First Time Authors Reveal All

Monday, October 6, 5:15-7:00 pm

Co-sponsored with Litquake

Learn from a panel of newly published, first time writers about all that was involved in making their dream of writing a reality. Topics covered will include: finding the time and discipline to regularly write, identifying potential publishers, getting noticed by literary professionals, dealing with rejection, and publicizing your book. In Litquake festival fashion, the writers will also be reading from their newly published works.

Panelists:

• Andrew Foster Altschul is the author of the novel Lady Lazarus, published earlier this year. His short fiction and essays have appeared in Esquire, McSweeney's, Fence, Ploughshares, and anthologies including Best New American Voices and O. Henry Prize Stories. He teaches in the MFA program at Mills College.
• Alan Black is a bartender by trade. His book is titled Kick the Balls: An Offensive Suburban Odyssey. It still hurts.
• Philip Kearney recently returned from The Hague, where he worked as a UN trial attorney and prosecuted the former Prime Minister of Kosovo for Crimes Against Humanity. A fourth generation San Franciscan, Kearney spent 17 years with the District Attorney's Office. His first book, Under the Blue Flag, will be published in February.
• Shawna Yang Ryan received an MA in creative writing from U.C. Davis. In 2002, she was a Fulbright Scholar in Taiwan. Her novel Locke 1928, a 2008 finalist for the Northern California Book Award, will be republished in 2009 by Penguin Press.

• Elise Proulx is an agent at San Francisco's Frederick Hill Bonnie Nadell Agency and is also the executive director of Litquake. Elise was previously an editor at Henry Holt and Owl Books and at The Threepenny Review, and has edited and written for Spin Magazine and Fox News. She is interested in fiction, nonfiction, and YA titles.

Indicates a special "Funding for Arts Month" program. Where:   San Francisco State University Downtown Center 835 Market Street, #607 San Francisco, CA 94103     Directions:   to San Francisco State University Downtown Center   This program is offered free of charge. Space is limited. You can register online, in person, or by calling (415) 397-0902. To register online please fill out the form below:   Monday, October 6, 5:15-7:00 pm—registration closed