Instructor: Lisa Gardner

Description: While luck is always a factor in success, a good career plan also goes a long way.  Join Lisa Gardner for a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into making the New York Times list--and how you can start building your career today.

Bio: This New York Times bestselling crime novelist began her career in food service, but after catching her hair on fire numerous times, she took the hint and focused on writing instead.  A self-described research junkie, she has parlayed her interest in police procedure, cutting edge forensics and twisted plots into a streak of ten bestselling suspense novels, including her most recent release, The Neighbor.

Readers are invited to get in on the fun by entering the annual "Kill a Friend, Maim a Mate" Sweepstakes at www.LisaGardner.com where they can nominate the person of their choice to die in Lisa's latest novel.  Every year, one Lucky Stiff is selected for Literary Immortality.  It's cheaper than therapy, and you get a great book besides.

Lisa lives in New England with her husband, two highly spoiled dogs, one extremely neurotic cat and the world's most stubborn small child.

Instructor: David Morrell

Description: Many authors dream about leaving their day job and becoming a full-time writer.  But when does it make economic sense do so? It's important to write the best, most honest stories possible, but it's also important to know how to handle your income from those stories. Would a sudden large advance improve your life or potentially destroy it? Drawing on his 37 years as a professional writer, David Morrell (Rambo's father) discusses the business aspects of being an author.

Bio: David Morrell is the author of First Blood, the award-winning novel in which Rambo was created.  A co-founder of ITW, he has written numerous bestselling thrillers, which include The Brotherhood of the Rose (the basis for a top-rated NBC miniseries), The Fraternity of the Stone, Creepers, and The Shimmer.  His The Successful Novelist analyses what he has learned during his thirty-seven years as a published writer.  With eighteen million copies in print, his work has been translated into twenty-six languages. www.davidmorrell.net

Instructor: Peter Rubie

Description: Editors and agents consistently agree that the two elements missing from the majority of  manuscripts they reject is a weak or lackluster narrative "voice,"  and not enough emotional impact in the story.  This seminar will discuss how to find that voice and distinguish your narrative, while at the same time discussing the difference between narrative power, and melodrama and sentimentality.

Bio: Peter Rubie is the CEO of FinePrint Literary Management and has been a literary agent for nearly 20 years.  He is also the author of two published novels and a number of books about writing and publishing including The Elements of Storytelling (Wiley), and the recently rewritten The Elements of Narrative Non-Fiction (Quill Driver Books, 2009).  His books have been praised by industry experts such as former Harper editor and vp turned agent John Silbersack (Trident Media), Al Zuckerman (CEO Writer's House), Betsy Lerner (editor turned agent and author of The Forest for the Trees), and authors such as Mark Bowden (Black Hawk Down).  Prior to becoming an agent Rubie was a journalist working for Fleet Street newspapers in London and for BBC Radio News, as well as being editor in chief of a Manhattan local newspaper before becoming an editor at Walker & Co., for nearly 6 years. www.fineprintlit.com

Instructor: Hank Phillippi Ryan       

Description: Here's what you need to do to produce a successful television news story: Develop memorable characters. Build suspense. Show conflict. Tell a compelling story. Create a satisfying ending. Find justice. Change lives. That's exactly what Boston's premier investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan's been doing for her entire career. But here's the scoop. Writing a successful thriller requires  exactly the same things. And Hank's years of experience with journalism can now give your book a boost.

With her top-ten list of questions, journalism techniques, solid practical applications and even in-class exercises, this Emmy- (and Agatha-) winning reporter will teach you the secrets of television news. And then: she'll show you exactly how those skills can work for you to develop the novel you always wanted to write. Or to make your next book better. It's a never-before-presented workshop...and your chance to learn the inside scoop!

Bio: Award-winning investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan is on the air at Boston's NBC affiliate. Her thirty years in television have resulted in new laws, people sent to prison, homes removed from foreclosure, and millions of dollars in restitution. Along with her 26 EMMYs, Hank's won dozens of other honors for her groundbreaking journalism. She's been a radio reporter, a legislative aide in the United States Senate and an editorial assistant at Rolling Stone Magazine.

Her debut novels Prime Time (Agatha Winner, double RITA nominee and DAPHNE nominee) and Face Time (BookSense Notable Book), were best-sellers. Both are being re-issued in July and August 2009 as MIRA Books. Air Time is coming in September 2009 from MIRA and Drive Time in 2010. www.hankphillippiryan.com

CraftFest Sessions:

Instructor: James Scott Bell

Description: How to build tension into every exchange, even among allies. Orchestration (great dialogue begins before you write one line of it). How to make dialogue an extension or compression of action. Several techniques for tightening and heightening suspenseful dialogue.

