Book(ed) Passage

Don Winslow - 2012 Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference Keynote Speaker

2012-05-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

Don Winslow - 2012 Book Passage
Mystery Writers Conference Keynote Speaker

Book Passage is thrilled to announce Don Winslow will be the keynote speaker at the 2012 Mystery Writers Conference, set to take place July 19-22 at Book Passage in Corte Madera, California.

Winslow, the widely acclaimed, bestselling crime fiction writer, will deliver the Conference’s keynote address on Friday, July 20th at 7:30 pm. This special event will be open to both Conference attendees and the public.

Winslow is the author of the forthcoming The Kings of Cool: A Prequel to Savages, due out from Simon & Schuster in June. Winslow’s new novel is being published to coincide with the release of the film adaption of Savages, directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone. Set to hit theaters in July, Stone’s widely anticipated film stars John Travolta, Blake Lively, Benecio Del Toro, Uma Thurman, Emile Hirsch, Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson, and Salma Hayek.

In Savages, Winslow introduced Ben and Chon, twenty-something best friends who risk everything to save O, the girl they both love. Among the most celebrated literary thrillers in recent memory, Savages was selected as a "Top 10 Book of 2010" by Janet Maslin in The New York Times and Stephen King in Entertainment Weekly, as well as other publications around the world.

Now, in his high-octane prequel, Winslow reaches back in time to tell the story of how Ben, Chon, and O became the people they are. A series of breakneck twists and turns puts two generations on a collision course, culminating in a stunning showdown that will ultimately force them to choose between their real families and their love for each other.

Don Winslow is the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen novels, including The Gentlemen’s Hour, Satori, Savages, The Dawn Patrol, The Winter of Frankie Machine, The Power of the Dog, California Fire and Life, and The Death and Life of Bobby Z. He lives in Southern California.

The Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference is the leading crime fiction writer’s conference in the United States. Now in its 19th year, this is the place where both published and aspiring crime fiction writers of all stripes gather to talk shop. It is also the place where careers are begun. Just ask its many published alumni.

Book Passage has served the Bay Area for more than 30 years, providing the community with an array of author events, writing and language classes, and its highly-respected, annual conferences. The store is nationally renowned for its large inventory, knowledgeable staff, and community involvement. Book Passage has two stores, one in Corte Madera and a second in the San Francisco Ferry Building, as well as an active website, www.bookpassage.com.

For more information, contact Karen West, Book Passage Director of Events & Conferences, at 415.927.0960 x238, kwest@bookpassage.com. Visit the conference online at www.bookpassage.com/mystery-writers-conference.

Faculty Additions - Cara Black, Tony Broadbent, David Cole, George Fong, Lisa Gallagher, Al Giannini, William C. Gordon, Seth Harwood, Arthur Kerns, John Lescroart, D.P. Lyle, Tim Maleeny, Kirk Russell, and Jacqueline Winspear join the 2012 Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference

2012-02-02T20:07:00.000-08:00

Just announced! Cara Black, Tony Broadbent, David Cole, George Fong, Lisa Gallagher, Al Giannini, William C. Gordon, Seth Harwood, Arthur Kerns, John Lescroart, D.P. Lyle, Tim Maleeny, Kirk Russell, and Jacqueline Winspear to join the faculty of the 2012 Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference, July 19-22 in Corte Madera, California.

Cara Black
Cara Black frequents a Paris little known outside the beaten tourist track, a Paris she discovers on research trips and interviews with French police, private detectives and café owners. Cara is a San Francisco Library Laureate and a member of the Paris Sociéte Historique in the Marais. Her nationally bestselling and award nominated Aimée Leduc Investigation series, which includes Murder in the Latin Quarter, Murder in the Marais, and Murder at the Lanterne Rouge, has been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Hebrew. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, a bookseller, and their teenage son. Read more >>

Tony Broadbent
Broadbent is the acclaimed author of the Jethro books, The Smoke and The Spectres in the Smoke, about a cat burglar and jewel thief, in post World War II England. The third book in the series, Shadows in the Smoke will be published in August. Read more >>

David Cole
David has divided his time between publishing, writing, and marketing, cultivating experience in every aspect of the book publishing business. He founded Bay Tree Publishing in 2002. Read more >>

George Fong
Fong is Director of Security with ESPN and former Supervising Agent for the FBI.

