Romance? Thriller? YA/Children? Whatever your genre, there’s a summer conference for you

JULY 7-11
Thrillerfest X

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Grand Hyatt, New York City

Photo by Sandy DeMille

Nelson DeMille is the 2015 ThrillerMaster for the tenth annual Thrillerfest.

“Spotlight” guests include Mark Billingham, Charlaine Harris and Greg Iles.

Kathy Reichs, the 2015 Silver Bullet Recipient, Brenda Novak, last year’s Silver Bullet Recipient, and Scott Turow, last year’s ThrillerMaster will also attend.

ThrillerFest has several components:

• Tuesday, July 7, will be devoted to Master CraftFest, small group intensive workshops taught by D.P. Lyle, Steve Berry, Gayle Lynds, Steven James, Grant Blackwood, David Corbett, Lorenzo Carcaterra and others.
• CraftFest will run from Wednesday, July 8 to Thursday, July 9. In addition to workshops and panels, there will be a “FactTrack” with information on firearms, explosives, forensics and pathology, and a “CareerTrack” which will focus on marketing and promotion.
• PitchFest: On Thursday, July 9th, you can pitch your novel to “the best literary agents/producers/editors in the business.” Last year, there were more than 50 agents, editors, and producers attending. Read about the incredible tales of success under the Success Stories tab.

For details and to register: thrillerfest.com.


JULY 22-25
Romance Writers of America

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New York Marriott Marquis, New York City

Romance Writers of America (RWA) will be holding its annual conference in New York July 22-25. RWA is a nonprofit trade association with a membership of more than 10,000 romance writers and industry professionals.

Keynote speakers for the conference will be Barbara Freethy, Julia Quinn, and Nalini Singh. Lisa Kleypas will be the Emcee for the Awards Ceremony. Jude Deveraux will be the speaker for the Librarians Day Luncheon.

In addition to workshops and book signings, there will be an opportunity to pitch your book to agents and editors. For details and to register, go to rwa.org.


JULY 31 - AUGUST 2
Society of Children’s Book Writer and Illustrators 44th Annual Conference

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Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Los Angeles

SCBWI is an international professional organization for writers and illustrators of children’s books. Its 34th annual conference will take place July 31 - August 2 with Intensive Workshops on Monday, August 3.

Keynote speakers include Kwame Alexander, Mem Fox, Stephen Fraser, Shannon Hale, Molly Idle, Varian Johnson, Jane O’Connor, Adam Rex, Dan Santat and Meg Wolitzer.

There will be an Agents’ Panel with Jenny Bent, The Bent Agency; Brenda Bower, Barry Goldblatt, Barry Goldblatt Literary; Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary Agency; Alex Penfold, Upstart Crow Literary; and Jodi Reamer, Writers House.

The Editors’ Panel will be made up of Jordan Brown, Balzer/Walden Pond Press/Harper Collins; Julie Strauss-Gabel, Dutton/Penguin Random House; Allyn Johnston, Beach Lane Books/Simon and Schuster; Rotem Moscovich, Disney-Hyperion; Sara Sargent, Simon Pulse/Simon and Schuster, and Alison Weiss, Sky Pony Press. It will be moderated by Wendy Loggia, Delacorte/Penguin Random House.

Additionally, there will be small group targeted workshops, larger intensives, optional manuscript and portfolio critiques with a publishing professional. For details and registration, see scbwi.org.