Cary Tennis, once a writer for the SF Weekly, is now writer-chief of Salon.Com's famous SINCE YOU ASKED advice column which boasts a readership of over half a million readers per month. The fiction side of Cary attended the masters program in creative writing at SF State and is currently working on an upmarket novel entitled BURNING THE RAIN GIRL. He runs fiction writer workshops in Point Reyes employing The Amherst Writers and Artists workshop method.

Caitlin Alexander is a fiction and nonfiction editorial consultant. As a senior editor at Random House Publishing Group she acquired and edited a variety of projects including New York Times bestsellers Michelle Richmond (THE YEAR OF FOG), David Gibbins (THE LOST TOMB), Andy McDermott (THE HUNT FOR ATLANTIS), and Gwen Cooper (HOMER'S ODYSSEY); Angela Davis-Gardner (PLUM WINE), and International Thriller Writers Award winner Tom Piccirilli (SHADOW SEASON).

A television actress who starred in major productions, Barbara Kyle began writing fiction one day and now over 400,000 copies of her books have sold, including Tudor-era THE QUEEN'S LADY, THE QUEEN'S CAPTIVE, and THE QUEEN'S GAMBLE. Barbara also won acclaim under pen name ‘Stephen Kyle’ (BEYOND RECALL - a Literary Guild Selection). Known for dynamic workshops, she has taught "Writers Boot Camp" at the University of Toronto and teaches master classes.

Ken Atchity's passion is finding great storytellers and turning them into successful screenwriters and bestselling authors. As well as being a famed literary agent at AEI, he has produced over two dozen films, including "Joe Somebody" (Tim Allen; Fox), "Life or Something Like It" (Angelina Jolie; Fox), "Henry's List of Wrongs" (New Line), and Ripley's Believe-It-Or-Not (starring Jim Carrey; Paramount-- approaching production). He has also written 14 books on the art and craft of writing.

Penny is the author of The Connor Westphal Mystery Series. Over 50 of her books have been published, both fiction and non-fiction. Her books have won national awards, garnered excellent reviews, and have been printed in 14 countries, including Russia, France, Spain, Germany, Holland, Australia, India, and more. She has appeared on national television programs including the "Later Today" show, "HGTV," "People Are Talking," "Mornings on 2," and dozens of others.

Kari has been writing literary fiction for many years, and her stories have appeared in such national literary journals as The Literary Review, Brooklyn Review, and Del Sol Review. She is recipient of a MacArthur Scholarship in Fiction and received her MFA in Fiction from Brooklyn College, and also a Phd in English. She is currently a professor of creative writing and fiction at SUNY/Empire State College. Her novel, HALF OF NO, is in progress and looking brilliant.

A former editor at Dutton and Vintage Books, Julie has edited many award-winning and New York Times bestselling novels including two highly acclaimed memoirs (INSIDE, INSIDE and THE COMMITMENT), the National Jewish Book Award anthology humor winner (THE MODERN JEWISH GIRL'S GUIDE TO GUILT), two mysteries by Edgar Award-nominated writer Barbara Parker, well-reviewed thriller SEASON OF THE WITCH, and the science fiction novel, IN THE COURTS OF THE SUN.

Beginning as an editor with the San Jose Mercury News, Carla went on to become a bestselling author of the nonfiction PERFECT VICTIM published in hard and soft cover in America and abroad. Besides topping bestseller lists, PERFECT VICTIM became required reading in FBI behavioral sciences training. Carla has an MFA from Goddard, and twice served as a judge for the Edgar Awards. Her novel in waiting, THE EDGE OF NORMAL, was recently blurbed by Jeffery Deaver.

Natasha's first novel was published by Putnam in 2008, entitled THE DISORDER OF LONGING. She earned an MA in English with a Creative Writing emphasis, and an MFA from Vermont College. She works as a college English and Creative Writing instructor, and her goal is to write upmarket literary novels that cross the line into commercial genre fiction. She desires to be a best seller who is also critically acclaimed, and her current novel, LOVE AFTER ZERO might just fulfill her dreams.

A former correspondent for the Philadelphia Theatre Review, Lisa is advisor to the Board of Pennwriters (www.pennwriters.com), founder of the Pennwriters Springfield Critique Group and the Philadelphia Critique Group. She leads workshops on writing and her short fiction has appeared in national journals including 63 Channels and The StraightJackets Magazine. She is currently working on her MFA, as well as her novel, THE KEEPER OF LOST THINGS.

Jennifer spent over five years as Editorial Director for Literary Traveler, called a “bookworm’s delight” by the Wall Street Journal. At Suite 101, she is a Topic Editor. She also edited for major publishing house Pearson and currently works as a freelance fiction and nonfiction editor. She received her master’s in creative writing from New York University, and she is the founder and editor-in-chief of Pencey X Pages, a blog that promotes success for authors and aspiring authors.

