At the Willamette Writers Conference, You Can Fly!

by Mary Andonian

Ever get a song in your head you can’t seem to shake?

For the past few weeks my inside voice has been doing a rousing rendition from Peter Pan. You know, the part when Wendy asks Peter how they’re going to get to Never Land, and then Peter teaches Wendy how to fly.

Peter talks about many things to help Wendy get off the ground: think your happiest thoughts, use a little pixie dust, picture snow globes and toys, and make sure to have faith and trust. And if you do (cue music), “You can fly, you can fly, you can fly…”

As writers, aren’t we a little like Wendy? Somewhere deep inside we have the imagination of children and we want to let it loose with our words. We want the words to lift off the page and into someone’s heart. It can be a story about a neglected child, a poem about nature, a harrowing adventure filled with love and loss, or even a business plan that will take a small company to the next level. But the words create the magic – the pixie dust – and before you know it, it’s in flight.

When there’s a smile in your heart
There’s no better time to start
Think of all the joy you’ll find
When you leave the world behind
And bid your cares good-bye
You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!” - Peter Pan

I’ve been singing “I can fly,” because our 45th annual writers’ conference is just around the corner (August 1-3) and I can tell you right now, writers are going to learn to fly.

And here’s why:

Conference Chair Stefan Feuerherdt is leading us to Never Land by moving the conference to the DoubleTree hotel, Lloyd Center. It’s scary to move to a larger place where things are new and different, but “new and different” is what takes us out of our ruts and into something creative and imaginative. It’s a good thing.

We have a new Willamette Writers president, Jenny Schrader, who is smart, witty, inspiring, and a creative genius when it comes to website design. She revamped our conference website and it looks amazing.

Alina Blankenship and Shannon Bodie added to our new look by redesigning our marketing brochure and program. Didn’t you get excited when you opened the brochure and it kept unfolding like origami to display all the many facets of the conference? I thought it rocked.

Cornelia Seigneur is bringing in – bar none – the best group of Lit Agents and Editors I have ever seen at the Willamette Writers conference. The bios read like “Who’s Who” at Publisher’s Weekly. Honestly, I’ve been a part of the conference for almost a decade and have NEVER seen a line up this stellar. If you want your words to fly with a traditional publisher, this is the year to do it!

And for you screenwriters, I’m bringing in a group of film agents, managers and producers who are representing or making hit movies and deals like you’ve never seen before. I have agencies coming that have topped the charts in deal-making on The (Tracking B) Hit List and The Black List, and one of my agents even CREATED The Blood List. You want to “levitate” into the film world? You can, and these connections will help you do it.

Jason Brick created a program that combines the best of both worlds: Learning all you can to crack the traditional publishing and film worlds, plus gather all the tools necessary to Do-It-Yourself. No matter which side you’re on, it doesn’t hurt to know as much as possible about both sides of this debate before you market your next writing project. Jason’s bringing back power players like Gordy Hoffman, Larry Brooks and Hallie Ephron, and this year he has a new LA screenwriter – Stephany Folsom – sharing her lessons on screenwriting craft and breaking into Hollywood. (And by the way, Stephany has broken in BIG this year. More on that at the conference.)

Yep. I’ve been singing lately. And so should you.

At the conference, you’ll have everything you’ll need to take your writing to new heights. “You can fly!”

Cynthia Whitcomb on Willamette Writers

Cynthia Whitcomb, a past president of Willamette Writers, speaks about the programs the non-profit group offers, including Books for Kids (collecting new and used books for organizations that serve children), YWW, for students in grades 5-10, and the Herzog Writing Scholarship, for high school seniors and college freshman and sophomores. Willamette Writers has five chapters, in Portland, Eugene, Central Point, Salem, Newport, and Corvallis.

Gayathri Ramprasad, Luncheon Speaker at Willamette Writers Conference

by Jason Brick

Gayathri Ramprasad is the Founder and President of ASHA International a nonprofit organization promoting personal, organizational, and community wellness. And, the author of Shadows in the Sun: Healing from Depression and Finding the Light Within. Her successful battle in overcoming life-threatening mental illness and her amazing recovery taught her the power of hope and holistic wellness.

Now, she shares that message with others. Since the launch of ASHA International’s wellness campaign, Healthy Minds, Healthy Lives in 2006, Gayathri’s keynotes, wellness workshops, and cultural competence trainings have reached more than 30,000 people nationally and internationally, with a resounding message of hope and healing. Individuals and organizations alike applaud Gayathri as an agent of hope and transformational change.

