We will begin the day with a panel discussion about publishing–what is it like to get published? Should you self-publish? How do you prepare a manuscript for publication? What do publishers look for in a piece of writing? Panelists will include:
BJ Best–B.J. Best holds an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis. His poems have appeared in numerous journals, including Hanging Loose, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Mid-American Review, Nimrod, North American Review, Quarterly West, and Sentence. His first book, State Sonnets, is available from sunnyoutside. Best has published two chapbooks: Mead Lake, This (Milwaukee: Centennial Press, 2007) and a long poem entitled Crap Drag: Twenty Short Poems about Smoking is forthcoming from Centennial Press in early 2010. His first full-length manuscript, Birds of Wisconsin, will be published by New Rivers in Fall 2010. B.J. will not be able to make the workshop this year. We hope to work with him in the future. spb
Jim Yanke–Jim Yanke began his career with the Chicago & North Western Railroad in 1960 and worked a brakeman and conductor in freight and passenger service. He also trained new employees and conducted safety and rules classes. After a merger with the Union Pacific Railroad and nearly 42 years of service, Jim retired in 2002. He authored a railroad history book in 2009, The Chicago & North Western’s Air Line Subdivision published by the Chicago & North Western Historical Society. Jim lives in Kewaskum with his wife Ellen.
Charles Nevsimal–Charles Nevsimal is Editor & Otherwise for Centennial Press , which publishes the literary journal Anthills. A national award-winning writer, he is the author of the serialized chapbook The Misadventures of the Paisley Cowboy (Desperado Press), the mini-mini-chap Magic (Hemispherical Press), and Risen (Desperado Press). In 2007, he was nominated for the Pushcart Prize by former Milwaukee laureate, Antler. He lives with his wife, Deborah, in Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine.
Benjamin LeRoy and Alison Janssen–Ben and Alison are publishers of Tyrus Books, a crime-fiction house located in Madison. Benjamin LeRoy co-founded what would become Bleak House Books in 1995 as an 18 year old college student. He oversaw the day to day operations of the company for fourteen years as it grew from an idea on paper to one of the most respected names in crime fiction. Alison Janssen (senior editor at Tyrus) has worked on titles which have gone on to be nominated for Edgar, Anthony, Shamus, and Barry Awards, as well as titles which have made several crime fiction “Best of” lists. Alison herself was nominated for a 2007 Spinetingler Award for Best Editor.
Lisa Lickel –Lisa Lickel is a Wisconsin author who lives in a hundred and fifty-year-old house filled with books and dragons. She writes and performs radio theater, edits and writes local history, and writes feature articles, devotionals, short stories, and novels. She belongs to several historical societies, book clubs, and WRWA and ACFW. Her third book, Meander Scar: a story of coming home, releases February 15, 2010.
John Kenworthy–John Kenworthy is a Kewaskum-based author/writer. He is the co-author (with Leslie Iwerks) of “The Hand Behind the Mouse: an intimate biography of Ub Iwerks,” (published by Disney Editions, 2001) which won the E.G. Lutz Award for Best Book about Animation. His second book, “Bungee Jumping & Cocoons” (ISA Press, 2003) explored trends in the industrial marketplace. As a screenwriter he has written several feature-length animated films for A. Film A/S of Copenhagen, Denmark. His writing has appeared in P.O.V., Easyriders, Biker, Mass Transit, the Kewaskum Statesman, the West Bend Daily News and on his webblog ‘Animated Lives!’ His novel, “The Missionary and the Brute” is currently in submission and he is in the final stages of completing a Christian book, “The M Word Today: Discerning Miracles in a Contemporary World.” He is currently writing/developing a cartoon series with best-selling author, Matthew Pearl (“The Dante Club”).
