Writers' Seminar: Storytelling

We humans just have to share our stories. Tales told around the campfire of the latest hunting success taught our ancestors how to find the best prey. Morality stories as myth and fable taught us how to live together in a working society. We all love a good joke. Humorous cartoons and spoofs that once spilled out of Xerox machines now fill our e-mailboxes. Old folks entertaining the kids with stories of the good old days pass on our personal histories to the next generation. Standup comedians, political pundits, and little boys who didn't do their homework all have stories to tell. And fantasy authors do a little bit of all the above.

On Friday, June 22, 2012, from 9 to 2:30, 4th Street celebrates this long tradition of storytelling at its annual Writers' Seminar, an opportunity to listen to and interact with successful storytellers in our usual open panel format.

Registration is full. Lunch is included with the registration fee.

	Karen Anderson, Moderator: As a writer and digital content strategist, Karen works on communications projects for a wide range of organizations. Her current projects include helping a Seattle-area housing agency to collect and present the stories of its formerly homeless residents. Karen is a web content designer, blogger, speaker and author of the ebook Take Control of iPhone Basics. She is the immediate past president of the board of directors of Northwest Folklife and vice chair of the board of the Clarion West Writers Workshop.
	Oneal Isaac: Oneal was a chemist for twenty years prior to becoming a professional actor and storyteller in 1995. He has worked in motion pictures, professional and community theater, television, improvisational comedy and public radio. Isaac is a recipient of the prestigious Louisiana Division of the Arts State Fellowship Award in theater.
	Mary Robinette Kowal: This Hugo-award winning novelist, Campbell Award for Best New Writer, two-time nominee for Hugo Award for Best Short Story is also an award-winning professional puppeteer. Her designs have garnered two UNIMA-USA Citations of Excellence, the highest award an American puppeteer can achieve. In her sparetime she brings her speech and theater background to her work as a voice actor for audio books and short stories for authors such as Kage Baker, Cory Doctorow and John Scalzi.
	Scott Lynch: Best known for his Gentleman Bastard series of novels, Scott has had a variety of jobs including freelance writer for various role playing game, dishwasher, waiter, web designer, freelance writer and office. In addition to being a writer, Scott Lynch is also a volunteer firefighter, maintains an active LiveJournal and frequently posts on genre-related message boards, including rpg.net
	Beth Meacham: Beth has written one novel with her husband Tappan King and a number of short stories on her own. She began work as a travel coordinator in New York after college, then worked at the Science Fiction Shop. She and her husband were regular reviewers for Baird Searles' and Martin Last's SF Review Monthly. She was an editorial assistant at Ace Books , then became an editor for Tor Books, where she rose to the position of editor-in-chief.