David Corbett's latest book, Blood of Paradise, is a nominee for an Edgar Award, and already been chosen as a Top Ten Thriller & Mystery of 2007 by The Washington Post and named a San Francisco Chronicle Notable Book of 2007. In the footsteps of Dashiell Hammett, who worked as a Pinkerton Detective before turning to writing, for 15 years, David worked for the San Francisco private investigation firm of Palladino & Sutherland, and played a significant part in a number of high-profile criminal and civil litigations, including the Lincoln Savings & Loan Case, The DeLorean Trial, The Cotton Club Murder Case, The People's Temple Trial, and the first Michael Jackson child molestation case. In 1995, he eased out of private investigation work and began writing.

"Multi-talented” best describes Brian Copeland. His accomplishments include standup-comedian, TV host of MORNING ON 2, Weatherman on KTVU News, Talk Show Host on KGO-Radio, and the creator/performer of San Francisco’s longest-running one-man show, Not a Genuine Blackman, with acclaimed runs in Los Angeles and Off Broadway.

The San Francisco Chronicle called it, "...a beautiful mix of wry humor and heartbreak, indignation and inspiration..." A best selling memoir based on the show and the attention of Hollywood soon followed. Producer/director Rob Reiner cast Brian as Morgan Freeman’s son in The Bucket List, also starring Jack Nicholson.

Not a Genuine Blackman is now being developed by Reiner as a feature film and a television series. Brian's memoir Not a Genuine Blackman was selected for 2008-09 Silicon Valley Reads.

Professor Scott Rice created the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest in 1982. This whimsical literary competition challenges entrants to compose the opening sentence akin to the worst of all possible novel beginnings that began with the infamous, “It was a dark and stormy
night.” Featured in numerous mediae like CNN, NPR, and the Washington Post, the contest has garnered worldwide attention, and every year entries arrive from various parts of the globe.

Professor Rice, who has taught in the English Department at San Jose State University for over 25 years, has published five sequels to his book A Dark and Stormy Night. In addition to these collection of contests entries, he wrote the quintessential handbook on the stylistic power of grammar, Right Words, Right Places: A Writer's Grammar.

Listen to an NPR interview with Professor Rice about the best of the worst in fiction.

Michael Larsen worked in promotion for three major publishers: William Morrow, Bantam, and Pyramid (now Jove). He and his wife, Elizabeth Pomada, moved to San Francisco in 1970. They started Michael Larsen - Elizabeth Pomada Literary Agents, Northern California's oldest literary agency, in 1972. Since then, the agency has sold books, mostly by new writers, to more than 100 publishers.

Michael's books include How to Write a Book Proposal, How to Get a Literary Agent, and Literary Agents: What They Do, How They Do It, and How to Find and Work with the Right One for You. He is a member of AAR and represents nonfiction.

Elizabeth Pomada worked at David McKay, Holt Rinehart & Winston, and the Dial Press in New York City before moving to San Francisco in 1970 with her partner and husband, Michael Larsen. Together, they started Michael Larsen - Elizabeth Pomada Literary Agents in 1972. Since then, they have sold books from hundreds of authors to more than 100 publishers. She loves to find promising new writers who are writing books that will interest New York publishers.

Andrea Brown is the president of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Inc. Founded in New York City in 1981, it was the first literary agency to represent both children's book authors and illustrators. Prior to opening her own firm, Andrea was an editor at Alfred A. Knopf, and she had worked in the editorial departments of Random House and Dell. In 1990, she moved her literary agency to Northern California. Her literary agency has sold approximately 1,500 books to publishers, from toddler board books to serious, award-winning young adult and adult fiction.

Andrea has published articles and published a chapter about the children's book field in The Portable Writer's Conference, published by Quill Driver Books. She has been quoted in the New York Post, CNN.com, Yahoo News, Forbes, Good Housekeeping, and Reuters News Service.

Laurie McLean represents adult genre fiction—romance, fantasy, science
fiction, horror, Western, mysteries, etc.—and graphic novels, as well
as children’s fiction and nonfiction (middle grades and young adult
only) . She loves quirky, dark, edgy fiction.

