Dan Blank is the founder of WeGrowMedia.com, which provides writers and publishers the strategy and tactics they need to impact their communities and build their legacies. He has worked with more than 500 writers, a wide range of publishers, and regularly speaks at conferences about branding, content strategy, social media, and marketing. You can follow him on Twitter at @DanBlank and read his blog at WeGrowMedia.com. share: Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Tell a friend

Colleen Lindsay is an unrepentant nerd and digital native who spent most of her formative years hiding beneath the blankets with a flashlight and a book. Her obsession with reading was a hard habit to break; as a result, she’s worked in the book industry since 1984. Her first job in publishing was in Northern California as a mass merchandise sales assistant for Ballantine Books. For five years she served as Director of Publicity for Del Rey Books, a division of the Random House Publishing Group, specializing in the creative publicity and marketing of science fiction, fantasy, pop culture, YA fantasy, graphic novels, manga and third-party licensed media. Some of the authors whose publicity campaigns Colleen had the privilege to manage at Del Rey include Terry Brooks, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, Stephen Baxter, Elizabeth Moon, China Mieville, Richard K. Morgan, Minister Faust, Matthew Stover, R.A. Salvatore, and Harvey Pekar. Colleen

Lauren Cerand advises her clients on buzz, and how to get it. Says Publishing Perspectives, “Lauren Cerand, an independent publicist based out of New York City, always seems to be a step ahead of the game.” “She really knows how to do campaigns right,” says Mediabistro, and has been called one of the “cultural gatekeepers in the literary world” by Time Out New York, the “Best of New York” by The Village Voice, and “a social media pioneer” by Svenska Dagbladet (Swedish Daily Paper). According to theNervous Breakdown, “Lauren Cerand is a singular powerhouse of vision and personality… there isn’t a hotter freelance publicist in the country.” She is “known for her stellar taste” according to Flavorwire, and her work has been described as “honorable, uber-modern, and interactive” by Daily Candy. Poets & Writers commissioned her articles, “Social Media for Authors: Forever in Search of Buzz” (online), and “How to Use Twitter to Connect With Readers” (online). She regularly speaks to

These days, it isn’t enough to just write a compelling novel. Agents and editors are looking for writers who are also engaging potential readers online, building strong virtual communities and using social media to build a platform before they’ve even gotten published. This panel will discuss how to get started in this scary new digital world, best practices for using social media, balancing the personal and the professional online, and – most importantly – what you do to make sure that your writing doesn’t suffer in the process. Q&A session to follow! Colleen Lindsay, community manager for Book Country Lauren Cerand, Publicist Dan Blank,  founder of WeGrowMedia.com share: Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Tell a friend

Paul Lucas began his career in publishing in the legal and sub rights department at Janklow & Nesbit Associates. He is actively building his fiction and non-fiction lists. He loves to see an author bringing a creative or literary twist to genre fiction, being a life-long devotee of thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, historical and literary fiction. Deep characters and dark plots will keep him invested far beyond his intended subway stop. For non-fiction, he looks for a writer with a compelling platform to inform about an area of expertise. While not reading, you can find him drinking scotch and listening to music. He’ll take recommendations on either and can be reached at plucas(at)janklow(dot)com. share: Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Tell a friend

David L. Robbins was born in Richmond, Virginia, on March 10, 1954. He grew up in Sandston, a small town east of Richmond out by the airport; his father was among the first to sit behind the new radar scope in the air traffic control tower. Both his parents, Sam and Carol, were veterans of WWII. Sam saw action in the Pacific, especially at Pearl Harbor. In 1976, David graduated from the College of William & Mary, in Williamsburg, Virginia, with a B.A. in Theater and Speech. He didn’t know what to do for a living, having little real theatrical talents, so he decided to attend what he calls the “great catch-basin of unfocused over-achievers,” law school. He received his Juris Doctorate at William and Mary in 1980. Robbins practiced environmental law in Columbia, S.C. for a year to the day (his father demanded back the money for law school

Nichole Bernier’s debut novel THE UNFINISHED WORK OF ELIZABETH D. will be published by Crown/Random House on June 5, 2012. A contributing editor with Condé Nast Traveler magazine, she was previously on staff as a features writer, golf and ski editor, advice columnist and TV spokesperson. She received a Master’s degree from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, and has also written for such publications as Elle, Self, Health, Men’s Journal, USA Today and Huffington Post. She lives with her family near Boston, and can be found on Twitter at @nicholebernier.   share: Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Tell a friend

Maybe you’re a first-time novelist looking for practical guidance. Maybe you’ve already been published, but your latest effort is stuck in mid-list limbo. Whatever the case may be, author and literary agent Donald Maass can show you how to take your prose to the next level and write a breakout novel — one that rises out of obscurity and hits the best-seller lists. Maass details the elements that all breakout novels share — regardless of genre — then shows you writing techniques that can make your own books stand out and succeed in a crowded marketplace. For advanced fiction writers, or those who aspire to be! “Any good literary agent can tell you when a manuscript isn’t working,” says Keith Cronin, author of ME AGAIN. “The really good agents can pinpoint exactly what isn’t working. But Donald Maass is the first one I’ve seen who has crafted a methodology for

Ellen Meeropol’s work explores characters at the intersection of political turmoil, ethical dilemma, and family life. Publishers Weekly gave her debut novel, House Arrest (Red Hen, 2011) a starred review, calling it “thoughtful and tightly composed, unflinching in taking on challenging subjects and deliberating uneasy ethical conundrums.” A literary late bloomer, Ellen Meeropol left her nurse practitioner career to write fiction and work in an independent bookstore. She holds an MFA from the Stonecoast Program, University of Southern Maine; her short stories and essays have been published in Bridges, Pedestal, Rumpus, Portland Magazine, Shaking Magazine, Women’s Times, Off Our Backs and others. Ellen lives with her husband and cats in Western Massachusetts. Visit her online at www.ellenmeeropol.com. share: Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Tell a friend

With a background in literary publishing and fashion magazines, Stéphanie Abou of Foundry Literary + Media has been in New York publishing for 10 years. Since 1999 she has worked at literary agencies as both Rights Director and as a Domestic agent. In fiction and non-fiction alike Stéphanie is always on the lookout for authors who are accomplished storytellers with their own distinctive voice, who develop memorable characters, and who are able to create psychological conflict with their narrative. She is an across-the-board fiction lover, attracted to both literary and smart upmarket commercial fiction. In non-fiction she leans towards projects that tackle big topics with an unusual approach. Pop culture, health, science, parenting, women’s and multicultural issues are of special interest. She is a graduate of the Sorbonne in Paris, France, her hometown, where the focus of her masters in comparative literature was on the poetics of translation. share: Digg