Lisa Gallagher
Lisa is a literary agent at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. As former Senior Vice President & Publisher of William Morrow, Lisa became known as an indefatigable author advocate who helped nurture the careers of many writers. She was lucky enough to work with numerous New York Times bestselling authors, including Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, Dennis Lehane, Elmore Leonard, Gregory Maguire, Christopher Moore, James Rollins, and Neal Stephenson. Read more >>

Al Giannini
Giannini is a San Mateo County District Attorney.

William C. Gordon
Gordon’s novel, The Chinese Jars, is a mystery set in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the early 1960s. He is also the author of King of the Bottom, The Ugly Dwarf, Duelo en Chinatown, and the forthcoming The Halls of Power. Gordon is an attorney with a law office in Sausalito, a father, photographer, and world traveler with his wife, author Isabel Allende. Read more >>

Seth Harwood
Harwood grew up in the Boston area and graduated from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He is the author of Jack Wakes Up, This is Life, and his latest novel, Young Junius, billed as "The Wire meets Cambridge, MA in 1987" and picked by George Pelecanos as one of his best books of 2010. Read more >>

Arthur Kerns
Following graduation from college, Kerns did a stint with the US Navy amphibious forces, and then joined the FBI with a career in counterintelligence and counter terrorism. Retiring from the FBI, he became a consultant with the Director of Central Intelligence and the Department of State. His lengthy assignments took him to over 65 countries. He is the author of The Riviera Contract and The Past is Never Dead. Read more >>

John Lescroart
A New York Times bestselling author whose books have been translated into 16 languages in more than 75 countries, Lescroart is the author of numerous crime novels and courtroom mysteries. His books include Treasure Hunt, A Plague of Secrets, The Hunt Club, Damage, and The Hunter. Read more >>

D.P. Lyle
Lyle is a physician and the author of Howdunit Forensics, a definitive reference guide for writers. He is also the author of Forensics and Fiction, Hot Lights, Cold Steel, Royal Pains: First, Do No Harm, Royal Pains: Sick Rich, and more Forensics and Fiction, which will be published this spring. Read more >>

Tim Maleeny
Maleeny is the author of the acclaimed Cape Weathers series, including Stealing The Dragon, Beating The Babushka, and Greasing
The Piñata. His latest book is Jump. Tim's short fiction has won the prestigious Macavity Award and appears in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen, Crimespree Magazine, and the anthologies Death Do Us Part, Uncage Me, and Thriller 2. Read more >>

Kirk Russell
Kirk's early novels feature the head of an undercover California Fish and Game team. His latest novel, A Killing in China Basin, begins a new crime series set in San Francisco, featuring homicide inspector, Ben Raveneau, and his partner Elizabeth la Rosa. Read more >>

Jacqueline Winspear
Conference co-chair Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the acclaimed Maisie Dobbs, Birds of a Feather, An Incomplete Revenge, Among the Mad, A Lesson in Secrets, and the latest Elegy for Eddie. Read more >>

Register >>

Join us on Facebook, Twitter, and BookPassage.com for updates on upcoming additions to the Conference faculty.

David Corbett, Robert Dugoni, and Sheldon Siegel added to the Faculty of the 2012 Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference

2012-01-29T15:33:00.000-08:00

Book Passage is excited to announce the addition of David Corbett, Robert Dugoni, and Sheldon Siegel to the faculty of the 2012 Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference, July 19-22 in Corte Madera, California.

David Corbett
Corbett is a skilled private investigator, having worked 15 years for the famed private investigation firm of Palladino & Sutherland. He is also a highly-talented writer of crime fiction. His novels including Do They Know I’m Running?, Blood of Paradise, Done for a Dime, and The Devil’s Redhead.