Verna Dreisbach has started a new agency, Dreisbach Literary Management, which offers professional representation for distinctive voices with a diverse range of both
fiction and non-fiction interests. Dreisbach is currently looking for emerging and experienced writers to build her list and desires books that present the possibility to affect change. The agency has a particular interest in books with a political, economic or social context.

Verna's first career as a law enforcement officer gives her a genuine interest and expertise in the fields of mystery, thriller and true crime. She believes in building an agency based on dedication, loyalty and trust, representing the voice behind the work, not just the writing. If you are accepted by Dreisbach Literary Management, it is because Verna has faith in your abilities as a writer and feels a connection with your goals and aspirations.

April Eberhardt joined Reece Halsey North as a Literary Agent in 2008 after five years of editorial work with a major literary magazine and another agency. Her specialty is adult literary fiction, particularly ironic family dramas and realistic midlife tales, often with a twist,
preferably involving strong female characters. She is attracted to collections of interlinked stories with a common character or theme. An original voice and smart, speedy delivery are critical, as is a subtle sense of the absurd. She enjoys working with new authors to edit and
streamline their manuscripts before submitting them to publishers. April does not represent mysteries or murders, thrillers, historical fiction or fantasy, nor does she represent children's titles.

April earned an MBA from Boston University a BA in Anthropology and French from Hamilton College, and a CPLF degree from the University of Paris. Her prior careers in banking and management consulting honed her strategic, marketing and presentation skills and serve her well in her literary endeavors.

Mr. Levine represents commercial fiction—thrillers, mysteries, women's fiction, in the dramatic vein of Danielle Steele or Jackie Collins—and literary fiction. He also represents nonfiction includes commercial—self-help, how-to, relationships, memoirs, health, women's issues, pop culture, new age, and business.

For both fiction and nonfiction books, his biggest successes have been with authors who originally self-published their books and then wished to have their books republished by a major publishing house.

For the film screen, Paul represents a wide range of scripts, from romantic comedies to thrillers to historical epics. Previously, Mr. Levine worked as an entertainment lawyer in the Legal Affairs Department of Warner Brothers Television and spent two years as resident counsel for Hearst Entertainment.

He opened his own law practice and in 1996 started his own literary agency. He has sold over one-hundred fiction and non-fiction books to more than thirty different publishers and has had many books developed as movies-for-television and feature films. He represents numerous clients; 75% of which are new/unpublished writers.

Mr. Levine teaches a one-day version of his workshop, The Business & Legal Aspects of Book Publishing,at UCLA’s ExtensionProgram.

Melissa Flashman is part of Trident Media Group, which has an impressive roster of author clients including: Janet Evanovich, Allan Folsom, Elizabeth George, Dean Koontz, Deepak Chopra, Stephen Coonts, and Catherine Coulter, along with numerous celebrities, like Jerry Seinfeld, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Mel Brooks, Aretha Franklin, Drew Barrymore, Paul Reiser, Brian Wilson, Tony Curtis, Carl Reiner, Mariel Hemingway, and
Tony Bennett. The company recently merged with the Ellen Levine literary agency, which brings award-winning literary clients to Trident such as Russell Banks, Michael Ondaatje, Garrison Keillor, Louis Sachar and Todd Gitlin.

Melissa grew up in Kentucky, graduated from Wesleyan University and studied in the Ph.D. program in English at Johns Hopkins. She represents narrative and serious non-fiction, memoirs, political, lifestyle and pop-culture books and fiction. Upcoming titles
include: Save the World on Your Own Time (Oxford UP) by New York Times opinion columnist Stanley Fish; Click (Hyperion) by Time.com columnist and online intelligence research guru Bill Tancer; Turncoats (Viking) by Daniel Oppenheimer; Poseur (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) by Rachel Maude Reilich, a teen fiction series with illustrations by fashion designers Compai and the author; the 99 Ways do-it-yourself
fashion series (PotterCraft) by Compai; The Poison Apples (Feiwel & Friends) a YA novel by Lily Archer; How to be Useful: A Beginner’s Guide to the Meritocracy (Houghton Mifflin) by Megan Hustad; Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture (Little, Brown & Co.) by Taylor and The Renegade Sportsman (Riverhead) by Zach Dundas. Melissa has also sold articles and fiction to The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s, Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, American Scholar, Salon.com, Granta, n + 1 and Tin House among others.

