(STILLWATER, OKLA. / Aug. 5, 2016) –– The Stillwater Writers and Stillwater Public Library are hosting their annual Publishing Panel on Saturday, Aug. 20, at 1 p.m. The program features experienced guests in the writing industry who will explain how to work with publishers and how to get works published.
“Anyone interested in writing, writers who want to get published and even those who have already gotten published will benefit from the program,” said Judith Sexton, Stillwater Writers President. “This year we have panelists from Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas who will be sharing their expertise and advice.”
According to Sexton, attendees will learn about market trends, what is currently selling, how to prepare for publication, how to find a publisher, and how the entire process works. The panel includes a wide spectrum of viewpoints with both writers and publishers who represent a variety of genres.
Peter Biadasz is one of the panelists who is both a publisher and an author. Biadasz represents Total Publishing And Media, an author owned company and has authored or co-authored 16 books, including “Write Your First Book” and “More Leads,” a handbook for networkers. He is an active public speaker and has written several hundred articles, as well as a few short stories.
“Total Publishing And Media has authors from coast to coast,” said Biadasz. “We assist writers with everything from transforming an idea into book format and finding an illustrator to actually publishing their book or expanding their book sales.”
Jeanne Devlin will represent the editor’s point of view on the panel. Devlin is the founding editor of The RoadRunner Press, an award-winning traditional publishing house based in Oklahoma City that is known for its reluctant young reader books as well as juvenile titles by Native American authors.
Devlin won her first national writing award, a Clarion, at the age of nineteen; she went on to win four International Regional Magazine Awards for Best Magazine during her tenure as editor in chief of Oklahoma Today magazine in the 1990s.
She is the original editor of “9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995: The Official Record of the Oklahoma City Bombing,” a special magazine edition about the tragedy that went on to be made into a book published by the University of Oklahoma Press.
Along with her local experience, Devlin, who is also the president of the Oklahoma Center for the Book, brings a national perspective, having worked with some of the country’s top publishers and authors.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work on national marketing and publicity campaigns with Simon & Schuster and St. Martin’s and for a number of New York Times bestselling authors, including Debbie Macomber, Linda Lael Miller, Robyn Carr and Wendy Corsi Staub.”
Dan Case, the third publisher on the panel, will provide advice about eBook publishing. Case represents AWOC.com, a small independent publisher that produces both fiction and nonfiction books. With few exceptions, AWOC.com books are published solely in digital format, but in a wide variety of genres.
“AWOC.com imprints publish a wide variety of genres,” said Case. “Our books include young adult titles, Westerns, sci-fi, inspirational books, mysteries, thrillers and more.”
AWOC.com imprints have won several publishing awards, including ones from Western Writers of America, Women Writing the West, Western Fictioneers and the Will Rogers Medallion Awards.
“Clearly, our panel covers a wide variety of publishers,” said Sexton. “But we are also excited to get advice from several authors with significant editing and publishing experience.”
Vickey Malone Kennedy, a Science Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, and Erotica author, is one of the writers sharing her publishing experiences. She is the 2011 winner of OWFI’s prestigious Crème de la Crème Award and winner of the 2011 Darrell Award for Best Midsouth Short Story. Kennedy is a former OWFI President and Former Editor-In-Chief of 4RV Publishing.
Also providing the writer’s point of view is Arkansas’s Dusty Richards, who is the author of more than 150 books and the editor of Saddlebag Dispatches Magazine. In 2003, his novel, “The Natural,” won the Oklahoma Writer’s Federation Fiction Book of the Year Award. The next year, Richards won the same award for his book, “The Abilene Trail.” His 150th title, “The Mustanger and The Lady” is being made into a full length film.
The Stillwater Writers’ Publishing Panel is a free program open to the public. For more information, contact the library at 405-372-3633 x106 or [email protected].
The Stillwater Public Library is located at 1107 S. Duck St. (the corner of Duck and 12th Ave.). Visit the library online at http://library.stillwater.org.
