Seminar
Saturday, Sept 12, 2009
There is no shortage of screenplays in Los Angeles. But what does it take to get your project noticed? A High Concept film is a great way to spark the attention of important people.
You’ll learn:
Presented by: STEVE KAIRE
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Panel
Monday, August 24, 2009
IWOSC panelists will discuss creative techniques to help you sell books, be paid to speak and be an expert the media calls upon. This applies to any subject, whether it’s spoon collecting, motivational speaking, or counseling. There is an audience for you; learn how to build the platform to reach it.
Moderator: JOHN SEELEY
BRENDA AVADIAN, MA
LOIS ROSE ROSE
DEE DEE PHELPS
INA HILLEBRAND
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Party
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Rub elbows with some of Southern California’s most interesting writers while you dine and drink lavishly in a unique historic setting.
This year’s party is at the historic Zane Grey Estate on “Millionaire’s Row” in Altadena.
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Panel
Monday, July 27, 2009
Every life tells a story!
Whether you’re thinking of putting the story of your own life down on paper, or writing a profile of a historical or celebrity figure you’ve long admired — or just one of the millions of readers who devour books on history or Hollywood — this panel is for you.
Our moderated panel discussion will feature both those who have found the courage to tell their own life stories — warts and all — plus top industry “names” who have written about celebrity and political figures….
Moderator: Telly Davidson
JENNIFER SKY BAND
DIANNE De La VEGA’
INA HILLEBRANDT
NAT SEGALOFF
DIGBY DIEHL
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Panel
Monday, June 29, 2009
What’s the best way to get a buzz on about your work of art?
Using some of the latest marketing vehicles like social networking sites can help. So can being savvy, creative, and energetic. But you need to know how, you need to know where, you need to know what’s new, and you need to know how to do it inexpensively and time-efficiently.
Learn from our experienced panel and resolve to put some buzz into your marketing mix!
TERESA FOGARTY
ANNETTE FIX
THORA GABRIEL
ANTOINETTE KURITZ
PENNY C. SANSEVIERI
JOHN SEELEY
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Seminar
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Self-publishing is finally getting some respect, especially in this age of hard times for mainstream publishers. There are many good reasons to consider self-publishing, whether as a traditional book, an electronic book, an audio book, a print-on-demand book, a large-print book, or all of the above. Self-publishing cuts much of the wait time, places you in charge of a greater percentage of profits, allows “free” books if you speak for a group, and gives you greater flexibility for other sales generated by the book.
Presented by: REG GREEN and CLIFF CARLE
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IWOSC Reads Its Own
Sunday, June 7, 2009
A baker’s dozen of IWOSC’s talented member writers will read their work aloud. We’ll be regaled with their wit, have our emotions stirred, or be plunged into deep thought. First-time and return readers will share their work. Selections may be published, unpublished, or works in progress, no longer than five to seven minutes
Come hear:
Ron Vazzano — yes, our program coordinator will also be reading)
Susan Carrier
Gary Young
Alice Romano
Gerald Jones
Jennifer Sky Band
Stephen Wolcott
Adolphus Ward
Telly Davidson
Flo Selfman
Dana Ellingwood
Dianne de la Vega
Lisa-Catherine Cohen
Linda Lichtman
[To read more, click the title!]
Panel
Monday, May 18, 2009
Today’s news and newsflashes sound like Chicken Little — dire and depressing. IWOSC believes laughter will alleviate stress and bring what’s happening into perspective. The sky’s not falling.
After all, Mark Twain, Will Rogers, Dave Barry, Erma Bombeck, Chuck Lorre and others take what is considered imminent Chicken Little danger and spin the circumstances into funny story-telling with more than a twist of truth. Why do we find their humor timeless today? How may today’s writers yearning for infinite celebrity write funny material that editors, producers and publishers want to buy? What is the potential of humor writing on New Media platforms? Where will we find the myriad avenues to lucrative humorous writing?
Humorous writing is not just one-line jokes or comedy lines. It is also satire, parody, farce, TV sit-com situations and comedic movies. Robert McKee states that if the audience laughs, it works. If the audience doesn’t laugh, it doesn’t work. End of story.
