How to Get Your Book Published

All of us have a story. Some of us burn to tell it – but how? The Cornell Club-NY has assembled a panel of three alumni to give you an inside look at the book publishing industry. Here's your chance to learn: what publishers want; how important a literary agent is, how to find one, and create a relationship; and what an award-winning author's life is really like. After the presentation, members and their guests can choose to continue the discussion at dinner – with the chance to hear readings from local Cornell authors. 

The evening will feature: 

• Hannah Bowman '09: a literary agent at Liza Dawson Associates, where she represents authors in a variety of genres, primarily focusing on science fiction and fantasy and young adult novels. Her clients include New York Times bestselling author Pierce Brown and Hugo-Award winner Kameron Hurley. Hannah joined the agency in 2011; she graduated from Cornell University with a double major in English and mathematics. 
• Carol Fein Ross '72: Executive Vice President, Business Affairs and General Counsel, for Hachette Book Group, including Little, Brown and Company, Grand Central Publishing, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Orbit, Hachette Books, Hyperion, FaithWords, Center Street, Yen Press, Back Bay Books, Forever, Mulholland Books, and Hachette Audio.  Carol is responsible for all legal work for the company, including intellectual property matters, digital relationships, and contractual arrangements with authors, creators, business and distribution partners.   Carol has been with the company for over 30 years, most of that time while it was part of Time Warner Inc.   She also serves as Chair of the Lawyer's Committee of the Association of American Publishers, an adjunct professor at CCNY in its Publishing Certificate Program, and a member of the Board of the UJA-Federation Publishing Division. She graduated from Cornell University and Brooklyn Law School and worked for a Federal Judge in Manhattan and the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York, before focusing on publishing.    
• Thaddeus Rutkowski '76: author of the novels Haywire, Tetched and Roughhouse. All three books were finalists for an Asian American Literary Award, and Haywire won the Members' Choice Award, given by the Asian American Writers Workshop. His writing has appeared in The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry, The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, Fiction, Fiction International and many other journals.  He teaches at Medgar Evers College and the Writer's Voice of the West Side YMCA in New York. He received a fiction writing fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts. He has been a resident writer at Yaddo, MacDowell and other colonies, and was selected to read in the former compound of East German leader Erich Honecker in Berlin.
• Joseph H. Holland is a Harlem-based writer, attorney, entrepreneur, civic leader and minister with thirty years of experience building institutions that serve the community.  Mr. Holland's spiritual memoir, From Harlem With Love: An Ivy Leaguer's Inner-City Odyssey and devotional was published by Lantern Books in 2012. His screenwriting has also garnered attention: his biopic, Booker T, has been optioned by a Hollywood management company; his TV dramatic series, Harlem Law was optioned by a Hollywood production company; and his buddy dramedy, Undercover Grace, won the 2005 Christian Screenwriting Award co-sponsored by Fox Entertainment. In the past had written primarily for stage. His first play, Cast Me Down, garnered six AUDELCO nominations and enjoyed a nation-wide tour before running Off-Broadway. His second play, Homegrown, experienced two extended runs at Harlem's landmark National Black Theatre. His new self-help book, Touchstones Tools: Building Your Way To An Inspired Life, will be published by Grand Harbor Press in 2015.  A graduate of Cornell University, where he earned a B.A. (1978) and M.A. (1979) and was an All-American football player, Holland has served as a member of the University's Board of Trustees since 1988. He holds his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School (1982).  

6:00pm cash bar reception; 6:30pm lecture, gratis.  Advance reservations required!  Members and guests are invited to dine at The Club table following the lecture. The cost is $40 per person, inclusive of tax, gratuity, and one glass of wine with dinner. Dinner reservations are required 48 hours prior to the program. Same day cancellations and no shows will be charged.