Author: Steven Sanchez

Panel
Monday, March 26, 2007

Storytelling is the ancient art of conveying events in words, images, and sounds, usually characterized by an active dialogue between the storyteller and an audience. Today there is a surge of interest in storytelling, as evidenced by the dozens of storytelling festivals throughout the country. But it is also a useful skill to learn. Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, for page or stage, a strong, narrative story will keep the reader interested and bring your writing to life.

A panel of professional storytellers and creative narrative specialists will share their secrets and techniques for finding your writing voice and applying the art of storytelling to your work. They’ll also explore the marketplace for writers as storytellers.

Moderator: Gary Young’
Terrie Silverman, MFA
Ina Hillebrandt
Marvin J. Wolf
Penny Post
Stacie Chaiken

[To read more, click the title!]

Panel
Monday, February 26, 2007

Lifestyle writing offers independent writers a wide selection of writing styles and topics. Like ingredients found in flavorful dishes, the words of lifestyle writers can enhance their readers’ savory exposure to one or more fields. For this program, a melange of seasoned writers and editors who have successfully bridged more than one style of writing will discuss opportunities in the various lifestyle genres, synergies between the different topics, and how to adapt your writing to connect with readers of particular lifestyle markets.

Panel
Barbara Hansen
Elisabeth Deffner
James Burns
Devin Alexander
Roy M. Wallack

[To read more, click the title!]

Panel
Monday, January 29, 2007

Need a clue about how to write a great mystery? Please join IWOSC in January as its panel of expert mystery novelists and screenwriters unravel the mysteries of crime and mystery writing.

The panelists discussed the rules of the genre and their own paths to success. Our panelists also discussed the future for the genre, especially how the Internet will be involved.

Moderator: Diana James

[To read more, click the title!]

Panel
Monday, January 28, 2007

“When did the rules change?” Many writers and journalists have pondered this question over and over about book publishing, which has completely undergone a metamorphosis in the past decade. The Internet, media consolidation, big-box vs. independent bookstores, the boom in self-publishing/online “e-books” and blogs, and Hollywood-style demographics, age discrimination, and target-audience issues have transformed what was once the most stable and reliable of media industries into a completely new — and relatively uncharted — landscape.

IWOSC kicks off 2008 with a panel created to untangle some of these knotty career issues. It includes experts from every checkpoint of modern publishing -an agent for one of Hollywood’s most A-list literary and talent agencies and a top book publicist. Plus, two of LA’s most prominent booksellers — one anchored in the independent bookseller world while the other hails from one of the nation’s premiere chain bookstores.

Moderator: Telly Davidson

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Conversation
Monday, November 21, 2006

Departing from our usual formula, we are excited to host Sandra Tsing Loh in conversation with Digby Diehl. Heard regularly on KPCC, writer-performer-musician Loh is a talented wordsmith who pens in-depth observances about everyday occurrences transfigured into delicious rants. Loh writes for many genres and has interesting experiences and advice to share. No stranger to controversy, Loh was fired from a radio commentator job over an un-bleeped obscenity, which triggered her transformation into a free-speech and First Amendment advocate.

Loh is currently appearing in her one-woman show, “Mother on Fire,” at the 24th St. Theatre (see item below). Previously, she was seen in solo performance at the Geffen Playhouse in “Sugar Plum Fairy.” Her other shows include “Aliens in America,” “Bad Sex With Bud Kemp,” and “I Worry.”

Her books include “A Year in Van Nuys,” “Aliens in America,” “Depth Takes a Holiday,” and a novel, “If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home By Now,” which was named by the Los Angeles Times as one of the 100 best fiction books of 1998. Her story, “My Father’s Chinese Wives,” received a 1997 Pushcart Prize and was featured in the 1999 Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. She and her husband Mike Miller also composed the music for Jessica Yu’s documentary short, “Breathing Lessons,” which won an Oscar in 1998.

The evening will be hosted by acclaimed writer and critic Digby Diehl.

[To read more, click the title!]

Panel
Monday, Nov 20, 2006

More Americans (and American companies) than ever are researching their roots, often making surprising discoveries — and sometimes they need the help of a professional writer. Please join IWOSC as a panel of history detectives get together to discuss the methods and marketplace for creating family and corporate histories. Learn about the methods and marketplace for family and corporate histories from oral historians, writers, and a genealogist who focus on our ancestry.

