Upcoming Appearances & Events
ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha Committee Meeting
November 24, 2 PM Local Time (BST)
LOCATION IN-PERSON:
The Marquis Cornwallis, 31 Marchmont St, London WC1N 1AP
LOCATION ONLINE:
Join The Zoom Meeting Here:
Meeting ID: 863 0055 7521
Passcode: ZZ9PZA
Members of ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha, Your Attention Please! Come join the ZZ9 Annual General Meeting!
At the AGM, the existing committee reports, a new committee is elected and any motions are debated, voted on, and either carried or rejected. For details, see: www.zz9.org
Previous Appearances & Events
Workshops for Writers: Ten Tactics for Getting Great Book Reviews
October 5, 10:00 AM 12:00 PM
Our presenter, Yvette Keller, joined us via ZOOM for this FREE workshop.
Book reviews, particularly on sites like Amazon and Goodreads, can make or break your book’s successful launch. Attendees learned effective strategies to include book reviews in their promotion plan with experienced book coach and author Yvette Keller. This online presentation helped show how to motivate readers to leave reviews as well as ways to make the process easier.
Edinburgh ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha Slouch
August 18, 10 AM Local Time (BST)
LOCATION: We will find each other at Waverly Station Market Street Exit at 2:00 PM and then wander over to see Mitch Benn at 4 PM at Bristo Square.
Buy your tickets in advance and with any luck, he will want to grab a pint with us ZZ9 fans!
Glasgow 2024 A Worldcon For Our Futures
Find me at the 82nd World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) at The Scottish Events Campus in Glasgow, Scotland selling signed copies of Douglas Adams’ Map and Guide or on the following Programme items:
Workshop: Improvisation Games
Description: Come learn the basics of live improv and play creative games in a collaborative environment. No experience necessary.
Space/Time: Hall 4 (Other) Friday, August 9, 2024, 1:00 PM GMT+1Duration: 60 minutes
Title: Costume Opportunities and Barriers
Participants: Yvette Keller (m), Debbie Bretschneider, Kevin Roche, Mary Robinette Kowal, Pinsent Tailoring
Description: Join us as we share opportunities for costuming outside of SFF conventions. From the Jane Austen Festival in Bath to the Fringe Festival, and Versailles to the Piazza San Marco, where can you wear your greatest outfits? We will also discuss potential barriers to wearing costumes, looking at topics like safety, cultural appropriation, and what you shouldn’t do because it would be in poor taste.
Space/Time: Dochart 1 Sunday, August 11, 2024, 4:00 PM GMT+1
Title: And Then What? How to Downsize Your Costume Closet
Participants: Yvette Keller, Adrian Emery Dr, Mary Prince, Sandy Manning
Description: What do you do if you’ve been a constant costumer, and you find yourself downsizing? Moving? Changing sizes or shape? Come ask costumers your burning questions about how to deal with the inevitable accumulation of costumes. Those who have made the hard choices about what to say goodbye to will share how they did it and how you can avoid your beautiful creations ending up in the landfill.
Space/Time: Meeting Academy M4 Monday, August 12, 2024, 10:00 AM GMT+1
Bristol ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha Slouch
August 6, 10 AM Local Time (BST)
Bristol Temple Meads Railway Station
You’re invited to a walking tour and slouch in the lovely city of Bristol! We will meet at the Bristol Temple Meads Railway station for a day of slouching around locations where the BBC Dirk Gently series was filmed. We will be walking until we come across a nice pub for lunch and then deciding whether to continue to some, many, or all of the following: Dirks Office, St. Cedd’s, Richard MacDuff’s House, Big House, Library, and maybe even walking over the Clifton Suspension Bridge (I don’t even know if it can be walked over, but it looks fun on the map!).
Santa Barbara Writers Conference
Thursday, June 13th, 9-11:30 AM – Publishing Options – A Deep Dive
I moderated a panel of three publishing experts who each covered in depth what is involved with both hybrid publishing and self-publishing.
Friday, June 14th, 9-11:30 AM – Writers Wrangling Research
Along with a panel of 8 authors, we discussed sources of research, how to organize the materials, and how to shape them into a coherent narrative. We heard individual authors’ stories, and had the opportunity to participate in a Q&A and discussion.
Friday, June 14th, 1-3:30 PM – Podcasts & Audiobooks
This insightful seminar discussed how to accomplish the goals of getting your book and book promotion into the audible range.
Throughout the conference writers also signed up for free one-on-one coaching sessions about individual Author Business or Career Plans. What’s an Author Business or Career Plan, you ask? Email me and find out.
Roswell Towel Day
I was the toastmaster for the first-ever Roswell Towel Day! I appeared at the Roswell Public Library, Roswell Convention Center, Roswell Community Little Theatre, and the Roswell UFO Museum with my fellow Towel Day Ambassadors.
Costume-Con 42
Costume-Con is a 4-day, international, annual, traveling convention all about costuming, cosplay, and creating. In my official capacity as Towel Day Ambassador, I co-created and judged the Static Towel Contest.
2023 Events
LosCon 49
Closer to home meant I could drive to LosCon November 24-26, 2023 and participate on the following program items:
Nov 24: Friday, 8 PM – We had a fabulous discussion on the panel How do I use Social Media to Promote My book?
On Saturday I joined three other brilliant costumers to discuss the continuum of Costuming As An Art Form. Later in the day, Hitchhiker Fans talked Adams at Do You Have Your Towel – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
On Sunday we talked How to Find a Publisher and had a brilliant time! This panel was recorded and the video will be available in the future.
Imaginarium
I had a great time as a guest/panelist, at the 2023 Imaginarium Convention in Louisville, Kentucky.
My panels were well attended and I offered participants free worksheets. I’ve linked them here too, so you can grab them if the topics sound interesting to you.
- Fri 2:30 pm Audiobook: A How-To – Get a free decision worksheet for authors who don’t know where to start on their audiobook creation journey.
- Sat 9 am Increasing Reviews – My free worksheet for this talk included 9 Basic Strategies for Book Reviews
- Sun 9 am A Guide to Writing Non-Fiction – With no idea what we would be covering, there was no handout for this talk. The top advice was:
- Write the book you are deeply passionate about
- Sometimes your topic isn’t clear until your draft is done
- Research is never wasted
- Book proposals are an excellent tool
- Short non-fiction can be published in many places, providing you with authority and a ready-audience
- Know your audience
Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference
In June, I attended the 2023 Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference.
Friday, June 23rd, 1-3:30 PM – Podcasts & Audiobooks
Friday, June 23rd, 4-5 PM – Author Platform Panel
I also offered free one-on-one coaching sessions on Author Business Plans. What’s an Author Business Plan, you ask? Email me and find out.
Towel Day Celebration and Book Launch
Together with The Book Den Independent Bookstore at 15 E Anapamu St, Santa Barbara, California, Yvette Keller, the 2023 Towel Day Ambassador, hosted the following Towel Day activities:
- Vogon Poetry Reading (bring your own bad poetry to rival a Vogon!)
- Froodiest Towel Contest
- Character Costume Show
Douglas Adams’ London Guides will be available to purchase or if you already have a copy, bring it! Yvette will sign your copy
Costume-Con 2023
Attended Costume-Con 39 ‘Things That Go Bump in the Night’, at the Doubletree Hotel in San Jose, CA. Early launch for my new book Douglas Adams’ London!
