The Literary Conference:
Writing in a Digital Age
8th June – 9th June 2012
An up-to-the-minute conference to make sense of all the possibilities facing writers today, including:
Making and selling ebooks * Self-publishing v traditional? * Emerging international markets * How technology changes literary forms * Social media, and other promotional tools * Leading authors and industry figures: Hari Kunzru, Kate Mosse, David Godwin, Linda Grant, plus many more! FULL SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
CONFERENCE TIMELINE AND FULL PROGRAMME
JUNE 8th SESSIONS
9.30-10am Registration and coffee
10-10.15am Welcome from the TLC Director Rebecca Swift and Co-Curator Jon Slack
10.15-11am Keynote from Hari Kunzru
- Where are the big changes in publishing, and what remains “business as usual”? How is this affecting the writing process? What are the promises and threats to our literary culture and practice from online? Hari will offer a wide-ranging take on the issues to be address over the two days, and outline his hopes and fears for literature.
11-12am Authors Anonymous: Confessions Of A Modern Writer
- Kate Mosse, Nicola Morgan, Linda Grant, Chaired by Claire Armitstead
- What do established authors think of the ‘digital age’, and how are they engaging with it? Does it help, or hinder their work? What is their approach to social networking? How are they making it work for them, and how active a role are their publishers playing?
- If you are engaged with social networking yourself, or want to be, this session will illuminate how to go about it and give a range of practical ideas for you to try out yourself.
12-12.15pm Coffee break
12.15-1.15pm Not Just a Pretty Page: How multimedia is bringing books to life
- Tony White, Jonas Lennermo, Julian McCrae and Sophie Rochester.
- What does new technology mean for the art of storytelling? This session, curated in association with The Literary Platform, gets to the bottom of how much writers should factor-in apps, gaming and other platforms when constructing their stories. It will also inspire, and pose questions about whether traditional novel writing is still the form that writers should be most engaged with.
- We want you to leave this session with your mind buzzing with ideas and for you to have a fresh take on where you might take your writing projects.
1.15-2.30pm Lunch (provided)
2.30-3.45pm From Cradle to Kindle: Getting discovered in today’s e-cosystem
- Chair Jo Ellis, Kerry Young, Robert Kroese, Tom Williams, Michael Bhaskar and Kerry Wilkinson.
- The process of being discovered – from being commissioned by an agent or publisher, through to being marketed as a published writer, is continually throwing up new configurations and opportunities. This session will draw on wide range of examples illustrating the many routes to publication, with a critical look at online media and pricing strategies that have successfully built audiences for authors and their books. If you are hoping to be discovered, and stay discovered by readers, this panel will give you a range of ideas to help you take things forward.
3.45pm Coffee break
- We invite you as delegates to send in a brief summary of your experiments with non-traditional routes to publication. We want to hear either success stories, or otherwise. We will select stories that we think hold lessons for the wider audience, and ask you in advance to talk for five minutes about your project and your findings.. This session will be moderated by Hari Kunzru, and other speakers from the day’s session, and you will have the chance to ask questions. Please submit stories in no more than 350 words by May 21st and we will let you know if you have been selected to give a mini-showcase.
4.30 – 5pm Summing up findings from the day, with Hari Kunzru
5-6pm Drinks and networking (provided)
JUNE 9th SESSIONS
9.30-10am Registration and coffee
10-11.30am Self Publishing: Masterclass from Robert Kroese with an introduction from Alison Baverstock
Rob will talk about his experiences with self-publishing, the advantages (and challenges) of self-publishing, and how the current turmoil in the publishing industry affects authors.
- How to make an ebook and how to build your presence online
- Self publishing versus traditional publishing
- EBooks versus print books
- Kindle versus Nook versus other devices
- Amazon versus publishers and retailers
- The future of self-publishing and Ebooks
- Robert Kroese self-published his first novel, Mercury Falls, eventually selling over 5,000 copies. His success caught the attention of Amazon Publishing, who re-released Mercury Falls, under their AmazonEncore imprint in 2010. Mercury Falls went on to sell another 50,000 copies, and in 2011 Amazon Publishing released the sequel, Mercury Rises. Kroese detailed his self-publishing strategy in an ebook, Self-Publish Your Novel: Lessons from an Indie Publishing Success Story (available on Kindle and through Smashwords).
11.30-11.45am Coffee break
11.45-1pm International Perspectives
- Chair Ellah Allfrey, Marina Salandy-Brown, Nii Ayikwei Parkes and Urvashi Butalia.
- The USA and UK have long been the most dominant presences in global publishing. This session, run in association with Commonwealth Writers, will take a wide-ranging look at how the internet is creating new opportunities for authors to reach audiences beyond their local markets. Featuring examples and lessons learnt from those who’ve made it work in other regions such as the Caribbean, Africa and South Asia.
1-2.15pm Lunch (provided)
2.15-3.30pm Canon Tales: The stories behind the story-makers
- Agents: David Godwin (Godwin Associates), Simon Trewin (United Agents), Cathryn Summerhayes (William Morris Agency), Karolina Sutton (Curtis Brown) and Carole Blake (Blake Friedmann Literary Agency).
- Publishers: Maria Rejt, Arzu Tahsin, Rukhsana Yasmin, Gavin James Bower and Nick Bates.
- Ten of the most exciting publishers and agents in the country will present their love of literature and what excites them, and the stories behind some of their favourite discoveries, through a series of rapid-fire visual images. 7 minutes each, with 20 images each lasting 21 seconds each. A unique and hugely entertaining experience that will get you up close to the key people behind the slush pile. Publishers and agents have never before performed like this in front of an audience of writers.
- See here to read about a previous Canon Tales event.
3.30-3.50pm Coffee break
3.50-4.50pm PEN FACTOR- Two panels made up of agents and publishers from Canon Tales will critique five writing projects, submitted by delegates in advance of the Conference and chosen by TLC, with each panel in turned voted on by author delegates – whose feedback do you agree with the most!
- If you want to submit material for Pen Factor please send a synopsis of your writing project, and up to 2,000 words from the opening pages. Send to info@literaryconsultancy.co.uk between now and May 21st. We will inform you if you have been selected to pitch to agents and publishers by June 5th. Only Conference delegates are allowed to enter. If you enter you must be prepared to pitch your work to a live audience, and also to engage with thinking about how what you learn about new technology at the Conference will help your get your work noticed.
4.50-5pm Break and judging
5-5.30pm Plenary Q & A session with agents and publishers and announcement of who is the winner of the PEN factor.
5.30-6.30pm Closing statements, drinks and networking.
TICKET INFORMATION
£325 / £200 (students and unemployed)* / £279 O.A.P. conc.
(all prices plus VAT) Includes lunch, drinks, networking
EARLY BIRD OFFER – If you book for The Literary Conference before April 30th, you will be eligible to receive a TLC manuscript assessment at 50% off on 50 page extracts. Click here for more information.
Bookings can also be made by phone on 020 7324 2570. Contact info@freewordonline.com for any queries.
Please be advised that the conference programme may be subject to change at any time due to circumstances beyond our control. We will do our best to inform all registered delegates of any changes in as timely a manner as possible.
* You will need to send proof of your student status or income support documentation in advance of booking in order to gain entry. Please email or contact the TLC office to confirm you can provide this before purchasing a concession ticket.
STAYING IN LONDON
Free Word Centre is based very near King’s Cross Station and Farringdon Station in an area where there are plenty of budget, and more expensive hotels. We can recommend The Good Enough Club and King’s Cross Travel Lodge and for really low budget CLINK – but if those are full then do Google the many others in the area.
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