Enjoy lively discussions and great speakers during this day of social learning at the library!
Registration is required. $20 per person. Space is limited, so the first 40 people will be guaranteed a seat.
Afternoon sessions will be at the William H. Jervey, Jr. Venice Public Library GCCF Community Room
Evening event will be at The Island Bookshop
Noon to 1:00 p.m. From Idea to Awards: Lisa Malice
Award-winning author of Lest She Forget, Lisa Malice, of the local Florida Gulf Coast Sisters in Crime, will be the Keynote Speaker. She will discuss ways of making sure your manuscript hits the bull’s eye of publishing expectations and goes on to win accolades. Followed by a half-hour book signing.
Lisa Malice earned her B.S. in psychology at the University of Minnesota, her M.S. and Ph.D. at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her debut novel, Lest She Forget, a psychological thriller, was a finalist in five unpublished manuscript contests. Lisa is an active member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and the Authors Guild. A native of Minnesota, Lisa lived in the Atlanta area with her husband for nearly thirty years before moving to the Tampa area in 2019 to enjoy a life of sailing, fishing, and shelling on the Florida Gulf Coast. They have two adult children and a granddog. Her website is lisamalice.com
ABOUT WRITING HER FIRST BOOK
"I jumped into writing my first novel, a psychological thriller, in 2013 after attending my first mystery writers conference. It took years of learning, writing, and rewriting to get where I am today—a few short months away from publishing my first novel out on the market for all to enjoy."
1:30–2:30 p.m. The Nonfiction Blueprint: Kim Cool, Larry Humes, and Karen Kelly
From proposal writing, submission, offer, contract negotiation, writing/editing, D&A, production, to marketing, sales, publication, and what’s next. Featuring Gondolier Sun Features Editor Kim Cool, local historian and Venice: A Century on the Gulf author Larry Humes, and collaborative writer and coach Karen Kelly; The Literary Spa founder Camille Cline, moderator. Followed by a half-hour book signing.
Kim Cool is Features Editor of the , wheVenice Gondolier Sunre she has been on staff for over twenty years. She is the author or co-author of more than 30 books on subjects such as needlework, the circus, Venice history, road trips, and ghost stories.
Kim was an economics major at Sweet Briar College. After graduation, she wrote craft and business books for the third largest craft book publisher in the U.S, with her needlework store business partner. Their volume on needlepoint was a national best seller, selling more than 5,000 copies per month. The two also wrote several other top selling craft books for the same company and there learned the ins and outs of the publishing business.
After moving to Venice, Kim initially wrote about real estate for the Venice Gondolier Sun before moving on to features editor. During these years, she began her series of ghost stories and founded her own publishing house. She also wrote a circus history, Venice history and several road trip books. She has worked with book printers in Florida, Minnesota, Hong Kong, Korea and Maryland. Always willing to share what she has learned, Kim has presented many seminars on publishing. Her books can be found at most area bookstores as well as online.
Kim has won state, regional and national awards for her books plus numerous awards in journalism. She attended the first Olympic Training Camp for Curlers and is a national judge of figure skating.
During his four-decade long career, Larry R. Humes worked mostly in journalism and higher education marketing and communication. He wrote for newspapers throughout Florida, served as a stringer for United Press International, and was editor of The Greentree Gazette, a bi-monthly national magazine targeting higher education administrators. A mystery novel, Bridge to Nowhere, was published in 1980.
Larry managed communications for The University of Florida and Rollins College before spending the last decade of his career as a strategic marketing and communications consultant to higher education. Since retirement, he has remained active in local history projects and gives presentations on the topic. He also writes regularly about local history for the Venice Gondolier newspaper. He can be reached at: 1926venice@gmail.com.
Karen is an innovative, seasoned media professional specializing in collaborative writing and proposal development in lifestyle, business, current events, and general nonfiction. With more than 25 years of experience working in every aspect of book publishing, including stints at literary agencies, book packagers, book clubs, and publishing houses, and as a published author and journalist, she has a deep understanding of how publishing works. She has written over 40 books with numerous boldface names, including Bethany Frankel, John Taffer, The Property Brothers, Laurie David, Frank Abagnale, and many others published by major houses, including Random House, Simon & Schuster, Viking, and HarperCollins.
3:00 to 4:00 p.m. From Pen to Web: Artistic and Digital Design Skills for Authors
Kinzie’s Kinventions series and the Claw & Order Fairy Goose Unit detective series author, Donna Boock, shares her experience and advice about designing an author’s website, creating an online presence, and building a publishing company. Venice High English department chair, Beth Donofrio, moderator. Followed by a half-hour book signing.
