PJ Campbell, Director of Events for a major global trade publisher
PJ Campbell is the Director of Events for a major, global trade publisher and an authority in the creation of successful book campaigns through author appearances. She has more than 17 years' experience in formulating, marketing and publicizing author appearances through webinars, blog tours, online chats, Skype, bookstores, conventions, conferences, seminars, workshops, galas, and launch parties. Including her background as a former bookstore General Manager and Director of Events, she has an all-inclusive perspective of the business of writing. As an author, PJ has written articles and essays on a variety of adult topics including the business of events, women's issues, motivation, sports, health and art. Her writing has been published in national and international newspapers, magazines and websites. Her 2009 published book, 101 AUTHOR TIPS: Creating A Successful Book Campaign was an award finalist in Best Books USA Book News and Foreword Magazine's Book of the Year. PJ's newest book will be published as an e-book, entitled, Authors' Online Bestseller Resource: Sales, Publicity, Promotion, E-Publishing. PJ is a member of the following professional writing associations: National Association of Women Writers, International Women Writers Guild, Association of Writers and Writing Programs, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Western Writers of America, Pacific Northwest Writers Association. Contact PJ Campbell at http://pjcampbellwriter.com.
Darcie Chan, Self-Published Author of The Mill River Recluse
Darcie Chan is the author of The Mill River Recluse, a self-published debut novel that has become a word-of-mouth e-book sensation. With over 570,000 copies sold, The Mill River Recluse appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists for more than 24 weeks and became a heartwarming favorite of readers across the country. Darcie was born in Wisconsin and grew up in the small towns of Brandon, Wisconsin, La Junta and Cheraw, Colorado, and Paoli, Indiana. Thanks to loving and supportive parents who are both educators, she learned to read and write at an early age. She has two younger sisters, with whom she is very close. Currently, Darcie lives just north of New York City with her husband and son. She writes during every moment she isn't working as a lawyer or spending time with her family. She gets very little sleep, especially now that she is hard at work on a second novel set in Mill River, Vermont.
Brittany Geragotelis, Self-Published Author of Life's a Witch
An Olympic-bound gymnast during her teen years, Brittany Geragotelis always thought she'd see her name in print one day. That dream came true first as a magazine editor, where she had the chance to interview celebrities like Dakota Fanning, Miley Cyrus and Jamie Foxx, and then more recently in news outlets like Publisher's Weekly, Huffington Post and The Wall Street Journal. Though she's now a full-time writer, she also pens the blog Brittany the Book Slayer (www.thebookslayer.com) as well as produces and stars in author videos for her YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/thebookslayer). After publishing her first book, Life's a Witch, on the community writing site Wattpad (www.wattpad.com/BrittTheBookSlayer) and receiving nearly 18 million reads of the paranormal action romance, she landed a 3-book, 6-figure deal with Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. The prequel to Life's A Witch, titled What the Spell? Will be published as an e-book in three parts beginning in September 2012 and in paperback in December. The re-release of Life's a Witch and the sequel will follow one per year. A self-professed pop-culture junkie, Brittany currently lives in NYC with her boyfriend and two cats, Murray and Cohen.
C.S. Marks, Self-Published Author of the Elfhunter trilogy
C.S. Marks has often been described as a 'Renaissance woman'. The child of an English professor, Chris has always loved classic literature as well as epic fantasy, and decided to try her hand at writing and illustrating an epic series. The result: The very successful Elfhunter trilogy, which has sold over 40,000 copies both in print and e-book form. This epic trilogy has garnered awards (Reviewer's Choice Best Fantasy, Best Series) and nearly 200 reviews. She is now hard at work on an exciting new Alterran series, the Undiscovered Realms. A former field biologist and avid horsewoman, Chris holds a PhD in Biology, and has competed both nationally and internationally in the sport of endurance riding. She is a full professor of equine science at a small liberal arts college in the midwest. She is in demand as a lecturer and presenter at conventions, academic fairs, and publishing workshops. In 2011, Chris signed a three book deal with Sea Lion Books, including comic book and graphic novel adaptations of the Elfhunter trilogy as well as hard covers and paperbacks. While she has enjoyed an ample measure of success as an independent author, she is now looking forward to a long and productive relationship with Sea Lion Books, bringing her wonderful Tales of Alterra to an ever-widening group of appreciative readers of all ages.
