Dennis Tafoya lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and is the author of two novels, Dope Thief and The Wolves of Fairmount Park, as well as numerous short stories appearing in collections such as Philadelphia Noir, coming November 2010 from Akashic Books. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the International Thriller Writers, and the Liars Club, a Philadelphia-area writers group. share: Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Tell a friend

JONATHAN MABERRY is a New York Times best-selling and multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. His books have been sold to more than a dozen countries. His novels include the Pine Deep Trilogy: GHOST ROAD BLUES (Pinnacle books; winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel in 2006), DEAD MAN’S SONG (2007) and BAD MOON RISING (2008); the Joe Ledger series of action thrillers from St. Martin’s Griffin: PATIENT ZERO (2009, which was nominated for a Bram Stoker Best Novel Award and is in development for TV by Sony Entertainment), THE DRAGON FACTORY (2010; now available), THE KING OF PLAGUES (March 2011), THE OTHERS (March 2012), VISITORS (2013); THE WOLFMAN (NY Times bestseller from Tor, based on the Universal Pictures film starring Benecio Del Toro, Emily Blunt and Sir Anthony Hopkins); the Benny Imura series of Young Adult dystopian zombie

There are two ways to register for the 2010 Backspace Writers Conference and Agent-Author Seminar:1. MAIL REGISTRATION: Print and complete the REGISTRATION FORM. Send it along with your check or money order made payable to Backspace, LLC via regular post to: Backspace, LLCP.O. Box 454Washington, Michigan48094 2. CREDIT CARD REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE for shopping cart options. Please note: The information you provide is considered personal. Under no circumstances will it be given to any individual or organization. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call or email Chris at chrisg@bksp.org or 732-267-6449. REGISTRATION FEE: EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION DISCOUNT (through February 1, 2010): $50 off the regular price of the Agent-Author Day (May 27th) – $225$50 off the 2010 Backspace Writers Conference (May 28th & 29th) – $445$120 off the conference/seminar combination package – $650 Extra reception tickets may be purchased for $125 each. PLEASE NOTE: This early registration

      Opening Pages Workshop Format In small groups of no more than five authors, two agents react to the author’s material as the author reads aloud as though they’d received it as a submission, stopping the reading when the material stops working for them, and then explaining why. Authors should be prepared for honest, objective feedback. Naturally, if an agent loves the work, authors are welcome to submit their material at the agent’s invitation. But if suggestions for improvement are offered, as is most often the case, authors should not be discouraged. Because these are workshops and not pitch sessions, authors whose materials were not as well-received as they had hoped can apply the suggestions that resonate and submit to these same agents later, according to the agents’ regular querying process. At the end of each small-group workshop, there will be an opportunity for general discussion and questions.

Participating agents: Paul Cirone, Elana Roth, Lois Winston, Rebecca Strauss, Jeff Kleinman, Kristin Nelson, Jamie Brenner, Suzie Townsend, Gwendolyn Heasley, Jenny Bent, Alanna Ramirez, Kirsten Neuhaus, Eric Myers, Blair Hewes, Marisa Corvisiero, Joe Veltre, Molly Jaffa, Elizabeth Evans, Jason Allen Ashlock, Natanya Wheeler 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 90-minute workshop is $45.   Thursday, May 27 9:00 – 10:15 “Query Letters That Work” – agents panel – Paul Cirone, Elizabeth Evans, Lois Winston, Rebecca Strauss, Eric Myers, Gwendolyn

Participating agents: Friday: Joanna Stampfel-Volpe, Scott Hoffman, Elana Roth, Jeff Kleinman, Kristin Nelson, Kathleen Ortiz, Suzie Townsend, Diana Fox Saturday: Jamie Brenner, Kathleen Ortiz, Suzie Townsend, April Eberhardt, Diana Fox, Marisa Corvisiero, Molly Jaffa, Jason Allen Ashlock, Rebecca Strauss, Donald Maass PLEASE NOTE: While the following schedule has been confirmed, due unforeseen circumstances, individual program parts are subject to change Friday, May 28 9:00 – 10:30 Track One (Ballroom A/B): Say Goodbye to the Slushpile: Writing the Perfect Query Letter Pitch for your Novel – workshop – Kristin Nelson 10:30 – 12:00 Track One (Ballroom A/B): Crafting the Perfect Hook: Part Two  – workshop -Jeff Kleinman, Joanna Volpe, Kristin Nelson Track Two (Ballroom C): Agent panel: “What Literary Agents Want” – Elana Roth, Kathleen Ortiz, Suzie Townsend, Diana Fox 12:00 – 1:00 Lunch (on your own) 1:00 – 2:00 Track One (Ballroom A/B): Agent-Author Relationship: Scott Hoffman, Norb Vonnegut, Jeff

