Panel Discussions & Workshop

The application for Panels is ready!! That's right my friends!! If there is a panel you would like to be a part of or moderate, then please fill out the form and get it back to Kimberly or Deborah no later than 10/1/2013. The list and link are also at our GR and FB page.

Panel Application

E-Pubs ~ How they've grown & where they're going in the future.

Cover Art ~ Your book is done; now you need a cover. Where to start?

Q & A ~ Why Gay Romance?

Self-Pub vs. Traditional Pub ~ The how's & why's.

Marketing & Promo ~ How do I get my work out there?

Social Media ~ Is it worth it?

Websites & Blogs ~ Keeping the masses informed.

Put a Little Kink in your Gay Romance ~ A discussion about BDSM in Gay Romance.

These aren't Your Momma's Romances ~ How Gay romance has grown over the years.

Flamers, Twinks, & Bears. Oh, My! ~ Writing Stereotypes.

Writing Yaoi ~ What it is and how it fits in mainstream Gay Romance.

Poetry and the GLBT market.

Poetry Reading corner.

Frugal Promo ~ How to create great promo items when you're nearly broke. (This will be a workshop done by Kimberly Hunter)    

Grab That Room Soon!

Rooms at the Burbank Marriott are going fast! They are super reasonable! Regualr rooms are on $139 a night and suites are only $189! And making the reservation is as easy as 1- go to http://bent-con.org. 2- Click on the HOTEL tab at the top of the page. 3- Click on CLICK HERE to make a room reservation or on Want a con suite for the weekend. This will take you to the Marriott reservation page. Then, 4- Click the FIND button at the bottom of the left hand menu. That will bring up the price and the form to complete the reservation.

Do it today!! You'll be able to party later!

Registration is Here!!

That's right my friends, registration for WRR 2013 at Bent-con is up!! For those wanting to sell their wares, (books, covers, photos, pub houses, etc.), click the Exhibitors link. For all those just wanting to go and have a good time, click the Registration link. We will have more for those wanting to attend and/or be a part of the discussion panels as well as the cover model contest and ball at a later date. So come on by and be a part of the first Writers, Romance, & Rainbows Book Fair!! It's going to be EPIC!!
Link ~ http://bent-con.org/ 

Prices for Bent-con & WRR 2013

      The links won't be ready till March 4th, but here are the prices so everyone can start getting ready. And as you can see, these prices are a steal!! Also, the only thing extra to pay for is the Cover Model Contest & Formal Ball. But there is only one price for both. The date has been set as well. November 8th - 10th. We'll have the hotel rates as soon as we get them. Hope to see everyone there!!

      

These are for those who are going in a fan, reader, etc. capacity.

Weekend Tickets:

$40 early special ($20 a day)

$50 standard online ($25 a day)

$60 at the door ($30 a day)

These are the times when the event will be held. A more detailed time frame for events will come later as well as the new dates.

Friday 3:00pm - 2am

Saturday Noon -2am

Sunday Noon - 6pm

 

Booth/Table Options:

 Each Artist Table is a standard 6’ long (black skirted) table that comes with 2 banquet chairs. 

 Each Booth is an 8′ x 10′ space, consisting of an 8′ high black back-wall and 3′ high black side-drape with one, 6′ black skirted table, 2 banquet chairs and one small waste basket.

 Each Double Booth is an 8′ x 20′ space, consisting of two 8′ high black back-walls and 3′ high black side-drape with two, 6′ black skirted table, 4 banquet chairs and two small waste baskets.

 *Premium Booth Space

Early Registration: March 4th - July 31st, 2013

Artist Table - $175.00

Single Booth - $325.00

Premium Single Booth - $375.00

Double-Booth - $600.00

Premium Double-Booth - $650.00

The table fee includes two weekend badges and the sellers permit.  

Seller's Permit & Itinerant Merchant Permit:

 

Exhibitors at Bent-Con must provide show management with a BOE-410-D swap meet, flea market, or special events certification. If you will be conducting selling during the event you must also provide a valid CA Permanent/Temporary Seller's Permit. If you set up without a valid BOE-410-D form or provide Bent-Con with an invalid number, all fines incurred will be passing on to you, the exhibitor. The BOE-410-D form must be received by the first day of Exhibitor floor hours.  These forms will be provided.

 

Burbank Itinerant Merchant Permit:

 

Because the festival is happening in the City of Burbank, Exhibitors who are selling merchandise must also hold an Itinerant Merchant Permit for every day they will be selling during the festival.

Although both forms are required, there is no additional fee associated with either form. These forms will be provided.

 

Cover Model Contest & Formal Ball for WRR 2013:

 

A fee of $50 will cover both events.

Our Mission Statement

For the past couple days, the inbox for Deborah and I have been overflowing. All with the same question. Just what is WRR 2013? That’s quite simple to answer. It stands for ‘Writers, Romance, & Rainbows – A GBLT book fair for those in the GBLT Romance genre’. The explanation for that, however, is a bit more extensive.

With all the different cons and such happening through the year, only a few were geared toward those in the GBLT romance genre. Not surprising since this genre is still up and coming. It has made great strides, but sadly, still not as popular as the het romances as far as being mainstream goes. It hasn’t stopped us though. The books are still getting out there and the authors are still writing them. Unfortunately, these cons can only allow so many authors to attend. Then there is the price of registration. Flights, hotels, and other miscellany are added as well. All totaled up, attending one of these events can set an author back thousands. And for a newbie or even a mid-author, sometimes that price is just too much to pay. Especially if you’re relegated to a lesser role than what you expected. And what of the other’s that are involved in the writing process? The pubs, editors, cover artists, photographers, reviewers, readers, and fans? What about them? Don’t they have a right to be a part of these events as well? So far, these events are for the pubs, authors, fans, and readers. But what if there was an event that could encompass everyone involved in the writing process? That could bring all these people under one roof to talk, meet, promo, and sell their work?

