10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Patty Kreamer
Organization Expert

Patty Kreamer, CPO® is the President of Kreamer Connect, Inc., a Pittsburgh-based company that works with residential and corporate clients to become more productive and perform better while at the same time simplifying their work and lives. Patty's first book, But I Might Need It Someday, helps individuals understand the habits that keep them from organizing their work and lives. Her second book, The Power of Simplicity, will compel you to think before you make choices. Patty is seen regularly in the media as she shares her fun and energetic style with the audiences of publications like The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Pittsburgh Business Times, and through television shows like LifeQuest, KDKA's Morning Show, and One on One with Lee Adams. She was named Women's Business Network's 2007 Woman of the Year.

10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Judy Robinson & Michael Wurster
Editors of Along These Rivers

Judith R. Robinson is an editor, teacher, fiction writer and poet. She is poetry editor and contributor to Signatures, the Osher Institute at Carnegie Mellon University and Ring Road Press. She is principal editor of Only the Sea Keeps: Poetry of the Tsunami. Robinson has taught and conducted workshops for the Pittsburgh Public Schools and Allegheny Community College. She currently teaches poetry for Osher at Carnegie Mellon University.

Michael Wurster founded Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange in 1974. He has taught poetry at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts School since 1993, and holds private classes at his Bedford Square atelier. He also organizes the Southside Poetry Smorgasbord; the monthly national poet study group at Borders North Pittsburgh; and his weekly symposium at City Books’ Café Descartes every Saturday afternoon. In 1996, he was the inaugural recipient of the Harry Schwalb Excellence in the Arts award by Pittsburgh Magazine for his contributions to poetry and the community. His two poetry collections are Cruelty of the Desert and The Snake Charmer’s Daughter.

11:00 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.

Nancy Stampahar
Author of Peace, Love and Lemonade: A Recipe to Make your Life Sweeter

Nancy Stampahar is the author of peace, love and lemonade: a recipe to make your life sweeter and the founder of Silver Lining Solutions® a keynote speaking and an organizational development training business.

Nancy will share how she and her inspiring family of three made lemonade out of their lemons through the power of choice.

Please visit peaceloveandlemonade.com.

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Jim O'Brien
Author of Steeler Stuff, The Chief and many others

Jim’s topic will be “Keep The Faith and Dare To Dream.” In his presentation, he will share why he writes and talk about the central theme of all his books.

12:45 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Open Mic
Please see Val Brkich at the main stage to sign up for a time slot

2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Mark Levine [click for more info]
Author of The Fine Print of Self-Publishing (now in its 3rd edition) and Saturn Return

Self-Publishing Presentation:

• Self-publishing v. Traditional Publishing
• Why Self-Publish?
  
• Difference between self-publishing on your own and working with a self-publishing company
  
• 6 Qualities a Good Self-Publishing Company Must Have
  
• Why Authors Must Know What It Really Costs to Print Copies of Their Books
  
• How To Determine If a Self-Publishing Company is Paying Fair Royalties
  
• How To Cost-Effectively Market & Sell Your Book Using the Internet and Traditional Book Marketing Techniques

3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Jay Speyerer
Author of Cat Got Your Thumb?, The Stories of Our Days, and The Story System: The Guide to the Methodical Memoir

Jay Speyerer has been a speaker and an educator for nearly 30 years, successfully helping people achieve their goals in English, writing, editing, media communication, and presentation skills. Jay's communication clients range from Avon representatives to health care workers to the family historians at the Genealogy & Family Heritage Jamboree, among a host of others. Having written books, short stories, screenplays, essays, and articles, he has conducted many writing workshops, has had screenplays optioned, and has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies. Jay is the author of Cat Got Your Thumb?, The Stories of Our Days, and The Story System: The Guide to the Methodical Memoir. Recently, he succeeded in getting pi to come out even.

How to Build a Story: The B-M-E Method - You can write your true stories using techniques of fiction writing. That's because, deep down, you understand story. Many of us know that a story has three parts: beginning, middle, and end. But we might not know what goes into each of those three parts. Learn what must happen in each part for the whole to be complete. Then you can tell a captivating story.

4:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Tom Lipinski
Author of the Carroll Dorsey series

Tom Lipinski is a mystery writer and the creator of the Carroll Dorsey series, a hard-hitting, richly textured examination of the religious, social and political underbelly of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The series includes The Fall-Down Artist, A Picture of Her Tombstone, and Steel City Confessions. The third in the series, Steel City Confessions, is up for a SHAMUS award. Death in the Steel City is his most recent in the series.

9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Story Time

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Dr. Seuss Hour!

Writer Lynn Radford will read from the many works of this beloved author, and guide young and old through several Seuss-themed crafts. Join Lynn and let out your inner "Cat in the Hat!"

3:00 p.m.- 3:30 p.m.

Dave Crawley

Dave will read poems from some of the nine anthologies and two books ("Dog Poems" and "Cat Poems") in which his work appears. He will also share the first poem he ever wrote (in the fifth grade!) and talk about how he writes poems.

4:00 p.m.- 4:30 p.m.

Jennifer Rupredt

Jennifer Ruprecht is the author of The Crayon Kids' Art Adventure, a creative book encourages children to "think outside the crayon box." Jennifer will be reading from her book and leading a fun coloring craft for the kids.