If you're a fan of YA, general book geekery or an aspiring writer (original or fanfiction!), Ascendio has the programming track for you! The Quill Track will be an entire track of programming (both formal and informal!) dedicated to all things books and writing.

Best of all, the Quill Track is 100% included in your Ascendio registration!

Ascendio is the eighth event put on by HPEF, a nonprofit organized by Harry Potter fans to put on amazing, educational and fun events for fans, academics, writers, authors, Quidditch players, debaters, and anyone who loves discussing - or has been inspired by - the Harry Potter series of books and films. HPEF also hosted events like Nimbus - 2003, Azkatraz and Infinitus 2010, and the event is set to take place in Orlando, Florida from July 12 - 15, 2012. Click here for the website.

Currently, several authors, all bonafide Harry Potter fans, are confirmed for the Ascendio Quill Track, including Lev Grossman, Beth Revis, Veronica Roth and Aimee Carter.

We will also have not one, but THREE literary agents who will be in attendance: Carlie Webber of the Jane Rotrosen Agency, Lindsay Ribar of the Sanford J. Greenburger Associates agency, and Joanna Volpe, Vice President of the Nancy Coffey Literary Agency. Carlie, Lindsay and Joanna will all be hosting pitch sessions, as well as leading discussions on the publishing industry and writing.

Here are some of the great things you can look forward to as part of the Ascendio Quill Track:

• "Book club" readings/signings/discussions with YA authors, such as Beth Revis, Veronica Roth & Aimee Carter
• Panel discussions on hot topics in publishing, including commercial publishing vs. self-publishing, LGBTQ in YA, how to get an agent, and more
• Practical presentations by successful fans-turned-published authors on how to go from fanfic to pro writing, as well as how-tos on self-publishing ebooks
• Workshops on writing (fanfic and original) and critiquing
• The opportunity to give a one page pitch & receive feedback from a real live literary agent!

Of course, Ascendio is still all about Harry Potter, but we realize that many fans -- including many of us on staff! -- love books in general, and have been inspired by Harry Potter and fandom to move on to our own original writing. Hence, the Quill Track was born, by Harry Potter fans, for Harry Potter fans... who also love books and writing! You can expect most, if not all, topics on the Quill Track to relate to Harry Potter, though some will also discuss other titles in YA, middle grade and adult contemporary canon. All of the authors, agents and presenters on the Quill Track are Harry Potter fans, and many of them either wrote Harry Potter fanfic or have actively participated in HP geekery in the past.

The Quill Track is still a part of Formal Programming at Ascendio -- we just decided to give all writing/publishing programming a special name so it’s easy to find on the program and at the con! What does this mean? The Quill Track needs you! You can submit a programming proposal for the Quill Track about any of the above topics, or anything you come up with -- if it has to do with writing (original or fanfiction!), publishing or books other than Harry Potter (such as The Hunger Games, Divergent), you can propose it for the Quill Track!

Check out the bios and additional information on our website!

We tried to set up the RSS feed to post to the front page and it didn't work as it was supposed to. We're going to collate the postings from the last three weeks and do an update, and then plan to post a weekly update going forward, from February on.
If anyone is interested in helping with the postings, please email us at heidi@fictionalley.org - and thanks in advnace!