The Program!
(Oh, the writers you’ll meet*)
37th Annual Conference – June 27-30, 2013
National Society of Newspaper Columnists
Hilton Hartford Hotel — Hartford, Conn.
Lifestyles and the Writing Life
Click for general information about the conference, including hotel reservations and registration
Thursday, June 27
2 – 6 p.m. — Registration
3 – 4:30 — Board of Directors Meeting
5 – 6:30 — Hospitality Suite open
Evening — Dinner on-your-own, but we do have a group arrangement at the nearby City Steam Brewery Cafe on a prix fixe basis.
Friday, June 28
8 – 8:30 a.m. — Breakfast
8:30 – 9 — Welcome — NSNC President Eric Heyl, Hartford Courant Editor Andrew Julien
9 – 9:30 — Mark Twain authority Steve Courtney — “Hartford: Mark Twain and Other Literary Lights”
9:30 – 10:15 — Dave Lieber — “Your Column Blows Me Away: Secrets of Amazing Storytelling”
10:15 – 10:30 — Break
10:30 – 11:15 — Tracey O’Shaughnessy — “The Lifestyle Section: a Great Place for Your Work”
11:15 – noon — Mike Morin — “The Outstanding Pitch”
12:15 p.m. – 2 — Lunch
- 12: 15 — Depart from hotel to Billings Forge for scholarship luncheon
- Roll Call of States, Diane Ketcham, Lifetime Director for Fun
- Presentation of 2013 Jeff Zaslow College Columnist Award winners — Joel Brinkley
- Tour of Billings Forge
- 2 — Buses depart Billings Forge, return to hotel
3:45 — Buses leave hotel for The Mark Twain House & Museum
4 – 6 — Tour, sponsored by The Mark Twain House & Museum
6 – 9 — Dinner — sponsored by Salute restaurant at The Mark Twain House & Museum (dress: business casual)
- Will Rogers Humanitarian Award presentation — Josh Rogers Leuty
- Keynote speaker, Heloise — “Fifty Years of Heloise … and Counting”
- 9:15 — Buses return to Hartford Hilton
9:15 – really late — Hospitality Suite
Saturday, June 29
8:30 a.m. – 9 — Breakfast
9 – 10 — Rick Horowitz — “Your Choices, Your Voices”
10 – 10:15 — Break
10:15 – 11:15 — Panel: “Family Lifestyles” — Lisa Smith Molinari, Military Mom; Jerry Zezima, Life in a Boomer Generation Household
11:15 – noon — John Avlon — “America’s Greatest Newspaper Columns”
12:15 p.m. – 2:15 — Lunch — Gina Barreca — “A Lesson in Being Funny”
2:30 – 3:15 — Panel: “Breaking into Public Speaking” — Gina Barreca, moderator; Joel Brinkley; Alan Zweibel
3:30 – 4:15 — Panel: “How to Use Social Media to Promote Your Work” — Suzette Martinez Standring, moderator; Tracy Beckerman; W. Bruce Cameron; Merry Clark
4:30 – 5:30 — Book Fair and Scholarship Silent Auction open
6:30 – 9:30 — Reception and Dinner, Hartford Hilton (business dress)
- Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award — Dave Barry, The Miami Herald
- Presented by Alan Zweibel
- Presentation of NSNC Column Writing Awards
10 – really, really late — Hospitality Suite
Sunday, June 30
8:30 a.m. – 9 — Breakfast
9 – 11 — General Membership Meeting, Election of Officers
11 Adjourn (We hope to close by 10:30)
* Here’s that asterisk. While all these incredible speakers are confirmed — one of NSNC’s best line-ups ever — the schedule may change slightly as the conference nears. Updates will be posted here.
Click image for general information about the conference,
including hotel reservations and registration
