President Kathleen Kaiser
Beginning as a music journalist turned publicist, Kathleen Kaiser’s career spans over 50 years of involvement in the most exciting industries of her generation. From rock and roll in the 60s and 70s to the digital/internet revolution of the late 80s, 90s, and 00s, she has been a marketing professional for Fortune 100 companies, small startups, and conferences/tradeshows around the world. She turned her focus to the literary community in 2008 when she released her first novel. Named Publicist of the Year in 2016 by the Book Publicists of Southern California for her contributions to the literary community, Kathleen maintains a small list of clients that allow her to continue her volunteerism. She produces webinars and launched the podcast Talking Book Publishing in April 2021. Kathleen Kaiser & Associates
Vice President Jay A. Hartman
Jay A. Hartman is a 30+ year veteran of the publishing industry, with experience in both selling and producing ebook and print media. He started as a Waldenbooks store manager in Brunswick, Georgia, and was previously the Content Editor for KnowBetter.com, one of the Internet’s oldest sites reporting on ebooks and epublishing. Jay founded publishing house Untreed Reads, serving as its Editor-in-Chief for 13 years before making the decision to leave after the company was acquired by another entity. In 2023 he created Misti Media, a company dedicated to book publishing and author education. Jay is known as a respected innovator in the ebook industry—constantly ahead of the curve. Because of his expertise and instincts, he is a regular speaker and interviewed expert on ebooks and all things in the ebook industry—at conferences in person and online.
Secretary Roberta Edgar
Roberta is a ghostwriter, development editor, and story analyst for fiction, nonfiction, memoir, and autobiography. She has co-authored several titles, including Million Dollar Miracle: How to Make a Million Dollars in One Day and Never Have to Work Again with Michael E. Bash, Jade Mountain with Greg Alsbury, Think Yourself Smokeless with Dr. Marvin Berenson, The Twice-Divorced Dad’s Survival Handbook with Dr. James Fabe, and The Perfect Play: The Day We Broke the Bank in Atlantic City with Kathleen Whitman. After graduating from UCLA, Roberta wrote editorial promotion for Mademoiselle magazine in New York before returning to Los Angeles to work with documentary filmmaker David L. Wolper and, later, the producers of the original Star Trek. Visit Roberta’s professional website at: wordsalamode.com
Treasurer Lynn Varon
Lynn Varon was a magazine editor for twenty-three years and continues to edit print and online content. She has been copyediting, maintaining, and building WordPress websites for over ten years. Her blend of editorial and design skills combine an eye for grammatical detail with the big-picture vision needed to assemble and error-free multipage publication or website. She started Writer Web to help authors establish the internet presence they need to attract an agent or publisher, build their reader base, and boost sales of their books. For information about her copyediting services, visit Varon.com.
Marketing Chair Adanna Moriarty
Adanna’s lifelong immersion in the literary world, guided by her writer father and novelist aunt, sparked her passion for storytelling.As a literary publicist, Adanna partners with authors to bring their books to life. She co-hosts the Talking Book Publishing Podcast, where she educates indie authors about the publishing industry. Adanna’s writing accomplishments include publishing her collection of poems, Threadbare: A Patchwork of Poems that Make a Life, in January 2022. She also had a short story, “The Estries,” featured in the Curious Corvid Grimoire, and two poems published in The Magpie Messenger Magazine. Adanna’s evocative storytelling captivates readers, leaving a lasting impact on the literary world.
Newsletter Editor Sandra Murphy
Sandra writes both fiction and nonfiction. She’s edited two mystery anthologies.Topics include dogs, cats and all kinds of pets, going green and living healthy, exercise, bees at the airport and even the history of Perry Mason. She talks a lot about her dog Ozzie, the Westie-ish pup who is obsessed with his favorite stuffie, The Bunny. She wrote for Natural Awakenings under her own name or her green nom de plume of Avery Mack, in Animal Wellness – and she ghost wrote for The Cat Site. When print was still in, she wrote/edited The Leash, a newsletter for therapy pet teams. As staff writer and editor for Kings River Life online magazine, she gets to write reviews for mystery/suspense books.