MARK MILLER
JUDY CARTER
MARILYN ANDERSON
HANK ROSENFELD
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Seminar
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Laughter is the best medicine, they say. Many IWOSCans say laughter is also lucrative. Humorous writing is not one-line jokes — it is setting up the humorous premise and giving your audience/reader the humorous payoff.
Mark Miller will show you how to craft humor for general and specific audiences. He will highlight humor’s various forms and how to craft humorous writing. He will walk us through what works, what doesn’t, and why. He will discuss the markets, resources and New Media possibilities for humorous writing.
Presented by: Mark Miller
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Panel
Monday, April 27, 2009
As every savvy writer eventually learns, getting the words down on the page is just half the battle. To get the right exposure and desirable compensation for these efforts, writers need to develop marketing intelligence. It can also help tremendously to work with someone who has been down this road many times before – the literary agent. The April program will present a stellar panel of agents and a literary attorney. Panelists will cover how to select the right agent, how to get their attention, common missteps and the role of an agent in the writer’s life. In addition, learn about new trends, how to protect yourself in the current marketplace, as well as when to work with a literary attorney.
Moderator: Robin Quinn
Attorney JONATHAN KIRSCH
Agent KELLY D. SONNACK
Agent TIM WAGER
Agent BJ ROBBINS
Agent VANESSA LIVINGSTON
[To read more, click the title!]
Seminar
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Newsletters: The Good, the Bad, and the Creative
Want to produce a newsworthy newsletter?
Whether you want to create your own newsletter to promote your business, or write newsletters for clients and employers, learn how to assemble a newsletter that readers look forward to reading. Seminar leaders Debra Eckerling and Tammy Takahashi will address layout, clarity, graphics, misspellings, typos, syntax issues, and the software to make your job easier and product better. Also learn ways to contact companies that provide newsletters and help make their product more profitable.
Presented by: DEBRA ECKERLING and TAMMY TAKAHASHI
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Panel
Monday, February 23, 2009
February is the shortest month of the year, so IWOSC is dedicating it to short stories!
Name your favorite short story.
Is it “The Gift of the Magi,” in which the wife cuts and sells her long hair to buy her husband a watch fob, while, unbeknownst to her, he sells the watch to buy her a beautiful comb for her hair? How did O. Henry create a short story of such lasting beauty? How did Edgar Allen Poe, Washington Irving, Saki, Kipling, Mark Twain, Bret Harte and many others create stories that we still read today?
Moderator: is managing editor, Ex Machina Press, an award-winning
Bernadette Murphy
Mark D’anna
Christopher Meeks
Dr. Steve Heller
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Seminar
Saturday, February 21, 2009
February is the shortest month of the year, so IWOSC is dedicating it to short stories!
Name your favorite short story.
Is it “The Gift of the Magi,” in which the wife cuts and sells her long hair to buy her husband a watch fob, while, unbeknownst to her, he sells the watch to buy her a beautiful comb for her hair? How did O. Henry create a short story of such lasting beauty? How did Edgar Allen Poe, Washington Irving, Saki, Kipling, Mark Twain, Bret Harte and many others create stories that we still read today?
More to the point, how can today’s aspiring O. Henrys write stories that editors will want to buy? And where do we find these editors, magazines, and anthologies?
Presented by:
[To read more, click the title!]
Panel
Monday, January 26, 2009
The death of the music industry has been widely reported, but what’s the truth for writers? With the cutbacks at newspapers and other paper-based publications, both music writers and promoters have had to look for new venues for their work—on the internet and elsewhere.
Moderator: JAMES E. FOWLER, aka Sleepy James
MARGARET WAPPLER
DENISE SULLIVAN
SCOTT YANOW
CASEY DOLAN
[To read more, click the title!]
Seminar
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Does the thought of a microphone in your face turn your knees to jelly? Hate interviewing someone else to research your play or other project? How do you prepare? How do you handle handlers? How do you get close-mouthed people to open up? What is off the record? Never fear. “Interviewing 101” is on tap.
