For writers of: - adult fiction and nonfiction - books for children and young adults - magazine journalism
	Friday & Saturday July 31 & August 1, 2009 at Stanford University

	Alan Rinzler • Books for adults. Alan has been a book editor since 1962. In 1969 he opened the first Rolling Stone office in New York City, then moved to San Francisco to become vice-president and associate publisher of Rolling Stone magazine, where he was also president of Rolling Stone’s book division. He has been the West Coast editor of Grove Press and the director of trade publishing for Bantam Books. He is currently executive editor at Jossey-Bass, the West Coast imprint of John Wiley & Sons. Along the way he has edited and published books by Toni Morrison, Hunter Thompson, Robert Ludlum, Tom Robbins, Jerzy Kosinski, Shirley MacLaine, Irv Yalom, Claude Brown, Dee Brown, Lorraine Hansberry, Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol, Clive Cussler, and many others.
	Deborah Brodie • Books for children & young adults. After 22 years at Viking and six years as cofounder of Roaring Brook Press, Deborah Brodie is now a freelance editor for publishers and book doctor for literary agents and individuals. Visiting Faculty in the MFA in Creative Writing Program at the New School in New York City, Deborah is an instructor in the New School Summer Colony and moderates the Forum on Writing for Children. She is also an MFA Mentor at Simmons College in Boston. Award-winning, bestselling authors she has worked with include Stephen King, for The Eyes of the Dragon, an all-ages fantasy, as well as David A. Adler, Sarah Dessen, Patricia Reilly Giff, Milton Meltzer, Jean Marzollo, Mary Pope Osborne, Jacqueline Wilson, and Jane Yolen.
	Michael Gold • Magazine journalism. Michael Gold co-founded Hippocrates, now Time Inc.’s million-circulation Health magazine, which won four National Magazine Awards during his tenure as managing editor and executive editor. He has also been an editor at Science 80 and Strings magazines. As a consultant, Mr. Gold develops launch and repositioning plans, critiques existing publications and Web sites, and provides staff training. He and his partner, Susan West, helped conceive and launch Dwell and University Business magazines, both of which won national awards soon after their debuts. Other clients include Inc., PC World, Southern Progress/Time Inc., Family Fun, Via, ConsumerReports.org, WebMD, AARP, and Discovery Communications.

Featured Speakers & Panelists

• Bruce Anderson, Editor, Via magazine
Bruce Anderson is the editor of VIA, a travel magazine for AAA members in eight Western states (circulation 3.4 million). He was a writer-reporter for Sports Illustrated for 10 years. Later, he was the editor of Stanford magazine. During Mr. Anderson’s five-year tenure, Stanford twice won the Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year Award (presented by Newsweek to the nation’s best college or university publication). He has also written articles for SI, Time, Life, Smithsonian, Gentleman’s Quarterly, and others.

• Andrea Brown, Literary Agent, The Andrea Brown Literary Agency
Andrea Brown is president of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Inc., the largest literary agency based in California. The agency has eight agents, sold over 2000 titles to just about every publisher, and had 5 titles in the top ten of the New York Times best-sellers list last year.

• April Eberhardt, Literary Agent, Reece Halsey North Literary Agency
April Eberhardt joined Reece Halsey North as a literary agent in 2008 after five years of editorial work with Zoetrope: All-Story, a literary magazine, and another agency. Her specialty is adult literary and commercial fiction, particularly ironic family dramas and realistic midlife tales, often with a twist, preferably involving strong female characters. She enjoys working with new authors to edit and streamline their manuscripts before submitting them to publishers.

• Laura Fraser, Journalist
Laura Fraser is a San Francisco-based freelance journalist who has written for numerous national publications, including the New York Times, Gourmet, O the Oprah Magazine, Afar, Mother Jones, Vogue, Wired, and many others. She is a contributing editor at More, and previously held that position at Health and Good Housekeeping. She has taught magazine writing at the University of California at Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, the Harvard Nieman Seminars, Aspen Summer Words, San Francisco State University, and the San Francisco Writers' Grotto, where she is a long-time resident. The author of three books, her travel memoir An Italian Affair was a New York Times bestseller. Her next book, All Over the Map, is due out in spring.

