Melville House publishers Dennis Johnson and Valerie Merians set up the booth at AWP 2014 in Seattle.

We’re headed to AWP—the Association of Writers and Writing Programs—in Minneapolis tomorrow and we hope to see you at some of our events this week.

Here are the highlights!

Thursday, April 9, 2015

R160. The Business of Publishing Your First Novel: Author and Publisher Perspectives.

12:00 pm to 1:15 pm
Auditorium Room 2, Level 1

(Melville House publisher Dennis Johnson, Jeremy Bushnell, Christopher Boucher, Dylan Hicks, Sarah Stonich, and Catie Disabato)

Melville House co-publisher and co-founder Dennis Johnson will lead a practical discussion of the publishing process with four authors in various stages of their publishing careers. Topics will include: agents, contracts, editing, big-house vs. independent publishers, publicity, marketing, social networking, and the changing role of the author.

Friday, April 10, 2015

F148: Independent Bookselling: Opportunities for Authors

10:30am – 11:45am
Room 205 C&D, Level 2

As bookstore chains disappear and independent bookstores become even more important, what should writers and authors know about working with booksellers? This panel from Minneapolis-area bookstores—Magers & Quinn, SubtText Books, and Common Good Books—will discuss how writers can work with independent booksellers to market a book. Topics will include author events, store placement, joint promotion, and how to spread the word to the book-buying public.

(Melville House publisher Dennis Johnson, Mary Magers from Magers & Quinn, David Enyeart from Common Good Books, and David Unowsky from SubText Books)

Catie Disabato signs copies of her debut novel The Ghost Network

3:00pm – 3:30pm
Melville House booth #1008
Facebook event