Moderator: Richard Sherer
Jean Chapman Snow
Ellie Kahn
Teresa Barnett

[To read more, click the title!]

Panel
Monday, Oct 30, 2006

Los Angeles is one of the world’s most culturally-diverse cities. But does that bode well for ethnic writers? Is the market for ethnic writing growing, or not? A multi-cultural panel of writers in a variety of genres will discuss their success stories and the most promising market segments, as well as exploring inter- and intra-cultural conflicts.

Moderator Julio Moran was part of the Los Angeles Times team of reporters, editors, and photographers who won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize For Public Service. The winning work was a 21-part series on Latinos in Southern California. Today, Moran is Executive Director of the non-profit Chicano News Media Association, and serves as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Journalism teaching news writing and reporting.

Moderator: Julio Moran
Karen Grigsby Bates
James Lujan

[To read more, click the title!]

Panel
Monday, Sept 25, 2006

Los Angeles has become a hotbed for magazine publishing. Top editors will share the secrets of breaking into their publications. The editors will tell you how to get their attention, what department is most actively looking for fresh ideas, how to contact them, and each will provide a calendar of upcoming topics. This year’s guests TBA, but in the past IWOSC has hosted editors from such prestigious publications as Angeleno, Ms., Los Angeles Times Magazine, Bon Appetit, and People, among others.

[To read more, click the title!]

Panel
Monday, July 31, 2006

What are the elements that make two (or more) pens better than one? In this IWOSC Monday night program, our speakers will share their insights and experiences related to the collaborative writing experience. We’ll explore why the writers chose collaboration, how writing partners and projects are found, tips for having a productive relationship, the ways collaboration differs from going solo, how the dynamics change when more than two people are pounding out words together, and more. The legal aspects of team efforts will also be reviewed.

Moderator: Robin Quinn
Irma Kalish and Naomi Gurian
Susan Golant
Patricia Alexander
Matt Stephens
Jonathan Kirsch

[To read more, click the title!]

Panel
Monday, June 26, 2006

No, it’s not a chewing gum. And for IWOSC, it’s not just fiction for young women, though we certainly appreciate those gals who have gotten their stilettos through the door and published breezy, candy-coated romps.

This panel will discuss the many avenues of writing for the women’s market, both fiction and non-fiction, young and old, romantic and erotic, service-oriented and just plain fun. (Men, come find out how you can write for the women’s marketplace.)

Moderator: Anne Mosbergen
Produced by Anne Mosbergen, with assistance from Laura Meyers.

[To read more, click the title!]

Panel
Monday, May 1, 2006

Ever think of getting an agent? Considering changing your representation? If so, this specially scheduled May agents panel is just right for you!

Our agent speakers will reveal what impresses them, as well as what turns them off. What are the winning qualities of those crucial query letters? What should you say during early conversations with agencies? How do you determine which agent is right for you in the first place? What are agents looking for today? We’ll also consider other aspects of the changing marketplace as well as cutting-edge parts of contracts.

Moderator: Robin Quinn
Sharlene Martin, Martin Literary Management
Attorney Ivan Hoffman, B.A., J.D.
Mark Pavlovich, Marian Berzon Talent Agency
Jenoyne Adams, Levine Greenberg Literary Agency
Paul Levine, Paul S. Levine Literary Agency

[To read more, click the title!]

Panel
Monday, April 24, 2006

Los Angeles has become a new hotbed for magazine publishing, with new arrivals every month. The top editors from several of these new arrivals – including Ms., V Life, Angeleno and Create – will talk about the Los Angeles magazine scene and opportunities for writers in the pages of their publications. Each editor will describe what the magazine is broadly about, and what kinds of things it does cover and does NOT cover. The editors will tell you how to get their attention, what department is most actively looking for fresh ideas, how to contact them, and will provide a calendar of upcoming topics.

John Alan Schwartz, editor of The Big Picture
Alexandria Abramian-Mott, Editor-in-Chief of Angeleno Magazine
Ted Johnson, Deputy Editor of V Life
PJ Cannon, a contributor to Create Magazine
Michele Kort, senior editor of Ms. Magazine