Bio: James Scott Bell is the bestselling author of several thrillers, and the Ty Buchanan series (Try Dying, Try Darkness, Try Fear). He served as fiction columnist for Writers Digest and has written two bestselling craft books for the Writers Digest Books "Write Great Fiction" series  -- Plot & Structure and Revision & Self-Editing. A former trial lawyer, he lives and writes in L.A. His website is www.jamesscottbell.com.

Instructor: William Bernhardt

Description: William Goldman has said that, "Writing is structure."  Understanding story structure is one of the most important writing skills but one of the least frequently taught.  Bernhardt demonstrates how to organize the elements of your plot to create breathless pace, meaningful character arcs, and a thoroughly satisfying reading experience.

Bio: William Bernhardt loves his job and it shows in his writing. Library Journal has called him the "master of the courtroom drama."  His twenty-seven books have sold more than ten million copies worldwide. The Vancouver Sun dubbed him "the American equivalent of P.G. Wodehouse and John Mortimer." His most recent novel is Capitol Conspiracy, which takes attorney Ben Kincaid to Washington, D.C., for a high-profile case involving controversial anti-terrorist legislation, political skullduggery, and murder.  His forthcoming novel, Nemesis: The Final Case of Eliot Ness, solves the mystery of America's first serial killer, whose identity has eluded investigators for decades.  Bernhardt's novels are renowned for their unexpected twists, breathless pace, humor, and insightful consideration of issues confronting contemporary American society. He is also the author of The Code of Buddyhood, a coming-of-age novel described by The West Coast Review of Books as "a powerful and sophisticated novel about the nature of friendship," a biography for young adults, Equal Justice: The Courage of Ada Sipuel, a children's book, Princess Alice and the Dreadful Dragon, and he has edited an anthology of original short stories (Legal Briefs) and a multi-author fundraising novel for The Nature Conservancy (Natural Suspect). And as if that weren't enough, he is also an often-published poet and a member of the Academy of American Poets. www.williambernhardt.com 

Instructor: Steve Berry

Description: Story is not everything, it's absolutely everything. There is a right way and a wrong way. Structure is the key and we'll focus on the six C's to ensure the right result.

Bio: Steve has been writing since 1990, and though his undergraduate degree was in political science and he's trained as a lawyer, it was Steve's interest in history that led to him writing international suspense thrillers. They were the kind of books he liked to read, so naturally they became the kind of book he liked to write. Steve doesn't adhere to the adage, 'Write what you know'; instead, he says, 'Write what you love.' He also credits the nuns who taught him in Catholic school with instilling the discipline needed both to craft a novel and to find a publisher. It took Steve 12 years--85 rejections over 5 different manuscripts--before Ballantine Books finally bought a manuscript. Like he says, "I'm the poster child for the phrase, 'It can be done.'"  www.steveberry.org

Instructor: Gary Braver

Description: After clarifying the fundamental distinctions between mysteries and thrillers, Gary Braver will offer a step-by-step discussion of ten necessary elements that will make for a successful thriller novel.

Bio: Gary Braver is the bestselling author of seven critically acclaimed thrillers, including Elixir, Gray Matter, and Flashback, the only thriller to have won a prestigious Massachusetts Book Award. His latest is Skin Deep (2008). As Gary Goshgarian, he is an English professor at Northeastern University, where he teaches Modern Bestsellers, Science Fiction, Horror Fiction, and Fiction Writing.  He also conducts thriller-writing workshops at the Hawaii Writers Retreat and Conference. Website: www.garybraver.com

Instructor: Allison Brennan

Description: An editor once said, "There are two things that have to be in every story before I would consider buying, because they're the hardest to fix editorially: character and pacing." A cool plot is nothing without compelling characters to move it forward. In "Story is Character", learn how to make your heroes and villains stand out from every Tom, Dick and Mary by focusing on their goals, motivations, and internal conflicts.  

