Saturday, July 20, 2013

THRILLERFEST CONVENTION

THRILLERFEST
THE INTERNATIONAL THRILLER ASSOCIATION
RECAP OF NEW YORK CITY CONFERENCE

This year was fantastic with so many people attending. There is nothing better than having meeting with the best writers in the world and learning from them. 

The first day there was called CRAFTFEST and had some great instructors, you know, people like Steve Berry, Karen Dionne, Phillip Margolin, Stanly Trllip, John Samford, James Bruno, Gayle Lynds, Michael Connelly, Michael Palmer, Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child, Catherine Coulier, David Morrell just to name a few.

Knowing what makes a writer tick and how they go about creating bestselling novels is a fantastic way in taking any writers work to the next level. All of these great instructors openly shared how they work and answered questions from those attending. This was both during the meetings and walking around. 

The next day was AGENTFEST where over 600 writers went after about 50 agents in a frenzy attempt to connect. All presentations were limited to 3 minutes where the writer could make his case. Since I am looking for a new agent, I was in that group. At the end of the day, I had received over 10 requests, which may be a record, for my recently completed manuscript.

Later that night there was a major cocktail party. This is where many more contacts could be made. I spent a lot of time with one special editor I would love to work with. As such, I will write my next novel tuned to what he loves to edit. Luckily, we both love the same stories.

The next day started THRILLFEST with many more panel discussions and the main banquet. Since I had other commitments, I had to leave, but really missed, perhaps the best part. Next year, I will do better in planning my time. 

I have a photo of where this convention is held in NYC. I hope to see more people there next year.




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