Gayathri received her first undergraduate degree in science from Bangalore University in India. At George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, she earned a second undergraduate degree in management and information systems and a master’s in business administration. Gayathri is also a Certified Peer Specialist (CPS). Gayathri is a member of the Global Speakers Federation and winner of the prestigious Eli Lilly Welcome Back Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Voice Award for Consumer Leadership sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. She is also the winner of the 2008 Outstanding Alumna Award from her alma mater George Fox University.

Website: www.myasha.org

Teaching: Working With Your Publisher to Promote Your Book Saturday 3:30 – 5:00

Speaking: “Writing to Change the World” Lunch Speaker, Friday

http://www.willamettewriters.com/wwcon

Meet the Editors and Agents Attending the Willamette Writers 2014 Conference

by Cornelia Seigneur

You had me at Academy Award-winning movie, The English Patient, based upon the novel by Michael Ondaatje. But literary agent Susan Schulman’s bio credits don’t stop there. Past sales include Holes, by Louis Sachar for Disney, and Enemies: A Love Story by Isaac Bashevis Singer for motion picture remake. In addition to her books to movie sales, her publishing credentials are off the chart. Susan’s bio just doesn’t fit in a short blog post.

Neither does my excitement for the 30 literary agents and editors I have the privilege of bringing to the 2014 Willamette Writers Conference this year.

Take Genevieve Gagne-Hawes, who’s been with Writers House for 10 years, and discovered Stephenie Meyers’ “Twilight” manuscript in the submissions pile when she was still an assistant to another literary agent.

And Daniel Loedel, an Assistant Editor at Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, who represents Academy-Award winning actor and director Kevin Costner, whose illustrated novel The Explorers Guild is set for 2016 publication.

And of course there’s Ken Sherman, who represents David Guterson, author of Snow Falling on Cedars, a 1995 PEN/Faulkner Award winner. Ken returns for his second year, taking book pitches, and, new this year, film pitches.

A year and a half ago, my friend Mary Andonian, who was then program chair for the Willamette Writers Conference, asked me to apply for the literary chair position of the 2013 Conference. I was honored to be asked. As a long time fan of the Willamette Writers, I have had a variety of roles over the years: attendee, volunteer, speaker. In addition to my involvement with Willamette Writers, I have been involved with Oregon Writers Colony and the Faith & Culture Writers, among other literary creative organizations.

The role of literary coordinator intrigued me from the get go. Meeting literary agents and editors is always a highlight of past conference experiences for me over the years.

Now, I am in my second year of serving as literary chair selecting the 30 agents and editors that the Willamette Writers bring in from New York to LA and places in between.

My goal this this year was to expand the depth and range of agents who represent diverse voices and genres. I also wanted to bring in more editors. It was important to ask familiar agents to our conference to return as well as invite new names to our game. I wanted agents who have been in the business for a while and I also sought out fresh faces, hungry to discover new voices. I liked the idea of hosting agents who represent familiar, award-winning authors/books as well as agents and editors who represent the smaller authors and books. What I wanted in a word: variety.

Besides those mentioned above, here is just a sampling of other literary agents and editors represented this year:

Courtney Reed, an Assistant Editor at Henry Holt and Company, who has worked on numerous fiction and non-fiction titles including Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies—both Man Booker prize winners—and Mantel’s forthcoming collection of contemporary short stories, The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher.

Noah Ballard, who is an agent at Emma Sweeney Agency, whose client list includes Justin Taylor, Tom O’Donnell, Janet Burroway, Mark Wisniewski and Craig Russell.

And among the returning literary agents is Angela Rinaldi, who represents the 8-million copy bestseller Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr. Spencer Johnson from Putnam Books.

Find full bios of the 30 agents and editors here http://willamettewriters.com/wwcon/biographies/agenteditor-bios/

And be sure to register early: Agent and editor slots fill up quickly.

www.Corneliaseigneur.com

The Conference’s New View: Accessibility, by Stefan Feuerherdt

We’re working on a lot of things for this year’s Conference. Introducing some fun new things, and updating others. Planning a weekend that should be as entertaining as it is educational. There’s one improvement, though, that we don’t have to work for, and that’s this: the 2014 conference will be more accessible to more people than ever before.

