October 25, 2001

FOR RELEASE PRIOR TO NOVEMBER 17
CONTACT: Mary Ellen Michna, Publicity Chair
708/479-9010

INSIDERS TO SHARE TRADE SECRETS AT
NOVEMBER 17TH BOOK FAIR AND PUBLISHING PANEL

How to market yourself and your book? How to write a winning book proposal? What sells: what will a publisher, the consumer or a library select?

Please join the Illinois Woman's Press Association on November 17 for an insider's look at book publishing. Featured panelists are:

• Mary Dempsey, Commissioner of the Chicago Public Library, responsible for the library's daily administration and a respected book reviewer on Network Chicago, a feature of WFMT-98.7 FM.
• Ann Heinrichs, an award-winning writer of more than 50 children's non-fiction books since 1986, with a contract for an additional 52 books, to be finished at the rate of three per month.
• Tina Jens, a two-time Bram-Stoker Award nominee for short fiction and producer of the Twilight Tales reading series at the Red Lion Pub in Chicago, featuring readings of writers from across the genres.
• Alex Lubertozzi, an acquiring editor and book editor for Sourcebooks Inc., a trade publication publisher in Naperville, which has been publishing non-fiction for 13 years with three New York Times bestsellers to their credit. They recently added fiction with the release of Michael Malone's "First Lady."

· Display of books by authors/members of the IWPA
· Sponsored by the Illinois Woman's Press Association
· Saturday, November 17, 2001
· Registration, networking and book fair begin at 11 a.m.; lunch at noon; panel from 12:45 to 3:00 p.m. - with time for discussion
· The Courtyard Marriott, Hubbard & State, Chicago
· Nonmembers are welcome. Nonmember fee is $40; members and students $25 (check or cash at the door)
· Reservations with the IWPA Hotline at 312-458-9151

Dempsey manages the Chicago Public Library's $11 million budget. Under her leadership, the Library's public service hours have been expanded to seven days a week at its three largest locations, 28 full service branch libraries have been renovated and services for children and adults have been expanded. As a popular book reviewer, Dempsey will discuss what authors should know about the library marketplace.

Heinrichs, a long-time member of IWPA, is the author of more than 50 published nonfiction books for children on topics ranging from historical profiles to geography and travelogues. Most recently, she signed a contract to write 52 books to be delivered at the rate of three per month. Six books into the process, she is going strong. Heinrichs will tell us how she crafts a winning book proposal and how she markets her books.
 

Jens' first novel, "The Blues Ain't Nothin' '' (Design Image Group) will be released in spring 2002. Her fiction is included in 40 anthologies and magazines; her non-fiction is included in more than a dozen markets. Along with a business partner, Jens started a small press, which has published 14 limited edition anthologies of stories featuring writers who have read their work at the Twilight Tales shows or been featured at their website. She is a former chairman of the board for the International Horror Writers Association and is the co-chair for the 2002 World Horror Convention.

Lubertozzi, an acquiring editor and book editor for Sourcebooks, Inc., reviews incoming book proposals and books and follows a book through the editing and promoting process.