Ascendio 2012

If you’re a fan of YA, general book geekery or an aspiring writer (original or fanfiction!), Ascendio has the programming track for you! The Quill Track will be an entire track of programming (both formal and informal!) dedicated to all things books and writing.

Best of all, the Quill Track is 100% included in your Ascendio registration!

Currently, several authors, all bonafide Harry Potter fans, are confirmed for the Quill Track, including Lev Grossman, Beth Revis, Veronica Roth and Aimee Carter.

We will also have not one, but THREE literary agents who will be in attendance: Carlie Webber of the Jane Rotrosen Agency, Lindsay Ribar of the Sanford J. Greenburger Associates agency, and Joanna Volpe, Vice President of the Nancy Coffey Literary Agency. Carlie, Lindsay and Joanna will all be hosting pitch sessions, as well as leading discussions on the publishing industry and writing.

Here are some of the great things you can look forward to as part of the Ascendio Quill Track:

• “Book club” readings/signings/discussions with YA authors, such as Beth Revis, Veronica Roth & Aimee Carter
• Panel discussions on hot topics in publishing, including commercial publishing vs. self-publishing, LGBTQ in YA, how to get an agent, and more
• Practical presentations by successful fans-turned-published authors on how to go from fanfic to pro writing, as well as how-tos on self-publishing ebooks
• Workshops on writing (fanfic and original) and critiquing
• The opportunity to give a one page pitch & receive feedback from a real live literary agent!

Of course, Ascendio is still all about Harry Potter, but we realize that many fans — including many of us on staff! — love books in general, and have been inspired by Harry Potter and fandom to move on to our own original writing. Hence, the Quill Track was born, by Harry Potter fans, for Harry Potter fans… who also love books and writing! You can expect most, if not all, topics on the Quill Track to relate to Harry Potter, though some will also discuss other titles in YA, middle grade and adult contemporary canon. All of the authors, agents and presenters on the Quill Track are Harry Potter fans, and many of them either wrote Harry Potter fanfic or have actively participated in HP geekery in the past.

The Quill Track is still a part of Formal Programming at Ascendio — we just decided to give all writing/publishing programming a special name so it’s easy to find on the program and at the con! What does this mean? The Quill Track needs you! You can submit a programming proposal for the Quill Track about any of the above topics, or anything you come up with — if it has to do with writing (original or fanfiction!), publishing or books other than Harry Potter (such as The Hunger Games, Divergent), you can propose it for the Quill Track!

Agent Bios:
Carlie Webber is a long-time HP fandomer who worked as a YA librarian and reviewer for publications including Kirkus Reviews prior to becoming an agent. Wishing to explore her interest in the business side of books, she decided to switch from librarianship to publishing and enrolled in the Columbia Publishing Course. Now she is building her agenting career on her favorite genres: young adult, middle grade, romance, horror, mystery, suspense, thrillers, literary fiction, contemporary fantasy and women’s fiction. Her ongoing submissions wishlist includes but is not limited to high-concept YA, literary suspense, grunge era nostalgia and things that go bump in the night.

Lindsay Ribar is a junior agent at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates, where she also assists senior agent Matt Bialer.  A graduate of New York University and the Columbia Publishing Course, Lindsay works with first-time authors, New York Times bestsellers, and everyone in between.  As a writer, Lindsay is represented by Brenda Bowen, also of Greenburger.  Her debut young adult novel, THE ART OF WISHING, is about a high school senior who falls for a boy two years her junior, who also happens to be a genie.  The first in a trilogy, it will be published by Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin, in 2013. While Lindsay has been in the professional publishing industry for many years, she has spent at least double that time in fandom, lurking on the message boards of FictionAlley, writing one-shots, brainstorming with other writers, and beta-reading.  She blames (and thanks) the Harry Potter fandom for making her realize how much she enjoys editing other people’s stories.

Joanna Volpe is a literary agent with Nancy Coffey Literary & Media Representation and a lifelong Harry Potter fan! She represents all brands of fiction, from picture books to adult. She has an affinity for stories that have a darker, grittier element to them, whether they be drama, fantasy or comedy. Her upcoming publications include Shadow and Bone (Book One of the Grisha trilogy) by Leigh Bardugo, Insurgent by Veronica Roth, Ever Afters: Of Giants and Ice by Shelby Bach, Chained by Lynne Kelly and Sway by Amber McRee Turner. When Joanna is not reading (which is almost never), she can be found either cooking, playing video games, or hanging out with her husband and their chihuahua PeeWee on Long Island.