. . .Dozens of Authors
. . .Thousands of Readers
. . .All Under One Roof

June 10-12, 2011
Houston, Texas, Doubletree Hotel (Downtown)

Get Signed ● Get Published ● Get Publicity
Friday, June 10, 2011 - 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Doubletree Hotel, 400 Dallas St., Houston, TX
In Conjunction with the National Black Book Festival

If you are serious about taking your book(s) to the next level, this is the conference for you. Early registrants receive a 15-minute, one-on-one session with the panelist of your choice.

Top book industry experts share information and strategies on how to make your literary breakthrough and turn your existing or future book(s) into a bestseller!

Conference includes three powerful sessions, lunch and a closing reception. Literary Breakthrough Conference sessions are as follows:

● Book Publishers: Hear from editors at major publishing houses on what they are looking for in a book proposal; how they determine which author and which books to publish; and how they determine whether an author receives a 2-book deal or a 5-book deal.
● Book Marketers and Promoters: Hear from book marketing experts on how to receive maximum, targeted exposure for your book; how to get radio stations, newspapers and televisions to contact you for interviews; and why you should/should not aspire or expect to be on Oprah.

● Book Industry Agents: Hear from influential book agents on how to locate and identify the best agent for you; submit your book proposal; and how much of a book advance a first-time or repeat author should expect.

Conference registration fee includes all sessions, lunch and closing reception.

Standard conference registration fee (until May 15, 2011):
$297.00/person - Pay full amount here

Late conference registration fee (after May 15, 2011):
$327.00/person - Pay full amount here

Pay one of your $99.00 installment payments here (all installments have to be paid no later than March 31, 2011):

Forms of payment: Visa, M/C, Am Ex, Disc, Paypal, Check or Money Order – Use registration form here: http://www.nationalblackbookfestival.com/breakthroughreg.pdf
Participating authors at NBBF receive a $20.00 discount off conference registration. Author must already be registered for NBBF to receive the discount. Use registration form to apply discount.
All fees are nonrefundable
Payable to: National Black Book Festival, 14300 Cornerstone Village Dr., Suite 370, Houston, TX 77014
Space is limited; reservations are on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Hotel accommodations available at Doubletree Hotel. Call (713) 759-0202. Ask for National Black Book Festival room block.

Tickets may be purchased for the conference luncheon or reception separately here for those who do not wish to attend the entire conference:

Literary Breakthrough Conference Luncheon Ticket (1:00 p.m.)
ONLY $50.00 Each

Literary Breakthrough Conference Reception Ticket (7:00 p.m.)
ONLY $60.00 Each

Book Publishers Session
9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Malaika Adero, Vice President and Senior Editor of Atria Books (Simon & Schuster), is also founder of Up South, Inc., an organization that promotes and presents authors and artists. A writer as well, she has authored books, essays and poetry.

Vickie Stringer, CEO of Triple Crown Publications, is the queen of urban novels. After writing her first novel, she sold thousands of copies independently and subsequently launched Triple Crown, one of the largest urban fiction publishers.

Book Marketers/Promoters Session
11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

J. M. Benjamin is CEO of A New Quality Publishing, a New York-based firm which specializes in urban fiction. J. M. has utilized guerrilla marketing and grassroots techniques to sell thousands of books, vital information for self-published authors and budding publishing firms. Some of the company's successful titles include Dutch: The Sequel and Heaven and Earth.

Pam Perry is the Chief Visionary of Ministry Marketing Solutions Inc. and the nation’s premiere Christian literary PR Coach. She has worked with clients such as TD Jakes, Bill Winston and Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook. She is an online media strategist working on movies like “The Secret Life of Bees” for Fox SearchLight films.

Luncheon Keynote Speaker
1:00 to 2:30 p.m.

ReShonda Tate Billingsley
Bestselling Author, Movie Producer
ReShonda is the national bestselling author of 18 books. Her sophomore novel, Let the Church Say Amen, is being made into a movie of which she is Executive Producer and actress Regina King is the director.

A former television and radio news reporter, ReShonda has been in the journalism business for more than two decades. Currently, the co-host of From Cover to Cover literary talk radio show and an editor for the Houston Defender Newspaper, ReShonda has worked as an anchor and reporter for NBC, ABC and FOX television stations in Beaumont, TX, Oklahoma City, OK and Houston, TX. She left her job at FOX News in Houston in 2007 to write full-time.

Book Agents Session
3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

Maxine Thompson is a literary agent, writer and editor. As a literary agent, she has brokered more than 60 book deals for herself and other authors. Several of her clients' books have been Black Expressions Book Club selections.

Regina Brooks is the founder and President of Serendipity Literary Agency LLC. Equally at home in the technical world of engineering as in the literary world of writing and editing, Ms. Brooks has over a decade of experience in senior positions at major publishing houses including John Wiley & Sons Inc. and the McGraw-Hill Companies.

Janell Walden Agyeman is a veteran in the New York publishing industry circles and a native of Kansas City, Missouri. Among her past and current clients are Tananarive Due (science fiction and fantasy author), Sharon Draper (Coretta Scott King Literary Award winning author) and syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. She runs the Miami branch of the Marie Brown & Associates Literary Agency.