• Nicole Geiger, Publisher, Tricycle Press/Ten Speed (Random House)
Nicole Geiger, Vice President, Ten Speed Press, and Publisher, Tricycle Press, acquires the lion’s share of the children’s list and directs all of the production and marketing of dozens of children’s titles per year, spanning original board book series, fiction and nonfiction picture books, middle-grade fiction and nonfiction, and young adult fiction.

• Emily Haynes, Senior Editor, Chronicle Books
Emily Haynes is an editor at Chronicle Books. She focuses on pop culture, licensing, humor, animation, sports and games. Upcoming books include You're a Genius All the Time by Jack Kerouac, The World of Warcraft Guide to Winning at Life, and NPR's 40th-anniversary retrospective. Ms. Haynes recently moved to Chronicle Books from Penguin/Plume, where she edited and acquired a wide range of nonfiction titles.

• Peter Jaret, Journalist
Peter Jaret has published widely on health, food, medicine, business, and the environment. His work has appeared in National Geographic, Newsweek, Reader’s Digest, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, National Wildlife, Health, Eating Well, Vogue, Glamour, Men’s Journal, and dozens of other publications. He has served as contributing editor for Health, Reader’s Digest, Alternative Medicine, and Eating Well magazines.

• Vickie Jenkins, President, Performance Power Media
Vickie Jenkins has been coaching authors and executives for highly successful media tours for more than ten years. Her clients regularly appear on Oprah, CNN, the Today Show, as well as in major national newspapers, magazines, and on radio shows. As an award-winning former news anchor and show host in San Francisco, she also uses her 20 years of expertise to design targeted campaigns in both traditional and new media.

• Kenji Kato, New Media Group, Stanford Publishing Courses
Kenji Kato is host of the popular audio podcast This Week in Media. His experience spans 20 years in media and technology, with special focus on podcasting, video editing, motion graphics, and collaborative Web technologies. A former Apple Computer employee, he has trained numerous professionals in how to produce compelling Web video.

• Ivory Madison, Founder & CEO, Red Room Omnimedia
Ivory Madison, Founder and CEO of Red Room (redroom.com), also founded the Red Room Writers Society, which has helped hundreds of writers complete their books. As a result, Madison was named Best Writing Coach by San Francisco magazine. Redroom.com, which launched in February 2008, has been called a “Facebook for authors.” She is also author of the graphic novel Huntress: Year One.

• Kendra Marcus, Literary Agent, BookStop Literary Agency
Kendra Marcus started BookStop Literary Agency in 1984 and since then the agency has grown to be one of the most well known and well respected agencies for children’s book writers and illustrators. Ms. Marcus gravitates toward texts and illustrations for quirky and funny picture books.

• Joyce Maynard, Author and Columnist
Joyce Maynard has been a reporter for the New York Times, a magazine journalist, radio commentator, and syndicated columnist, as well as the author of six novels, including To Die For. Her best-selling memoir, At Home in the World, has been translated into nine languages. Her newest novel, Labor Day, will be published in July.

• Angela Miller, Literary Agent, The Miller Agency
Angela Miller founded the Miller Agency in 1990. She has two partners: Sharon Bowers and Jennifer Griffin. The agency represents authors in every genre, including children's literature, adult fiction, memoir, food, culinary history, psychology and education.

• Amy Rennert, Literary Agent, The Amy Rennert Literary Agency
Amy Rennert, a former award-winning writer and editor-in-chief of two magazines, is a literary agent and the founder of the Amy Rennert Agency. Her authors include Jimmy Buffett, one of only nine writers to have appeared in the #1 position on both the fiction and nonfiction bestseller lists in the New York Times, Jacqueline Winspear, a two-time Agatha Award winner and author of the bestselling Maisie Dobbs series, NBC Chief Medical Editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman, National Book Award finalist Beth Kephart, and two-time Tony Award winner Patti LuPone.