This enthusiastic literary agent is with the San Francisco office of Curtis Brown Ltd., a New York based agency that has been representing writers since 1914.

He has five years experience and is particularly interested in literary fiction, mysteries and suspense, historical fiction, narrative nonfiction, business, history, sports, politics, current events, young adult fiction and science fiction.

Alana Lennie is with Lennie Literary in San Diego. She worked with her husband, Michael, for many years during his practice of law. When he decided to merge his law practice with a literary agency, she moved from managing the office into the position of literary agent. Alana represents literary fiction, mysteries (cozies), and short stories. As
for nonfiction, her interests range from business books, child care, and anything involving travel (guidebooks to memoirs). "I believe it’s as important for an agent to work at assisting the publisher and the author market their published book as it is to market the unpublished book to an editor.”

This longtime literary agent and author’s attorney holds licenses in California and New York. For the last 19 years his practice has focused on the representation of authors, highlighted by the historic settlement of Buffington v. Macmillan and hundreds of successful contract negotiations. Lennie’s knowledge of publishing practices, contract negotiations, licensing, and author/publisher rights gives him a unique advantage representing authors as both a literary agent and attorney. His literary agency and law office in San Diego represents both trade and textbook authors in a variety of genres, and includes both published and unpublished authors, fiction and non-fiction.

Alex's interests include literary and select commercial fiction. He began his publishing career at the Putnam Berkley Publishing Group. He served three years in the NEA literature department where he helped award over seventy federal grants to American writers. Alex came to Trident as Chairman Robert Gottlieb’s assistant in 2001 and was promoted to literary agent shortly thereafter. He has a BA in political science from Johns Hopkins and an MFA in creative writing from American University, and has worked in the literature program at the National Endowment for the Arts.

Notable recent books include screenwriter Chad Kultgen’s first novel The Average American Male (HarperPerennial), also optioned for film to Fox; Katherine Marsh’s debut children’s fantasy The Night Tourist (Hyperion), optioned to Universal Pictures; New York Times bestselling author Da Chen’s debut novel Brothers (Shaye Areheart Books/Crown), which was nominated for a Quill Award for Best Novel and made the Best Novel of the Year lists of The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Miami Herald, and Publishers Weekly; and Matt Bondurant’s first novel The Third Translation (Hyperion), sold to seventeen foreign languages and a Booksense Pick and Bestseller.

Trident Media Group's impressive roster of author clients includes: Deepak Chopra, Stephen Coonts, Catherine Coulter, Janet Evanovich, Allan Folsom, Elizabeth George, DUNE and the Estate of Frank Herbert, Dean Koontz, and Jerry Oppenheimer. The agency has also represented some of the biggest and most prestigious book deals for celebrities, including Jerry Seinfeld, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Mel Brooks, Aretha Franklin, Drew Barrymore, Paul Reiser, Brian Wilson, Tony Curtis, Carl Reiner, Mariel Hemingway, and Tony Bennett.

Charlotte Cook, president of KOMENAR Publishing, is the driving force within KOMENAR for acquisitions and editing. To date KOMENAR and Charlotte have published six titles, five from CWC members and one from the winner of the KOMENAR-sponsored contest at the last East of Eden Writers Conference. Those titles include (2008) The Love We All
Wait For by Lee Doyle and A Plague of Scoundrels by Jon Cory, (2007) Outside Child by Alice Wilson-Fried and Heroes Arise by Laurel Anne Hill, and (2006) My Half of the Sky by Jana McBurney-Lin and Over the Edge by Marc Paul Kaplan. Also the Febuary 2008 Writer's Digest and Jordan Rosenfeld profiled Charlotte and KOMENAR for fiction writers
seeking publication. First-time novelists are encouraged to visit the KOMENAR website.

