HEIDI'S PICK SIX - LAST WEEK

Here's the line up for the last official week of HEIDI'S PICK SIX:

Monday - Deidre Knight / Romance

Wednesday - Jeri Smith-Ready / Dark Fantasy


HEIDI'S PICK SIX, Heidi Ruby Miller, Deidre Knight, Jeri Smith-Ready, romance, dark fantasy, writing, author interviews

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - RhondaMason

HEIDI'S PICK SIX with Seton Hill alum Rhonda Mason is up at ambasadora.

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - WEEK 42

This week on HEIDI'S PICK SIX:

Monday - Tim Powers - Speculative Fiction

Wednesday - Matthew Cook - Urban Fantasy

Thursday - Seton Hill alum Rhonda Mason - Fantasy and Romance

Friday - Joel A. Sutherland - Speculative Fiction


HEIDI'S PICK SIX, Heidi Ruby Miller, Tim Powers, Matt Cook, Rhonda Mason, Joel Sutherland, speculative fiction, writing, author interviews, Seton Hill University

21st Annual Pennwriters Conference

Joyce Carol Oates will be the keynote speaker for the 21st Annual Pennwriters Conference at the Host Resort in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Tickets for the May 16-18, 2008 event go on sale January 2, 2008, at www.pennwriters.org or by e-mailing the conference coordinator at conferenceco1@pennwriters.org for a registration form. Three-day conference packages start at $199 for members and $249 for nonmembers. After March 2, 2008, dinner tickets with Joyce Carol Oates will be sold separately from the conference at $65 for Pennwriters members and $99 for nonmembers..

Oates, who has been writing since age 14 and is now a creative writing professor at Princeton University, released her 36th book, The Gravedigger's Daughter, this year. Her dinner presentation on Friday evening, May 16, will include commentary on her books and the writing process as well as a question and answer session and a book signing.

Oates' presentation is one of many events during the three-day conference that are designed to introduce beginning writers to the world of publishing and to provide experienced authors with opportunities to network. The conference theme, "A Writer¹s Smorgasbord," reflects the rich traditions of Lancaster County and the diverse nature of writing as a career.

Included in the conference price is the opportunity for writers to pitch finished manuscripts to 10 well-established agents and editors in the publishing business. Among them are Irene Goodman, an agent who started as the assistant to Stephen King's editor 25 years ago and has since built her own agency in New York City, and Melanie Donovan, the executive editor of HarperCollins Children. These 10-minute pitches are designed to give writers the chance to bypass the traditional query letter process and present their work face-to-face.

Other agents scheduled to be at the conference include agents Ginger Clark from Curtis Brown, Ltd., Jessica Regel from Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, and Elaine P. English. Other editors include Editor in Chief Ginjer Buchanan from Ace/Roc, Associate Editor Paul Stevens from Tom Doherty Associates (Tor/Forge), Assistant Editor Tessa Woodward from Avon, and Editorial Director Jane Friedman from F+W Publications.

Hour-long workshops led by agents, editors, and published authors start Friday morning and continue throughout the weekend until Sunday at noon. Visiting authors include Jonathan Maberry, Bram Stoker award-winning author of Ghost Road Blues; Maria V. Snyder, winner of the 2006 Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel, Poison Study; Timons Esaias, an Asimov's Reader Choice Award winner; and debut author D.L. Wilson, who will also speak during Saturday's luncheon.

Pennwriters is a statewide organization of more than 450 published and unpublished writers from Pennsylvania. Annual conferences are held in alternating years in Pittsburgh and either Harrisburg or Lancaster.



Pennwriters, Heidi Ruby Miller, Pennwriters 21st Annual Conference, Joyce Carol Oates, Maria V. Snyder, Timons Esaias, Jonathan Maberry, writing, D. L. Wilson, Seton Hill University

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - Christopher Paul Carey

HEIDI'S PICK SIX with Christopher Paul Carey is up at ambasadora.

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - WEEK 41

This week on HEIDI'S PICKS SIX:

Monday - Seton Hill alum Christopher Paul Carey / Science Fiction Writer and Editor

Wednesday - Elizabeth Coley / Science Fiction and Young Adult

Friday - James T. Durkin / Mainstream Fiction


HEIDI'S PICK SIX, Heidi Ruby Miller, Christopher Paul Carey, Elizabeth Coley, James T. Durkin, science fiction, fiction, writing, author interviews, Seton Hill University

Book Giveaways

I've run across two recent book giveaways:

#1: Shara Saunsaucie, a current Seton Hill student, has a detailed list of the superlatives from the PYR books she reviewed this year and is also having a PYR book giveaway.

#2: The Harlequin Intrigue Authors, including Seton Hill alum Dana Marton, are giving away lots of free books this month to readers who comment on the blog.


Heidi Ruby Miller, book giveaways, Shara Saunsaucie, Dana Marton, Harlequin Intrigue Authors, PYR, writing, Seton Hill University

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - Jason Schmetzer

HEIDI'S PICK SIX with Seton Hill alum Jason Schmetzer is up at ambasadora.

Seton Hill Writers News

#1: Venus on the Half Shell, the Philip Jose Farmer anthology edited by Seton Hill alum Christopher Paul Carey received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. The publisher Subterranean Press expects the book to sell out "by or shortly after publication." You can reserve a copy here.

Venus on the Half Shell

#2: A special serial story for the holidays is in swing at Home by Christmas. This European historical tale is being told by twelve authors, including Seton Hill alum Laurie Alice Eakes.

#3: Seton Hill alum Mary SanGiovanni's debut novel The Hollower received a good review at Dread Central.

#4: Several Seton Hill writers will be teaching workshops at the Pennwriters 21st Annual Conference, including Timons Esaias, Maria V. Snyder, and Victoria Thompson. The conference is being held at Lancaster Host Resort and Conference Center in Lancaster, PA, from May 16 - 18, 2008. Keynote speaker will be Joyce Carol Oates.

#5: Proverbs for Monsters, the lastest collection by Seton Hill mentor Michael Arnzen, is available now.


Seton Hill Writers, Heidi Ruby Miller, Writing Popular Fiction, Christopher Paul Carey, Mary SanGiovanni, Michael Arnzen, Laurie Alice Eakes, writing, Maria V. Snyder, Timons Esaias, Victoria Thompson, Penn Writers, Seton Hill University

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - WEEK 40

This week on HEIDI'S PICK SIX:

Monday - Michael Swanwick / Science Fiction and Fantasy

Wednesday - Seton Hill alum Jason Schmetzer / Science Fiction and Game Writing

Friday - Michelle Klein / Speculative Fiction



HEIDI'S PICK SIX, Heidi Ruby Miller, Michael Swanwick, Jason Schmetzer, Michelle Klein, fantasy, science fiction, writing, author interviews, Seton Hill University