Rebecca Albani, Publisher Relations Manager, Bowker
Rebecca Albani serves as the Publisher Relations Manager at Bowker. She has been working in the publishing industry for the past 7 years and has experience in book publishing and metadata management. Albani currently assists publishers with making their data more discoverable to customers to help increase their sales. She has presented webinars on behalf of Bowker for quality bibliographic data to traditional publishers and self-publishers. Ms. Albani has also been a presenter for the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) webinar series on ONIX.
Marilyn Allen, Partner and Founder, Allen O'Shea Literary Agency
Marilyn Allen is a partner and founder of the Allen O'Shea Literary Agency, specializing in authors of practical nonfiction; health, cooking, business, and narrative nonfiction titles. Prior to starting the agency 11 years ago, Marilyn held senior positions in publishing including; Senior VP and Associate Publisher at Harper Collins, VP of Simon & Schuster, VP of Penguin Group, and director positions at Avon and Warner Books. She is the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Book Proposals & Query Letters (Penguin 2011) with her partner Coleen O'Shea, and together they also write a regular column for Writer Magazine. Marilyn is a frequent speaker and presenter at writers' conferences throughout the country and has taught publishing courses
for Gotham Writers Workshop. Allen is also a founding member and Literary Agent for the Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
Steven Axelrod, President, The Axelrod Agency
Steven Axelrod is President of The Axelrod Agency, and has been an agent for over 30 years and president of his own agency for more than 25 years. Prior to agenting, he was an editor at The Literary Guild, managing editor at Harcourt Brace, and a reader for a number of paperback houses. His present clients include self-published ebook phenom Amanda Hocking, two-time Edgar Award-winning mystery author S.J. Rozan, as well as many top women's fiction authors, including #1 New York Times Bestsellers Christine Feehan, J.R. Ward, and Julia Quinn, plus multi-New York Times Bestsellers Jayne Ann Krentz, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Suzanne Brockmann, and Catherine Anderson.
Patrick Brown, Community Manager, Goodreads
Patrick Brown serves as the Community Manager of Goodreads, the largest book recommendation Web site in the world. Prior to heading up the Goodreads online community, Brown was an Independent Bookseller at Book Soup and Vroman's Bookstore. With an intense interest in group interaction online and a love for books, Patrick helps connect people with one another and with their passions. Currently Brown heads the Goodreads Author Program and Customer Care Team. He supports and cultivates one of the largest literary presences online by answering member questions and growing the Goodreads Community through social communication. Brown also develops events and products for the Goodreads Web site.
Bob Young, CEO & Founder, Lulu.com
Bob Young is the founder and CEO of Lulu.com, a premiere international marketplace
for new digital content on the Internet.
In 2003, Young purchased the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League and
currently serves as the league's vice chairman.
In 1993, Young co-founded Red Hat, the open-source software company that gives
hardware and software vendors a standard platform on which to certify their technology.
Before founding Red Hat, Young spent 20 years at the helm of two computer-leasing
companies that he founded. His book, "Under the Radar", chronicles how Red Hat's
open source strategy successfully won industry acceptance in a market previously
dominated by proprietary binary-only systems.
Young graduated from the University of Toronto in 1976 prior to beginning his career in the
computer finance arena.
Julia Coblentz, Senior Marketing Manager, PubIt!
Julia Coblentz is the Senior Marketing Manager for PubIt! She has over ten years of marketing experience at trade publishers including Random House and Abrams.
