Melanie Benjamin was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. An avid reader all her life—as a child, she was the proud winner, several years running, of the summer reading program at her local library—she still firmly believes that a lifetime of reading is the best education a writer can have. While attending Indiana University—Purdue University at Indianapolis, Melanie performed in many community theater productions before meeting her husband, moving to the Chicago area and raising two sons. Writing was always beckoning, however, and soon she began writing for local magazines and newspapers before venturing into her first love, fiction. As Melanie Hauser, she published two contemporary novels. By incorporating her passion for history and biography, Melanie, now writing as Melanie Benjamin, has finally found her niche writing historical fiction, concentrating on the “stories behind the stories.” ALICE I HAVE BEEN is her first historical novel; she is currently at work on

Number one New York Times bestselling author Lorenzo Carcaterra’s highly successful career spans more than twenty years of writing for the diverse fields of fiction, non-fiction, television, and film. Born and raised in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, Carcaterra landed his first job in the newspaper business as a copy boy for The New York Daily News in 1976. He worked his way up to entertainment reporter before leaving the paper in 1982, heading for the green pastures of then-Time Inc. and TV-Cable Week, as senior writer. Nine months later, the magazine folded, leaving him unemployed. A four-month stint at People Magazine was followed by an odyssey of writing for a string of start-up publications – Picture Week, Entertainment Tonight Magazine, Special Reports Magazine – and freelancing for dozens of others – The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Newsday Sunday Magazine, Family Circle, Ladies Home Journal, and Twilight Zone Magazine,

NEIL S. NYREN is Senior Vice President, Publisher and Editor in Chief of G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Among his authors are Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, Patricia Cornwell, Jack Higgins, W.E.B. Griffin, John Sandford, Dave Barry, Daniel Silva, Ken Follett, Frederick Forsyth, Randy Wayne White, Alex Berenson, James O. Born, Ace Atkins and Carol O’Connell; nonfiction by Bob Schieffer, Maureen Dowd, John McEnroe, Linda Ellerbee, Jeff Greenfield, Charles Kuralt, Secretary of State James Baker III, Thomas P.M. Barnett, Sara Nelson, General Tony Zinni, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. share: Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Tell a friend

2010 Backspace Writers Conference Agenda PLEASE NOTE: While the following schedule has been confirmed, due unforeseen circumstances, individual program parts are subject to change Individual workshop assignments will be posted April 15. FRIDAY, May 28 Track One (Ballroom A/B) Track Two (Ballroom C) 9:00 – 10:00 Symposium: Crafting the Perfect Hook (Part One): “The Wind-Up” – workshop – Kristin Nelson 10:00 – 11:00 Symposium: Crafting the Perfect Hook (Part Two): “The Pitch” – agent workshop – TBA 11:00 – 12:00 Symposium: Crafting the Perfect Hook (Part Three): “She Scores!” – workshop – Jeff Kleinman, TBA 12:00 – 1:00 Lunch 1:00 – 2:00 Agent-Author Relationship: Scott Hoffman, Norb Vonnegut, Jeff Kleinman, Elizabeth Letts, Karen Dionne (moderator) Master Class: Social Networking – Donald Lafferty 2:00 – 3:00 Author-Editor Relationship: Gayle Lynds, Keith Kahla, Jason Pinter (moderator) Author panel: “Writing from the Edge: Sin, Sex, and Similar Taboos” – Rachel Kramer Bussel, J.E.

PLEASE NOTE: While the following schedule has been confirmed, due unforeseen circumstances, individual program parts are subject to change NEW!  Bella Stander and Ron Hogan will teach their always popular “Polish Your Pitch!” workshop May 27 from 6-7:30 p.m. The workshop is an intensive 90-minute course that covers the principles of formulating an effective and concise pitch for your book. Eight participants will be randomly selected to have their pitches individually critiqued in class. Cost for the 45-minute workshop is $45. Thursday, May 27 9:00 – 10:15 “Query Letters That Work” – agents panel 10:30 – 12:00 Query Letter Workshops 12:00 – 1:00 Lunch 1:00 – 2:00 “The ‘Wow’ Factor” – agents panel 2:00 – 4:00 Opening Pages Workshops 4:00 – 4:30 break w/refreshments 4:30 – 5:30 Keynote Address – Lorenzo Carcaterra 6:00 – 7:30  “Polish Your Pitch!” – workshop – Bella Stander, Ron Hogan Workshop Assignments and Format The

Bella Stander is the proprietor of Book Promotion 101, offering publicity consulting to commercially published authors. She is also the publisher of Bella Terra Publishing LLC and a program coordinator for the Virginia Festival of the Book. Formerly a contributing editor at Publishers Weekly, Stander has reviewed books for the Washington Post, Wall St. Journal, Chicago Tribune, Entertainment Weekly and People. She is a member of the Authors Guild and National Book Critics Circle. See her writing and publishing websites: BellaStander.com and BellaTerraMaps.com.   share: Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Tell a friend

Ron Hogan created Beatrice.com in 1995, making it one of the oldest continuously running literary websites on the Internet. He also writes about the business side of publishing at GalleyCat. He is the author of The Stewardess Is Flying the Plane, a visual tribute to ’70s Hollywood Publishers Weekly called “one of the year’s most fun” coffee table books when it was published in 2005, and contributed to the New York Times bestseller Not Quite What I Was Planning. He has also published an e-book of his “translation” of the Tao Te Ching that is downloaded by more than 25,000 readers a year in various formats. share: Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Tell a friend

After my discharge from the US Air Force where I spent four years flight testing guidance systems for the B-1 bomber program, I entered the sales and marketing end of the electronics industry on the first working day of 1984. Within a few short years I’d become widely regarded as one of the strongest technical communicators in the business. Since then, I’ve developed solutions for companies targeting new markets and increased market share, including some of the biggest brands in the electronics industry. With the emergence and growth of online social networks like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter, I’ve focused on working with clients to craft and execute successful online marketing strategies through the tools available within these communities. I continue to lead from the front lines of the Social Media space, defining effective strategies and tactics for my clients, enabling them to capitalize on this exploding opportunity to

Dana Kaye Litoff received her B.A. in Fiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago. After college, she worked as a freelance writer and book critic. Her work has appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, Time Out Chicago, Crimespree Magazine, Windy City Times, Bitch Magazine, and on GapersBlock.com. This experience has been crucial to her publicity career: she has the contacts and necessary industry insight to form pertinent, widespread media campaigns. Dana is known for her innovative ideas and knowledge of current trends. Her Twitter and Facebook strategies were showcased in USA Today. In addition to traditional media placement, she has arranged corporate partnerships, non-traditional speaking engagements, and grassroots marketing strategies for her clients. share: Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Tell a friend

A fiction and nonfiction generalist editor for over forty years, I do in-depth, problem-solving editorial critiques. Other editorial services include cutting, restructuring, rewriting, and line editing. I also develop, critique and edit fiction and nonfiction proposals. My editorial suggestions point out what works in the manuscript, and offer solutions to any problems I see. My comments are made in the margins of the manuscript, and then recapped in an accompanying report. I encourage questions and comments after the author receives the critique. My goals are to help the author write to the best of his or her ability, teach writing skills valuable not only for the current manuscript but for those to come, and to make the manuscript as effective and salable as possible. I edit and critique all areas of mainstream fiction except category romances, westerns, Science Fiction and Fantasy and children’s books. I edit and critique all areas