May 14-16 2010 - Meet The People Who Can Make A Book A Bestseller At Pennwriters Annual Conference

Writing a great book is only the first step toward becoming a published author. The next step is getting your manuscript into the hands of someone who knows which publishing house needs your manuscript and which editor loves your writing style.

That person is an agent and the 23rd Annual Pennwriters Conference in Lancaster, Pa., will give you the opportunity to meet some of the top agents in the field. The conference will be held May 14-16 at the Best Western Eden Resort.

You can meet your future agent through a 10-minute pitch session with one of the agents attending the conference. This is a 10-minute one-on-one meeting between you and an agent. You choose the agent and Pennwriters arranges the meeting. Make sure to prepare your best pitch for your project so you can impress the agent with your book idea.

The second way you can meet an agent is an informal one. By attending the conference sessions and networking social activities, you'll have a chance to meet and talk with agents on your own.

Some of the agents who will be attending the 23rd Annual Pennwriters Conference in Lancaster, Pa. are:

• Jennifer Jackson with the Donald Maass Literary Agency enjoys science fiction and fantasy, romance, women's fiction, mystery, suspense and YA fiction. She represents New York Times best-selling fantasy writer Jim Butcher, Hugo Award winning science fiction author Elizabeth Bear, USA Today best-selling author Anne Bishop, critically acclaimed mystery writer Chris Knopf, and RITA Award Winner Shelley Bates.

• Janet Reid with the Janet Reid Literary Agency enjoys fiction, particularly crime fiction and narrative non-fiction. Her recent sales include Even by Andrew Grant (Minotaur); The Breach by Patrick Lee (Harper: 2010); Chasing Smoke by Bill Cameron (Bleak House); All Roads Lead Me Back to You by Kennedy Foster (Pocket); The Eternal Prison by Jeff Somers (Orbit); First Contact by Evan Mandery (Harper: 2010); Siesta Lane by Amy Minato (Skyhorse); Declarations of a Dinosaur by Dr. Lucy Hornstein (Kaplan); The Ephailtes Affair by Gary Corby (Minotaur; 2010); Numb by Sean Ferrell (Harper: 2010); Brains by Robin Becker (Harper: 2010) The Little Book of Curses and Maledictions for Everyday Use by DawnRae Downton (Skyhorse).

• Jenny Bent with the Bent Agency enjoys commercial fiction and nonfiction, literary fiction and memoir. She represents New York Times bestselling author John Kasich, Father Pat Connor, Laurie Notaro, Jill Conner Browne of Sweet Potato Queen fame, Lynsay Sands, Julia London, Sandra Hill and USA Today bestsellers Kathy Caskie and Janelle Denison.

• Alex Glass with the Trident Literary Agency enjoys debut literary fiction, crime fiction and literary thrillers, middle grade and young adult fiction, and pop culture, humor, and narrative nonfiction. His clients include national bestselling novelist Chad Kultgen, international bestselling author Matt Bondurant , Edgar Award-winning children's author Katherine Marsh, New York Times bestselling novelist and memoirist Da Chen, NFL legend Mark Bavaro, the estate of Newbery Award-winning children's author and illustrator Ellen Raskin, novelist and poet Maggie Estep, playwright and children's novelist David Ives, and middle grade novelist Courtney Sheinmel.

• Miriam Kriss with the Irene Goodman Literary Agency enjoys commercial fiction and represents everything from hardcover historical mysteries to all subgenres of romance, from young adult fiction to urban fantasies, and everything in between.

Finding and meeting an agent interested in your work at the Pennwriters Conference will help keep your manuscript out of the slush pile. When you send your work to the agent you'll be able to remind the agent of your meeting at the conference and whatever you talked about. It gives you a foot in the door to acquiring someone who will help sell your work.

The Pennwriters Conference will also help you find ways to polish your manuscript to make it saleable and attractive to agents and editors. You'll be able to attend hour-long workshops led by agents, editors, and published authors. The classes start Friday morning and continue throughout the weekend until Sunday at noon.

Bestselling thriller writer James Rollins will present the Friday, May 14, keynote address. Rollins is the author of the Sigma Force Series (Sandstorm, Map of Bones, Black Order, The Judas Strain, The Last Oracle, and The Doomsday Key), the movie novelization of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, six stand-alone thrillers and the Jake Ransom series for young adults. He will speak about his novels and the writing process as well as a question and answer session and a book signing.

The 23rd Annual Pennwriters Conference and intensives will be held May 13-16 at the Best Western Eden Resort in Lancaster. Registration for the intensives is separate from the conference. Registration and conference information can be found online at http://www.pennwriters.com/ or by e-mailing the conference coordinator at conference2010@pennwriters.com for a registration form.

Pennwriters is a statewide, nonprofit organization of 450 published and aspiring writers. The organization sponsors regular local meetings around the state, providing support and networking for writers.