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Special Events - Conference Attendees
SPECIAL EVENTS *E-Book Outreach -* The Portland, Oregon Epicon 2008 committee is pleased to announce that the e-Book Outreach event will be held from 2-4 pm on Friday March 7 in the Smith Center of Portland State University's downtown Portland Campus. We will be partnering with Portland State University's Ooligan Press - the only graduate degree publishing program in America. The event will be well-publicized and will attract university students, faculty and the public. eBook Outreach will include presentations and discussion about e-books and e-book publishing, and at the same time we will be demonstrating of a variety of e-book readers. Please join us in sharing our enthusiasm for everything e-book with the reading public. Portland State University and Lloyd Center are both within the Tri Met Bus system's fareless square - You can ride the bus for free to the event! Here are the bus directions: Walk west from Doubletree - Lloyd Center (1000 NE Multnomah St) to NE Multnomah & 9th (Stop ID 4056) 1:32 p.m. Board 8 NE 15th Ave to Portland which continues as 8 Jackson Park to OHSU and VA Hospital 1:49 p.m. Get off at SW Broadway & Market Walk 0.1 mile south to Portland State University (SW Broadway & SW Montgomery St) Travel time: 21 minutes (including 4 minutes walking) *Keynote Presentation -* Michael Powell Michael Powell will be the keynote speaker for the Friday Luncheon. Powells is the premier independent bookstore for new, used and eBooks on the west coast. They were an early distributor of ebooks. By any measure, 1979 was an earth-shaker. The bestselling novel Sophie’s Choice by William Styron hit the bookshelves, the shah of Iran fled into exile, Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and... Michael Powell moved to Portland to join his father Walter at a rapidly expanding used bookstore called Powell’s Books. No one, save perhaps Michael, foresaw the bright future for the bookstore that has become a semantic superpower in the book/publishing world. Michael, whose only previous work experience had been on a fishing boat, had already established a successful book business in Chicago. He spent the next twenty years developing and expanding Powell's in Portland, as well as helping to cultivate the local literary community. His first major contribution to the Portland arts scene came in the form of significant seed money for the new Portland Arts & Lecture, Inc. “When we started bringing authors to town, you couldn’t get a decent author to visit Portland. Portland’s access to ideas, authors, and books has grown because Powell’s has grown. It’s... synergy.” Because of Michael’s vision, Powell’s Books has intentionally become reader-centered. In addition to his literary vision, Michael helped shape the model that made Portland one of the most livable cities in the U.S.A. Michael’s energy has gone into civic organizations such as the World Affairs Council, Port of Portland, Association for Portland Progress, Metropolitan Arts Commission, Multnomah County Library, Pacific Northwest Booksellers Assoc., American Booksellers Assoc., Portland Public Schools Foundation, Portland State University Library Advisory board, and the SMART (Start Making a Reader Today) program, which he was instrumental in founding and which Powell’s continues to support today. Powell’s has been at the center of every significant free speech issue in Portland over the last 20 years, lending a large hand to defeat anti-freedom legislation. Lately, Michael has made sure Powell’s is a leading bookstore behind the petition to rescind section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act. Section 215 forces libraries and bookstores to release the names and book preferences of patrons. Michael has been recognized with awards on numerous occasions for his significant civic contributions. *EPPIE/Quasar Awards Banquet -* Hosted by MC for Life Jeff Strand, The EPPIE Awards showcase the best and brightest in today's electronic published writing and cover art. *Sneak Peak at Workshops -* The EPICon 2008 committee is excited that Raelene Gorlinsky of Ellora's Cave will be presenting a workshop entitled, Submitting to Publishers (and Ellora's Cave in Particular). *Friday Night Book Tour -* And there's more. Do you spend your Friday nights curled up with a good book? Not on Friday 7 March 2008 you won't. Instead you can get lost among tens of thousands of good books as you tour Powell's World of Books. We'll get you there and get you back to the hotel. Will we have to arrange for a truck to carry all you can't live-without-research purchases? Only time will tell... *Special Guest Speaker -* Penny Sansevieri will offer two workshops: "Red Hot Web 2.0 Tricks to Sell More Books" and "Red Hot Internet Publicity." Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns. Her company researched, developed and implemented the first comprehensive Internet publicity campaign called The Virtual Author Tour™. Penny began her career in the publicity, book marketing, and literary field over 15 years ago. During that time she has been an author, freelance writer, publicist, and instructor. She has been instrumental in creating several highly successful marketing and publicity campaigns for author events and book launches. Penny is also President and CEO of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. and has developed and implemented countless marketing and publicity strategies. She has worked with such high profile clients as world renowned psychic and ghost buster, Jane Doherty, Barney Rosenzweig creator of Cagney & Lacey, Jac Flanders (of the original Fantastic Four) and Tammi Menendez, wife of Erik Menendez and the first eBay auction of a Princess Diana gown (lot "9" from Christie's New York). Her clients have been featured on The View, CBS The Early Show, The Today Show, Entertainment Tonight, CNN, CNN Showbiz Tonight, National Public Radio, Something You Should Know, The Heloise Show and in Publishers Weekly, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Reader's Digest, Essence Magazine, More Magazine, The Bridal Guide, Entertainment Weekly, MSNBC… and many others. Penny's diverse background enables her to bring a multitude of talents to the table as well as a myriad of marketing techniques. Penny recently signed a three-book deal with a mainstream publisher: Morgan James Publishing, to re-release From Book to Bestseller (January 2006) and Get Published Today (January 2006) as well as publish her upcoming book, Red Hot Internet Publicity (June 2007). Penny's innovative marketing strategies have been featured in Marketing Sherpa, Writer's Digest Magazine, Book Marketing Update, The Publicity Hound, The San Diego Union Tribune, Working Writer Magazine, Vision Magazine, Writer's Web, New Book Reviews, Romance Writers of America, RW of Europe and many more. She is also Editor for the e-newsletter "The Book Marketing Expert," which has a subscriber base in excess of 6,000. Penny successfully marketed her first book, The Cliffhanger, which was released in 2000. After a strategic marketing campaign, it soared up the ranks at Amazon.com and held the #1 spot for three months. Her most recent book, Red Hot Internet Publicity, has been called "an indispensable guide to leveraging the Internet for success." You can visit her web site at www.amarketingexpert.com. *All Romance eBooks' Champagne and Hors d'oeuvres Reception-* Join All Romance eBooks before the EPPIE/Quasar Awards Banquet for a champagne and hors d'oeuvres reception! Each year the awards banquet honors the achievement of the best and brightest in today's electronic published writing and cover art. This year, before the lights come down, before the MC takes the stage, and before the winners are announced those of us in electronic publishing all have a reason to celebrate... We ARe Hot!