2012 Conference
9th Annual LDStorymakers Writers Conference
If you attended our conference, please fill out our online survey HERE.
Conference: May 4-5, 2012
- 2-Day Conference: $170
- Friday-only Conference: $95
- Saturday-only Conference: $75
Location:
The Provo Marriott Hotel
101 West 100 North · Provo, Utah 84601 USA
Registration
Registration for the 2012 LDStorymakers Writers Conference is now closed.
- Registration deadline: April 3, 2012
- NO REFUNDS AFTER APRIL 3rd. If you cancel 60 or more days after you register, you will be sent a refund check minus Paypal fees.
Boot Camp: May 3, 2012
Cost: $30
Class and Workshop Schedule
Click here to see our conference time schedule (general schedule, not workshop descriptions)
Click here to download a PDF with detailed descriptions of the classes & workshops, including times
Optional Features
- Boot Camp – $30
- Publication Primer – $30
- First Chapter Contest – $20
- Master Classes and Workshops – no extra charge
- Pitch session – $20
 |
Kevin J. Anderson is the author of more than one hundred novels, 47 of which have appeared on national or international bestseller lists. He has over 20 million books in print in thirty languages. He has won or been nominated for numerous prestigious awards, including the Nebula Award, Bram Stoker Award, the SFX Reader’s Choice Award, the American Physics Society’s Forum Award, and New York Times Notable Book. Anderson is extremely prolific and writes 6-10 books a year. In addition to his own fiction, he has written numerous bestselling comics and graphic novels and several collaborative projects, including novels in the DUNE universe with Frank Herbert’s son and a bestseller with Dean Koontz. You can find out more about Kevin J. Anderson at www.wordfire.com. |
| |
Holly Root is a literary agent at Waxman Literary Agency. She recently opened a West Coast office for the New York City-based agency, and represents a select list of adult fiction and nonfiction and novels for children and teens; she is not seeking picture book clients or screenwriting clients. She is particularly eager to see: high-concept middle grade fiction (for boys or girls or both); realistic YA with a big, pitchable hook, either laugh-out-loud funny or with tons of heart; works for a general trade audience in which faith is part of a character’s landscape but not necessarily the subject of the book; protagonists from a variety of socioeconomic and racial backgrounds; and speculative fiction of all kinds, whether it’s fantasy, alt-history, science fiction, or some brand new combo thereof. |
| |
Molly O’Neill is an Editor at Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books. She edits both literary and commercial projects—everything from picture books to middle grade to young adult novels. She seeks vivid stories, original voices, and manuscripts with a strong sense of place—in short, the kind of books that keep readers thinking and imagining, long after the last page. Books that she’s acquired and edited include Veronica Roth’s young adult DIVERGENT trilogy; Bobbie Pyron’s middle grade A DOG’S WAY HOME; Nola Buck and Sarah Jane Wright’s picture book A CHRISTMAS GOODNIGHT, and the forthcoming young adult INSIGNIA trilogy by S. J. Kincaid. Molly’s been in children’s books for nearly eight years: before becoming an editor (her absolute dream job!), she worked on the Marketing/Publicity side of the industry, first at Clarion Books and then at HarperCollins. She blogs about editing, publishing, art, and life atwww.10blockwalk.blogspot.com and tweets at @molly_oneill. |
| |
Kathleen Ortiz: As a former online editor and interactive designer, I use my experience in online marketing to help authors build their communities and promote themselves and their books. I look past the pages of a story and think of ways to help authors reach more readers so they can interact with the characters and their world. As subrights director at Nancy Coffey Literary and Media Representation, I handle foreign, audio and digital rights for the agency. I have an intimate list of clients, with Jaime Reed’s debut YA paranormal romance, LIVING VIOLET, book one of the Cambion Chronicles, coming out by Kensington in January 2012. You can find me on Twitter or visit my blog for more information or updates on the publishing industry. |
| |
Michelle Wolfson is a literary agent and founded Wolfson Literary Agency, LLC in December 2007. She is actively seeking authors of commercial fiction and nonfiction, particularly in the following areas. In fiction: young adult, mainstream, mysteries, thrillers, suspense, romance, women’s fiction. She is drawn to projects with a standout voice and strong interesting characters. Michelle holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from New York University. Before founding her own agency, she spent four years working at other literary agencies and several years working outside of publishing, first in nonprofit and then in finance, and she brings the skills she learned in these areas, plus a lifetime love of reading, to the table as an agent. |
| |
Weronika Janczuk is a literary agent with Lynn Franklin Associates. Previously she worked with the D4EO Literary Agency and the Bent Agency, as well as at Flux, among others. Currently she represents a wide range of fiction and non-fiction for YA and adults alike—and is very actively building her list, especially in areas of crime fiction (especially espionage and literary suspense/thrillers), fantasy/sci-fi, horror, women’s fiction and romance, both literary and high-concept YA, memoir, and narrative non-fiction. |
2011 Highlights
Conference Endorsements:
“I must say, it was one of the most well-organized, well-staffed conferences that I’ve ever participated in. It ranks right up there with BYU Writing for Young Readers (though Storymakers is for every genre–adult, children’s, LDS, secular, fantasy, realism, nonfiction, and so forth), and the conference itself focuses more on craft than marketing, so the lessons about, well, storymaking, can be applied to whatever niche an author writes for.”
–Stacy Whitman, Editorial Director of Tu Publishing and guest editor at the 2009 LDStorymakers Writers Conference (Click here to read her entire post about the conference)
“I have been to many writer’s conferences during my ten years as Acquisitions Editor for Deseret Book Company, and I can say without hesitation that the LDStorymaker’s Conference is one of the best I’ve ever attended. I was impressed by so many things about the Conference: the classes were exceptional, the presenters were stellar, the speakers were inspirational, the attendees were enthusiastic.”
– Lisa Mangum, Acquisitions Editor, Deseret Book Company, author of The Hourglass Door, and guest editor at the 2007, 2008, & 2009 LDStorymakers Writers Conferences
“I’ve been going to the Storymaker’s Conference since the very first one, held in a small local theater with only 40 people. Since then, I’ve watched it grow to hundreds of people held in a nice Marriott hotel. There’s a reason it has grown: it’s one of the best conferences available. I absolutely love attending, and it’s one of the highlights of my year. I’ll never stop going!”
– James Dashner, author of The Maze Runner