September 28 - October 2, 2004

Complete Program
Tuesday, September 28

WELCOME DINNER

8:30 p.m., La Cantina della Bruna, 20 via Spartivento

Optional group dinner for early arrivals. we'll meet at 8:30 p.m. in Piazza Sedile.

Wednesday, September 29

WELCOME ORIENTATION

10:00 - 10:45 a.m., Palazzo Lanfranchi "Sala Carlo Levi"

Here's your chance to get oriented and meet other festival participants. The festival organizers will provide a brief orientation, then field special requests and take one-on-one and small group sign ups. Our participating publishing professionals will briefly introduce themselves and their company's programs, followed by Q&A about how your manuscript might fit their program. Afterwards, we'll break for coffee in a neighboring terrace café.

AN INTRODUCTION TO SOUTHERN ITALY

11:30 - 12:30 p.m., Palazzo Lanfranchi "Sala Carlo Levi" Dr.Dorothy Zinn, cultural anthropologist

A short, entertaining orientation session in English, "An Introduction to Southern Italy," by noted American anthropologist Dorothy Zinn, an expert on southern Italy and author of last year's bestseller in Italy, La Raccomandazione. Zinn will be discussing southern Italy as it is now, a surprisingly modern, lively and fascinating culture, shorn of clichés.

WRITING WORKSHOP

12:30 - 1:30 p.m., Palazzo Lanfranchi "Sala Carlo Levi"

Optional small group work organized by sub-genre or language. Here's your chance to describe your story in progress and gain valuable plotting feedback from participating writers and editors. You may share copies of a short synopsis or simply talk up your story from memory.

LUNCH & WRITING RETREAT

1:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Enjoy your lunch, Italian style. Then spend the afternoon on a personal writing retreat.

ONE-ON-ONE

5:00 - 6:00 p.m., ad hoc

One-on-one editorial guidance with top editors and authors. Sign-ups taken at the morning orientation.

MEET THE READERS

Women's Fiction: from reality to fiction - the way to a woman's heart 6 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., Palazzo Lanfranchi "Sala Carlo Levi", open to public

Cherry Adair, women' fiction author
Nina Bruhns, women's fiction author
Susan Swift, women's fiction author
Elizabeth Jennings, women's fiction author and Festival Director Moderated by Maria Paola Romeo, editor of women's fiction

Women's fiction is a general term that covers a type of literature which, more than any other, reflects cultural and social changes in women's lives. The genre has changed greatly over the years, starting from serialized stories in magazines to US TV series. It includes major international bestsellers, mostly by American women writers, as well as the recent publishing phenomenon, chick lit, the new genre ushered in by Bridget Jones' Diary. In short, women's fiction is an expression of women's deepest, most heartfelt desires, fears, dreams and fantasies. Whether the book has a happy ending or a bittersweet one, whether it makes you laugh or cry, women love the deep emotions evoked by reading women's fiction.

DINNER

8:30 p.m., Le Lucanerie

Join festival attendees at this delightful food research restaurant and gain an introduction to Lucanian cuisine.

Thursday, September 30

MORNING ORIENTATION

10:30- 11:00 a.m., Palazzo Lanfranchi "Sala Carlo Levi"

Here's where to come if you need orientation. At this time, festival organizers will field special requests, and take one-on-one and small group sign ups.

SPOTLIGHT ON TRANSLATION

Not Lost in Translation" 11:00 - 12:00 p.m., Palazzo Lanfranchi "Sala Carlo Levi"

Elizabeth Jennings, women's fiction author and Festival Director
Betsy Burke, women's fiction author
Frediercke Schmoee, romantic suspense author
Isolde Wehr, editor
Maria Paola Romeo, editor Moderator
Deanna Carlyle, women's fiction writer

These authors, editors and translators will show you how to help the person translating your novel do the best possible job. The outcome of this its companion panel will be a Translation Handbook for Writers, available in Adobe Acrobat on the festival website. Followed by a coffee break in neighboring terrace café.