Elise assists Sandra Dijkstra and is a Literary Agent at SDLA. She is most interested in serious upmarket/literary fiction and narrative nonfiction. She seeks out writers who are published regularly in magazines and who have a realistic sense of the market. Some of her recent and soon-to-be-published books include Jonathon Keats' THE BOOK OF THE UNKNOWN (Random House), Ali Liebegott's THE IHOP PAPERS (Carroll & Graf), and Whitney Lyles' FIRST COMES LOVE (Berkley).

Lindsey Clemons is a literary agent for Larsen Pomada Agency. She is actively looking for captivating thrillers, mysteries of all sorts, and literary upmarket fiction. She is an advocate for strong, well-developed characters with fresh, distinct voices. Lindsey graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a BA in Film and Electronic Arts and a minor in Creative Writing.

Senior Agent at Andrea Hurst Literary Management, Gordon is looking for upmarket and general fiction with an edge as well as YA, memoir and other nonfiction. He frequently participates in conferences and workshops. He is an honors graduate with a BA in Creative and Professional Writing, possesses eclectic taste, and in no particular order loves THE GLASS CASTLE, SUPER SAID TRUE LOVE STORY, THE GARDEN OF EDEN, and WORLD WAR Z.

Bruce has spent 25 years practicing law in Philadelphia. He writes legal articles for business publications, and for the last six years has worked on his current novel, THE FLOOD DANCER, that concerns the wreckage which Hurricane Agnes heaped upon Pennsylvania in 1972, flowing back into the life of the main character 34 years later with the discovery of a dark secret within his childhood home.

Rachel is an artist and inspirational writer who lives in the Pacific Northwest. She is the proud mother of two beautiful daughters and President of The Butterfly Project, an organization founded on the principle that every human being is precious and deserves the support and encouragement to find their wings. She is currently working on her breakout novel, THE LAST SCRIBE, a story about a young woman who has the power to write the future with a stroke of her pen.

Wendy is a published author and licensed psychotherapist. Her current novel on the verge, KILLER ON THE WALL, was an award winner in the Maryland Writer’s Association mystery novel contest. Her upmarket novel, LIAM, was a semifinalist in the Amazon next breakthrough novel award, and her EDUCATING TIGERS was published by Erica House in 2001 and noted as recommended reading by syndicated columnist Marguerite Kelly in her Washington Post column, “Family Almanac.”

Jennifer spent over five years as Editorial Director for Literary Traveler, called a “bookworm’s delight” by the Wall Street Journal. At Suite 101, she is a Topic Editor. She also edited for major publishing house Pearson and currently works as a freelance fiction and nonfiction editor. She received her master’s in creative writing from New York University, and she is the founder and editor-in-chief of Pencey X Pages, a blog that promotes success for authors and aspiring authors.

Teaching middle and high school for fifteen years has kept Melissa abreast of what her students like to read, and while training in medieval studies, Romance languages, English, and mythology at both MA and PHD levels, she considers herself a scholar by trade and inclination, but a storyteller at heart. She sees nothing contradictory in this for she believes the best teachers are often master storytellers.

Katie French is a high school guidance counselor, wife and mother of two. When she's not up to her eyeballs in dishes, diapers or diagnosing teenage angst, she spends her free time working on her young adult dystopia, The Breeders. She is also the co-founder and contributor to Underground Book Reviews, a blog dedicated to promoting new and self-published authors.

By day, Kevin is a professional IT consultant in southwest Ohio. By night, when not relaxing with his Genius Wife or playing with his five young children, he is writing an epic fantasy series called The Tome of Greystone. The books describe a land where common people are chosen to represent ultimate good and evil in a cataclysmic event called The Proving, and how a group of young men and women handle their calling.

Jennifer Skutelsky is an associate agent at Veritas Literary Agency in San Francisco. A successful nonfiction writer and ghost author, Jennifer worked as a reader for Manus Literary before moving to Veritas. She is on the lookout for compelling work in a variety of genres, excluding romance and horror. Her own novel, GRAVE OF HUMMINGBIRDS, has been requested by major agencies and publishers.

Chris Stewart is Program Director for Literary Arts with her state arts council. A writer of fiction and poetry, she helps writers live a passionate creative life through mentoring and editing services at The Real Writer (www.therealwriter.com). Her novel, This End Up, is based on the summer she spent helping her father clean out her grandparents’ cluttered home after their dementia-related deaths and the resulting disturbing discoveries.

Rachel is an artist and inspirational writer who lives in the Pacific Northwest. She is the proud mother of two beautiful daughters and President of The Butterfly Project, an organization founded on the principle that every human being is precious and deserves the support and encouragement to find their wings. She is currently working on her breakout novel, THE LAST SCRIBE, a story about a young woman who has the power to write the future with a stroke of her pen.