Donna grew up in Pennsylvania but has called Venice, Florida home for the last eight years. Still eight years old at heart, she writes for the elementary crowd and has published seven books including the funny Kinzie’s Kinventions series, the Claw & Order Fairy Goose Unit detective series, Moo-La-La-Ti-Da!, and Oh, My Word! When asked why she became a writer, she smiles and says she’s been telling stories since the time she convinced her kid sister she was from Jupiter and her space parents were coming back for her. Sometimes stories just happen. www.donnaboock.com
5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The Writer’s Future: Making Sense, and a Living, as Publishing Evolves
Registered Festival attendees will join us for a wine-and-cheese reception to cap the day at The Island Bookshop as What Goes Around author Michael Wendroff, Crusade to Heal America: The Remarkable Life of Mary Lasker author Judy Pearson, Terror’s Sword author Kevin Kuhens, and Parallels of Murder author Sherrie Rutherford discuss publishing’s future and the writer’s place in it, sponsored by The Island Bookshop and moderated by owners Aimee Odette and Michael Rank. Followed by half-hour book signing.
Michael Wendroff is the author of What Goes Around, a debut thriller published by Bloomsbury, which bestselling author Lisa Black calls a “brilliant debut,” and bestselling author J.D. Black says “Relentless and gritty, Wendroff expertly weaves a narrative that begs, ‘just one more page…’” The book was inspired by what his mother said to him the second he was born: “Oh! How nice to see you–Again!”
Michael has an MBA in marketing from NYU, and was inducted into their Hall of Fame. He is a global marketing consultant.
His mother was an editor (watching his mother scribbling in red ink on manuscript pages at home on weekends prepared him for his own editor's comments!). She remarried a literary agent, so Michael was friendly with many authors, and even spent a vacation with Robert Ludlum. Watching Ludlum hand-write his 450 page novels on yellow legal pads didn't dissuade Michael from trying to write a novel (though he's thankful for his PC).
What Goes Around was launched in the USA, UK, and Australia, and foreign language rights have been sold in Italian, Japanese, and Hungarian. He’d be happy to autograph a book for you!
Fun fact: Michael's great-grandfather was brought over by Thomas Edison from the University of Copenhagen to work with him. He holds a number of patents, including for plastic buttons. Michael proudly wears button- down shirts whenever he can.
Judith Pearson is a best-selling author, an accomplished presenter, and a graduate of Michigan State University. But her favorite title is “story teller.”
Always a fan of history, Judy’s first biographies told of ordinary people who became extraordinary heroes during World War II. A diagnosis of Triple Negative Breast Cancer briefly interrupted
Judy’s career, but believing there is always treasure in life’s wreckage, Judy’s treasure became an accidental trio of biographies. The first, From Shadows to Life: A Biography of the Cancer Survivorship Movement, was selected as the 2021 Nautilus Book Award gold winner.
In researching From Shadows to Life, Judy learned about Mary Lasker, and told amazing story in Crusade to Heal America: The Remarkable Life of Mary Lasker. It was awarded with a 2023 Florida Book Award. The third book is Radical Sisters: Shirley Temple Black, Rose Kushner, Evelyn Lauder, and the Dawn of the Breast Cancer Movement, to be released in September, 2025.
Always a whirl of action, Judy is already at work on her next biography about an unsung she-ro. Stay tuned for more info on Snapped: The Rise of Tupperware and the Fall of the Sunshine Cinderella.
Judy was named one of Chicago’s Most Inspirational Women by Chicago Magazine, selected as a finalist for the Arizona Healthcare Leadership Awards, and named a Phoenix Healthcare Hero.
She and her husband live in Nokomis, Florida. JudithLPearson.com
During an international career spanning three decades, Kevin Kuhens served as a Pentagon civilian special agent performing investigative, undercover, and supervisory assignments across the globe. Kevin’s debut novel Terror’s Sword is a multi-award-winning #1 Bestselling mystery thriller. His second novel will be released this year. In his books, Kevin draws on his experiences to provide realistic, behind-the-scenes looks at dedicated law enforcement, intelligence, and military professionals who put their lives on the line every day fighting often invisible enemies.
Sherrie Rutherford lives on Florida’s Gulf Coast and has ties to Ohio, East Tennessee and Houston. Her and Larry’s love of travel has taken Sherrie to all seven continents and forty-five countries--so far! They also enjoy hiking (especially in the Great Smoky Mountains) and playing Bridge. Sherrie is a retired attorney. Her passion for Appalachia and railroad history inspired the Bekbourg County Series. sherrierutherford.com