The North Texas Two Step A Writer's Conference
Michael Hauge's Story Mastery
March 19-21Adam Wilson, Associate Editor, MIRA Books and Herlequin Teen
Holly Blanck,
Assistant Editor, St. Martin's Press
Joy Azmitia,
Literary Agent, Russell and Volkening
Becca Stumpf,
Literary Agent, Prospect Agency
Editor and Agent appointments available. Individual biographies below.
All Registration through 3-18-10 $185.00
All Registration 3-19-10 and 3-20-10 $215.00
Paypal accepted. To pay via Paypal. Please include your transaction e-mail & ID on your registration form. Complete the form and e-mail to conference coordinator.
Hotel Information: Embassy Suites DFW Airport South. Please mention NTRWA when booking your rooms. Room rates are $95 per night. Each room will sleep five people comfortably.
NT MEMBERS ONLY ~ Payment Plan Info
Michael Hauge
Presenting Story Mastery
Michael Hauge is a story and script consultant, author and lecturer who works with writers and filmmakers on their screenplays, novels, movies and television projects. He has coached writers, producers, stars and directors on projects for Will Smith, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lopez, Kirsten Dunst, Charlize Theron and Morgan Freeman, as well as for every major studio and network. Michael also works extensively with Hollywood executives, producers, agents and managers, helping them sharpen their story and development skills, and improving their companies’ abilities to recognize powerful material, employ advanced principles of structure, character arc and theme, skillfully communicate a story’s strengths and weaknesses, and work effectively with writers to achieve a commercially successful screenplay.
Michael is the best-selling author of Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds: The Guaranteed Way to Get Your Screenplay or Novel Read and of Writing Screenplays That Sell, a definitive reference book for the film and television industries, which is now in its thirty-second printing for HarperCollins. His seminar with Chris Vogler, The Hero’s 2 Journeys, has become one of the top-selling DVDs and CDs on story and screenwriting.
Michael has presented seminars and lectures to more than 40,000 participants throughout the US, Canada and Europe. He is on the Board of Directors of the American Screenwriters Association and the Advisory Board for Scriptwriter Magazine in London.
Visit Michael's Web site.
Adam Wilson, Associate Editor, MIRA Books & Harlequin Teen
Beginning his career at Harlequin in 2005, Adam has worked with many bestselling across a number of romance sub-genres, including Andrea Kane, Heather Graham, Susan Wiggs, Anne Stuart, and Carla Neggers. His work has spanned the house's imprints: MIRA, RDI, Spice, HQN, LUNA, Steeple Hill, and the several Silhouette and Harlequin series.
Raised in Colorado, matured in Washington, and settled in New York, he’s attended college in each state and is glad to have found an excuse to read endlessly. Currently, he is looking to add YA, steam-punk, paranormals, romantic suspense, thrillers, commercial literary fiction, erotica, and anything with great writing to his list.
Holly Blanck, Assistant Editor, St. Martin's Press
Holly Blanck works with a broad range of fiction and nonfiction. Under Monique Patterson, a Senior Editor at St. Martin's, she has had the pleasure of working with authors such as MaryJanice Davidson, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Lora Leigh, Susan Donovan, Francis Ray, Cheyenne McCray, Celeste Bradley, Christine Warren and many others.
Holly's most recent acquisition, the first three novels in a new Young Adult series entitled Birthright, by Ellie James; chronicles a young psychic's return to her hometown where her premonitions become increasingly dangerous.
Currently, Holly is looking to acquire women’s fiction, which includes contemporary, paranormal and erotic romance, romantic suspense, urban fantasy, young adult and humor. She is especially drawn to novels with a strong narrative voice, complex characters, conflict, drama and smart, funny heroines.
She graduated from Ramapo College of New Jersey, and began her career in publishing at BookEnds Literary Agency.
Joy Azmatia, Agent, Russell and Volkening
Joy Azmitia is a Junior Literary Agent/Assistant at Russell & Volkening, Inc., who began her career in publishing as an intern at Russell & Volkening, and later at Writer’s House. In October of 2007, she landed a job at Russell & Volkening, as an assistant to President and Senior Agent, Timothy Seldes. Under his tutelage, Joy quickly picked up the business and began acquiring her own clients in early 2008. Her eye for good writing has allowed her to quickly make her first sales as a young agent and she is now aggressively acquiring new authors in the areas of multicultural fiction, romance, humor, chick lit, women’s fiction and non-fiction in the areas of travel, pop-culture, and philosophy. Her clients include Mike Padilla, Kali Van Baale, and Jeff Metzger. In conjunction with Timothy Seldes, she has also worked with romance/chick lit novelist Jayel Wylie and other authors such as Kyoko Mori, James Conaway, Eric Burns, and Mike Mewshaw.
In a former life, Joy graduated from the Art Institute of Philadelphia and worked for five years in the animation industry as a production assistant, and later as graphic artist/designer. She has worked on animated tv shows such as Courage the Cowardly Dog and Kenny the Shark. She briefly attended CUNY Lehman College for English Literature before her transition into the publishing industry.
Becca Stumpf, Agent, Prospect Agency
Becca joined Prospect Agency after working as an assistant at Writers House. She is looking for the next generation of adult, young adult and middle-grade literary and commercial fiction, and craves stories that balance drama, wit, and intrigue in equal parts. Becca also enjoys gritty, voice-driven urban fantasy/sci-fi with broad appeal, fast-paced mysteries with a literary bent, and romance novels that are wry, witty and dark with a paranormal twist (or just very smart and sexy). She has a weakness for anti-heroes, fringe-dwellers, and the occasional scoundrel . . . provided such characters are richly drawn and demonstrate some serious soul. Nonfiction interests include memoir, travel, quirky how-to, and humor.
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
BEFORE the conference ~ Attendees should view the film, LARS AND THE REAL GIRL. Mr. Hauge will be using portions of the film throughout the conference.
Friday, approximately 5 p.m. ~ Meet and greet with light snacks and beverages provided. Dinner will be at a nearby restaurant. Transportation and dinner is at the attendee's expense.
Saturday
7:30 a.m. ~ Check-in
8:30 a.m. ~ Welcome and Agent Q & A
9:00 a.m. ~ Michael Hauge and Story Mastery
Noon ~ Lunch (provided for attendees)
1:00 p.m. ~ Michael Hauge continues
4:30 p.m. ~ Workshop ends, Silent Auction winner announcements
Appointments
Appointment times will be sent via email, but confirmed in your conference packets
Sunday 9 a.m. ~ Michael Hauge will discuss LARS AND THE REAL GIRL
applying techniques from Saturday
Schedule may change.