SEVENTH ANNUAL KILLER NASHVILLE CONFERENCE WELCOMES BESTSELLING WRITERS TO MUSIC CITY
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The Three-Day Event at the Hutton Hotel Culminated in a Special Performance By Famed Author Jeffrey Deaver’s “XO” Band
Novel writers and readers alike converged August 23-26 at the Hutton Hotel in downtown Nashville, Tenn. at the annual mystery/suspense conference, Killer Nashville. Created by writer/filmmaker Clay Stafford, the event was headlined by best selling authors, C.J. Box, Jeffery Deaver, Heywood Gould and Peter Straub amongst many other notable novelists and publishing professionals.
Writers of mystery, suspense and thrillers were honored this year as author, Jonathan Stone took home the coveted 2012 Claymore Award for his work on the novel “Again,” while the 2012 Silver Falchion Award was claimed by C. Hope Clark for “Lowcountry Bribe.” The Crime Scene Detective Award went to Logan Masterson and Chester D. Campbell earned the SEMWA Magnolia Award.
“This was probably the best Killer Nashville ever. The enthusiasm and interest from the attendees was amazing, as was our list of stellar panelists. People are emailing us to tell us that they are coming back and, not only that, they are bringing their friends with them! There’s no greater testimonial than that,” exclaimed Stafford, president and founder of Killer Nashville.
As an added attraction, New York Times bestselling author Jeffrey Deaver’s “XO” Band, fronted by longtime Nashville-based recording artist and renowned independent folk/Americana singer Treva Blomquist, performed for an energized crowd Saturday evening at the Awards Banquet playing all eleven songs from the recording “Jeffery Deaver’s XO (The Album),” resulting in the famed writer himself joining other attendees on the dance floor.
“Perhaps the high point, for me, was the live performance of the songs from the XO album, performed by Treva Blomquist and the entire band that recorded the CD. Not only was it a huge delight to hear my lyrics-so wonderfully set to music and arranged and performed-but I was thrilled to see the reaction of the audience. People listening, smiling, getting choked up . . . and dancing. I never in a million years would have thought that people would be dancing to lyrics I’d created (and, okay, the beat helped too!)” recalled Deaver.
Other highlights at this year’s Killer Nashville conference included manuscript critiques (fiction, nonfiction, short story, screenplay, marketing, query), a realistic crime scene from agents of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), prizes and author book signings.
Founded in 2006, Killer Nashville is a volunteer-produced event for the purpose of providing a networking and educational forum for those in the publishing industry and for helping writers and readers to connect. Numerous authors have found publication and a new fan base through the all-volunteer effort of the Killer Nashville organization.
For more information visit, www.killernashville.com
Killer Nashville is proud to launch its first Screenwriting Intensive as part of the Killer Nashville weekend, featuring Hollywood screen and television writers Heywood Gould, April Kelly, Steven Womack, and Philip Cioffari.
Heywood Gould’s screen credits include Cocktail; Rolling Thunder; The Boys from Brazil; Streets of Gold; One Good Cop; Trial by Jury; Mistrial; Double Bang; The Equalizer; N.Y.P.D.; and Fort Apache, the Bronx. Gould will kick off the event at the Killer Nashville Conference on Friday, August 24, 2012.
April Kelly is the screenwriter and creator of Boy Meets World; Mork and Mindy; Becker; The Pursuit of Happiness; I Still Dream of Jennie; How to Murder a Millionaire; Free Spirit; Out of This World; Webster; Partners in Crime; Teachers Only; Love, Sidney; Happy Days; Goober & The Trucker’s Paradise; Baby, I’m Back; Szysznyk; Donny and Marie; The Jacksons; Rich Little Show; The Jim Stafford Show; and more.
Steven Womack is an Edgar and Shamus Award-winning author/screenwriter. His work includes the screenplays for the TV movies Volcano: Fire on the Mountain and Proudheart. Womack is also a film professor and former chair of Watkins Film School in Nashville, Tennessee.
Philip Cioffari is a novelist, screenwriter, and writing professor at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey. He is the winner of the Tartt Fiction Prize, the D.H. Lawrence Prize, and the New Voices award. Philip is an independent filmmaker whose film Love in the Age of Dion has won numerous film awards including Best Feature Film at the Long Island International Film Expo.
The program will begin with a Thursday night screening of Gould’s film Fort Apache, the Bronx at Nashville’s Hutton Hotel. Friday’s curriculum will begin with an optional presentation by forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Bass (father of modern forensic science, founder of the University of Tennessee’s “The Body Farm” made famous by Patricia Cornwell, and half the New York Times bestselling writing duo “Jefferson Bass”). The screenwriting intensive will follow immediately thereafter with four one-hour screenwriting sessions:
Plotting the Screenplay (Heywood Gould)
Formatting a Script (Steven Womack)
Scenes and Subplots (April Kelly)
Getting Your Screenplay Ready to Sell (Philip Cioffari & Heywood Gould)
Selling Your Screenplay (Heywood Gould, April Kelly, Steven Womack, Philip Cioffari)
Cost:
$60 – Screenwriting Intensive plus Dr. Bill Bass Presentation
$15 – “Selling Your Screenplay” breakout session
Screenwriters of all genres will benefit from this event, which is being held concurrently with the Killer Nashville Conference, held annually on the weekend surrounding the fourth Saturday in August. Killer Nashville was created in 2006 by writer/filmmaker Clay Stafford to bring together forensic experts, writers, and fans of crime and thriller literature. Killer Nashville 2012 will be held on August 24-26, 2012 at Nashville’s five-star Hutton Hotel.