Nick Taylor's debut novel, The Disagreement, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2008. He has received fellowships from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the William R. Kenan, Jr., Trust for Historic Preservation. A graduate of the MFA program at the University of Virginia, he is Assistant Professor of English and Comparative Literature at San Jose State University and lives in the Bay Area.

Linda Joy Myers is the president of the National Association of Memoir Writers, a therapist, and the author of Becoming Whole: Writing Your Healing Story. Her memoir Don’t Call Me Mother won the 2006 Gold Medal Award from BAIPA, Bay Area Independent Publishing Association.

Linda will co-teach a memoir workshop with Phyllis Mattson.

Phyllis Mattson's memoir, War Orphan in San Francisco is a coming-of-age story told through family letters. With her family scattered over three continents during World War II, Phyllis wrote her parents details of her life, while they tried to parent her long-distance.

Phyllis graduated from UC Berkeley and received graduate degrees in anthropology from the University of Wisconsin and public health from Harvard.

Phyllis will co-teach a memoir workshop with Linda Joy Myers.

Alan Rinzler, executive editor at Jossey-Bass (Wiley), has been a book editor since 1962, first at Simon and Schuster, then at Macmillan and Holt, Rinehart and Winston. He was also VP/Associate Publisher of Rolling Stone magazine and president of Rolling Stone's book division; and director of trade publishing for Bantam Books. Along the way he has edited and published books by Toni Morrison, Hunter Thompson, Robert Ludlum, Tom Robbins, Jerzy Kosinski, Shirley MacLaine, Irv Yalom, and many others.

Martha Stockton Alderson, M. A., is the author of Blockbuster Plots: Pure & Simple and two award-winning historical novels. She teaches plot workshops privately and through UCSC Extension, the Learning Annex, and at writers' conferences. She offers plot consultations to writers anywhere in the world. Writers receive a personalized Plot Planner for their individual project.

Sue Fagalde Lick worked as a staff reporter, photographer, and editor before leaping into full-time freelancing. A native of San Jose, she was a regular contributor to the San Jose Mercury News, Bay Area Parent, Portuguese Heritage Journal and the South Valley Times, among others, and became an editor for the Saratoga News. After moving to Oregon, Sue began writing for the Oregonian, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Northwest Senior News, Oregon Coast, Oregon Business, HomeBusiness Journal, and Snowy Egret. Her latest book, Freelancing for Newspapers, follows a trio of books about Portuguese Americans. Sue earned her BA in journalism at San Jose State University and an MFA in creative nonfiction at Antioch University Los Angeles. She has taught freelance writing workshops at Oregon Coast Community College, online at Writing-World.com, at the Willamette Writers Conference, and for several branches of California Writers Club.

Jordan E. Rosenfeld is the author of two books for writers, Make a Scene: How to Craft a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time (Writer's Digest Books) and with Rebecca Lawton, Write Free: Attracting the Creative Life (Kulupi Press). She is a contributing editor to Writer's
Digest Magazine, a book reviewer for KQED Radio, and has been published in The San Francisco Chronicle , The St. Petersburg Times, Marin Magazine,Petaluma Magazine, and Seattle Conscious Choice among others. She's taught writing workshops at at: The Mendocino Coast Writer's Conference and Gavilan College.

Visit Jordan's web sites: www.jordanrosenfeld.net and www.writefree.us

Matilda Butler co-authored with Kendra Bonnett the collective memoir, Rosie's Daughters: The 'First Woman To' Generation Tells Its Story. She has published books and articles, taught and conducted research at Stanford University, created the nationwide Women’s Educational Equity Communication Network, and co-founded Knowledge Access International, a software company specializing in CD-ROM information products. In addition to teaching women’s memoir writing, she is a partner in the California-based Two Women Inc., a writing, marketing and publishing firm providing training, instructional products and comprehensive services to authors looking to gain maximum visibility and sales for their books.

Kathryn Madison's experiences with wolves and the publication of her first novel, Woman's Sigh, Wolf's Song, has made her a favorite speaker at book festivals, libraries, and environmental groups like the Sierra Club. She also teaches a popular writing class at UCSC Extension Program. Her second novel, “Summoned By the Sea,” is now with a New York agent, being submitted to publishers.

