From the WU Mailbox

Kath and Therese want to take a moment to share some of WU’s recent mail.

First, from Writer Mama, Christina Katz, who’ll be doing an interview with us in the near future: the Writer Mama Back-to-School Giveaway begins on Monday (that’s today). There are a HUGE number of writerly books in this contest. The giveaway list is HERE.

Second, from Publishers Weekly spokesperson Nicole Bruce:

In a full-day seminar, experts from Publishers Weekly will guide aspiring writers through everything they need to know about the business of getting their books published. With the help of top agents, authors, editors and marketing professionals, PW will show writers the way to get published. The seminar will take place on Monday, September 22nd at the NYU Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012 from 9 AM to 6 PM.

In advance of the seminar, PW will collect and read proposals, or a piece of a manuscript. One lucky writer selected by PW’s deputy reviews editor and staff will be profiled in an upcoming issue of PW read by agents and publishers. Submissions are due by September 5, 2008. Submission guidelines and details can be found at https://www.publishersweekly.com/pub101.

The seminar’s keynote speaker is Wally Lamb, the New York Times bestselling author and two-time Oprah Book Club pick, whose work includes I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE, SHE’S COME UNDONE and THE HOUR I FIRST BELIEVED (Harper, November 11, 2008). Each attendee will receive a complimentary copy of I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE.

The program includes:

-Continental breakfast
-Welcome remarks from Sara Nelson, editor-in-chief of PW and Andrea Chambers,
director of the Center for Publishing, NYU
-Keynote address from Wally Lamb
-The Nuts and Bolts of Publishing panel
-Lunch and networking
-Agent/Author/Editor Relationship panel

Attendees will also attend two breakout sessions in the afternoon for more interactive discussions; each track will be repeated twice. Breakout session topics include:

-Alternative Publishing
-Marketing & Publicity
-Writing for the Children’s and Young Adult Market

The day will conclude with an on-site Cocktail Reception

More information on the panelists, breakout sessions and details on cost and registration can be found online at: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pub101. NYU students can receive a 50% discount.

Next, from Eve Harvey, Podcast Officer – Litopia Writers’ Colony:

THE WORLD’S FIRST DAILY PODCAST FOR WRITERS IS HERE

London, UK. LITOPIA DAILY is the world’s first daily podcast for writers. Employing a combination of leading-edge technology and old-fashioned showmanship, it aims to become an indispensable part of every writer’s day. The team behind LITOPIA DAILY are particularly keen to solicit news and contributions from writers everywhere – especially from non-traditional sources – and they have an easy and innovative method to facilitate contributions.

Says host Peter Cox:

“With things changing so quickly in the publishing industry, it makes sense to produce a short, daily podcast where writers can get their daily fix of news, comment and – we know what you like – entertainment, too. LITOPIA DAILY is going to be succinct and to the point – it’ll give you what you need to know when, or before, you need to know it. Like a morning coffee, it’ll set you up for the day!”

INTRODUCING THE OPEN INBOX

“LITOPIA DAILY is in the vanguard”, says Peter. “So, as you’d expect from us, we’re doing something very radical indeed. We call it – the Open Inbox.”

Litopia’s Open Inbox is a simple web address that allows contributors to drop anything into the inbox… notes… pictures… faxes… phone messages… and e-mails, of course. “We go through our Open Inbox several times every day, looking for great material to include in the next day’s show” says Peter.

“Not everything will make it”, he adds, “but material that’s witty and original – and short and sharp -stands a very good chance of getting included.”

Learn more on their site, HERE.

Finally, from a rep of the new public RSS feed reader, FeedZa:

After 5 months in progress (with a lot of sweat, blood and tears!) today we are launching our new startup called FeedZa – A public RSS feed reader where the community will vote on the blog posts they find most interesting.

Over the last few months I have been searching hi and low for the best blogs on the internet that we can include on the FeedZa site, and I’m really happy to announce that your blog made it through!

Today we are launching a huge marketing campaign that should generate some nice traffic, hopefully to the selected blogs that we have chosen.

Feel free to check out www.feedza.com or our site tour for more information:www.feedza.com/learn

Happy Labor Day!

Writer Unboxed

Writer Unboxed began as a collaboration between Kathleen Bolton and Therese Walsh in 2006. Since then, the site has grown to include ~50 regular contributors and a variety of guests on rotation throughout a given year.

In 2016, the Writer Unboxed team published a book with Writer’s Digest / Random House. AUTHOR IN PROGRESS: A No-Holds-Barred Guide to What It Really Takes to Get Published is a comprehensive guide focused on helping writers over/around/through hurdles faced at every stage of the novel-writing process. It’s received some ***** reviews; we hope you’ll check it out.

If you’d like to be among the first to know about the next Writer Unboxed UnConference, which will likely tie-in with WU’s 20th Anniversary celebration, please sign up for our mailing list!

Write on!