Bloomington Art Center's Literary Council announces the

6th Annual Bloomington Writers' Festival
and Book Fair

Saturday, March 21, 2009
9:30 am - 4:30 pm
Bloomington Center for the Arts
1800 W Old Shakopee Rd

Co-sponsor: Midwest Independent Publishers Assn. and Beaver's Pond Press.
Join us for a Day with Writers, Publishers, Editors and Readers!

The Writers' Festival connects budding and established writers with published authors and other experts in the field to share information, techniques, skills and resources. The Festival also connects published authors with readers. Take some classes, meet writers and writers' resource organizations and businesses and learn about the art of writing. Buy signed copies of new books directly from the authors. Learn about local book clubs and writers groups.

9:30-10:30 am - Keynote Speaker: Award winning mystery writer, William Kent Krueger, This Writer's Life (Schneider Theater)

10:30 am-3:00 pm - Book Fair featuring Midwest authors

11:00 am-3:00 pm - Workshops (preregistration required)

11:00 am-12:00 pm, 3:30-4:30 pm - Panel Discussions
    
William Kent Krueger

COST: Registration is closed

Click here for links to the authors and vendors who will be participating at the Writers' Festival.

Keynote Speaker: William Kent Krueger This Writer's Life    
#3300 9:30-10:30 am 

Workshops:

Importance of Narrative in Your Writing with William Kent Krueger.
In the crime genre, Plot is often thought of as the most important story element. This workshop will focus on the equally important elements of Narrative: Language, Voice, Character, Setting, and Emotional Impact, all-important elements of any genre. The workshop will include a number of in-class exercises.

William Kent Krueger is the author of the Cork O'Connor series set in Minnesota 's great north woods. His work has received numerous awards including back-to-back Anthony Awards for Best Novel for BLOOD HOLLOW and MERCY FALLS respectively, and five Minnesota Book Awards. Kicked out of Stanford University for radical politics, Kent took a winding road to becoming an author. Along the way he logged timber, worked construction, ran a research laboratory, and at almost fifty years of age published his first novel, proving that not all old dogs are beyond learning new tricks. Kent writes every day in a small St. Paul coffee shop. RED KNIFE, his newest novel, was released in September.

Editing: More Important Now than Ever with Connie Anderson and Pat Morris.
Do not give publishers a reason to turn down your book or magazine article. This is a hands-on practical presentation of the importance of editing your work. Everything from proof reading, self-editing to editing for publication will be covered in this workshop. The workshop will include several in-class exercises.

Connie Anderson wears two hats in the book business: as editor of book manuscripts, and as co-founder of Armchair Interviews, a web-based book review and author interview site. As an editor, she provides an important service in an author's quest for the best book possible. Through Armchair Interviews, She sees the often sad results when an author does not have a book professionally edited--a good story that is ruined by errors and redundancy. www.wordsanddeeds.com and www.armchairinterviews.com

Pat Morris is the current president of the Midwest Independent Publishers Association, an organization that is attempting to make sense of this crazy publishing industry. She's been a professional editor for over 25 years, but obnoxiously corrected people's grammar long before that. Pat's clients include the Federal government, corporations, children's authors, and everything in between. She's written two books - a business book and a book about green tea and has several ideas for more books if only she could find the time... As a "natural" writer it was inevitable that Pat would end up at the University of Iowa, home of the world-renowned Writers' Workshop, where, of course, she majored in sociology. It was the 60s! www.MIPA.org.

Mark Levine is author of THE FINE PRINT OF SELF-PUBLISHING, which explains how to read and negotiate a contract with a self-publishing company. The book also analyzes and ranks the contracts and services of 48 self-publishing companies. Eight major self-publishing companies agreed to make their contracts more author-friendly in order to receive a higher ranking in the book. Mark is also founder of Click Industries Ltd. (an e-commerce company) and author of two novels. Information on Mark Levine and his books can be found on www.bookpublisherscompared.com and www.clickindustries.com.

Dorie McClelland has studied book design and typography extensively throughout her 25-year career. She founded Spring Book Design over fifteen years ago, collaborating with authors, illustrators, cover designers, editors, and publishers to produce over 200 completed books-trade, coffee table, art, memoirs, and family histories. Dorie is an active member of the sizable and excellent book-building community of the Twin Cities and is a lifelong collector of books and an avid reader. Dorie looks forward to the experience of a book, both when she has designed it and when she is reading. What strikes her most about a book is how its aesthetic contributes to its enjoyment. Like a frame around a great work of art, you are aware of the beauty of the frame but grateful that it isn't interfering with your enjoyment of the painting. Dorie@springbookdesign.com.

Joan Holman is an author, producer, web designer and marketing consultant. She has worked in all aspects of publishing including book development, writing, ghostwriting, editing, book marketing, book title creation, book design and book production. Nationally recognized as one of America's top online marketing experts, Joan recommends the use of the Internet as one of the most effective ways to build an audience for your book, promote your books, and self-publish through articles, newsletters, blogs and e-books. Read more about Joan Holman at www.holman.com.

Panel Discussions:

So YOU Want to Write a Children's Book
 #3360 11:00 am-12:00 pm  
Authors will share their stories that take us from their book's inspiration to its completion as published works. The panel will share their frustrations and joys as well as tips on how to be a successful writer of children's books. A good portion of this workshop will be in a question and answer format.