Mark Coker, Founder, Smashwords
Mark Coker is the founder of Smashwords, the world's leading distributor of indie ebooks. In the last four years, Smashwords has helped over 40,000 indie authors around the world publish and distribute more than 100,000 ebooks. In 2010, the Wall Street Journal named Mark one of the Eight Stars of Self Publishing. Mark blogs at http://blog.smashwords.com and is a contributing writer for the Huffington Post where he writes about the future of book publishing. Mark is the author of four ebooks, available at major ebook retailers everywhere: The Smashwords Style Guide (how to prepare and publish an ebook), The Smashwords Book Marketing Guide (how to market any book), The 10-Minute Public Relations Checklist (how to implement a strategic communications program), and Boob Tube (a satire about the daytime television soap opera industry). Connect with Mark on Twitter at @markcoker.
Kelly Gallagher, Vice President, Publishing Services, Bowker
Kelly Gallagher serves as VP of Publishing Services at Bowker. In this role he manages the implementation of a host of Bowker business intelligence services, including the PubTrack consumer research panel reaching over 40,000 'e' and 'p' book consumers. For the past year, he has been leading a team of researchers on a three-year initiative for the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) to study consumer attitudes toward e-devices and digital content. This long-term trended study looks at consumer purchases on a quarterly basis as it seeks to understand the rate and shift to digital content. In addition to managing the consumer research panel, he oversees sales data collection and analytics tools for the higher education and religious book markets for Bowker. Beyond his role at Bowker, Kelly also serves as Research Chair for the BISG.
Susannah Greenberg, President, Susannah Greenberg Public Relations
Susannah Greenberg is the President of Susannah Greenberg Public Relations (www.bookbuzz.com), a book publicity firm in the Greater New York Area. Greenberg has represented bestsellers including Who Moved My Cheese?, author Alan Dershowitz and Bird Songs (Les Beletsky, Chronicle Books). She also launched National Poetry Month for the Academy of American Poets, represented the Book Industry Study Group (BISG), and is currently the Publicity Chair for the Women's National Book Association of New York City (NYC). Most recently in 2011, Ms. Greenberg worked to facilitate the launch of Albert Whitman Teen with print and broadcast media placements in some of the highest valued venues including the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune and National Public Radio.
Jan Johnson, Publisher, Red Wheel/Weiser Books/Conari Press, Director, Turning Stone Press
Jan Johnson is publisher at Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC, publishing books under Conari Press, Weiser Books, and Hampton Roads Publishing imprints. Weiser Books is known for its cutting edge and traditional occult and esoteric books. Conari Press is the publisher of NYT bestselling The Book of Awakening and the Random Acts of Kindness series. Hampton Roads has published Neale Donald Walsch, Byron Katie, and others. All three imprints proudly wear our banner, "Books to live by." Recently Johnson spearheaded the company's new venture, Turning Stone Press, a boutique self-publishing program, to publish books in the same subject areas, but including metaphysical (aka visionary or inspirational) fiction and personal memoirs and spiritual autobiographies. Visit www.redwheelweiser.com and www.turningstonepress.com
Christopher Kenneally, Director of Business Development & Author Relations, Copyright Clearance Center
Christopher Kenneally is the Director of Business Development & Author Relations at Copyright Clearance Center. Christopher works with his Business Development colleagues to help the company attract new customers and achieve greater penetration in existing markets. He has forged partnerships with technology providers, professional associations, and media organizations, among others. In addition, Kenneally is host/producer of CCC's weekly podcast series, "Beyond the Book," and for OnCopyright Education, CCC's Educational Services brand, he presents a variety of programs on copyright and intellectual property issues. Christopher is also a freelance journalist and has reported on education, business, travel, culture and technology for the New York Times, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, and The Independent of London, among many other publications. He also reported for WBUR-FM (Boston), National Public Radio, and WGBH-TV (PBS-Boston). He is author of "Massachusetts 101" (Applewood Books), a history of the state "from Redcoats to Red Sox" (www.mass101.com)