WORKSHOP YOUR STORY

12:30 - 1:30 p.m., Palazzo Lanfranchi "Sala Carlo Levi"

Optional small group work organized by sub-genre or language. Here's your chance to read aloud or distribute a 10-page section of your story in progress and gain valuable feedback from participating writers and editors.

LUNCH & WRITING RETREAT

1:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Enjoy your lunch, Italian style. Then spend the afternoon on a personal writing retreat.

ONE-ON-ONE

5:00 - 6:00 p.m., ad hoc

One-on-one editorial guidance with top editors and authors. Sign-ups taken each day at the morning orientation.

MEET THE READERS

"La Parola alle Donne: Giving Women Their Say" 6 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., Palazzo Lanfranchi "Sala Carlo Levi" Open to the public

Barbara Hannay, women's fiction author
Irene Merli, journalist Sarah Tucker, journalist and women's fiction author
Elizabeth Jennings, women's fiction author and Festival Director Alessandra Casella, actress, journalist and author

This presentation covers writing in a variety of forms: novels, news, scripts and songs. Women tell their stories in literature, in music, in cinema, in magazines and on TV. Are words male or female? Are there male sensibilities and female sensibilities? What stories do women tell and what stories do they want told to them? Five women from the world of communications address these issues and others.

DINNER

8:30 p.m.

A local dairy producer will be offering us a food tasting experience to remember.
Thanks to Studio Acito & Partners s.r.l.

Friday, October 1

MORNING ORIENTATION

10:00 - 10:30 a.m., Palazzo Lanfranchi "Sala Carlo Levi"

Here's where to come if you need orientation. At this time, festival organizers will field special requests, and take one-on-one and small group sign ups.

WOMEN'S FICTION IN EUROPE

From the publishers' perspective 10:30 - 12:15 p.m., Palazzo Lanfranchi "Sala Carlo Levi"

Karin Stoecker, Editorial Director, Mills&Boon, London,
Maria Paola Romeo, Editor, Red Dress Ink, Italy
Isolde Wehr, Editor, Moments-Verlag, Germany
Alessandra Bazardi, Harlequin Mondadori editorial director
Margaret Borkowska, former literary agent at the Graal Literary Agency, current rights associate Proszynski i Ska publishers, Poland
Moderator: Deanna Carlyle, women's fiction writer

During this panel, European publishing professionals from the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland and Germany will have a chance to interact with participating writers on a number of topics, such as: 1) Future market trends. What genres are selling best in each specific market: chick lit, mysteries, romance, women's fiction in general; 2) What are the differences between various international fiction markets, and what do they have in common? ; 3) What are the distribution channels? All followed by Q&A.

WORKSHOP YOUR STORY

12:30 - 1:30 p.m., Palazzo Lanfranchi "Sala Carlo Levi"

Optional small group work organized by sub-genre or language. Here's your chance to share what you worked on yesterday and gain valuable feedback from participating writers and editors.

LUNCH & WRITING RETREAT

1:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Enjoy your lunch, Italian style. Then spend the afternoon on a personal writing retreat.

ONE-ON-ONE

5:30 - 6:30 p.m., ad hoc

One-on-one editorial guidance with top editors and authors. Sign-ups taken at the morning orientation.

MEET THE READERS

"Risorosa meets Chick Lit: Irony and the Single Woman" 6:30 - 8:00 p.m., Bookshop Palazzo Lanfranchi Open to the public

Betsy Burke, women's fiction author
Laura Donnini, CEO of Harlequin Mondadori
Karin Stoecker, editorial director, Harlequin Mills and Boon
Camilla Vittorini, women's fiction author
Moderator: Alessandra Casella, actress, journalist and author

You've heard the clichés: Women take themselves too seriously. Woman can't understand jazz. Woman make lousy drivers. Women get upset when you don't do what they tell you to do. Woman have no sense of irony. Well, chick lit is here to dispel clichés like these. Chick lit is a new genre which started abroad and is now popular in Italy. The women in chick lit don't take themselves seriously; they approach life light-heartedly. Chick lit novels are entertaining takes on the lives of young women today, with all their ups and downs and bad dates. During the round table, Camilla Vittorini's novel, Qualcosa Bolle in Città , Red Dress Ink - Harlequin Mondadori, will be presented as an example of Italian humor.