That question had plagued Deborah and I for many months. Both of us had attended events, but none were geared for everyone. Then the wonderful guys at Bent-con invited us to share our media with their media in a conflagration of GBLT fireworks. Both us jumped at the chance. What better place to have everyone involved in the writing process sharing knowledge, disparate experience, and their wares to those who will appreciate it. It was a win/win for everyone.

Another question that arose was, Will I be treated as an author? That answer is a resounding yes! There are no lines drawn here. It doesn’t matter if you have one book, still writing that book, or if you have twenty. If you sign up as an author, register as an author, or get a table to sell your books as an author, then you will be treated as an author. The same with the pubs, cover artists, photographers, editors, reviewers, fans, and readers. Everyone is welcome here and will be treated the same. With respect for who you are. This was one of the main distinctions that Deborah and I wanted to make when committing to this endeavor. We wanted EVERYONE to be equal, to have a good time, and share themselves with the GBLT community. We also didn’t want to limit this event to just the pubs, authors, fans, and readers. We wanted everyone involved in the writing process to attend. They helped get us out to the masses. Only right we have them share in that glory. 

WRR Origns and How It's Different from Other Events

This is from Kimberly and Deborah in answer to spoken and unspoken questions about this event.

I am not alone in asking this question. I'm certainly not alone in the vaguely frustrated tone that often colors that question. 'How do I find more readers?' A couple of months ago, I was online chatting with Kimberly Hunter about that very question. I maintain blogs about my work. I am a professional editor in my genre that keeps me connected to an audience. I've even spent money on advertising now and again. My sales were consistent. My reviews were largely positive. But I had hit a wall with my sales. What had been particularly frustrating was that a book fair that was usually very good for my titles had changed its thrust to such a degree that my usual audience stayed away in droves.

“What does a writer have to do?” I wondered. I was wondering this with Kimberly Hunter late one night while chatting online. We had both been to writers' conventions and conferences. We'd both found them useful, but they were more about authors interacting with industry people more than they were about finding readers. I had even attended really big events like the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention. There wasn't a lot of time to really connect with authors. That would be frustrating for me, considering the expense of going, and I was already frustrated. I speculated that we needed an event at a venue where there was an audience for our books. I was thinking about Gay film festivals where we could have a book fair. I even knew how to sell ebooks at a booth, so this event could work for mainly digital authors as well as those in print. I was being a bit dim about this, because it hadn't dawned on me that the perfect venue was a convention that I had been a part of for two years. The wonderful coordinators at Bent-con gave me a mental smack to remind me that they were a celebration of LGBT themed media. Books were a perfect addition.

They were so very right. The most awesome thing about Bent-con is that it is a great place to interact with the artists present and learn about what they create and look at samples without pressure. It is such a fun environment that I've seen guests stay all day just going from table to table. There is a lot of laughing and the atmosphere is really laid back. I see authors enjoying talking to each other when not talking to readers or comic fans who didn't know they wanted to be readers. This was the primary thing we wanted was for authors in our genre to find new readers. What better place than an event that is all about being gay friendly? It is priced to make it economically feasible for even an indie author to attend with stock to sell. The panels are perks included in that economical price that will cover things we've known authors to be curious about. The special events are for authors to have a lot of fun and let off steam with their readers. I want us all to leave with huge mailing lists and potential reviewers. Maybe indie authors will find a publisher. I hope everyone gets to look at pretty boys and really laugh for a little while.

We are also readers who love a good story. So when these conventions did roll around, it was hard to connect with the authors who made such an impact on us with their work. Most of the time was spent on panels, workshops, or the like. Very little time was made for one on one with the author in a casual setting to just talk shop or talk about anything. Now, I’m not saying these conventions aren’t great or don’t have their place. They do. Authors learn a great deal about their craft at these conventions. But somewhere along the way, the reader was delegated to a day or less to meet and greet their favorite author. Not really fair considering it’s the reader who is buying our books. Who is telling this friend and that relative how much they enjoyed the new they book they bought. That’s why WRR has become so important to us. It’s a chance to not only share our craft and works with fellow authors, but more importantly, to share it with our readers. They are the reason we keep at it. The reason we haven’t given up in this business when so many have thrown in the towel. And they also deserve to meet and greet the authors and pubs they have been buying books from.

As an author, I get a little thrill every time a reader contacts me to tell how much they enjoyed one of my books. It’s a validation of a sort to let me know I got it right and to push to get the next book out. Being at WRR will be further validation when we can meet our readers and fans in person to tell them just how much we appreciate them. It’s a win/win for authors and readers alike.

Basic Information

There are so many facts and figures required to make a decision to attend an event like Writers, Romance and Rainbows 2013. We thought it would be helpful to set up some links to as much information as possible. Of course, these pages will get more and more detailed as time goes on.

In the LINKS section in the Menu on the right hand side of this page, there are links information on the convention venue, how to get there and everything you can find there and in the surrounding neighborhood. There is a link to the Panel Overview. We've already added to that. We expect to add a great deal more. Finally, there is a link to how to contact the coordinators for WRR2013 and how to follow Bent-con. Don't hesitate to contact us with questions or suggestions.

And don't forget to check back often!