Faculty Addition - Carl Lennertz: Mystery Writers Conference

2011-10-07T12:43:00.000-07:00

Carl Lennertz

We are happy to announce the addition of Carl Lennertz, Executive Director, World Book Night U.S., book marketing specialist, independent bookselling advocate, and author of Cursed by a Happy Childhood, to the faculty of the 2012 Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference, July 19-22 at Book Passage in Corte Madera, California. Former Vice President of Retailing at HarperCollins Publishers, Carl brings more than 20 years of experience in both bookselling and publishing. His biography on the blog Publisher Insider, which he founded, states:

I am fascinated by how and why books sell. What are the intrinsic qualities as well as the hype that makes a book catch on? Word of mouth especially intrigues me, and not just for books. Movies? Music? Theater? Art? All of it; what is it about each creative work that makes us pay attention. I think of myself as a student of the business of books vis a vis the business of movies, music and art. But even bigger than that, I think it is safe to say that we book readers are also music, movie and art lovers, and that we, especially, revel in seeing and hearing all that in public spaces as well as in solitude. We need and crave both, yes? I hope to write about such bigger picture issues here, in long pieces as well as short blips.

My background: Worked in bookstores in the 70s, worked at Random House thru the mid-90s and then helped launch the Book Sense program for independent bookstores. I am now with HarperCollins, working on various aspects of marketing with some very talented people on every kind of book imaginable. I will mention books from all sorts of publishing houses and also plug some movies and music, as well as some of my favorite small art museums. My main desires here are to learn more about this thing called word of mouth, about books in the larger society, and, most specifically, to promote the experience of getting out to hear authors and musicians and actors do their thing live.

Carl is also the editor of The Great Lakes Reader and The Pacific Northwest Reader, collections of essays by booksellers and librarians in specific regions of the U.S.

Read an interview with Carl Lennertz (from the website Creative Writing Now)

Read more about the 2012 Mystery Writers Conference >>

Mystery & Suspense Writers Gather in Corte Madera, California This Month

2011-07-07T15:28:00.000-07:00

18th Annual Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference

The 18th Annual Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference will take place July 21-24, 2011 at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera, CA 94925.

Located just 15 minutes across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, this Conference has a strong tradition of outstanding authors and teachers. Mystery and suspense authors learn all the clues to a successful writing career. Editors, agents, and publishers share with students what they need to know to get published. Authors offer classes on setting, dialogue, suspense, point of view, and various mystery genres. Panels of detectives, forensics experts, and other crime-fighting professionals provide information that allows writers to put realism in their work. We’re proud of the successful mystery writers who began their careers at this conference.

The collegial atmosphere of the Conference attracts students and faculty from all over the country, many for repeat visits. Opportunities abound for faculty and students to talk, laugh, and exchange ideas in classes, workshops, panels, and informal lunches.

Over the past two decades, the Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference has drawn faculty who are the best in the business. This year’s Conference boasts an outstanding faculty of writers, agents, editors, publishing professionals, forensics experts, and crime-fighting pros including internationally-acclaimed authors Daniel Silva (The Rembrandt Affair, Moscow Rules, The Messenger) and Martin Cruz Smith (Three Stations, Stalin’s Ghost, Gorky Park), former Agent for the FBI & current head of security for ESPN George Fong, authors David Corbett (Do They Know I’m Running?, The Devil’s Redhead, Blood of Paradise), Marcia Clark (lead prosecutor on the O.J. Simpson murder case and author of Without a Doubt), Hallie Ephron (Never Tell a Lie, Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel), Robert Dugoni (The Jury Master, Wrongful Death), John Lescroart (Treasure Hunt, A Plague of Secrets), Dylan Schaffer (Misdemeanor Man, I Right the Wrongs), Jacqueline Winspear (Maisie Dobbs, A Lesson in Secrets), literary agents Amy Burkhardt and Kimberley Cameron (Kimberley Cameron & Associates) & Amy Rennert (Amy Rennert Agency), Arielle Eckstut (Levine Greenberg Literary Agency), Lisa Gallagher (Sanford J. Greenburger Associates), Miriam Parker (Marketing Director at Little, Brown and Company), and more!

Each Conference day is structured to provide an intensive writing experience. In the mornings and afternoons there are panels & workshops, and special presentations in the evenings.

