For better or for worse, writers have the opportunity to connect with their readers like never before in history. And when authors are smart, they can transform their readership into a true community, where the connections are genuine and an army of support is ready to spread the word of new projects. Sure, growing your digital tribe is part of your author platform, but it is so much more than a data point. It is your opportunity to thrive in a new era of publishing. At this Writing Show, attendees will learn best practices with author newsletzters, new and outdated tech trends, and tangible steps to hit the ground running.

And in the spirit of community, all attendees with newsletters will have the opportunity to grow their own digital tribe with an open newsletter sign-up time during intermission.

Speakers

Tim Asimos is a recognized B2B marketing thought leader, providing keen insights on modern marketing principles and an uncommon perspective gleaned from nearly 15 years of experience working on both the client-side and agency-side of the business. As Vice President and Director of Digital Innovation at circle S studio, a strategic marketing agency, Tim focuses on helping B2B firms grow in today’s increasingly competitive and digital landscape. He leads the digital team to develop innovative strategies in website development, content marketing, and online lead generation.

Tim is a syndicated blogger and a national speaker on various marketing topics including content marketing, branding, web design, online marketing and technology. His expertise has been featured in numerous publications, blogs, webinars, programs, and conferences across the country. He’s also a member of the American Marketing Association and is Immediate Past President of the Richmond, Virginia chapter. He holds a B.S. in Communication Studies and an M.B.A. from Liberty University.

Maggie King is the author of the Hazel Rose Book Group mysteries, including Murder at the Book Group and Murder at the Moonshine Inn. Her short stories, “A Not So Genteel Murder” and “Reunion in Shockoe Slip” appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries anthologies. “Wine, Women, and Wrong” is included in 50 Shade of Cabernet: A Mysterious Anthology.

Maggie graduated from Elizabeth Seton College and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Rochester Institute of Technology. She belongs to James River Writers, the American Association of University Women, and is a founding member of the Sisters in Crime Central Virginia chapter. She has worked as a software developer, retail sales manager, customer service supervisor, web designer, and non-profit administrator. Maggie has called New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California home. These days she lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband Glen and cats Morris and Olive. All her jobs, schools, and residences have gifted her with story ideas for years to come.
 

Rebecca Joines Schinsky Rebecca Joines Schinsky is the executive director of product & e-commerce at Riot New Media Group, which runs Book Riot, the largest independent community for book lovers in North America. She is the co-host of the Book Riot Podcast and All the Books, a weekly show about the best new book releases. Rebecca has been writing and speaking about books and the publishing industry since 2008.

Samantha Willis is a writer and Arts & Entertainment Editor at Richmond magazine. Formerly, she was digital content manager in the ABC 8News newsroom. With a writing, editing and social media management career spanning nearly 10 years, Samantha most recently created #UnmaskingRVA, a three-part community learning series designed to examine, discuss and learn from Richmond’s deep racial history and its continuing impact. Samantha’s also a civil rights advocate, a children’s book author, a pianist, a loving wife and a proud mom.
 

Moderator

Award-winning author Mary Chris Escobar writes women’s fiction. Her debut novel, Neverending Beginnings was published in 2012 and released in paperback in 2015. Subsequent works include Delayed, How to be Alive and her latest, How to Fall, published in December 2014. How to be Alive was the winner of the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Award for the Chick Lit category. In addition to her weekly blog, her personal essays have appeared in the The Write Lifestyle magazine (Issue 2, Issue 11), on Women Writers, Women[‘s] Books, the Kobo Writing Life blog, and USA Today’s Happy Ever After blog.