Lee’s extensive career in law enforcement included solving cases in narcotics, homicide, rape, murder-for-hire, robbery, and ritualistic and occult crimes. He’s worked as an undercover officer, a narcotics
K-9 handler and taught in the police academy.

Lee currently lives in Boston with his wife and divides his time between writing, speaking, and consulting. In addition to his book, Police Procedures & Investigation: A Guide for Writers, he has written articles for both Mystery Writers of America and Sisters In Crime newsletters, The Writer Magazine, and served as a consultant for Slate Magazine, Spike TV, BBC Television.

An award-winning author and business executive, she combines her years of experience in direct marketing and public relations with her technology expertise to teach writers how to use the new distribution media, social networks, and many free web sites and tools to write their way to book sales.

Kendra has written more than 200 magazine articles. She is the author/ghostwriter/editor of seven books, most currently co-authoring Rosie's Daughters: The "First Woman To: Generation Tells Its Story with Matilda Butler.

Bonnett and Butler are business partners in the Gilroy-based Two Women Inc., a writing, marketing and publishing firm providing training, instructional products and comprehensive services to authors looking to gain maximum visibility and sales. Kendra is also a partner in Hamden, CT-based The Academy Agency, a marketing, media placement and talent
management firm specializing in Internet celebrities and businesses looking to reach the youth market.

A freelance manuscript editor, children's writer, and book reviewer. She has just finished writing her first children's mystery and is currently co-writing (with East-of-Eden-presenter Lee Lofland) a nonfiction children’s book about being a police officer.

As an editor, Becky helps other writers with their projects, critiquing and copyediting both fiction and nonfiction works. Becky lives in California's Santa Cruz mountains with her husband and son.

Blog: http://beckylevine.livejournal.com

Jana writes, edits and critiques both fiction and non-fiction. She lived over half her adult life overseas (six years in Japan, eight years in Singapore) and thus had the opportunity to work for media around the world, including The Japan Times, Singapore Straits Times, The Saigon Times, Eastern & Oriental Express, Islands Magazine, Hemispheres (United Airlines) and KQED National Public Radio.

Jana's first novel, My Half of the Sky, was selected the Book Sense Pick for August, 2006.

Maralys Wills is the author of 12 books, spanning 6 different genres. She's published 4 romances and a techo-thriller about airplane sabotage, Scatterpath. Her nonfiction works include books about hang gliding, party games, and addiction. Three memoirs, Higher Than Eagles, A Circus Without Elephants, and A Clown in the Trunk,share her family's light and tragic moments.

Her latest publication, a writing book, is called Damn the Rejections, Full Speed Ahead.

For the past 21 years, Maralys has taught novel-writing on the college level.

For over twenty-five years, Patrice Vecchione has taught poetry and creative writing to children and adults through her program The Heart of the Word: Poetry and the Imagination, a writing and literature program.

Patrice Vecchione’s books include Territory of Wind, a collection of poetry, and the nonfiction book, Writing and the Spiritual Life: Finding Your Voice by Looking Within.

As the editor of many respected anthologies of poetry and prose for adults and young people, her collections include Storming Heaven's Gate: An Anthology of Spiritual Writings by Women and the poetry anthologies, Truth & Lies and Revenge & Forgiveness. Forthcoming from Henry Holt in spring 2007 is Faith & Doubt.

In 2007, KOMENAR Publishing released Heroes Arise, Laurel’s debut parable. In 2005, Laurel was awarded first prize in the Ninth Annual Captivating Beginnings Short Story Contest for “Reaching for Rainbows.” She received an honorable mention (creative nonfiction category) for “Learning the Bones” in the 2004 Soul-Making Literary Competition, an extended community arts outreach program of the National League of American Pen Women, Nob Hill, San Francisco Bay Area Branch. “Crescendo,” her personal essay, won honorable mention in the Foster City 2003 International Writer’s Contest. Upon invitation, she participated in the Literature Without Borders readings at the 2005 Oakland Literature & World Music Expo.