Bio: New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of a dozen romantic thrillers, Allison Brennan has been praised for her strong characterization and intense stories. Reviews have called her books, "haunting," "mesmerizing," pulse-pounding" and "emotionally complex." "[Brennan] is making a name for herself by producing not only memorable heroes but also unforgettable villains." With nearly five million US books in print and published in eight languages and the UK, Allison is currently working on her new supernatural thriller series based on the seven deadly sins. ORIGINAL SIN will be released in March 2010. She lives in California with her husband and five kids. Visit www.allisonbrennan.com.

Instructor: Lee Child

Description: How to mine the unique strengths of the series format without succumbing to its fatal weaknesses.

Bio: Lee Child is the author of the thirteen-book Jack Reacher series, which is a #1 best-seller in most countries and most languages of the world. www.leechild.com

Instructor: Lisa Gardner

Description: Join Lisa Gardner for her renowned "book doctor" exercise that helped her evolve the first draft of The Perfect Husband from a mid-list title to a breakout debut novel.  Yes it involves color-coded note cards, but you'll have fun anyway!

Bio: This New York Times bestselling crime novelist began her career in food service, but after catching her hair on fire numerous times, she took the hint and focused on writing instead.  A self-described research junkie, she has parlayed her interest in police procedure, cutting edge forensics and twisted plots into a streak of ten bestselling suspense novels, including her most recent release, The Neighbor.  Readers are invited to get in on the fun by entering the annual "Kill a Friend, Maim a Mate" Sweepstakes at www.LisaGardner.com where they can nominate the person of their choice to die in Lisa's latest novel.  Every year, one Lucky Stiff is selected for Literary Immortality.  It's cheaper than therapy, and you get a great book besides. Lisa lives in New England with her husband, two highly spoiled dogs, one extremely neurotic cat and the world's most stubborn small child.

Instructor: Heather Graham  

Description: Keep up the cliff hangars without being so obtuse that you aggravate rather than thrill. Hold that reader close by makingsure the reader cares about the people you're trying to keep from meeting the BIG chill!

Bio: New York Times and USA Today best selling author, Heather Graham, majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write. Her first book was with Dell, and since then, she has written over one hundred novels and novellas including category, suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult and Christmas family fare.

She is pleased to have been published in approximately twenty languages. She has written over 100 novels and has  60 million books in print. She has been honored with awards from Walden Books, B. Dalton, Georgia Romance Writers, Affaire de Coeur, Romantic Times and more. Heather has also become the proud recipient of the Silver Bullet from Thriller Writers. Heather has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such publications as The Nation, Redbook, Mystery Book Club, People and USA Today and appeared on many newscasts including Today, Entertainment Tonight and local television. www.eheathergraham.com

Instructor: Andrew Gross

Description: Pace is both structural (stripping scenes down to their elemental dramatic core) and syntactical (how your sentences and paragraphs are ordered within those chapters). Ramping the pace lever up or down is always a trade-off--something has to give. What you keep in and what you keep out.

Bio: Andrew Gross is the author of the NY Times bestselling thrillers The Blue Zone, The Dark Tide, and Don't Look Twice. He also co-authored six books with James Patterson before he went out on his own. www.andrewgrossbooks.com

Instructor: David Hewson

Description: David Hewson, author of the Nic Costa series, takes a look at the practical side of writing a novel. Aesthetics, arc, story theory and all those other fancy ideas are fine and necessary when writing your book. But you need organisation, planning and a record of your thought too. How do you make sure those brilliant idea you have on the bus don't slip through the cracks? How do you monitor your thoughts as the book progresses and marshal your research to ensure every last piece remains current and get used? David will take you through the process he uses when writing a Costa book, taking in its research, outlining and background collection, with actual examples from a real title. Books are complicated creatures. If you want to know how to tame them, don't miss this.

Bio: David Hewson is the author of the Nic Costa series set in Rome which is published in many languages around the world. The American Library Association gave the sixth in the series, The Garden of Evil, the best mystery of the year award for 2008. A former journalist with the London Times and Sunday Times he lives in the UK. He is currently international vice president of ITW. www.davidhewson.com

Instructor: Joan Johnston

Description: Why your  thriller hero/heroine should have a love interest; how to keep the tension in an on-going relationship; how to get rid of those pesky girlfriends, boyfriends and lovers. . .and you want me to put sex in my thriller?

Bio: Joan Johnston is the New York TImes and USA TODAY bestselling author of 49 novels and novellas with more than 10 million copies of her books in print.  Joan has been a director of theatre, drama critic, college professor and attorney on her way to becoming a full-time writer.  She has also raised two fairly normal kids.  See Joan's work in Thriller 2 in June, Outcast in July, and A Stranger's Game in August. www.joanjohnston.com.