The cost of the four-day Conference is $540. Optional 30-minute private consultations are available for $95. For complete details, a full schedule, faculty list, accommodations, or to register, please visit the Conference homepage at www.bookpassage.com/mystery-writers-conference. You may also contact Conference Coordinator, Kathryn Petrocelli, by phone at (415) 927-0960, ext. 239, or email bpconferences@bookpassage.com.

There are optional writing workshops taught by David Corbett, D.P. Lyle, and Hallie Ephron on Thursday afternoon just prior to the Conference. These pre-Conference classes are available to participants for an additional fee. The Mystery Writers Conference is chaired by mystery writers Sheldon Siegel and Jacqueline Winspear.

Authors say:

"The Conference bolstered my skills and helped me get published. You can’t beat the caliber or the inspiration." – Cara Black, author of Murder in the Latin Quarter

"Before I learned about Book Passage’s classes and the Mystery Conference, the only creative writing I’d ever done were a couple of particularly imaginative IRS submissions at tax time. Sure, I was an avid mystery reader, but that didn’t translate to being a mystery writer anymore than being a gourmet means you know how to cook. So I decided to learn from the pros. Within a year I’d written my first novel, partnered with a well-known agent, and sold the book to Time Warner’s Mysterious Press. ... It’s been a great year of book tours, signings and getting to meet some terrific readers, librarians and booksellers. It also feels good to fulfill a fantasy I’ve been dreaming about for close to fifty years. I can stick to nonfiction for the IRS submissions now." – Louise Ure, author of Forcing Amaryllis

"The Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference is the most interesting, most challenging, and most fun event for writers I’ve ever attended, a unique symposium that challenges all those who take part to think about this curious craft from both a practical and aesthetic point of view." – David Hewson, author of The Seventh Sacrament

"At the Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference I was lucky enough to get a consultation with thriller writer Lee Child, who took a very kind interest in the manuscript. ... He has championed the book ever since, and when we met up again at Book Passage, he asked whether I’d be interested in doing a joint book tour, since both my first book and his tenth were slated for publication in the same month." – Cornelia Read, author of A Field of Darkness

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Book Passage has served the Bay Area for more than 30 years, providing the community with an array of author events, writing and language classes, and highly-respected, annual writing conferences.

A Fly on the Wall at the Mystery Writers Conference

2010-07-28T11:38:00.000-07:00

I always sign on to work the summer conferences at BP. During conferences, our role as booksellers expands to include serving food and wine at the conference dinners, moving furniture and audio-visual equipment about for various seminars, handling crowds at the public events with speakers like Elizabeth George, John Lescroat, and Robert Crais with Michael Connelly. Elaine made us laugh as we bused tables one night and she asked if we ever thought the "bookseller" job description included such duties. It does at Book Passage-- we wear many hats!

But the real payoff is to be a fly on the wall as the seminars happen, or the evening speaking engagements are going on. I heard Connelly and Crais describe how to work with helpful, encouraging police officers when they research their books, and haunting the courthouse to speak to police, criminal attorneys, or judges for information they would later include in their stories. I heard Elizabeth George and Jacqueline Winspear discussing the writer's life ("Did I really complete that novel? How did I do it? Can I ever do it again?") and the joys and challenges a writer faces every time they sit down to compose. And many, many more great tidbits as I worked the registers, or filled a wineglass, or straightened chairs in the Event Room.

As we tidied the bookstore and cleared away the last Mystery Writers Conference materials on Sunday, I sneaked a peek at the feedback forms from the students. Of course, the educational structure and speakers at the Conference are all in the brilliant hands of Sheldon Siegel, Jacqueline Winspear, and Kathryn Petrocelli and not my work, but I couldn't help wondering if the students learned as much as I did, or had as good a time. They sure did! They all left just buzzing with the knowledge they'd gained, the support and encouragement, the feeling that they can complete their projects and get them published. They loved the speakers, the food, the workshops, their consultations with the experts. The comments about the nature and usefulness of the Conference were really gratifying.

So did they have any complaints? Well, our folding chairs caused some sore bottoms, and there was this giant poodle taking up seating space. I think we can handle these challenges. [grin]