Winter Thrills! Have YOU Registered?

Winter (Thrills) Are Coming—Are You Registered?

By Dawn Ius

Let’s face it—2020 hasn’t been the greatest. But the International Thriller Writers organization is poised to kick off 2021 with a thrilling new virtual conference guaranteed to stoke your creativity and keep your writing dreams alive during some of the season’s coldest months.

Winter Thrills is coming to YOUR laptop this January—and things are about to get, well, thrilling.

“With the New Year brings new possibilities,” says Kimberley Howe, ITW’s intermin Executive Director. She adds that many of the programs you look forward to during the annual ThrillerFest in July are on the Winter Thrills schedule. “We’re excited to include Master Class, Practice PitchFest—and a new Thriller MBA.”

“You’ll learn about the craft of writing and the business of publishing simultaneously,” says ThrillerFest Co-Executive Director, Jeff Ayers.

Master Class and Practice Pitchfest will run the same way as usual, but Thriller MBA will offer two distinct tracks—query panels and business panels.

For the query track, participants can submit a query letter for immediate and constructive feedback from a panel of esteemed agents and editors.

“You’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of what makes a successful query letter,” Howe says. “Which is priceless information for when you’re querying.”

And that’s just the beginning. In the second part of Thriller MBA, the ITW team has created a powerful line-up of authors, agents, editors, and other professionals to teach you about the different elements of publishing.

For example, you’ll discuss the secrets of a successful career with genre superstars like R.L. Stine, David Morrell, and Gayle Lynds. Jon Land will lead a panel discussion about growing your readership and establishing a unique voice. And Adam Hamdy will pick the brains of well-known publicists, editors, and marketing experts to talk about branding. But that’s not all! You’ll learn about legacy writing, the power of reviewers, how to navigate a book to film or TV deal, the world of audiobooks, and much more.

“Their insights will be incredibly helpful as you navigate the publishing world,” says Ayers. “And they will be helpful for aspiring writers as well as established authors. The Chills might be outside, but the Thrills will be inside. Come join us!”

For the full WINTER THRILLS schedule and registration information, head over to the ThrillerFest website.