By now you know that we’ve moved our show to the Doubletree Hotel at Lloyd Center. This location puts us in the heart of the city, the “artistic downtown” of Portland. We’ll now be closer to the fun, quirky and tragically artisan city of “Portlandia” fame. Near to the shops and cafes of Broadway, and just a short ride to the zaniness of Belmont and Hawthorne Streets.

The Doubletree is uniquely graced with easy access to Portland’s public transit offerings. A quick hop on the Streetcar provides Old Town, Powell’s Books, and the Pearl District. Lloyd Center is a street transportation hub, with the numbers 6, 8 and 17 lines feeding in from the north, south, east and west.

And the iconic MAX light rail will deliver out of towners and locals alike from the Doubletree doorstep to both PDX and to Voodoo Doughnuts. Our guests who come by car will also benefit from our new location, as the hotel is conveniently located on Portland’s main corridor, just off Interstates 5 and 84, easing the commute from any direction in the metro area or beyond. The Doubletree also boasts more on-site parking than we previously enjoyed at the airport, and all within a gated, covered parking garage for added convenience.

And let’s not forget the garage also has plenty of bike parking, for those who favor an invigorating, Portland- summer-day commute through one of America’s most bike-friendly cities.

But that’s just the physical access.

This year, we’re hoping to make the Conference more accessible to more people in other ways, too. We’re deepening our student discounts on admission, to reach out to high-schoolers and college students alike, because we recognize these emerging writers may one day fill our ranks and make our conference stronger with their energy and ideas. We’re also striving to minimize the effect of ever-increasing costs, and to provide at least some more affordable opportunities for as many writers as possible to experience our Conference.

We hope you’ll join us this August, at this, our 45th Annual Conference, August 1-3. And if you do, at least you know it’ll be easy to get here.

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Stefan Feuerherdt is a practicing attorney based in Portland, OR. He is the Conference Chairperson for the 2014 Willamette Writers Conference.

Submit your story to our Six Word Story Contest!

This time we're honoring Beverly Cleary and her birthday on April 12th. Submit your Ramona, Henry, Ralph, or other character-inspired story to our Six Word Story Contest. The top ten winners will be announced at the Portland member meeting on May 3rd at The Old Church. The Grand Prize winner will have his or her story tweeted by Willamette Writers, and will receive a signed copy of Beverly Cleary's memoirs along with a box set of her books.

More information

Focus is on New Media at the Willamette Writers Conference

By Mary Andonian

As this year’s film coordinator for the Willamette Writers Conference, my goal is to bring in new managers and producers, perennial favorites from years’ past, and crossover “hybrids” who accept both book and film pitches. The new trend in Hollywood is to find projects that contain “storyworlds,” worlds that can transcend platforms: movies, television, books, gaming applications, tablet/phone apps, merchandise, and internet content. Portland is the perfect place to find these worlds! Not only do we house a vibrant graphics novel industry, the Northwest contains more writers/authors per capita than anywhere else in America!

Genres these managers and producers are looking for include: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Horror/Supernatural, Mystery, Sci-fi, Romance, Television, Spiritual, and Thriller. These are just the basics! Consider all of the blends and subgenres these categories offer and you’re bound to find someone from LA who will want to learn more about your script/project at the conference.

Here’s the complete list of Who’s Who this year: ADAM BLUM –Producer, Panay Films; TAI DUNCAN –Producer, Zero Gravity Management; DANNIE FESTA –Producer and Manager, Festa Entertainment; KIM GUIDONE –Independent Producer; ANDY HORWITZ –Producer, Atlas Entertainment; SETH JARET –CEO, Content Engine; SCOTT KROOPF –Producer, Evergreen Studios; MIKE KUCIAK –Producer and Manager, Samurai MK; MARC MANUS –Manager and Producer, Manus Entertainment; KAILEY MARSH –Manger and Producer, Kailey Marsh Management and Production (and founder of the annual BLOOD LIST); LUKE RYAN – CEO, The Alchemists; PATRICK SANTA –Director of Development, John Glenn Entertainment-Universal Studios; MITCH SOLOMON –Manager and Producer, Magnet Management; ERIC WILLIAMS – Founding Partner and Manager, Zero Gravity Management.

More about the WW Conference

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Mary Andonian is the 2014 film coordinator and former board member for Willamette Writers. In past years she was the program chair and lit coordinator for the Willamette Writers Conference. She’s the author of the teen book, Bitsy’s Labyrinth, which she later adapted into a screenplay. She is at work on her fourth screenplay, a thriller, called GAMBLING. www.maryandonian.com