THE BUSINESS OF WRITING IN A CHANGING WORLD

The George Washington University
Cafritz Conference Center
Marvin Center Building
800 21st St. N.W.
Washington, D.C., 20052

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Advice for Writers: Highlights from the AIW Conference Keynote Speech,
Keith Donohue, author, The Stolen Child
By AIW Member Frank Joseph

Keynote speaker Keith Donohue

Write what you want to write; write for love; write for yourself
Workshop or don't as you prefer ("you can't be taught to be a writer")
You just have to practice, fail, then "fail better"
"Literature is an endless source of courage and confirmation"
Don't be afraid
Be stubborn, persistent; "take no for an answer with dignity and grace"
Poem: "Expect everything, and anything is nothing/Expect nothing, and anything is everything"
Pay attention to publishing as a business
A great deal depends on nexus, circumstance, chance
Find a champion; a VP of Amazon fell in love with The Stolen Child and made the novel a success before it was ever published
"In the end, nobody in the publishing business knows how to do this, especially in fiction"
Be willing to (self) promote your book
"Remember how and why you are a storyteller"

Pictures from the conference

Plenary speaker Michael Shilling	AIW President Cecilia Sepp
AIW Vice President Claude Berube	AIW Executive Director Donald Graul
Ken Ackerman, Philip Stern Award	Kristen King, President's Award
Attendees meeting with agents at pitch sessions.	Attendees meeting with agents at pitch sessions.
Attendees meeting with agents at Agents Breakfast.	Books for sale at the conference book sale.
Attendees enjoying lunch at the conference.	Panelists at one of the breakout sessions.
Michael Shilling and Robert Deigh at their breakout session.	Beryl Lieff Benderly, AIW WritingPrize Committee Chair

David Whitman, Book Award winner	Mark Tarallo, Poetry Award Winner
Susan Mandel, Reported Nonfiction Award Winner	Richard Birken, Short Fiction Award Winner