Florrie Kichler, President, Independent Book Publishers Association, and President, Patria Press, Incorporated
Florrie Binfor- Kichler is president of IBPA, the Independent Book Publishers Association, a national not-for-profit trade organization of more than 2700 members. She is a member of the Children's Book Council, the American Library Association, and the Indiana Library Federation. Florrie was named by Book Business Magazine as one of the Top 50 Women in Book Publishing. She serves on the Book Industry Study Group Board, the Indiana University Kelley School of Business Women's MBA Advisory Board, the Indiana University Kelley School of Business Board of Visitors, the ACLU of Indiana Foundation Board, and the Indianapolis Marion County Public Library Foundation Board. Florrie is also president and founder of Patria Press, Inc., the publisher of the award-winning Young Patriots Series for children. Florrie earned a BA in English and French and an MBA from Indiana University Kelley School of Business and is a graduate of the Stanford Professional Publishing Course. She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Susan Leon, Editor, Book Doctor, Ghostwriter
Susan Leon is a highly regarded independent editor, book doctor, and ghostwriter. She provides manuscript evaluation and in-depth editing services for previously published and new emerging writers. For non-fiction writers this includes concept development, resolving organizational and narrative issues, shaping book proposals, and line editing. For novelists this includes guidance on storytelling skills such as dialogue mechanics, voice, characterizations, plotting, and point of view. She also strategizes with clients seeking agency representation and also provides editorial, production, and marketing advisory services to authors planning to self-publish. Fiction interests include literary, contemporary, and historical fiction. Non-fiction: memoir, biography, all areas of history, entertainment, law, essays, women, parenting, food, and travel. A former academic (Columbia University) with an expertise in American history, she previously held senior editorial positions at William Morrow, Atheneum/Scribner's, Viking, and the William Morris Agency. She is also the ghostwriter of two New York Times bestsellers and editor of many national bestsellers. Authors with whom she has worked include Lady Antonia Fraser, Joy Fielding, Diane Ackerman, Ursula Hegi, Kris Carlson (Don't Sweat the Small Stuff series), Sir Martin Gilbert, Andrew Gross, Lucette Lagnado, Sarah Ban Breathnach, and Reba McIntyre.
Laurie McLean, Agent, Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents
Laurie McLean is an agent with Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents in San Francisco, Northern California's oldest literary agency founded in 1972. Laurie represents adult genre fiction (romance, fantasy, science fiction, horror, nouveau westerns, mysteries, suspense, thrillers, etc.) as well as middle-grade and young-adult books. She looks for great writing, first and foremost, followed by memorable characters, a searing storyline, and solid world building. For more than 20 years Laurie ran a multi-million dollar eponymous public relations agency in California's Silicon Valley. She is passionate about marketing, publicity, negotiating, editing, and a host of other business-critical areas. She is also a novelist herself, so she can empathize with the author's journey to and through publication. Finally, Laurie is the dean of the new San Francisco Writers University at www.SFWritersU.com and on the management team of the San Francisco Writers Conference.
Jim Milliot, Co-editorial Director, Publishers Weekly & Vice President, PWxyz
Jim Milliot is Co-Editorial Director of Publishers Weekly and Vice President of PWxyz, the company that acquired PW from Reed in April 2010. Jim has been with PW for 19 years, starting as the business and news editor, topics he still covers today. Prior to joining PW, Jim was Executive Editor at Simba Information; a publisher of newsletters and market studies on various media segments, including trade and educational book publishing. Simba's flagship publications were BP Report and Educational Marketer, for which Jim served as editor. Jim is a regular contributor to different industry publications, including Bowker's Book Consumer Annual Review, and BISG's Consumer Attitudes Towards E-Books report.
