ITW Thrills Members with No Dues Plan
by Jordan Foster -- Publishers Weekly, 7/14/2008 7:12:00 AM
The highlight of the International Thriller Writers third annual ThrillerFest, held last week at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, came when incoming president Steve Berry announced at its members meeting that the organization would no longer require its active members to pay yearly dues. Estimating the annual cost of running ITW at roughly $50,000, Berry told members that the organization would fund itself in the future from its numerous projects, including the Thriller anthology and the upcoming Young Adult anthology edited by R.L. Stine. Quoting ITW vice president David Hewson (The Garden of Evil), Berry emphasized that “when we [ITW] imitate, we fail. So we must be innovative.” He said the ITW was driven to eliminate the $95 annual dues in order to solicit writers' services--not just their money--in such things as the anthology and ThrillerFest.
Among the fundraising events held during ThrillerFest was the ITW’s auction that fetched a total of $4,750 and included a lunch with Goosebumps creator R.L. Stine that went for $425 and the opportunity to have bestselling author Lisa Gardner critique 50 pages of a fan’s manuscript, which sold for $800. The biggest ticket item, for $1,000, was the chance to have your name appear as a character in an upcoming Lee Child novel..
The four-day meeting drew authors and fans from all over the country. Wednesday and Thursday were devoted to CraftFest, a new addition to this year’s conference where aspiring writers could attend mini-classes, including “How Do You Create Suspense? And Other Bad Questions” taught by Lee Child and “The Villain Drives the Plot” led by outgoing ITW president Gayle Lynds. Literary agents were also on hand Thursday afternoon for a “speed dating” session with hopeful writers. Friday opened with an interview with bestselling author Kathy Reichs, who discussed her long-running Dr. Temperance Brennan series (including the upcoming eleventh installment due on August 12, Devil Bones) and her role as producer on the hit TV show Bones, based on her work. Friday panels ranged from a discussion on action-adventure thrillers with Steve Berry (The Venetian Betrayal) and James Rollins (The Last Oracle), to a roundtable discussion with senior editors from some of the industry’s biggest publishing houses. A highlight of the day was a weapons overview by ATF agents that included a demonstration by Lorenzo, a yellow Labrador trained to sniff out 19,000 kinds of explosives.
ThrillerFest concluded with an Awards Banquet on Saturday evening. Guests were treated to music of The Killer Thriller Garage Band, which included authors Heather Graham and Alex Sokoloff on vocals and F. Paul Wilson on drums. Rollins presented the Worst Amazon Review Award to Child, whose reviewer wished that they could “un-read” one of his Jack Reacher novels. The Silver Bullet Award for charitable work was presented to author David Baldacci, who created The Wishing Well Foundation, and Macy’s, who partnered with ITW to promote literacy with Reading Is Fundamental. Slain NYPD Auxiliary Officer Nicholas Pekearo, whose first novel The Wolfman was bought four days before his death, was honored by his editor, who also presented Pekearo’s mother with a leather-bound edition of her son’s book. Joe Hill won the award for Best First Novel with Heart-Shaped Box, Tom Piccirilli picked up the Best Paperback Original prize for The Midnight Run and Robert Harris’s The Ghost was named Best Novel. None of the winners were in attendance, but their awards were accepted by their respective editors.
For more information on the ITW, visit their Web site at www.thrillerwriters.org.