To register or to get more information, visit www.KillerNashville.com or contact us via contact@killernashville.com or 615-599-4032.
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The Internationally Attended Event Focusing on Crime, Mystery,
Thriller and Suspense Literature Takes Place August 23-26
at the Hutton Hotel in Downtown Nashville
Killer Nashville (www.killernashville.com), the premier conference for mystery, thriller and crime fiction authors and fans, is pleased to announce New York Times bestselling author C.J. Box (www.cjbox.net) as one of its three guests of honor at its seventh annual event, which takes place August 23-26, 2012 at the Hutton Hotel in Downtown Nashville.
“Among our objectives is to help writers develop a better understanding of the craft of the mystery, thriller, suspense and true crime dramas, and few have done this as well and as consistently as Mr. Box,” says Killer Nashville founder Clay Stafford. “His twelve Joe Pickett novels and three standalone novels set a unique standard in the thriller/suspense genre.”
Stafford will be moderating an exclusive interview session with Box that will take place from 1-2 p.m. on Saturday, August 25.
“I feel extremely honored to be in that esteemed company as a guest of honor at Killer Nashville,” says Box. “It is a world class event dedicated to the writers and fans of the genre I love and work in, and I’m looking forward to meeting a lot of new people and having a wonderful experience.”
C.J. Box is the author of 15 novels, including 12 in the critically acclaimed Joe Pickett mystery series. Open Season, the first installment of this series released in 2001, won the Anthony Award, the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award and the Barry Award, all in the Best First Novel category. Force of Nature, the latest Pickett novel, debuted at #3 on the NY Times Bestseller List in April, 2012.
A former ranch hand, surveyor, fishing guide and small town newspaper reporter and editor, Box won the Edgar Alan Poe Award for Best Novel in 2009 with Blue Heaven, and he has also won the Prix Calibre 38 (France) and the 2010 Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Award for Fiction
Previous guests of honor at Killer Nashville include Jeffery Deaver, Michael Connelly, Carol Higgins Clark, Donald Bain, Robert Dugoni, Bill Bass and JA Jance.
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The Internationally Attended Conference Focusing On Crime, Mystery,
Thriller and Suspense Literature Takes Place August 23-26
At the Hutton Hotel in Downtown Nashville
Killer Nashville (www.killernashville.com), the premier conference for mystery, thriller and crime fiction authors and fans, is pleased to announce New York Times bestselling author and multiple award winning master of horror Peter Straub as one of its three guests of honor at its seventh annual event, which takes place August 23-26, 2012 at the Hutton Hotel in Downtown Nashville.
Straub says, “It is very exciting to be participating in Killer Nashville, and I look forward to it very eagerly.”
“We’re dedicated to assisting writers in developing a greater understanding of the craft of the mystery, thriller, suspense, true crime dramas and horror fiction, and Mr. Straub is renowned for setting a very high standard in many of these arenas,” says Killer Nashville founder Clay Stafford, an international bestselling author himself, who has also worked in the film industry for years as a writer, director, producer and actor.
Peter Straub is the author of more than 17 novels, several poetry and short story collections, seven novellas, and a collection of nonfiction essays. Most famous for his work in the horror genre, he has also received acclaim for his poems, literary novels, and thrillers. His numerous literary awards include the Bram Stoker Award, the World Fantasy Award, and the International Horror Guild Award.
Straub’s first novel “Marriages” was published in 1973, but it was his fifth, the national bestseller “Ghost Story,” that made him a household name. Stephen King called it “one of the best horror novels of the latter half of the 20th century.” And later collaborated with Straub on two fantasy novels: “The Talisman” and its sequel, “Black House.” Straub also edited “H. P. Lovecraft: Tales.” His most recent thriller, “A Dark Matter,” was released in February, 2010.
Previous guests of honor at Killer Nashville include Jeffery Deaver, Michael Connelly, Carol Higgins Clark, Donald Bain, Robert Dugoni, Bill Bass and JA Jance.
Held the fourth full weekend of every August, the event opened with 70 guests from the immediate region and has grown to attract over 500 people, including budding writers, authors, editor, publishers and fans from throughout the U.S., Canada, the UK and Italy.
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Attracting Writers and Fans from Across the Globe,
The Conference Focusing on Crime, Suspense, Mystery
and Thriller Fiction is Set For August 23-26
at the Hutton Hotel in Downtown Nashville
Killer Nashville, the premier conference for mystery, thriller and crime fiction authors and fans, proudly announces award winning bestselling novelist, screenwriter and film director Heywood Gould as one of its three guests of honor at its seventh annual event, which takes place August 23-26, 2012 at the Hutton Hotel in Downtown Nashville, Tenn.
