Under his Jericho banner, Josh has produced three features, “The Hebrew Hammer” starring Adam Goldberg; “Bobbie’s Girl” starring Rachel Ward; and “Fall” starring Michael Madsen. Josh began his career with Davis Entertainment on “Grumpier Old Men,” “Courage Under Fire,” and “Dr. Dolittle.”

A long-suffering fan of Cleveland sports, Geoff grew up all over the US (but mainly in Pennsylvania) before moving to LA. Once there, he gained 40 lbs and developed his storytelling skills by listening to too much Phil Collins and working as a reader for New Line Cinema and Summit Entertainment. He finally sold his first script, GOING THE DISTANCE, in July 2008. He would appreciate if you would take between 2 and 600 people with you to see it when it hits theaters on 27 August 2010. He is currently working on BREATHERS, a zombie comedy for Fox Searchlight, pretending that he’s still 19 years old and praying that he figures out what the hell it is that he's doing before it all slips through his sausage fingers.

Website: http://www.nobullscript.net

Clifford Werber Productions (“A Cinderella Story,” “Sydney White,” “Just Add Water”) is an independent production company looking for commercial product that we can package and produce or sell overseas as a local language film. Our family adventure film “To Oz” was set up at United Artists, but is now in turnaround. We have a number of other projects in development including the teen political comedy “Landslide” and the psychological thriller “Wake Up.” Clifford is also currently attached to produce a book series for Summit Entertainment and Daniel is attached to produce a few projects independently as well. Daniel also runs the popular script consulting company, No BullScript Consulting.

Website: http://www.ColorAffectsUSA.com

A psychotherapeutic counselor and writer, Teresa delights in exploring the depth, nuances and effects of the visual & tactile non-verbal aspects of our lives – color, fiber & texture, space & lighting, face & body language. The extreme color palettes of the various places Teresa Dane Marcel has inhabited, such as those of lushly bright and tropical Brazil and the golden sand tones of the Arabian desert – intersected by the clear contrasts of arctic Alaska – influenced her perceptions of color. Although it was a fascination for color harmony, as she created with fibers, that led Teresa to become the only certified Colour Affects (UK) colorist, color psychologist and teacher in North America to date, it was a master’s degree in Mass Communications led to her teaching introductory and advanced nonverbal communications courses at Marylhurst University, Oregon.

Website: http://www.dijkstraagency.com/

Before joining the publishing industry in 2001 Jill worked in radio and television and has a strong Internet and media background. She wrote features and ads for Pages, the literary magazine for people who love books, and continues to write book ads for publishing houses and promotional features for television. After writing ad copy and features for published books for years she knows how to find the “hook” and sell it. Jill is interested in commercial fiction, especially women’s fiction, multi-cultural fiction, historic fiction, mysteries and thrillers. She is also looking for non-fiction in the areas of self-help, inspirational, cookbooks, memoir (she especially loves travel and foodie memoirs), parenting, history, health & nutrition, pop culture, humor and music.

George Mason has thirty years experience in public relations, and is a passionate writer. His public relations writing has appeared in newspapers around the country and includes op-eds, letters, feature stories, reports and white papers. His work has won the highest awards in public relations, including a Silver Anvil and two Silver Anvil Commendations. His writing has included textbooks, manuals and web sites, and he is currently working on three novels. A graduate of San Francisco State University, he was an adjunct professor teaching Advanced Public Relations at the University of Alaska Anchorage and now lives in Portland, Oregon.

Website: http://www.agentsavant.com

At Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents in San Francisco--Northern California’s oldest literary agency founded in 1972--Laurie represents adult genre fiction (romance, fantasy, science fiction, horror, nouveau westerns, mysteries, suspense, thrillers, etc.) as well as middle-grade and young-adult books. She looks for great writing, first and foremost, followed by memorable characters, a searing storyline and solid world building. For more than 20 years Laurie ran a multi-million dollar eponymous public relations agency in California's Silicon Valley. She is passionate about marketing, publicity, negotiating, editing and a host of other business-critical areas. She is also a writer herself, so she can empathize with the author's journey to and through publication. Check out her blog, www.agentsavant.com, for tales of the agenting life, and www.larsenpomada.com for valuable information and links, plus her submission guidelines. Query her at query@agentsavant.com.

Website: http://www.archetypela.com

Archetype has various projects set up in film and TV as producers or as managers through our clients. We set up “Hiding in Time” at Warner Bros. and “Lost Squad” through Rogue/Relativity. Our clients in TV are working with or have worked with Fox21, ABC, Warner Premier, Fox, and Disney Channel among others.