Diane O'Connell, Founder and Editorial Director, Write to Sell Your Book, LLC
Diane O'Connell, Founder and Editorial Director at Write to Sell Your Book, LLC, is an award-winning author and editor with 25 years of experience in the New York publishing world. A former editor at Random House, she is the author and/or coauthor of six books, including the groundbreaking Divorced Dads: Shattering the Myths, which was the subject of a 20/20 report by John Stossel; Strong Force: The Story of Physicist Shirley Ann Jackson; People Person: The Story of Sociologist Marta Tienda; Your Two-Year-Old: The Trusted Resource to Help Your Child Advance, Achieve, Succeed; the bestselling Decorative Paint and Faux Finishes; and the forthcoming From Brand to Book: How to Write a Book That Sells — and Sells Your Business.
Diane has helped launch the careers of many first-time authors, from thriller writer Cody McFadyen, who got a $500,000 book deal from Bantam after working with her, to inspirational author Jane Geiger, who now has a successful self-published branded book series.
Sandra (Sandy) Poirier-Diaz, President, Smith Publicity, Incorporated
Sandra (Sandy) Poirier-Diaz is the President of Smith Publicity, Incorporated, a book marketing company dedicated to helping authors create awareness about their books through media coverage. Smith Publicity has promoted more than 1,000 authors/publishers since 1997—from first time, self-published projects to New York Times best-selling titles. Sandy has overseen the direction of more than 900 book publicity campaigns with tens of thousands of media placements in television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and online outlets worldwide. Sandy has over 20 years of experience in the marketing, communications, and public relations fields. During her career, she has lead, designed and executed thousands of print ads, public relations strategies, direct mail campaigns, and videos for start-up businesses, Fortune 500 companies, individuals, authors/publishers, and non-profit organizations. Highlights of her publicity successes include placing clients on the Today Show, Parade Magazine (cover), Wall Street Journal, Forbes, SELF Magazine andCNN. She previously worked as Manager of Marketing Services for Thomson & Thomson, of the Thomson Reuters Corporation, where she planned and implemented over 400 marketing, PR, and image development programs. Sandy also worked for Advanced Computer Graphics in Boston, MA, servicing clients such as Reebok, researched and wrote articles for the National Association of Desktop Publishers, and worked for Ocean Spray Cranberries of Plymouth, MA. She has extensive experience in graphic design and Web site content development. Daily, she works with authors on strategies to create media attention for their titles. Sandy participates and speaks at book events around the world. Sandy earned a Bachelor of Science in Art, and a Master of Business Administration from Northeastern University in Boston.
Cindy Ratzlaff, President, Brand New Brand You Incorporated and founding Partner, Red Carpet Strategies
Cindy Ratzlaff was named by Forbes to the "20 Best Branded Women on Twitter," list and Forbes Woman called her one of the "Top 30 Women Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter." A frequent contributor to BusinessInsider.com on social media and marketing strategy, she is a 20-year veteran of the book publishing industry. She designed the campaigns behind more than 150 New York Times bestsellers. Cindy speaks regularly on brand strategies and consults with authors and publishers as President of Brand New Brand You Inc., where she focuses on cross platform integrated marketing strategies and key message communications. She is a Managing Partner of Red Carpet Strategies, a boutique digital agency using new social technologies for brand visibility. She speaks to more than 100,000 people daily via her various social media platforms.
Renée Register, Founder, DataCurate
Renée Register is the founder of DataCurate, a company focused on supporting content providers and libraries in the development of 21st century data policies, practices, and systems designed to better connect users to content. She is an information professional specializing in the creation, enhancement, management, and delivery of bibliographic data to optimize content discovery, internal operations, and business intelligence. Renée has over 20 years of experience in building and growing innovative metadata systems, products, and services for libraries, content vendors, and the publisher supply chain. Her experience includes 10 years with Ingram Book Group, the world's largest book wholesaler and 6 years with Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), the world's largest library cooperative. Ms. Register holds a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Kentucky and was named U.K. Library and Information Science Alumna of the Year in 2009.