CONCERT

Le Vaghe Ninfe 8:00 p.m., Bookshop Palazzo Lanfranchi Open to the public

Tomomi Ogasa - soprano
Giovanna Sapone - soprano
Federica Lisanti - cello
Maria Antonientta Cancellaro - harpsichord
Luigi Santo - trumpet

Dedicated to women's voices, Le Vaghe Ninfe is a vocal and instrumental group made up of women musicians singing and playing Renaissance and Baroque music. The concert includes lessons on Renaissance music.

DINNER

8:30 p.m., meet at Palazzo Lanfranchi

La Libraria dell'Arco and Tonio Acito, arichitect, are offering a home-style dinner to festival attendees and their accompanying persons.

Saturday, October 2

MORNING ORIENTATION

10:00 - 10:20 a.m., Palazzo Lanfranchi "Sala Carlo Levi"

Here's where to come if you need orientation. At this time, festival organizers will field special requests and take small group sign ups.

WORLD TRENDS AT HARLEQUIN

10:30 - 11:30 p.m., Palazzo Lanfranchi "Sala Carlo Levi"

Karin Stoecker, Editorial Director, Mills&Boon, London,
Maria Paola Romeo, Editor, Red Dress Ink, Italy
Alessandra Bazardi, Harlequin Mondadori editorial director
Moderator: Deanna Carlyle, women's fiction writer

Top Harlequin editors will present their company's worldwide programs and indicate future directions. Followed by Q&A and a coffee break at a local terrace café.

WORKSHOP YOUR STORY

12:15 - 1:15 p.m., Palazzo Lanfranchi "Sala Carlo Levi"

Optional small group work organized by sub-genre or language. Here's your chance to share what you worked on yesterday and gain valuable feedback from participating writers and editors.

LUNCH & WRITING RETREAT

1:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Enjoy your lunch, Italian style. Then spend the afternoon on a personal writing retreat.

ONE-ON-ONE

6:30 - 7:30 p.m., ad hoc

One-on-one editorial guidance with top editors and authors. Sign-ups taken at the morning orientation.

CONCERT, AWARD AND BOOKSIGNING

Saturday, October 2nd 7:30 p.m. Piazza Vittorio Veneto Open to the public

The crown jewel of the festival, this media-genic event will take place in the central square looking out over the Sassi, and will be filmed by one of our sponsors, the Italian IT firm Openet, http://www.openet.it. (Openet will also film our "Meet the Reader" events). We'll be entertained by the music group Cannouche, which plays local traditional music.

At the same time, the first annual "Premio Scritte sui Sassi: The Women's Fiction Festival Award" will be announced and awarded. Sponsored by Harlequin Mondadori, this prestigious literary prize will be awarded to Italian author Maria Venturi for excellence in women's fiction. After the concert and awards ceremony, participating festival authors will sign their books for the public. All followed by a gala dinner. Ah, Italy!

GALA DINNER

9:30 p.m., Le Baccanti

Harlequin Mondadori has generously offered a culminating gala dinner to festival attendees and their accompanying persons.

Sunday, October 3

For festival attendees who stay in town an extra day, we have arranged a day trip to Castel del Monte, a UNESCO world heritage site, as well as to Frederick II's magical, mystical octagonal castle. We'll also visit Trani, a beautiful city along the Adriatic Sea. To sign up, come to the morning orientation room, open daily during the festival.