Honored Author Program


The Honored Authors (HA's) are a select group of novelists whose books have appeared on both secular and Christian bestseller lists, and whose stories have received such prestigious awards as The Christy Award, The Gold Medallion Book Award, Silver Angel Award for Excellence in Media, Inspirational Readers Choice Award, Holt Medallion, and National Readers Choice Award. The HA's are an integral part of the Gideon Media Arts and Film Festival, with many events designed specifically for them. These events include:

Producer/Writer Exchange - Saturday, 3:00 - 5:00, June 5, 2010 - This is an opportunity for authors to summarize their award-winning novels to production companies seeking great stories for television and film AND a chance for producers to discuss possible working relationships with these authors in hopes of novelizing their films and writing companion study guides, etc.

Prior to this exchange, 1:00 - 1:45, producers will meet with Eric Highland (CEO, HOSFU LC) for a closed forum session titled Multi-Platform Release: Increase the Success of Your Film. Producers will discuss how to broaden the audience base of their films and increase the sales/impact of their message by partnering with fiction and non-fiction authors. Eric will relay recent success stories of producer/author partnerships from the faith-based media industry. Producers will have the opportunity to ask questions in this private session.

2:00 - 2:45 Eric Highland will meet with our Honored Authors and share the feedback from producers and allow the author to also ask questions in a private forum

2:45 - 3:00 Joint session facilitated by Eric Highland

3:00 - 5:00 Producers and Honored Authors will talk business!

5:00 - 6:00 Dinner together with the Producers and Honored Authors in a designated area of the cafeteria


* Honored Authors will contribute their bio and novel/award information for the Producers Notebook which the producers will be asked to peruse during the 2:00 -2:45 time slot.


* Honored Authors will be sent biographies (via email) of the participating producers, listing partnership possibilities, before the conference begins.

 

 

WORKSHOPS, FILMS, AND EVENTS
of particular interest to HA's

Kenny & Kyle Saylors: Perfecting Your Pitch and Your Project

Writers, filmmakers, and dreamers, you get one chance and one chance only to pitch a project, whether it is an idea, a script, or speaking with an investor or a distributor seeking distribution for your film. When the opportunity comes, will you seal the deal or kill your chances? Bring your pitches and your band-aids. Pitch your ideas to the Saylors Brothers and pretend they are the final roadblock between your dreams and realities. Or bring a two minute clip of your completed or "in the works" project and they will tell you where you got it right, where you went terrible wrong, how to fix it, or if it can be.
Friday, June 4, 10:00 - 11:45 AM

 

Gary Wheeler: Adaptation - Managing Expectations

Gary will bring his personal experience to the table as he just completed production on Robert Whitlow's novel, The Trial. Even though Gary is slated to film three more adaptations in the future and will not be looking for a novelist to pair with, Gary will be representing some of his filmmaker peers in searching for the right writer/project during the 3:00 - 5:00 exchange on Saturday. Don't miss this workshop as he talks about the do's and don'ts of successfully adapting a best-selling novel. Saturday, June 5, 7:30 - 9:30 PM - FILM FESTIVAL: "The Trial" (2 hours) Q&A with producer Gary Wheeler Premier!

 

Ben Avery: Adapting Other Media into Comic Books

How to adapt a novel, a short story, or a movie, into a comic book story. What are the tricks to take the essence of the adapted material and maximize it for the graphic story format? Also, how to use comics to promote and supplement other media projects such as movie and game tie-ins.

 

Bonnie Johnson: Actor/Writer Scene Shop

Submission of scenes from your novel or script has passed; however, one can benefit from watching these scenes acted out and receive critiques on the spot.


Brian Roberts: How to Fix a Broken Story

What do you do when you've got a finished script and you're headed into production and you realize that something is just not working? In this practical workshop, VeggieTales Director Brian K. Roberts will walk through real world examples of stories that weren't quite delivering the desired result. Once the problems have been diagnosed, participants will learn how a small toolkit of common dramatic elements can be applied to add conflict and congruency to many different types of stories. The workshop will include several examples of 'before and after' scenes showing the impact the toolkit has when properly applied.


Gary Voelker: Screenwriting: Story Concept and Structure

Genre and story concepts - Principles of story structure - Plot points, acts, scenes.


Gary Voelker: Screenwriting: Story Elements and Character

Scene development - Story events and conflict - Developing characters that your audience will care about.

 

Saturday, June 5, HERO trailer Premier!
Producer George Escobar will participate in the Producer/Honored Author Session Saturday afternoon, June 5, in hopes of finding the right author for the novelization of this movie.

 


Previous Honored Authors' comments about their experience at Gideon:

  

What an INCREDIBLE week it was! Ken and I...absolutely LOVED the conference! You guys did an fabulous job of organizing things and the faculty was amazing! We are still just floating on the inspiration and encouragement of the week, and we're making lists of our friends, church family, and Ken's coworkers who are remotely interested in film and media arts to tell them to come, come, come next year!

 

Deborah Raney

 

The experience [at Gideon] with novelists, producers, and others within the world of film and drama expanded my view of how God has gifted us to use our talents to evangelize. The Great Commission was evident in the different personalities and visions. I've learned to dream more and widen my perspective with a little better understanding of how we can be salt and light (or stage and screen and the written page) to a world that desperately needs hope.

 

DiAnn Mills

 

What a terrific conference. I felt rejuvenated both as an artist and as a Christian.

 

Ray Blackston

 

I highly recommend this conference. I think next year it will double in size. I rode to the airport with two producers/distributors from Australia, and they seemed to love their experience at the conference. Lots of networking went on.

 

Terri Blackstock

  

This was one of the best conferences that I have ever attended, so at this point I am planning on being there again next year. This was the first conference in which I can say that every class session I attended was valuable.

 

Doug Peterson

 

2010 Honored Authors

Ray Blackston

Lynette Eason

Sharon Ewell Foster

Yvonne Lehman

Torry Martin

Doug Peterson

Deborah Raney

Gayle Roper

Rebeca Seitz

Ann Tatlock

 

 

If you are interested in being an Honored Author, please send a brief application essay to Yvonne Lehman or Ann Tatlock that includes the title(s) of your best-selling or award-winning book(s), as well as your reasons for desiring to participate in the Honored Author program of the Gideon Media Arts Conference and Film Festival.

Once you are accepted as an Honored Author, you can register by calling LifeWay at 1-800-588-7222. Please note that in addition to registration, lodging and dining fees, all HA's are responsible for their own transportation to the conference, including transportation to and from all airports.

Contact Yvonne Lehman or Ann Tatlock.

Honored Author Co-Director Ann Tatlock, Gideon Director Lori Marett, Honored Author Co-Director Yvonne Lehman, Honored Author DiAnn Mills