Lynn Rosen, Director of Graduate Publishing Programs, Rosemont College
Lynn Rosen is the Director of Graduate Publishing Programs at Rosemont College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and the founder and director of Open Book, a continuing education program of book classes and events. Rosen has over twenty-five years of experience as an editor, literary agent, book packager, and author. She is the author of Elements of the Table: A Simple Guide for Hosts and Guests (Clarkson Potter), a guide to setting the table, dining etiquette, and the history of fine dining. She is also the co-author of The Baby Owner's Games and Activities Book and The Baby Owner's Maintenance Log (both from Quirk Books), as well as several gift books and journals. Lynn graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with an Honors degree in English, and holds a Masters in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University. She lives in the Philadelphia area.
Marcella Smith, Literary Agent & Consultant
Marcella Smith is a literary agent and consultant offering expert support to authors and publishers in strategic marketing and business development. She specializes in working with independent presses, and in placing authors with appropriate publishers in the indie segment of the industry. Marcella is known and respected in the industry for her knowledge of publishers, industry best practices, and in maximizing sales to the customer whether in a traditional bookstore, or in non-traditional outlets. Prior to establishing her own business, Marcella was a senior executive at Barnes & Noble (B&N) who worked with publishers and suppliers to develop new business, expand the title selection, strengthen relationships, and drive increased profitability. Her career there spanned over 20 years, during which time she held a number of positions including Director of Vendor Relations, overseeing the management of all aspects of Barnes & Noble's operations/logistics/financial relationships with its suppliers, including terms negotiations. In her early years at Barnes & Noble she established her commitment to the presence of the independent presses on the bookshelves at B&N through her participation in the Small Press Distribution Committee sponsored by Independent Publishers Group (IPG) and Publishers Marketing Association (PMA), and later by serving two terms on the board of the PMA, now Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), and she continues as a member of that organization. Before Marcella joined B&N in 1989, she was a freelance writer and agent. Earlier in her career she worked at Simon & Schuster as a Marketing Manager, and at St. Martin's Press as the Special Sales Manager.
Karen Strauss, President, Books to Market Now and Strauss Consultants
Karen Strauss is the President of Strauss Consultants and Books to Market Now. Karen is a publishing veteran with broad experience in all aspects of sales, marketing, strategic planning, and distribution. Dedicated to small and medium size publishers Strauss Consultants works to maximize sales to large retailers and wholesalers in the United States. Books To Market Now, is a new program to the Strauss Consultants agency and enables authors who are self-publishing to have a trusted publishing team that includes editorial, design, marketing, distribution, sales, and publicity. Strauss has committed a great deal of her time and effort into expanding her consulting business to include a one-stop publishing option that specializes in sales to top accounts in the country, distribution options, and on-line sales and marketing opportunities.
Patricia Payton, Senior Director of Publisher Relations and Content Development, RR Bowker, LLC.
Patricia Payton serves as the Senior Director of Publisher Relations and Content Development for RR Bowker, LLC. Payton heads the department that is responsible for communicating metadata requirements and best practices to publishers of all sizes. Patricia has retail bookstore experience and international market experience. She also holds a MBA and a Master's degree in Library Information Science specializing in Digital Libraries. Payton actively contributes to Book Industry Study Group (BISG) and other publishing industry committees. You can link to her on Linkedin at http://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciapayton and find her on twitter @DiscoverBowker
Mark Leslie Lefebvre, Director of Self-Publishing and Author Relations, Kobo
Mark Leslie Lefebvre is the Director of Self-Publishing and Author Relations at Kobo. A self-confessed book nerd, Mark has worked as a bookseller in large format and independent retail operations in both the trade and campus retail environments as well as behind the scenes as a bibliographic data wrangler. Mark has operated a successful self-publishing business using an Espresso Book Machine and is a member of the board of directors for BookNet Canada and the Canadian Booksellers Association. As a writer, Mark has published work through both traditional and self-publishing channels and has three forthcoming books due out in 2012—a non-fiction book (HAUNTED HAMILTON: THE GHOSTS OF DUNDURN CASTLE & OTHER STEELTOWN SHIVERS), a novel (I, DEATH) and an anthology (TESSERACTS 16: PARNASSUS UNBOUND).
