Be Your Own Best Publicist Seminar

Melinda Palacio & Lida Sideris

Monday, June 22, 9-11:30 AM Pacific Ballroom

Gain real-world insights from award-winning authors on how to successfully promote your own book.

In this interactive seminar, we'll help you to:

Create a standout author bio and compelling back cover copy.

Learn to write a press release and get the attention of podcasts, magazines, newspapers and more. Use A.I. wisely so you don't lose your authentic voice, and build a strong author presence through blogging, book signings (from indie bookstores to wineries), newsletters, and both virtual and in-person events.

Use social media effectively through platforms like Substack and Instagram to grow your audience. Develop the confidence to advocate for your work and become your own best champion.

Whether you’re just starting out or preparing to launch your next book, you’ll leave with practical tools, fresh ideas, and ways to stay ahead of the game and take your writing to the next level.

This seminar blends practical techniques and mindset shifts to help you move your project forward and bring your writing (and its audience) fully to life.Gain real-world insights from award-winning authors on how to successfully promote your own book.

Melinda Palacio is the Poet Laureate of Santa Barbara. She is the author of the novel, Ocotillo Dreams (ASU Bilingual Press 2011), for which she received the Mariposa Award for Best First Book at the 2012 International Latino Book Awards and a 2012 PEN Oakland-Josephine Miles Award for Excellence in Literature. Her first full-length poetry collection, How Fire Is a Story, Waiting, (Tia Chucha Press 2012) was a finalist for the Milt Kessler Award, the Paterson Prize, and received First Prize in Poetry at the 2013 International Latino Book Awards. In 2015, her work was featured on the Academy of American Poets, Poem-a-Day Program. Melinda's latest poetry collection is, Bird Forgiveness, 3: A Taos Press.

Lida Sideris is the author of the Southern California Mysteries (now on book six), a light-hearted series loosely based on her former life working as a movie studio attorney…except without the homicides. Lida is a 2x Killer Nashville, Silver Falchion Award finalist, as well as a recipient of the Helen McCloy Mystery Writers of America Scholarship award. Her short stories have appeared in the Best New England Crime Stories anthologies, and Mystery and Woman’s World magazines. Lida is also the author of The Cookie Eating Fire Dog, a picture book for ages 4-8. She lives in the northern tip of Southern California with her family, rescue dogs, and a flock of uppity chickens. To learn more, please visit: www.LidaSideris.com