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Website: http://www.writing-life.com

Jessica Page Morrell is surrounded by writers. She is the author of Thanks, But This Isn’t For Us; Bullies, Bastards & Bitches: How to Write the Bad Guys in Fiction; The Writer’s I Ching: Wisdom for the Creative Life; Voices from the Street; Between the Lines: master the subtle elements of fiction writing, and Writing Out the Storm.. Morrell works as a developmental editor where she has learned how to quickly size up a story’s merits, as a writing coach, and teaches a series of workshops. She hosts a web site at www.writing-life.com and she’s been writing a monthly column about topics related to writing since 1998 which currently appears in The Willamette Writer, writes a monthly newsletter, The Writing Life, a web log, and has contributed articles to newspapers and The Writer and Writer’s Digest magazines.

6 years ago, Dave was getting his masters at Indiana University when he realized he hated everything about the program he was in. So he purposefully failed out and serendipitously ran into Luke Ryan, who was at the time running the story department at New Line Cinema and who successfully convinced Dave to move to Los Angeles. Dave proceeded to sell off a vast majority of his belongings and went on a road trip. Luke, being the best human being on the planet (potentially a Demigod), offered Dave an unpaid internship in the fall of 2003. Since then, Dave has worked at New Line as an intern, temp, departmental assistant, assistant to the Senior EVP of Production, Creative Executive, and most recently, Production Executive. This year he served as an Executive Producer on NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and GOING THE DISTANCE. He hopes to make movies that will make his college roommates laugh.

Website: http://www.ALLPublications.com

Jennifer Omner is an award-winning book designer and owner of ALL Publications (www.ALLPublications.com), which she established in 1994. Her passion is helping writers become published authors. She is a member of the Northwest Association of Book Publishers (NWABP), Willamette Writers, and Women in Portland Publishing. She was a judge of the 2008 Publishers Association of the West (PubWest) Book Design Awards, and last year her design entry won a first place PubWest award. She studied book design and production at Portland State University. Jennifer authors an e-newsletter of book and marketing tips, sign up for free at www.ALLPublications.com and immediately receive an article on the pros and cons of self-publishing.

Chuck Palahniuk began writing fiction at the age of thirty-one. Since then he's written eleven bestselling novels, beginning with Fight Club, published in 1996. His most recent novel, Tell-All, was published in May of 2010. Two have become films, Fight Club and Choke, and Palahniuk has seven more books in development as future films. He's also the author of the travel guide Fugitives & Refugees and a collection of essays, Stranger Than Fiction. His next novel, Damned, will be published by Random House in 2011.

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Website: http://www.rosanneparry.com

Rosanne Parry is the author of the picture book Daddy's Home, Candy Cane Press 2009, and the novel, Heart of a Shepherd, Random House 2009. Her novel was honored as a Washington Post’s Best Kids’ Book of the Year, a Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Book of the Year and a Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of the Year. It received the 2010 Rodda Award from the CSLA. Rosanne has taught writing for more than a dozen years for Saturday Academy. Her next novel, Second Fiddle, will be available in March of 2011.

Website: http://www.richwriting.com

Susan Rich is a copywriter and editor, specializing in direct mail and internet sales letters, ghost blogging, and media scripts. She is also the creator of the Write it Rich! workshop series – that’s where she teaches people how to write benefit-based marketing copy that helps them grab attention, drive sales, and earn more money. Susan has a journalism degree and 20+ years experience in print, PR, and marketing. She has published more than 2,000 articles – that’s about 1 million words in print.

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Website: http://www.gigirosenberg.com

Gigi Rosenberg’s book, The Artist’s Guide to Grant Writing, will be published by Random House in September 2010. The book grew out of her popular professional development workshops launched in Portland, Oregon and taught in Chicago, New York, and throughout the Pacific Northwest. Her writing has been published by Seal Press, The Oregonian, Parenting, and Writer’s Digest. She has performed at Seattle’s On the Boards and her radio commentary “The Hanukkah Bush” was featured on Oregon Public Broadcasting.

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Website: http://www.maryrosenblum.com

Mary Rosenblum, Hugo and Nebula Award finalist, winner of the Compton Cook Award, has been publishing SF and mystery for more than twenty years in short form as well as novel. A writer of character driven 'hard' SF, she has received critical praise for the science in her Science Fiction. A long time writing teacher, her focus is on story, and how to integrate science and world building without sacrificing story and character.

