̨Íåswag

Stephen Hundley was raised in Richmond Hill, Georgia. He is the author of the story collection, The Aliens Will Come to Georgia First (University of North Georgia Press) and the novel, Bomb Island (Hub City Press). His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Prairie Schooner, Cutbank, Carve, The Greensboro Review, and other journals. He holds an MA from Clemson, an MFA from the University of Mississippi, and is currently completing a Ph.D. in English at Florida State University.

Michael McGandy, Ph.D., Director of the University of South Carolina Press, worked eleven years at the Cornell University Press, where he developed a prize-winning list of books in US history, urban studies, and New York state topics. Now at the University of South Carolina Press, he is prioritizing books with popular appeal plus the authority of scholarly literature. McGandy will share his views on and experiences with publishing and the publisher-author relationship.

Alison Mero, Ph.D., Director of Clemson University Press, served as editorial assistant and managing editor for the Journal of Musicology. At Clemson, she started the Studies in British Musical Cultures book series and has acquired many new titles. Mero will share her views on and experiences with publishing, the publisher-author relationship, and fostering future writers.

Meg Reid, Executive Director, Hub City Writers Project, and Publisher, Hub City Press, has been instrumental in the Hub City Press’s rise to national significance. Their books have won many awards and been longlisted for the PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry, The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and The Story Prize. Reid will share her views on and experiences with publishing, the publisher-author relationship, her work with the New Southern Writers series, and the Hub City Writers Project’s outreach.

Creative Transactions will conclude with a book pitch judging session conducted by our guest speakers, who will be providing feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of two pre-selected book pitch submissions.

If you are interested in submitting a book pitch for this session, email all of the following information and materials to the ̨Íåswag Press at ungpress@ung.edu by Friday, February 23 with the subject line, “Creative Transactions Pitch Submission.”

Book Pitches Must Include:

• First and last name
• Book query title
• One page query letter (attached as a Word Document)
• Author bio (150-word max; attached as a Word Document)
• One-to-Two Page Book Synopsis Discussing: your book’s general content and message, intended audience, competing/similar works and what makes your book unique, total word count (attached as a Word Document)

Another Book Pitch Opportunity

The ̨Íåswag Press will also conduct a pitch judging session during the on Saturday, March 2 from noon to 4:00 p.m. in the . Our fifteen time slots will be filled on a first come, first served basis.

To submit a book pitch for the Dahlonega Literary Festival pitch judging session, email the ̨Íåswag Press at ungpress@ung.edu with the elements above and a statement indicating which event(s) your submission is for. Applicants can submit their work for both events if desired but must provide a clarifying statement in their submission email for organizational purposes. Limit of one book pitch per author. Multiple submissions will not be considered.

All pitches must be submitted by Friday, February 23.