The Harriette Austin Writers Conference is Back!

Harriette Austin

I'm delighted to tell you this fantastic news: the popular Harriette Austin Writers Conference is back! The 2011 HAC will be held July 22 - 23, 2011, at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education on the University of Georgia campus. This year's conference has a great line up of speakers and critiquers and the deadline for manuscript critiques is June 20.

I'll be presenting my "Finding Fiction in Your Own Backyard" writing workshop. Other presenters include: Terry Kay, Janell Walden Agyeman, Robert Alan Black, Doris Booth, Tony Burton, Evelyn Coleman, Dac Crossley, Paige Cummings, Susan Dansby, Wally Eberhart, John Fristoe, John Gilstrap, Judy Iakovou, Amanda Luedke, Rebecca McClanahan, Susan Mary Malone, Jackie Lee Miles, David Oates, Kevin O'Brien, Susan Olson, Chuck Sambuchino, and Beverly Varnado.

Authors Evelyn Coleman and Donny Bailey Seagraves at the 2009 HAC.

My association with the Harriette Austin conference goes way back to the beginning. A call went out to present and former students for writing contributions to a fund-raising calendar that helped finance the first HAC. I contributed a short story, "Dear Delores," to that calendar and also attended the first conference. "Dear Delores" has been published and republished many times in magazines, including Seek and The Roswell (NM) Literary Review.  I've attended many of the HACs, served on a nonfiction panel at an early conference and presented two workshops at the 2009 HAC, which took place about the same time as the publication of my debut novel, Gone From These Woods. I've learned much from HAC presenters and even acquired my literary agent at a Harriette Austin conference. I've also enjoyed seeing Harriette herself, a quiet, encouraging presence at the conference with her name.

All the pertinent conference info is here. Check it out. Sign up. Submit your manuscript. See you there.

Harriette Austin Writers Conference

On July 17 - 18, 2009, the Georgia Center for Continuing Education in Athens, Georgia will host the sixteenth annual Harriette Austin Writers Conference. I'm a bit biased towards this conference since I'll be presenting two sessions there, "Writing for Middle Grades," and "Selling Your First Novel."

I'll be in good company at the HA conference. My editor, Michelle Poploff, from Random House, will be there, too, critiquing manuscripts and speaking about recent book acquisitions in her talk, "The Write Place at the Write Time." Author Evelyn Coleman, one of my favorites, will conduct a session on "Writing for Children," and will also be the dinner speaker.

Other presenters include Philip Lee Williams, journalist, poet, novelist and film writer. Phil, who has 13 published books, was my first editor at The Athens Observer, way back when, and I'm proud to also call him a friend. Anne Webster, a gifted poet with a new book, A HISTORY OF NURSING, Poetry, published by Kennesaw State University Press will also be there. Anne is a retired retired nurse, a fifth generation native of Atlanta, and the younger sister of author and poet Rosemary Danielle. Also Carol O'Dell, who has a book out called, MOTHERING MOTHER, and will teach narrative nonfiction.

Other presenters: Suzanne Adair, author of PAPER WOMAN; Judy Iakovou, author of the Nick and Julia Lambros mystery series and recently, a new book called BITTER TIDE; Todd Sentell, the first native of Georgia to publish a sports-related novel, TOONAMINT OF CHAMPIONS. Plus Haywood Smith, Bobby Nash, Ralph McInery, David Oates, Kelly L. Stone, Charles "Mike" Swanson (I had the pleasure of meeting him and Dac Crossley at the May 16 Marigold Festival in Winterville), Beverly Varnado, Alan Black, Susan Dansby, Lynette Eason, Juditj Geary, Alex Graves, and Milton Kahn.

In addition to all of those wonderful authors and experts, this year's Harriette Austin Writers Conference boasts an outstanding group of agents. There's Brandi Bowles of the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency; Paul Fedorko of Trident Media Group; Jacqueline S. Hackett, founder of Literary Works; Chip MacGregor of the MacGregory Literary Agency, Maya Rock of Writers House, LLC; and Katie Sulkowski, the Literary Brand Manager for Creative Trust, Inc. If you're looking for an agent, you have an excellent choice at this year's conference.

Other editors include Patrick LoBrutto, a favorite presenter at this conference.

The Keynote Speaker this year will be noted author Robert Vaughan.

If you are a serious writer living in the Athens, Georgia area, or you're willing to travel here, take a good look at this year's Harriette Austin Writers Conference. They've got a complete listing of the workshops, background information on the presenters, and all the details, including an online registration link, on the website now: http://harrietteaustin.org/default.aspx

Check it out. Last year I found an agent at the Harriette Austin Writers Conference. Who knows? It could happen for you!