• Jennifer Robin, Author & Independent Publisher, Arteful Press
Jennifer Robin is the author of the award-winning, self-published book Growing More Beautiful: An Artful Approach to Personal Style. A visual artist and exhibiting painter as well as author, Ms. Robin reaches out to her readers through articles, blog, and newsletter, as well as through her many speaking engagements.

• Scott Robinson, Filmmaker, Robinson Films
Scott Robinson is the owner and Executive Producer of Robinson Films Inc. RFI is a New York City-based full-service production company creating filmed content for broadcast, web-release, and in-house industrials. RFI handles all aspects of production from script development through shooting, editing, graphics creation, and web-posting.

• Julie Romeis, Editor, Chronicle Books
Julie Romeis is an editor at Chronicle Books in San Francisco, where she acquires picture books, chapter books, middle grade and YA fiction. She began her career in publishing at Bloomsbury Children’s Books as one of three women who launched the U.S. children’s division in 2001. There she edited a range of titles including Chicks and Salsa, Ophelia, and The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp. Ms. Romeis' first Chronicle title, a young adult novel called Blue Plate Special, will be published in fall 2009.

• Scott Rosenberg, Journalist & Blogger
Scott Rosenberg is a writer, editor and Web site builder. His new book Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It's Becoming, and Why It Matters was just released on July 7, 2009. He was co-founder of Salon, where he served as technology editor and later managing editor and VP/editorial operations for many years. He’s also author of the book Dreaming in Code.

• Jay Schaefer, Executive Editor, Workman/Algonquin
Jay Schaefer is an editor at large for Workman Publishing, acquiring fiction, memoirs, and narrative nonfiction for Algonquin Books; humor, pop culture, business, and sports titles for Workman; and illustrated books for Artisan. Mr. Schaefer joined Workman in 2009 after more than 20 years with Chronicle Books, where he edited Under the Tuscan Sun, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook series, and fiction by well-known and new writers, including Robert Olen Butler, Craig Ferguson, John Nichols, Monica Wood, and Senator Barbara Boxer.

• Bonnie Solow, Principal, Solow Literary Enterprises
A former journalist and film and publishing executive, Ms. Solow established Solow Literary Enterprises in 1997. Since its inception it has celebrated 20 New York Times bestsellers. Its more notable titles include Happy for No Reason by Marci Shimoff, The Success Principles by Jack Canfield, and Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker. Utilizing her background in intellectual property development, Ms. Solow aims to expand her clients' audiences beyond the bookstore shelves by securing PBS shows, launching blogs, procuring speaking engagements, and exploiting merchandising opportunities.

• Susan West, Editor-in-Chief, Afar magazine
Susan West is the Editor in Chief of Afar, a new magazine about experiential travel. Former Executive Editor of Smithsonian, Ms. West was a co-founder of Hippocrates magazine, now called Health, which won four National Magazine Awards while she was there. She also served as a developmental editor for Time Inc. Ventures, creating editorial plans for new magazine ideas. As an independent consultant, she formulated the editorial blueprint for and helped to launch Dwell magazine. She has extensive experience online as well as in print and has consulted on both sides of the content fence for clients such as Cooking Light, Reader’s Digest, Consumer Reports, FamilyFun, Southern Accents, and PC World.

• Kul Wadhwa, Head of Business Development, Wikimedia Foundation
Kul Wadhwa is Head of Business Development for the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging the growth, development and distribution of knowledge worldwide. The Wikimedia Foundation?s projects include Wikipedia, the #4 website in the world. He leads the Foundation?s business development strategy and builds business partnerships to distribute Wikipedia?s popular content to more people, in more ways, around the world.

• Nan Wiener, Executive Editor, San Francisco magazine
Nan Wiener made her way through several Bay Area magazines (only one of which is still in the area) before coming to San Francisco as its executive editor, including Mother Jones, Health, Parenting, and Alternative Medicine. Before that, she received a Ph.D in English and American literature from the University of Virginia. She’s hoping print journalism won’t become obsolete before she has to retire.