Panelists:

Nancy Carlson Author/Illustrator has published more than 60 children's books, has been an instructor at The Loft and is currently an instructor for Minneapolis College of Art And Design. Nancy believes that life should be fun for everyone, but especially for children. This optimistic message permeates her picture books and provides a positive counterpoint to much of what influences children in today's society. Nancy graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design with a major in printmaking, and shortly afterward became fascinated with children's books while working at Minneapolis's Walker Art Center. Recognition for her published work includes several Reading Rainbow selections, the Children's Choice Award from the International Reading Association and Children's Book Council, the Minnesota Children's Museum Great Friends to Kids Award and several others.

Lynn Garthwaite is the author of the DIRKLE SMAT ADVENTURE SERIES, published by Castle Keep Press. As a passionate advocate of children's literature, Lynn has worked in elementary school media centers and in classrooms, to help students develop an interest in reading and to write their own books. She currently writes full time, volunteers to do book talks in schools and and shares her Dirkle Smat adventure book series as a visiting author in Minnesota and Wisconsin schools. The DIRKLE SMAT ADVENTURE books are very early chapter books filled with mystery, adventure and fantasy. A young reader can join the recurring characters for the ongoing fun and exciting adventures.

Diane Keyes is the author of SPIRIT OF THE SNOWPEOPLE published Down East Books. She has worked as a home stager, floral designer, lay minister, grief counselor and book reviewer. "As a child, I always said I was going to be a writer," she recalls, "but I never pursued it until the day I was sitting at a stop light and the idea for Snowpeople came to me in the short space between the red and green lights." She received her education at the University of Minnesota, the Deaconate Formation Program at the Archdiocese of Saint Paul-Minneapolis, and at the Franciscan Spirituality Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Other book by Diane: THIS SOLD HOUSE

Patrick "Packy" Mader is an elementary teacher in Northfield, Minnesota. With a background in education, business, and agriculture, and inspired by his daughter, he has written two books, OMA & OPA TOGETHER and OMA FINDS A MIRACLE. The primary objective of his books is to have intergenerational stories with positive messages in a rural setting. Packy's unique presentations at state library conferences, bookstores, schools, and community groups are acclaimed for their mixture of humor and emotion.

Mystery Writers' Panel: Is It a Crime?
 #3370 3:30-4:30 pm  
There are as many types of mystery stories as there are writers of mysteries. This panel will discuss the journey that brought them to this genre, what elements are needed for a good story, and will give tips on making your writing better. The attendees of this panel will have an opportunity to ask questions.

Carl Brookins has been a television producer, a faculty member at Metropolitan State University in Saint Paul and a mystery fiction reviewer. He's a sailor, and a member of Sisters in Crime, EPIC, PWA and MWA. He frequently tours bookstores and libraries with The Minnesota Crime Wave, and he's co-host of a cable TV series about crime fiction. His latest books are BLOODY HALLS, and THE CASE OF THE DECEIVING DON. He also writes a sailing adventure series featuring Michael Tanner and Mary Whitney. His short work is included in "Silence of the Loons," "Resort to Murder," and "The Heat of the Moment" anthologies. carlbrookins@comcast.net, www.carlbrookins.com.

Gary Shulze is the co-owner of Once Upon a Crime Mystery Bookstore.
Once upon a time, these mystery fanatics and bookaholics found themselves with so many books that they knew not what to do. So, in August of 2002, they bought a bookstore. But not just any store, they bought the storied and fabled "Once Upon a Crime" in South Minneapolis. Since buying "OUAC", Pat and Gary have married, vastly increased the stock and scope of the store, and enthusiastically embraced "local authors". Both have diverse backgrounds, involving all sorts of jobs, none of which had ever been as much fun as this one. Where else, as they say, can you be surrounded by thousands of books, and call it "work"? Besides reading and buying and selling books, Gary writes occasional rave reviews and mysterious articles for Crimespree Magazine.

Ellen Hart is the author of twenty-four crime novels in two different series. She is a five-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award, as well as a three-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award for Best Popular Fiction. For the past eleven years, Ellen has taught "An Introduction to Writing the Modern Mystery" through the The Loft Literary Center. In the spring of 2008, Ellen, William Kent Krueger and Carl Brookins (who have traveled together for 8 years promoting their individual novels as The Minnesota Crime Wave) began a monthly TV show in Minnesota called The Minnesota Crime Wave Presents. Segments are available on YouTube as well as AOL video. Ellen's newest novels are NO RESERVATIONS REQUIRED, A Sophie Greenway Mystery (June 2005) and SWEET POISON, the sixteenth Jane Lawless mystery, (November of 2008.)

Susan Runholt, author of THE MYSTERY OF THE THIRD LUCRETIA, shares her teenage heroines' love of art and international travel. She has traveled extensively, and lived in Amsterdam and Paris. She serves as a fundraising consultant for St. Paul social service and arts organizations. She was named runner-up for the Debut Dagger Award by the Crime Writers' Association of Great Britain for THE MYSTERY OF THE THIRD LUCRETIA. Viking Children's Books will publish her next mystery in the Kari and Lucas series, RESCUING SENECA CRANE, in summer 2009.

Boxed Lunches: Sandwich, salad, cookie and beverage for $10. Reservations for boxed lunches must be made in advance.