Whether you’ve interviewed dozens of people or working up to your first one, whether you interview people for print or electronic media, this experienced interviewer’s experience will benefit you. Join KPCC’s Special Correspondent and noted playwright Kitty Felde to learn the secrets of a successful interview.
Presented by: Kitty Felde
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Party
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Kick off the season in style at IWOSC’s annual Holiday Bash at the Biltmore! Follow the tradition of presidents, celebrities, dignitaries – and IWOSC writers – by celebrating history, architectural splendor, and creativity at the beautiful downtown Biltmore Hotel!
Join your fellow scribes and guests on Thursday, December 4, at one of L.A.’s most beautiful locations: the historic, elegant, architecturally awesome Millenium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
[To read more, click the title!]
Panel
Monday, November 24, 2008
We present a special program on what getting “The Hollywood Treatment” means for writers—and how a writer can best position his or her work for a screen option. What can a novelist expect when your book gets an offer to be adapted into a movie? For that matter, what storytelling qualities help make a novel, biography/memoir, or news article a must-see for the screen? And likewise, how has the lightning pace of movies and TV changed what Larry McMurtry calls “the Culture of the Book?”
Moderator: Telly Davidson
BRIAN LIPSON
MARVIN J. WOLF
PETER LEFCOURT
BARBARA SCHIFFMAN
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Seminar
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Michele Wallerstein, the Writer’s Consultant, and former literary agent, will guide you through the ways to move your projects into the world of motion picture studios, agents, publishers, and the television markets. Learn the secrets of successful networking and follow-up, as well as who to contact and how to do it.
Presented by: Michele Wallerstein
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Panel
Monday, October 27
Thinking of tackling a graphic novel, pictorial essay, or articles that require a photo or a drawing? You name it, we’ll discuss it. Our panel explains how to collaborate with a photographer or an illustrator to get your project realized or how to do it yourself.
Panelists:
Moderator ERIKA FABIAN
ROBERT SCHMIDT
BRAD RADER
NAT GERTLER
HELEN K. GARBER
[To read more, click the title!]
Seminar
Whether you need a book-jacket blurb or a resume opening, these few words make the reader want more. Your capsule bio can be a sleek torpedo or bloated blimp. The best writers don’t always know which they’ve launched, as Alice Romano discovered when compiling IWOSC’s own directory. Follow the journalism creed of brevity and clarity to create your tasty intro.
Alice Romano, IWOSC past President and Intensive Writing Workshop facilitator, leads this seminar on how to create a succinct biography that is a quick read and plays to your strengths.
Presented by: Alice Romano
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Panel
Monday, September 22, 2008
Top magazine editors reveal the inside track on getting your work published. Find out how to get the attention of an editor with a winning story pitch or query. Learn about the most recent trends in the magazine publishing world and where to direct your focus to generate assignments.
Panelists:
DAVID WURTH
AURELIA D’ANDREA
JEAN-NOEL BASSIOR
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Seminar
Our speaker explains the dynamics behind creating a winning story pitch or query that will get the attention of editors around the country. Learn the fundamentals of a well-written story, one that will impress an editor every time. Tips and techniques are available for those writers who want to polish their skills.
Presented by: Karlin
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Panel
Monday, July 28, 2008
A gathering of marketing professionals looks at the process of delivering persuasive communications to target audiences with techniques and hints that offer greater financial rewards.
Moderator: JOHN SEELEY
IRWIN ZUCKER
SUSAN LEVIN
LILLI CLOUD
TERESA FOGARTY
MARILYN ANDERSON
[To read more, click the title!]
IWOSC Reads Its Own
IWOSC Reads Its Own is back for another spellbinding afternoon of eclectic, eccentric, and exemplary works — from poems to true stories to hilarious monologues and beyond, read aloud by distinguished IWOSC scribes.
Check out some of the distinguished line-up:
[To read more, click the title!]
Seminar
The Independent Writers of Southern California (IWOSC) presents veteran publicist and consultant Flo Selfman – aided by many of her colleagues’ results-getting techniques – who will help you craft the best press release for your message, and provide pointers for getting your word out to the right places.
Presented by: Flo Selfman
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