Speakers
The industry of self-publishing is a delicate balance of both business and craft. As self-published authors, not only do we need to tell a captivating story, but we also need to know how to find and keep readers.
The ASPC brings to you professionals from both the foundations of business and craft to help you unlock the secrets of success.
CHRIS NEGRON
YOUNG ADULT AUTHOR
Presenting: Character-Driven Plotting (a workshop)
Chris Negron is the author of several novels for children, including Georgia Author of the Year finalist and Sakura Medal nominee Dan Unmasked and his latest, Underdog City, which releases on October 31st from HarperCollins. He holds a Computer Science degree from Yale University, but it was his years of playing Dungeons & Dragons in friends' basements that inspired him to write his own stories. He has previously spoken at several literary festivals, and led workshops for the Forsyth County Library, the Georgia Writers Musuem's Writers Retreat, the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, and countless elementary and middle schools around the country. Visit him at chrisnegron.com.
BRITTANY DOWDLE
EDITOR AND OWNER AT WORD CAT EDITORIAL SERVICES
Presenting: Finding Success: Where Networking and Volunteering Meet
Brittany Dowdle is a freelance editor with over twelve years’ experience in the publishing industry. Specializing in copyediting and proofreading, she has edited the work of best-selling traditionally published authors and award-winning indie authors. Together with her coauthor, Linda Ruggeri, Brittany wrote Networking for Freelance Editors, which won an IBPA Benjamin Franklin Silver Award in 2022. Brittany graduated summa cum laude from the University of North Georgia with a degree in English. She is a founding member of the Editorial Freelancers Association’s Diversity Initiative (now Diversity, Equity & Belonging) and helped design the Welcome Program, acting as its codirector in 2019–2020. She continues to volunteer for the Welcome Program and other local nonprofits.
J. M. TOMPKINS
AUTHOR & OWNER AT CREATIVITY UNTAMED
ASPC DIRECTOR
Presenting: Welcome to ASPC
J. M. Tompkins began her publishing business in 2019. She has organized multiple writing groups including the Next Level Writing Group and The Indie Group, is the founder of the ASPC (Atlanta Self-Publishing Conference), and has taught classes on self-publishing, social media, and on writing science fiction.
DANIELLE KIOWSKI
CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER AT STORY GRID
Presenting: Using Tropes to Enhance Your Reader's Journey
Danielle Kiowski a Story Grid Certified Editor, the Chief Academic Officer at Story Grid, and the Director of the Story Grid Guild. She specializes in fantasy crime and thrillers, and has a passion for stories that keep readers on the edge of their seats. Her biggest love is helping authors create page-turners that will grip their readers from start to finish.
JERRY WEINER
BUSINESS CONSULTANT & AWC FINANCIAL OFFICER
Presenting: Business Basics
Since graduating with an accounting degree from the University of Connecticut in 1973, Jerry Weiner has experience working with businesses large and small. After spending four years in public accounting, Jerry spent six years at a large Atlanta-based bank before starting a pc-based bank accounting software business in 1982. In 1997, Jerry sold the business to a public company but stayed on until 2001, when he tried to retire for the first time. After six years of community service work, Jerry started another business in 2007, which he sold in 2014. Still unable to find comfort in retirement, he began providing consulting services for small businesses, leveraging the digital world to expand his reach.
In addition to consulting, Jerry runs a non-profit youth baseball organization in Dunwoody, Georgia, provides mentoring to young men needing a positive role model and dreams of publishing his historical novel sometime soon. He also sits on four non-profit organization boards in addition the being treasurer for the Atlanta Writers Club.
DEADLINE TO REGISTER: APRIL 13, 12:00 PM EST
Walkups at the conference will be welcome (cash or card only, no checks will be accepted)