Director of Programs Telly L. Davidson
Telly Davidson’s newest book, Culture War has attracted rave reviews from critics. Telly was senior film and TV reviewer for best-selling pundit David Frum’s FrumForum from 2009-12, has written about movies, TV, and music for FilmStew, 213 Magazine, iF Monthly, Entertainment Today, Guitar Player, AllAboutJazz, The American Conservative, and Attn.com. He also wrote the Emmy-cited media tie-in TV’s Grooviest Variety Shows, works alongside top indie film producer’s rep Jeff Porter of Porter Pictures on the placement of independent films, and in the past worked on TV specials for NBC and PBS, including the Emmy-nominated Pioneers of Television.
Student Director Dallas Woodburn
Dallas Woodburn is the author of two self-published short story collections and editor of Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today’s best youth writing. She also writes extensively for nonfiction markets — including Family Circle, Writer’s Digest, and Chicken Soup for the Soul — and her plays have been produced in Los Angeles and New York City. Connect with her at writeonbooks.org.
Director at Large Desireé Duffy
Desireé Duffy is the Founder of Black Château, a marketing and public relations agency and Books that Make You, a multi-media brand that promotes books and authors through its award-winning website, podcast, and radio show. Desireé’s early days in radio gave her the foundation to create, produce, and host the Books That Make You Show as well as her keen understanding of podcasting. In the 1990s to early 2000s Duffy was a radio host, program director, producer, and marketing professional with companies including The Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, iHeart Media’s KFI-AM, and ABC’s and Disney’s ESPN Radio/Radio Disney/KABC-AM/KLOS-FM.
Director at Large Sharon Goldinger
Sharon Goldinger, owner of PeopleSpeak, is a book shepherd, editor, and publishing and marketing consultant specializing in nonfiction books. With an eye for details, she leads authors and publishers through the often-complicated publishing process (writing, editing, design, printing, marketing, distribution) and uses her business, marketing, and editorial experience to help produce exceptional, award-winning books. She also consults with authors and publishers on business strategies, marketing plans, and author platforms and coordinates many facets of marketing (including public relations, advertising, speaking, social media, networking, partnering with organizations). She was “The Answer Lady” for Joel Friedlander’s TheBookDesigner.com blog.
Director at Large Gerald E. Jones
Gerald Everett Jones lives in Santa Monica, California. Mick & Moira & Brad is his thirteenth novel. Just before its publication, he returned from living two years in Kenya, supporting his wife Georja’s work in wildlife conservation and child welfare. He is a Film Independent (FILM) Fellow, and a winner of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) Diversity Award. He holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from the College of Letters, Wesleyan University, where he studied under novelists Peter Boynton (Stone Island), F.D. Reeve (The Red Machines), and Jerzy Kosinski (The Painted Bird, Being There). To see Gerald’s full booklist, a longer bio, and links to review copies, visit geraldeverettjones.com.
Director at Large Tyler Wittkofsky
Tyler Wittkofsky hails from North Carolina’s enchanting southern coast. As a multi-genre maestro, Tyler weaves tales that sweep you into unforgettable adventures. Beyond his writing prowess, he’s a fervent podcaster, mental health advocate, and travel blogger. With his wife Grace and furry companions Dutch and Belle, Tyler embarks on awe-inspiring journeys across the US, chronicled on the enthralling blog “Adventure With Coffee.” Connect with him at linktr.ee/tylerwittkofsky
Director at Large Robin Quinn
Robin is a book coach, editor, ghostwriter, and publishing consultant with over 25 years in the book biz. Her clients’ self-help books include I Heard Your Dog Died, Diets Don’t Work, and the best-seller The Detox Solution. Robin’s website is: WritingAndEditing.biz.
Advisory Committee
Patricia Fry
Virginia Lawrence
Flo Selfman
Gary Young
Steven Sanchez