Luke Ryan arrived in Hollywood in 2000. He has had a diverse career, working as a screenwriter, producer, instructor at UCLA extension, and studio executive at New Line Cinema and MTV Films before arriving at MGM in 2008 where he is Sr. Vice President of Production. His currently slate of films includes a remake of “Red Dawn” (releasing Thanksgiving of 2010), “Robocop” with Darren Aronofsky, “The Three Stooges” with the Farrelly Brothers, and “Poltergeist” with Vadim Perelman. Luke is sitting on a mixing stage typing this bio preparing for the release of his next movie, “Hot Tub Time Machine” -- which comes out after this bio was due but long before this conference happens, causing a major rift in the space-time continuum. He hopes you buy a full priced ticket and find it worth every penny. He will still feel this way when you see him in the future.

L.J. Sellers is an award-winning journalist, editor, and the author of the Detective Jackson mystery/suspense series. The first two books, The Sex Club and Secrets to Die For have been highly praised, and the third book, Thrilled to Death, will be released in August. Her next two novels, Passions of the Dead and The Baby Thief, will be published in 2011. When not plotting murders, L.J. enjoys performing standup comedy, cycling, social networking, attending mystery conferences, and editing fiction manuscripts.

http://www.willamettewriters.com/pdf/VRPReleaseForm.pdf

Matt Skiena is Production Executive at Village Roadshow Pictures Entertainment. At Village, Skiena works to identify feature films and bring them to the company. In 2010, Village will release “Sex and the City 2,” “Cats and Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore,” starring the voice talents of James Marsden, Christina Applegate, Bette Midler, Nick Nolte and Neil Patrick Harris, “Legend of the Guardians,” directed by Zack Snyder, and “Life as we Know It,” starring Katherine Heigl. Upcoming movies also include, “Happy Feet 2,” “Fury Road,” and “The Lucky One.” Village Roadshow Pictures is a leading independent co-producer and co-financier of major Hollywood motion pictures, having produced 62 films since its establishment in 1997 including, as co-productions with Warner Bros., “The Matrix” trilogy, “I am Legend,” the “Ocean’s” series, “Sherlock Holmes,” “Gran Torino,” “Training Day,” “Analyze This,” and “Miss Congeniality.”

Website: http://www.davidmichaelslater.com/

David Michael Slater was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 8th, 1970. He teaches high school Writing in Portland, Oregon, where he lives with his wife and son. David writes for children, teens and adults.

Taking Advance Manuscript Critiques

Website: http://www.roy-stevenson.com

Roy Stevenson is a freelance writer based in Seattle, Washington. In the 30 months he’s been freelancing, he’s had over 200 non-fiction articles published more than 400 times on travel and culture, writing, military history and militaria, art, communications, health, fitness, running, triathlons, sports, and film festival reviews. Roy’s work has appeared in over 130 regional, national and international magazines, newspapers, in-flights and Ezines in the U.S.A., Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. He is a regular contributor and columnist to over ten magazines round the world. Magazines publishing his work include Northwest Travel, South Sound, Gorge Guide, Columbia Gorge, Beers-of-the-World, Blue Water Sailing, Classic Arms & Militaria, Military Machines International, Men's Fitness, Fitness Rx for Women, Runner's World (UK), Mysteries, Popular Communications, The Writer, Renaissance, Scotland, Sculpture, Spaceflight, Videoscope, Warbird Digest, Aviation History, and Zymurgy.

Taking Advance Manuscript Critiques

Website: http://www.cherylstrayed.com/

Cheryl Strayed’s memoir, Wild, will be published by Knopf in 2011. Her debut novel, Torch, was published by Houghton Mifflin in 2006 and was a finalist for the Great Lakes Book Award and was selected by The Oregonian as one of the top ten books of the year by writers from the Pacific Northwest. Strayed’s personal essays have appeared in more than a dozen magazines, including the New York Times Magazine, the Washington Post Magazine, Allure, Self, Brain, Child, and The Sun and have twice been selected for inclusion in the Best American Essays. Born in western Pennsylvania, raised in Minnesota, Strayed now lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and their two children.

Website: http://www.evanstuartproductions.com/

Evan Stuart is the producer/director of the feature film Reality Check which has been featured in both the Cinequest film festival and the Longbaugh film festival. He is also the creative director of Fictitious Films, a production company specializing in Independent film and alternative methods of media distribution. As the former head of marketing at Tricoast Studios in Los Angeles, he cut film trailers and oversaw media campaigns for New Line, Artisan, Moonstone, New Image and Showtime Networks. He has taught screenwriting at The Art Institute of Portland, and the Northwest Academy.

Bryan Unkeless is Vice President of Development at Nina Jacobson’s Color Force Productions, where he has developed such projects as “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”, “The Hunger Games”, and “One Day.” Before joining Color Force Bryan worked at DreamWorks Studios, Parkes-MacDonald Productions, and indie financier Echo Lake Productions.

