Wednesday, Jul. 01, 2009
Agents, editor to speak at CVWW Annual Writing Symposium
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ReprintCentral Valley Writers' Workshop's annual writing symposium will feature three speakers this year – two well established agents and an editor from one of the country's largest publishing companies.
The Symposium will be held 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 25 at the Madera Library. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.
"Each year we strive to bring the best in the publishing industry to Madera County so writers of all genres can learn what it takes to break into print," said CVWW president, Glenna Jarvis. "Read, write, critique and learn. That's what the Workshop is all about."
This year for the first time the workshop is bringing three speakers to Madera: Wales Literary Agency owner and agent Elizabeth Wales, Andrea Brown Literary Agency agent Kelly Sonnack, and New York Publishing Company TOR Books Assistant Editor Stacy Hague-Hill.
Wales travels to New York four times a year to keep in touch with editors in the worlds largest publishing companies. She started in the publishing industry with Oxford University Press in 1980. Wales has also worked at the Strand Bookstore and in trade sales and marketing at Viking Penguin. A graduate of Smith College, she did her graduate work in literature at Columbia University. She is a member of the Association of Author's Representatives, Inc., and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association.
Wales Literary agency represents narrative fiction—creative nonfiction or literary journalism—especially if the work centers on a progressive culture or political point of view.
The agency looks for a new voice, or work that shares an important, compelling story.
Wales Literary also supports writers of quality fiction, and is looking for talented storytellers with a special interest in writers from the Northwest, Alaska, the West Coast and what has become known as the Pacific Rim countries.
Founded in 1990, Wales Literary (formerly Levant and Wales) represents more than 60 clients and several independent presses.
Titles the agency has contracted have appeared on the New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists.
Sonnack joined Andrea Brown Literary Agency after three years with the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency where she agented children's and adult work. Prior to that, Sonnack worked for the publishing giant Reed Elsevier, where she served as acquisitions editor under the Academic Press imprint.
Sonnack specializes in all types of children's literature including picture books, middle grade, young adult, and graphic novels. Sonnack looks for a good sense of humor, stories that stretch a young reader's imagination, and an authentic voice.
"In young adult, I appreciate literary voices and character-driven stories with heart," Sonnack said in her online statement. "In non-fiction for children, I enjoy projects that inspire and stimulate the minds of our younger generation."
Noted by one of her authors as "Smart, reassuring and funny," Hague-Hill is dedicated to developing good working relationships with those authors she represents.
TOR imprints include Forge, Orb, Tor Teen/Starscape, Tor/Seven Seas, and Tom Doherty and Associates, LLC.
Tom Doherty and Associates is a division of Macmillan Publishing, located in the historic Flatiron building at the corner of 23rd Street and Broadway in New York City.
The Macmillan group is part of a publishing conglomerate that includes St. Martin's Press, Picador, Roaring Brook Presws, and Bedford Freeman and Worth Publishing Group.
Founded in 1952, St. Martin's Press was, for many years, primarily a distributor of Macmillan Books. Over the last 30 years, St. Martin's grew as a publisher in its own right, becoming one of the seventh largest publishers in America.
St. Martin's acquired Tor – the leading publisher of science fiction and fantasy, in 1986. For 15 years now, Tor has won the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Publisher.
Tor also publishes children's books for ages 10 through 17 under its Starscape imprint and books for children 12 and above under its Tor Teem imprint.
The Central Valley Writers' Workshop, founded in June 2003, is the most active, hands-on writing group in the San Joaquin Valley.
The workshop meets regularly every Wednesday evening, 6 to 9 p.m., at the Madera County Library. New members are welcome, and dues are $25 yearly.
Membership benefits include participation in the read and critique sessions, free admission to the workshop's monthly writing seminars, and discounts to the yearly symposium.
In addition, those members joining and attending the two Wednesday sessions prior to the Symposium may sign up for one-on-one pitching sessions with the guest speakers.
CVWW is offering five Symposium Scholarships that discount the Symposium cost on a first come-first served basis.
In addition, CVWW is offering discounts--$10 off—to anyone registering before July 11.
Cost for the Symposium is $75, and includes lunch. Guests are invited to submit the first page of their novel for feedback from the speakers on a first-come, first-served basis as time allows.
Proceeds benefit the workshop's yearly symposium and the Friends of the Madera Library.
Send a check or money order, and the first page of attendee's novel, to Central Valley Writers' Workshop, P.O. Box 503, Chowchilla, CA 93610. For more information contact CVWW President Glenna Jarvis, gfjarvis@gmail.com or (559) 665-7381.
