The new issue of Writer's Digest (March/April) is out.  Some of the content is online at www.writersdigest.com, including the following articles:

• An interview with genre writer Laurell K. Hamilton
• J.A. Konrath's take on Amazon shorts and digital publishing in general
• How to form a support group for novelists
• and more...

WD staffer Brian A. Klems runs the Questions & Quandaries blog, where he answers questions of all sorts.  In the past month, he's answered submitted questions regarding the veracity of Wikipedia, how to get a late payment from a publisher, and what exactly a film "logline" is.

Our awesome blog dedicated to poetry, Poetic Asides, has its first "Poet Interview" up recently, with poet Dorianne Laux answering questions from blog editor Robert Brewer.

Robert Brewer, one of the editors of WD's awesome poetry blog (Poetic Asides), is inviting writers to e-mail him poetry-related questions that he will answer on the blog.  Simply e-mail your questions to robert.brewer@fwpubs.com and put "Poetic Asides Poetry Question" in the e-mail title. Take advantage of this! Robert is a published poet who knows what he's talking about.

It's been too long since I mentioned Kevin Alexander's This Writer's Life blog, where he muses on writing, and basically just makes me laugh all day long.

In mere days, I'll be walking the hilly streets of San Francisco, and presenting at the San Francisco Writers Conference.  I will be speaking on how to get your freelancing career going, and how to write an awesome query letter.

Nob Hill in San Fran

Here is a good place to again mention other upcoming conferences where I'll be presenting. If you have a chance to make it out to one of these conferences, do so.  They are all top notch.

CNU Writers Conference, Newport News, VA, March 14-16

Northern Colorado Writers' Conference, Fort Collins, CO, April 4-5

League of Vermont Writers' Spring Session, Rutland, VT, April 19

Northeast Texas Writers' Organization Writers' Conference, Camp Shiloh, TX (northeast of Dallas), April 25-26

Writer's Digest Books Writers' Conference, Los Angeles, CA, May 28
      The granddaddy shindig of them all!  This conference takes place just before the huge trade book fair BookExpo America, so we always have a slew of amazing editors, agents and authors presenting and taking pitches.  Last year, we had 60 agents and editors at perhaps the biggest pitch slam of all time.

Agents and Editors Conference (Writers League of Texas), Austin, TX, June 20-22

Willamette Writers' Conference, Portland, OR, Aug. 1-3

The latest Writer's Digest special publication is out: Writer's Yearbook 2008. If you don't see it in bookstores now,. it will be there soon. The issue has lots of great information on writing for magazines and books, and the biggest draw is the list of 100 great markets to sell your work. The list of 100 has 50 magazines and 50 book publishers.

The new WD screenwriting blog, run by Chad Gervich, is up and running. Chad is a writer and a television producer who is right in the thick of things out in LA. He's blogged a lot recently about the WGA strike in Hollywood and what that means to writers.

Remember that novelist Jodi Picoult's keynote speech at the WDB conference in Manhattan is available online. Listen to her speech for free!

(By the way, it's election day. Remember to vote!)

Phil Sexton, a cohort of Writer's Digest magazine, actually went through 80+ years of magazine back issues to scour for the best gems in WD's past. In doing so, he found old articles on writing penned by writers such as H.G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, Tom Clancy, Ken Kesey, Dean Koontz, Stan Lee, and many more. His research led to a book called Legends of Literature. 
      In an article online, he talks about the book and his research. Check it out!

As always, Alice Pope's blog - Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market - has tons of information for writers of juvenile and children's fiction. A recent post includes a full listing for what Chronicle Books is seeking.

If you've ever considered going back to school for writing but don't have the time, consider one of many Writers Online Workshops. The online classes usually last six or 12 weeks and are taught by Writer's Digest staffers and contributors.
      I myself will be teaching a class called "Getting Started in Writing" that starts on Dec. 6, so sign up now!

I just got a copy of the latest Writer's Digest magazine (the Nov/Dec issue) and, as usual. it's packed full of great info. It won't hit bookstores for a few weeks, I take it, but here are some article teasers:

• Ideas for unlocking your creativity
• An interview with author Tom Perrotta
• Agent Sharlene Martin shows actual real-life queries that bombed - teaching you what not to do

As reported by WDEditors.com: For six consecutive weeks, our top selling book was The Little Red Writing Book by Brandon Royal.

It's never too early to start planning ahead. The next writers' conference organized by WD Books will be on May 28, 2008 in Los Angeles, just before the BookExpo America trade show. 
      Here's one great reason to be thinking ahead: There will be oodles of agents there to hear your pitch. At our 2007 conference, there were 60 agents - probably the biggest agent pitch slam gathering of all time. The conference in LA will attract not only a good number of literary agents, but also a large number of script agents and producers, as well. 
      The 2008 Web page isn't up yet, but I will let you know when it is.

The most recent WD special publication is out: You Can Write for Children. (If you don't see it in bookstores, don't worry - it will be there soon.) The magazine is packed full of information for children's writers of all kinds - YA, middle grade and picture book writing tips.

WD's own "answer man," Brian Klems, has posted a new post on his Questions and Quandaries Blog about writing log lines for movie scripts.

The WD poetry blog, Poetic Asides, is still going strong thanks to numerous posts by both Writer's Market Editor Robert Brewer and Poet's Market Editor Nancy Breen.

On a side note, if you live in the Lexington, Ky. area, several editors from Writer's Digest will be at the Joseph Beth Booksellers tonight (Sept. 11) for a big Q&A session at 7 p.m. Stop on by!

If you've ever thought about going back to school for more classes on writing, consider Writers Online Workshops. It's a variety of online classes and workshops taught by WD staffers, contributors and editors. Fall sessions are about to begin.
      I myself will be instructing "Fundamentals of Nonfiction Writing," starting on Sept. 6. Sign up now!
      Also see the full list of courses available.
      As well as the faculty link.

Novel & Shory Story Writer's Market has a new editor - Rachel McDonald. Get to know her through her posting on the NSSWM blog. Recently, she's posted some fiction writing contests as well as an excerpt from the newest edition of the book.

WD Columnist/funnyman Kevin Alexander has just completed his thesis, which has given him not only plenty to joke about, but also more time to write posts. Check out his Writer's Life blog here.