Instructor: Jon Land

Description: The course will cover the most crucial elements of screenplay structure and strategies to market the completed product.   Included in the discussion will be the realities of selling a script in today's Hollywood and proven shortcuts to success.

Bio: Jon Land is the author of 25 thrillers, 15 of which have been national bestsellers including 2008's The Seven Sins: The Tyrant Ascending which was named one of the 5 Thrillers of the Year by the Library Journal and optioned for film by Moritz Borman (Terminator: Salvation).  Jon is published in over fifty countries and six different languages, and there are currently almost 7 million copies of his books in print.  His next book, Strong Enough to Die, introducing female Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong, will be published by Forge Books this coming May. That book was optioned by Hand Picked Films (Michel Shane, producer of I, Robot and Catch Me, If You Can) which is currently developing Jon's original screenplay Chalk for Sony Pictures. Jon's Website.

Instructor: Eric Van Lustbader

Description: This Class will cover these Key Points: How to grab your readers from page one and hold onto them: it's not what you think. How and why the first one hundred pages are crucial to good Thriller writing. How to create characters who live in the reader's mind.

Bio:  Eric Van Lustbader had been a highly successful novelist since 1974.  In 1980, The Ninja, was published to world-wide acclaim.  It spent an astonishing 24 weeks on the NY Times Bestseller list.  That same year, Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Identity was published, and the two writers became fast friends.  Mr. Lustbader has written over thirty novels, all of them international bestsellers.  His latest novels are The Testament, First Daughter, which stars Jack McClure, and the second book in the series, the forthcoming Last Snow.  Since 2003, Mr. Lustbader has written four bestselling Jason Bourne novels, the latest of which is The Bourne Deception. www.ericvanlustbader.com

 Instructors: D. P. Lyle, MD and Michael Welner, M.D.                   

Description: What makes real murderers tick? What drives their obsessions and actions? How do they plan and plot their crimes? In this class we will learn what motivates the bad guys from an expert in criminal behavior.

Bio: D. P. Lyle, MD is the Macavity Award winning and Edgar Award nominated author of the non-fiction books, Murder and Mayhem, Forensics For Dummies, and Forensics, Fiction, and Howdunnit: Forensics: A Guide For Writers as well as the thrillers, Devil's Playground and Double Blind. His next novel, RX For Murder, will be released early in 2010. He has worked with many novelists and with the writers of popular television shows such as Law & Order, CSI: Miami, Diagnosis Murder, Monk, Judging Amy, Peacemakers, Cold Case, House, Medium, Women's Murder Club, and 1-800-Missing. Visit The Writers' Medical and Forensics Lab (www.dplylemd.com).

Michael Welner, M.D. has been the principal examining forensic psychiatrist on some of the most complex criminal cases of this decade, and is responsible for a number of important innovations in forensic psychiatry. He has pioneered research of an evidence-driven determination of the worst of crimes, employing a remarkable methodology that incorporates public input on the most depraved intent, actions, attitudes, and victimology in crime, at www.depravityscale.org. Dr. Welner, an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine, is Chairman of The Forensic Panel (www.forensicpanel.com), the first practice in America to employ peer reviewed oversight to eliminate bias and to promote quality in forensic examinations, and he recently testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on strengthening the forensic sciences in America. Dr. Welner is former Editor in Chief of The Forensic Echo, a periodical on law, forensic science, and public policy, and has written on a range of fascinating issues at the frontier of forensic psychiatry and forensic science. Many will recognize Dr. Welner as a frequent guest from Larry King Live and consultant to ABC News.

Instructor: Gayle Lynds

Description: The Set-Up of your novel is critical.  Make it exciting, and your novel comes quickly to irresistible life.  But if your set-up is ordinary or boring, you know what the result will be, and you - and potential readers - won't like it.  Learn how to set up your novel, your chapters, and your scenes to gain the kind of compelling read that editors will want to buy and readers salivate to read.

Bio: New York Times bestseller Gayle Lynds is the award-winning author of eight international espionage novels, including The Last Spymaster, The Coil, and Masquerade.  In 2010, The Book of Spies will be published.  Her books have won such awards as "Novel of the Year" by the Military Writers Society of America, and have been People magazine "Page-Turner of the Week." Publishers Weekly lists Masquerade as among the top ten spy novels of all time.  With Robert Ludlum, she created the Covert-One series and wrote three of the novels. One of them, The Hades Factor was a CBS miniseries in April 2006.  She is co-founder and former co-president ITW.  www.GayleLynds.com

Instructor: Donald Maass

Description: Most villains in manuscripts are cardboard cutouts lacking true menace.  What are the secrets of believable villains?  Learn the techniques in this workshop by literary agent Donald Maass. Based on his new book The Fire in Fiction.