Website: http://www.ellenurbani.com

Ellen Urbani is the author of the memoir When I Was Elena (The Permanent Press, ’06), a Book Sense Notable selection documenting her life in Guatemala in the early ’90s, during the final years of that country’s civil war. Her autobiographical short stories have appeared in a variety of bestselling pop-culture anthologies and regional publications since her college years, when she studied literature at the University of Alabama. She recently completed her first novel. Ellen lives in Portland, Oregon, where she teaches writing at Portland Community College and Saturday Academy and is a book reviewer for The Oregonian. More about her work can be found at www.ellenurbani.com.

Website: http://www.fullcircleliterary.com

Stefanie Von Borstel is a literary agent and co-founder of Full Circle Literary. The agency represents adult nonfiction, as well as young adult/middle grade and children's books. Prior to agenting, Stefanie worked in various editorial and marketing positions with Penguin and Harcourt. On the adult side, recent projects include I Love Dirt! 52 Activities to Help You and Your Kids Discover the Wonders of Nature by Jennifer Ward (Shambhala); and Diana Schoenbrun’s Beasties: How to Make 22 Mischievous Monsters That Go Bump in the Night (Penguin).

Taking Advance Manuscript Critiques

Website: http://www.pathsofthought.com/

Samantha Ducloux Waltz, an award-winning author, sold her first story at age eleven to the local newspaper, followed by First Fiction and Fiction awards as a teen for American Girl, and a stint as a guest editor for Mademoiselle. Currently she has more than forty stories in many anthologies including a number of volumes of the Chicken Soup for the Soul, Ultimate and A Cup of Comfort series. She has also been published in The Christian Science Monitor and The Rambler. Other writing includes an adult nonfiction book Parenting: Four Patterns in Child Rearing and a young adult novel Young Rebel written under the name Samellyn Wood. She teaches Telling and Selling workshops and classes.

Taking Advance Manuscript Critiques

Website: http://www.pennywarner.com

Penny Warner has published over 50 books, both fiction and non-fiction, for adults and children, including her most recent books, HOW TO HOST A KILLER PARTY (NAL/Penguing), THE OFFICIAL NANCY DREW HANDBOOK (nominated for an Agatha Award, Quirk/Chronicle) and the upcoming THE SECRET CASE FILES OF CODY JONES (Egmont). Her books have won national awards, garnered excellent reviews, and have been printed in 14 countries.Warner has a Bachelor’s degree in Child Development and a Master's degree in Special Education. She teaches writing at conferences across the country and belongs belongs to Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, SCBWI, California Writers Club, and Women Writing the West. Warner has appeared on television featuring ideas from her books, pens a weekly newspaper column on family life, and writes for popular websites. She and her husband Tom write interactive mysteries for libraries across the country. Warner lives in Danville, CA.

Website: http://www.cynthiawhitcomb.com

Cynthia Whitcomb is a playwright, T.V. and screenwriter and President of Willamette Writers. She has been nominated for the Emmy, Cable Ace, Humanitas, Edgar Allan Poe, and Writers Guild of America Awards. She has written two popular books on screenwriting, and taught screenwriting at UCLA Film School. She has sold over 70 screenplays and had 29 produced. Her work has been performed by such actors as Jason Robards, Ellen Burstyn, Kevin Spacey, Anjelica Huston, Martin Sheen and Liev Schreiber. She co-authored the play "Holidazed" with Marc Acito, produced at Artists Repertory Theatre.

Taking Advance Manuscript Critiques

Website: http://www.ericwitchey.com

Eric Witchey has made a living as a freelance writer and communication consultant for nearly 20 years. In addition to many non-fiction titles, he has sold more than 50 short stories and a novel. His stories have appeared in multiple genres under several names, and he has won awards from Writers of the Future, New Century Writers, Writer’s Digest, and other organizations. His writing-related, How-To articles have appeared in The Writer Magazine, Writer's Digest Magazine, and other print and online magazines. His custom courses for writers and writing organizations enhance craft and the pursuit of career development. When not teaching or writing, he spends his time fly fishing or restoring antique, model locomotives.

Taking Advance Manuscript Critiques

Website: http://www.lidiayuknavitch.net

Lidia Yuknavitch is the author of four books of fiction and three books of non-fiction. Her forthcoming memoir, The Chronology of Water, will be out in March 2011 from Hawthorne Books, and her novel The Small Backs of Children the following year from Hawthorne. She teaches literature, film, women’s studies and creative writing at Mt. Hood Community College and is the Editor of Chiasmus Press, as well as an Editor at Fiction Collective 2. She has twice been nominated for the Oregon Book Award, and was the recipient of both a Poets and Writer’s Writer’s Exchange Grant and runner-up for the Iowa Review prize.