“In the past, our focus has been on writers of literature. This year we’re expanding Killer Nashville to include screenwriting, which will be a perennial event in the future. There is none better to headline this new track than Heywood Gould. Mr. Gould’s success as a novelist and Hollywood screenwriter and filmmaker make him the perfect choice,” says Killer Nashville founder Clay Stafford, an international bestselling author himself, who has also worked in the film industry for years as a writer, director, producer and actor.
Born in the Bronx and raised in Brooklyn, Gould got his start as reporter for the New York Post and later financed years of rejection with an array of colorful jobs–among them, cabdriver, mortician’s assistant, bartender. He is the author of thirteen books and nine screenplays, including “Fort Apache, the Bronx,” “Boys From Brazil,” “Streets of Gold,” “Cocktail” and “Rolling Thunder.” He has directed four features: “One Good Cop,” starring Michael Keaton; “Trial By Jury” with William Hurt; “Mistrial,” starring Bill Pullman; and “Double Bang,” with William Baldwin.
Gould’s 2008 novel “Leading Lady” won the Independent Publishing Award bronze medal, was a finalist for the Hammett Prize (which honors literary excellence in the field of crime writing) and was voted Forward Magazine Mystery/Thriller of the Year. Gould’s most recent novel Serial Killer’s Daughter (2011) was described by Library Journal as “…this high-caliber redemptive road trip is quick-witted, stylish and highly entertaining.”
Gould says, “They say Nashville is the seventh most unhealthy city in the U.S. Everybody overeats, over drinks and parties all night…Can’t wait to get there.”
On Thursday, August 23, Killer Nashville will host a “Movie Night with Heywood Gould” featuring a screening of one of the writer’s films, followed by a Q&A with the author. Film and location TBA.
On Friday, August 24, Gould will kick off the screenwriting track with two presentations: ”Plotting the Screenplay” and “Selling Your Script.”
Stafford will be interviewing Gould Saturday morning and the screenwriter/author will be honored at the “Guest of Honor” dinner that evening.
Held the fourth full weekend of every August, the event opened with 70 guests from the immediate region and has grown to attract over 500 people, including budding writers, authors, editor, publishers and fans from throughout the U.S., Canada, the UK and Italy.
]]>Killer Nashville, the premier conference for mystery, thriller and crime fiction authors and fans, is pleased to announce the Top Ten 2012 Claymore Award finalists for best unpublished manuscript in the mystery, thriller and suspense genres.
“We had an incredible number of entries,” says Killer Nashville founder Clay Stafford. “Choosing only ten from among them was a difficult task for our judges. We extend our thanks to Jaden Terrell and all the judges for their hard work.”
Held this year from August 23-26, 2012 at the Hutton Hotel in Nashville, Tenn., Killer Nashville began the Claymore Awards in 2009. In only four years, it has become a preeminent award for authors in the mystery, thriller and suspense genres.
Newly published author Korey Kaul says, “The Claymore is largely responsible for ‘Jury Rig’ being published.” Author Michael Guillebeau agrees, “Killer Nashville was the source of the sale of my first book.
The 2012 Claymore Award selections are:
“Wicked Schemes” by Carol Baier
“A Twist of Hate” by V.R. Barkowski
“Murder by Misrule” by Anna Castle
“The Bronx Kill” by Philip Cioffari
“Hallowed Darkened Space” by Marianna Heusler
“Forgotten Treasures” Susan Lindgren
“The Last Death of Jack Harbin” by Terry Shames
“A Killer Past” by Maris Soule
“Again” by Jonathan Stone
“The Law of the Splintered Paddle” by Mark Troy
The Killer Nashville Claymore Award offers more than $1,500 in prizes, plus facilitation in agent representation, book advance, and book publication. Judges consider any subgenre of mystery or thriller, including political thrillers, cozy, legal, police procedural, private eye, romantic suspense, paranormal mystery and historical mystery. Any author may enter (published or not); however, the contest is limited to only unpublished manuscripts not currently under contract.
The top three and the 2012 Claymore Award winner will be chosen by Deni Dietz, acquiring editor for Five Star Mysteries, and announced at the Killer Nashville Awards Dinner on Saturday, August 25, 2012.
The Awards Dinner will feature presentations by bestselling authors Peter Straub, Heywood Gould, C.J. Box and Jeffery Deaver, whose XO Band (http://jefferydeaverxomusic.
Submissions are now being considered for the 2013 Killer Nashville Claymore Award. Manuscripts for the 2013 competition may be entered at http://claymoreaward.com/
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About Killer Nashville: Over the years, Killer Nashville has become the premier conference for mystery, thriller and crime fiction authors and fans. Held the fourth full weekend of every August, the event opened in the first year with 70 guests and has grown to attract more than 500 people, including budding writers, authors, editors, lawyers, publicists, publishers and fans from throughout the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Italy. For more information, visit www.killernashville.com.
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