Bio: Donald Maass's literary agency sells more than 150 novels every year to publishers in New York and overseas.  He is the author of the books Writing the Breakout Novel and The Fire in Fiction, and is a past president of the Association of Authors' Representatives, Inc. www.maassagency.com

Instructor: Steve Martini

Description: The art of developing credible, and continuing characters,  what to look for, the pain and pitfalls of those who people your fiction in a long term series or sequels.  Since you will have to live with these people, make sure they will stand up to the test of time.

Bio: Steve Martini is a former journalist, a lawyer admitted to practice in California and an author of twelve novels, nine of them in the "Paul Madriani" series, all of which have appeared on the New York Times bestsellers list.  Two of his novels have been produced and broadcast as network television miniseries.

A graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz and University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law, Steve was admitted to the practice of law in 1974.  During his career he has engaged in private practice, worked as a lobbyist for the State Bar of California, was appointed as a deputy director of a state agency and served as an administrative law judge.  He has published numerous articles on California law and politics and has appeared on CNN's Burden of Proof, Court T.V,  Fox News The Crier Report and the NBC Today Show. www.stevemartini.com

Instructor: David Morrell

Description: No author can focus a story without understanding the principles of viewpoint.  There are basically only four choices.  Each has its strength and weaknesses, as well as an interesting history.  In this comprehensive session, this year's ITW ThrillerMaster, David Morrell, draws on his 37 years of writing experience to discuss this essential topic.

Bio: David Morrell is the author of First Blood, the award-winning novel in which Rambo was created.  A co-founder of ITW, he has written numerous bestselling thrillers, which include The Brotherhood of the Rose (the basis for a top-rated NBC miniseries), The Fraternity of the Stone, Creepers, and The Shimmer.  His The Successful Novelist analyses what he has learned during his thirty-seven years as a published writer. With eighteen million copies in print, his work has been translated into twenty-six languages.  www.davidmorrell.net

Instructor: James Rollins

Description: You can't sell a book until it's finished. Learn how to balance creativity and productivity and how to fight your way through the middle doldrums to finish your novel...and start your next one!

Bio: James Rollins is the New York Times bestselling author of international thrillers, sold to over thirty countries.. His Sigma thrillers have earned national accolades, such as one of 2005's top crowd pleasers (New York Times) and as one of 2006's hottest summer reads (People Magazine). This past spring he debuted the first of a new middle school series, Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow, and his most current Sigma thriller, The Doomsday Key, hit stands June 2009. www.jamesrollins.com 

Instructor: Kathleen Sharp

Description: Creating non-fiction thrillers requires a different set of skills than those for writing fiction. How do you approach real-life characters and gain their trust in order to get inside the story? Learn the four critical steps of research, three sure-fire ways to reconstruct actual dialogue, and how to construct a riveting plot, replete with narrative twists and hair-pin turns, without veering one bit from the truth.

Bio: Kathleen Sharp is an award-winning journalist who writes for Vanity Fair, The New York Times Magazine, Parade, Playboy and others. She's produced true stories for NPR, 60 Minutes and has consulted for A&E's Biography. A former editor of The Big Thrill newsletter, she's the author of two acclaimed non-fiction books and one theatrically released film documentary. She's taught creative non-fiction writing at Antioch University and Santa Barbara City College.  www.kathleensharp.com        

Instructor: R.L. Stine

Description: The class will discuss the advantages and the difficulties in writing for kids. How to appeal to them and get them reading--and how to turn them off. Mr. Stine will also give tips for selling YA and kids' thrillers in this difficult market.

Bio: R.L. Stine is one of the best-selling children's authors in history. His Goosebumps, Fear Street, Nightmare Room, and Rotten School book series have sold more than 350 million copies around the world. Stine recently returned from a book tour in China, where the Goosebumps books have also become a phenomenon. These days, he is turning out new titles in his Goosebumps HorrorLand series. R.L. Stine says his proudest achievement is all the millions of kids who have been motivated by his books to read--all of them future thriller readers! www.rlstine.com