Andrew Mackay, Publishing Specialist, BelieversPress
Andrew Mackay serves as the Publishing Specialist at BelieversPress and has been working with authors who choose to self publish for almost ten years. He has a passion for helping authors to understand the processes involved in publishing their book and assists them in publishing their books with excellence. Andrew works for BelieversPress, a division of Bethany Press International charged with helping to discover what the future of publishing will look like.
Margaret Brown, Publisher, Shelf Unbound Magazine
Margaret Brown is the publisher of Shelf Unbound, an innovative book review e-magazine featuring the best of small press and independent books. Shelf Unbound is distributed for free to more than 100,000 avid readers in the U.S. and in 21 countries around the globe. Margaret launched Shelf Unbound in 2010 after a 25-year career as an editor of national magazines. Shelf Unbound combines her love of magazines, independent books, and technology and her desire to connect readers with great books and authors. Learn more about Shelf Unbound and sign up for a free subscription at www.shelfmediagroup.com.
Allen Lau, Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder, Wattpad
Allen Lau is the Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder of Wattpad, the world's largest community for readers and writers to discover and share stories. Wattpad's investors include Union Square Ventures, Golden Venture Partners and W Media Ventures. Prior to co-founding Wattpad, Allen was CEO and Co-founder of FeedM8, a mobile advertising company that was acquired by Upstream Systems, one of the world's largest mobile marketing companies. Lau is a serial entrepreneur with a laser sharp focus on consumer Internet and mobile opportunities. This main character trait of Allen's has proven to be positive with his previous visionary involvement as the CTO and Co-founder of Tira Wireless, founded in 2001, a company that rose to be the global leader in mobile content publishing and deployment.
Brian Felsen, President, BookBaby, CD Baby & HostBaby
Brian Felsen is the President, BookBaby, CD Baby & HostBaby and proudly serves authors in their multi-tasking publishing objectives through each of his companies. At the helm of BookBaby his mission is to digitally distribute the works of independent authors, poets, memoirists, and publishers, making their eBooks available to digital retailers worldwide (including Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble.com, Sony's Reader Store, and Amazon.com). As the President of CD Baby, Felsen has focused these same efforts and has grown this company into the world's largest online distributor of independent music. B Brian's other professional accomplishments include; founding and running one of the largest independent music conferences in the world, composing several classical music works, creating art photography, poetry, and plays, and producing an award-winning documentary film about Turkish military coups d'état.
Theresa Ragan, Self-Published Author of Return of the Rose
Theresa Ragan has been writing for nineteen years and has garnered six Golden Heart nominations in Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart Competition for her work. She lives with her husband, Joe, and the youngest of her four children in Sacramento, California. Theresa writes medieval time travels, romantic comedy, romantic suspense, and thrillers under the name T.R. Ragan. In her first year as an indie author, Theresa sold 250,000 ebooks. Books by Theresa include: Return of the Rose, A Knight in Central Park, Taming Mad Max, and Finding Kate Huntley. Also look for Abducted and Dead Weight, romantic thrillers under the name T.R. Ragan. Many of her titles are top sellers in the category!
Jon P. Fine, Director of Author and Publisher Relations, Amazon.com
Jon P. Fine is the Director of Author and Publisher Relations for Amazon.com, coordinating outreach to the author and publishing communities, including the company's grant program which supports a diverse range of not-for-profit author and publisher groups dedicated to fostering the creation, discussion, and publication of new writing and new voices (www.amazon.com/author-grants). He joined the company as associate general counsel for media and copyright in January 2006, and subsequently led business development for Brilliance Audio following its acquisition in 2007. Previously, he directed legal affairs for Alfred A. Knopf, as well as Random House of Canada; and served as media counsel for NBC, handling content and associated issues for Dateline NBC, NBC News, Saturday Night Live, and other programming. He is a graduate of Cornell University and the University of Virginia School of Law.
