2019 EVENTS

AGENDA

Friday, March 15, 2019 Location: Venice Public Library Community Room, 300 Nokomis Avenue S., Venice, FL 34285

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm ..... Panel: “Today’s Youth Market” Moderated By: Sheila Renfro
Featuring: JOAN HIATT HARLOW, JULIE ANN JAMES, JANE ANN MCLACHLAN, CLARISSA THOMASSON

3:30 pm – 4:30 pm ..... Panel: “From Inspiration to Publication: Four Authors Tell Their Story” Moderated By: Amanda Leuck
Featuring: KIM COOL, SUSAN KLAUS, MYRA TURLEY

5:00 pm – 6:30 pm ..... Master Class for writers "Building Believable Characters" with: DAVID HAGBERG

6:30 pm – 7:30 pm ..... Wine & Cheese Reception

Our Speakers, Editors, and Literary Agents have donated their time to this charitable event. WE THANK YOU!

SPEAKERS - Friday, March 15 - Moderated Panels

Authors will be available to sign their books following their events.

KIM COOL

An economics major at Sweet Briar College, Kim Cool is the author or co-author of some 30 books. After moving to Venice, she wrote about real estate for the Venice Gondolier Sun where she has been the features editor for most of the past 22 years. During these years, she began her series of ghost stories and founded her own publishing house. As she wrote those books, plus a circus history and Venice history and road trip books, Kim dealt with book printers in Florida, Minnesota, Hong Kong, Korea and Maryland. Cool has presented seminars on publishing to share her knowledge. She was a charter member of the group that founded the Venice Writers Festival. She has won state, regional and national awards for her books and numerous awards in journalism. WEBSITE: www.historicvenicepress.com

JOAN HIATT HARLOW

Joan Hiatt Harlow is an internationally known writer for children. Her acclaimed books, magazines stories, and articles have appeared in major children's publications throughout North America, Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. Boston. Newfoundland, Florida are backgrounds for her award-winning historical novels. WEBSITE: http://www.joanhiattharlow.com/index.html

JULIE ANN JAMES

Julie Ann James lives in Sarasota, Florida. Her passion for words came at an early age and has inspired her to plant literary seeds enthusiastically all over the globe. She is the founder and publisher of the Peppertree Press an Independent Book Publishing Company located in the heart of the cultural center in downtown Sarasota, Florida. She is an avid public speaker, a published children's author, novelist and freelance photographer. WEBSITE: peppertreepublishing.com

SUSAN KLAUS

Susan Klaus, author of fantasies & thrillers. Flight of the Golden Harpy (Tor Books) and the sequel, Waylaid, won the RPLA for Best Fantasies. Secretariat Reborn and Shark Fin Soup (Oceanview Publishing) also award-winners, placed Klaus in Amazon Top 100 Authors of Mystery/Romance. She resides in Myakka City, Fl. and raises rodeo bulls. WEBSITE: Amazon Profile

JANE ANN MCCLACHLAN

Jane Ann McLachlan is a multi-award-winning author of historical fiction, young adult fiction, memoir, and science fiction. Before becoming a full-time writer, she was a college professor of writing and professional ethics. She wrote two college textbooks (published by Prentice Hall) and a short story collection before publishing her first science fiction novel in 2012. She has taught writing workshops across Canada and the US in libraries and to writers’ groups, as well as at conferences. WEBSITE: janeannmcclachlan.com

CLARISSA THOMASSON

Clarissa Thomasson was born in Miami, Florida. She received her BA from Duke University and her MA from the University of Florida. Thomasson taught secondary English in Nevada and Maryland before returning to Florida. She’s written eight novels, one local history, and two plays, and writes a monthly column for Eastside Venice Neighbors. WEBSITE: saltmarshpublications.com

SPEAKERS - Friday, March 15 - Master Class

DAVID HAGBERG

David Hagberg is a New York Times bestselling author who has published numerous novels of suspense, including his bestselling thrillers featuring former CIA director Kirk McGarvey, which include Abyss, The Cabal, The Expediter, and Allah’s Scorpion. He has earned a nomination for the American Book Award, three nominations for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award and three Mystery Scene Best American Mystery awards. He has spent more than thirty years researching and studying US-Soviet relations during the Cold War. Hagberg joined the Air Force out of high school, and during the height of the Cold War, he served as an Air Force cryptographer. He attended the University of Maryland and University of Wisconsin. Born in Duluth, Minnesota, he now lives with his wife Laurie in Sarasota, Florida. WEBSITE: david-hagberg.com