New Jersey Romance Writers

NJRW's Put Your Heart in a Book Conference

Boost your creativity...and your career!

Have you registered for the NJRW 2010 Put Your Heart in a Book Conference, October 22-23 at the Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel yet?

If you haven't, you want to correct that situation right away, otherwise you might miss an opportunity to hear from two great professionals who know the industry inside and out: the executive and senior editors from Romantic Times, Faygie Levy and Elissa Petruzzi.

They will be giving a workshop on how you, as a published author, an almost pubbed author, or even a sometime in the future pubbed author should approach media outlets. Who would know better than these twos?

Faygie has been at Romantic Times since 2005. She has helped reshape the magazine's content and focus it to be more inclusive of all genres of fiction. Before coming to RT, Faygie was a working journalist herself, mostly in the Philly area, where she won numerous awards for her work.

Elissa has been with RT since 2006. She, too, has a background in journalism. She has written for In Touch Weekly, The Baltimore Sun, and USA Weekend.

These two great editors, who by the way love to talk with authors and get sneak peeks at books before they're released, are just the people you want to hear from as you contemplate that essential piece of promoting your writing career: earned media. And you never know...you might get to ask that special question that's been on your mind when you meet either Faygie or Elissa in the hallway!

Congratulations to RITA winners, Molly O'Keefe and Sherry Thomas! They'll both be giving workshops at the Conference!

Molly O'Keefe has always known she wanted to be a writer (except when she wanted to be a florist or a chef and the brief period of time when she considered being a cowgirl). And once she got her hands on some romances, she knew exactly what she wanted to write. She published her first Harlequin romance at age 25 and hasn't looked back. She loves exploring every character's road towards happily ever after.She won the RITA for her Novella, The Christmas Eve Promise.

Sherry Thomas burst onto the scene with Private Arrangements, a Publisher Weekly Best Book of 2008. Her sophomore book, Delicious, is a Library Journal Best Romance of 2008. Lisa Kleypas calls her "the most powerfully original historical romance author working today." In addition to enthusiastic endorsements from trade publications and New York Times bestselling authors, her books have also received stellar reviews from many of the most highly trafficked romance review websites and blogs. She won the RITA for Not Quite a Husband.

Full Registration

NJRW Member: $185.00
Non-NJRW Member: $205.00

Pre-conference Workshop

Warrior Writer Workshop: Teaching Writers How to Become Successful Authors in the New Age of Publishing, with Bob Mayer (Friday, Oct. 22, from 8 a.m. to Noon) - $30.00

Hotel

$113 per night

The following speakers will be giving an outstanding array of workshops:

Rochelle Alers ♥ Jessica Andersen ♥ Heidi Betts ♥ Annette Blair ♥ Cyn Balog ♥ Christine Bush ♥ Robyn Carr ♥ Tori Carrington ♥ Deborah Cooke ♥ Claudia Dain ♥ Lisa Dale ♥ MaryJanice Davidson ♥ Dee Davis ♥ Robyn DeHart ♥ HelenKay Dimon ♥ Meredith Duran ♥ Elaine English ♥ Judi Fennell ♥ Tina Gabrielle ♥ Katherine Garbera ♥ Michelle Grajkowski ♥ Winnie Griggs ♥ Candice Hern ♥ Lisa Verge Higgins ♥ Hannah Howell ♥ Madeline Hunter ♥ Virginia Kantra ♥ April Kihlstrom ♥ Cindy Kirk ♥ Corinna Lavitt ♥ LeeAnn Lessard ♥ Faygie Levy ♥ Julie Anne Long ♥ Julianne MacLean ♥ Emily McKay ♥ Keri Mikulski ♥ Peter Miller ♥ Phyllis Nugent ♥ Molly O'Keefe ♥ Pam Rosenthal ♥ Lisa Ruff ♥ Sharon Sala ♥ Kathryn Smith ♥ Annie Solomon ♥ Anne Stuart ♥ Sherry Thomas ♥ Joss Ware ♥ Sarah White ♥ Diane Whiteside ♥ The Grammar Divas

And sign up for appointments with one of these agents or editors scheduled to take appointments:

Agents

• Liza Dawson -- Liza Dawson Associates
• Jennifer Didik -- Loretta Barrett Books
• Elaine P. English -- Elaine P. English Literary Agency
• Heather Evans -- FinePrint Literary Agency
• Chelsea Gilmore -- the Maria Carvainis Agency
• Miriam Goderich -- Dystel and Goderich Literary Management
• Michelle Grajkowski -- 3 Seas Literary Agency
• Anne Hawkins -- John Hawkins & Associates
• Janet Reid -- FinePrint Literary Agency
• Adrienne Rosado -- PMA Literary & Film Management, Inc.
• Jennifer Schober -- Spencerhill Associates
• Susannah Taylor -- the Richard Henshaw Group

Editors

• Amanda Bergeron -- Avon/Harper Collins
• Holly Blanck -- St Martin's Press
• Stacy Boyd -- Silhouette Desire
• Lia Brown -- Avalon
• Shannon Criss -- Kimani/Harlequin
• Jennifer Graham -- Avalon
• Susan Litman -- Harlequin/Silhouette
• Alex Logan -- Grand Central Publishing
• Evette Porter -- Kimani, Kimani Tru/Harlequin
• Megan Records -- Kensington Books
• Shawna Rice -- Harlequin/Silhouette
• Patience Smith -- Harlequin/Silhouette
• Shana Smith -- Harlequin/Silhouette
• TBD -- NAL

We'll be adding more names to the list of editors and agents taking appointments; come back every two weeks or so for updates.

Published Authors' Retreat!

We have a real treat for published authors at this year's Published Author's Retreat. Alicia Condon, Editorial Director of Brava Books at Kensington Publishing will be kicking off the event. During an informal discussion and a Q&A period, Alicia will share her knowledge of the business and published romance authors will be able to ask their questions of this experienced, influential publishing professional.

Following the first hour with Alicia, the Retreat will break down into several roundtable discussion groups about different issues in the industry and topics of interest to published romance authors.

If you have questions, please contact: Miriam Allenson, NJRW's 2010 Conference Chair, at msallenson@hotmail.com, or Assistant Chair, Marlo Berliner, mberliner@rcn.com.

For registration questions, please contact: Beth-Ann Kerber, Registrar, at jnbkerber@verizon.net.

Want to find out what you've been missing, or perhaps re-live a favorite session from a previous event? CDs are available for purchase from past Put Your Heart in a Book conferences.

• Order CDs from the 2009 conference.
• Order CDs from the 2008 conference.
• Order CDs from the 2007 conference
• Order CDs from the 2006 conference.