The  Bob Kellogg Good Citizen Award for Outstanding  Contribution to  the  Internet  Writing Community   2005 Award Recipient:   Lee Child 2006 Award Recipient:   J.A. Konrath 2007 Award Recipient:   Kristin Nelson 2008 Award Recipient:   M.J. Rose 2009 Award Recipient:   David Morrell Bob Kellogg Author, Mentor, Friend (1934 – 2004)   The Internet writing community suffered a loss on October 23, 2004 when Bob Kellogg collapsed and passed away while participating in a charity run near his Del Mar, California home. Across numerous web sites and message boards, Bob was known for his gracious, gentlemanly demeanor and his informative and entertaining posts. He had both aspirations and humility, a rare combination, and was always willing to encourage his fellow writers. Bob wasn’t a best-selling author, but those who knew him like to believe he would have been. His first mystery, Murder on the Run, was released in October

  Saturday Morning Group 1 -Literary Fiction (Ballroom A/B) April Eberhardt, Jason Allen Ashlock 1.    Matthew Oleniuk2.    Roger Letso3.    Melanie Suggs4.    Susan Moger5.    Homa Zaryouni6.    Ed Howle7.    Lynette Eklund8.    Margaret Ann Spinella9.    Zarina Zabrisky10.     Marilyn Oser11.    Sanna Levine12. Group 2 – Mystery/Thriller FULL (Ballroom A/B) Marisa Corvisiero, Rebecca Strauss 1.    Kourtney Heintz2.    Leon Shure3.    Beverly Purdy4.    Susan Paturzo5.    Wendy Ball6.    Angelique Briand7.    Nora LeDuc8.    Christi Fallon9.    Archie Povzikov10.    Ben Sharpton11.    Peter Glassman12.    Heather Pemberton Group 3 – Young Adult (Ballroom A/B) Kathleen Ortiz, Molly Jaffa 1.    Hayley Morgan2.    June Goodwin3.    Jonathan Schramm4.    Weronika Janczuk5.    Melissa Hamilton6.    Kim Kurz7.    Jamie Foster8.    Amelie Tyler9.   J.P. McNeill                                    10.    Jennifer Tellier11.    Merridith Allen12. Group 4 -Sci Fi/Fantasy FULL (Chelsea B) Diana Fox, Suzie Townsend 1.    Russ Viola2.    Jennifer Milligan3.    Miriam Rosen4.    Cathy Riesterer5.    Denise McKee6.    Meredith Letso7.    Megan Fickling8.    Ken Kraus9.    Karen Bynum10.   Marc Graham11.   Lory  Kaufman12.  Darin Kennedy13.  Jeffrey Hetzel14.  Carl Mullin15.  Brian

Thursday Group 1 – Literary Fiction(Ballroom A/B) Morning session: Rebecca Friedman, Michelle Brower; Afternoon session: Natanya Wheeler, Jason Allen Ashlock 1.    Penda Aiken2.    Sarah Cypher3.    Marney McNall4.    Michael Cooper5.    Lucille Payne6.    Debra Eder7.    Anderson Washburn8.    Ashley Murray9.    Harold Suretsky10.   Ryan Nolan11.   Catherine Agnew12.   Raymond Fuentez13.   Sanna Levine14.   Beth Ballentine (am)15.   Irene Turner FULL Group 2 – Commercial Fiction 1/Memoir (Ballroom A/B) Morning session: Kirsten Neuhaus, Jenny Bent; Afternoon session: Kathleen Ortiz, Stephany Evans 1.    Marcelline Jenny2.    Stephen Maitland-Lewis3.    MaryAnn Kempher4.    Edward Samson5.    Elliott Baker6.    Richard Goode-Allen7.    Priscille  Sibley8.    Robert Fortner9.    Patricia Gibson10.    Carol McAfee11.    Anthony Blumfield12.    Laurie Silver13.   Susan Nadathur(am)14.   Nadina LaSpina15.   Tiffany BurnsGroup 3 – Commercial 2 (Ballroom A/B) Morning session: Rebecca Strauss, Jason Allen Ashlock; Afternoon session: Jennifer DeChiara, Jenny Bent 1.    John Cooker2.    JoAnn Kienzle3.    Ken Zemsky4.    June Goodwin5.    Benjamin Yablon6.    David Kritz7.    Diane Owens8.    Roberta Boatman9.    Vanessa Gil10.   Rebecca Burrell11.   Harjinder Dhillon12.   Robert Kelly13.  

There are two ways to register for the 2010 Backspace Writers Conference and Agent-Author Seminar:1. MAIL REGISTRATION: Print and complete the REGISTRATION FORM. Send it along with your check or money order made payable to Backspace, LLC via regular post to: Backspace, LLCP.O. Box 454Washington, Michigan48094 2. CREDIT CARD REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE for shopping cart options. Please note: The information you provide is considered personal. Under no circumstances will it be given to any individual or organization. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call or email Chris at chrisg@bksp.org or 732-267-6449. REGISTRATION FEE: EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION DISCOUNT (through February 1, 2010): $50 off the regular price of the Agent-Author Day (May 27th) – $225$50 off the 2010 Backspace Writers Conference (May 28th & 29th) – $445$120 off the conference/seminar combination package – $650 Extra reception tickets may be purchased for $125 each. PLEASE NOTE: This early registration discount price