Colette Bancroft learned to read when she was 3 and later earned degrees in English at the University of South Florida and the University of Florida. For a decade, she taught literature and writing at USF, UF, The University of Tampa and University of Arizona. She became a full-time journalist in 1986. She worked for nine years at the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson, after which she joined the staff of the St. Petersburg Times, where she is now the books editor. She lives in Bradenton with her husband John, who is also a writer, and 43 yards of bookshelves.

Life of an Editor
How does one break into the world of editing? How should a writer communicate with an editorial audience? Bancroft will discuss the complexities of being on both sides of the submission process, offering advice for those who are seeking to supplement their writing with editorial work and for those who need insight into what editors expect.

Eugenie Bondurant has had a dynamic career as a well-respected acting coach; as an eclectic film, television and commercial actress; and as a successful high-fashion runway model in Paris, New York, and Germany. Bondurant has played in films such as Lady Boss, Saints and Sinners, Space Truckers, Fight Club, The Brooke Ellison Story, Elvis, The Year of Getting to Know Us, and Patsy. She has also made guest appearances in television programs such as Frasier, Something Wilder, and Arli$$, as well as the video game Emperor: Battle for Dune. For the past 15 years, she has taught an on-camera program at Beverly Hills Studios in Los Angeles. In addition, she created and teaches the on-camera acting program at the Patel Conservatory in Tampa. Her students have gone on to principal roles in film, television, and commercials.

Auditioning for Commercials, TV and Film
Simple tools that will help on-camera actors improve their auditioning skills. Learn how to stand out on tape and book the job!

Tracy Crow is a former Marine Corps officer and an award-winning military journalist. Her news and feature articles about Marine life and combat training during the 1980s appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the San Diego Tribune, to name a few. Crow’s literary nonfiction has appeared in such journals as The Missouri Review, Mississippi Review, Puerto del Sol, and Literary Mama; and it has been nominated for three Pushcart Prizes.
Crow received her B.A. in creative writing from Eckerd College and her M.F.A. from Queens University of Charlotte. Crow teaches journalism and writing at The University of Tampa.

Creative Writing Panel: Life of a Writer*
This panel of speakers will discuss their diverse experiences with balancing the many facets of their lives as creative writers. They will discuss their own writing and their personal stories as teachers and writers, and offer advice for how to network with and negotiate with editorial audiences.
*In conjuction with Dianne Donnelly and Ryan Meany

Dianne Donnelly juggles the acts of writing, teaching, and scholarship—and completing her doctoral degree. She’s not a circus act—just a person who is passionate and curious about all areas, and she says it also helps to be a multi-tasker. Dianne teaches Rhetoric & Composition and Creative Writing at The University of Tampa. Her interests are in the intersection of creative writing and composition and in the reassessment of patterns and practices in the creative writing field. She has presented at conferences and written scholarship on both topics. Currently, she is seeking a market for her collection of essays on the writing workshop model and for her novel, Time off for Bad Behavior.

Creative Writing Panel: Life of a Writer*
This panel of speakers will discuss their diverse experiences with balancing the many facets of their lives as creative writers. They will discuss their own writing and their personal stories as teachers and writers, and offer advice for how to network with and negotiate with editorial audiences.
*In conjuction with Tracy Crow and Ryan Meany

Santiago Echeverry is a Colombian artist currently living in the USA. His electronic and interactive works have been shown at several international venues and galleries. His work focuses on Gay and Lesbian human rights issues, non-linear narration, video-art, performance and web experimentation. A graduate of the Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU, he has taught Interactivity at the University of Maryland and the Maryland Institute College of Art. He joined the faculty at The University of Tampa in 2005.

From Multimedia to Hypermedia
Today we are dealing with centralized information, database classification and websites ruled by the user instead of a general editor. In this talk, Echeverry will present his ideas on this changing virtual world, how it started and where it is going.

Susan Ladika never set out to be a freelance writer. But after working at newspapers in the Southeast for a dozen years, she found herself as an MBA dropout in Europe, and turned to what she knew best – writing and editing. Along with working part time for The Associated Press in Vienna, Austria, she did freelance work from such spots as Bosnia and Kosovo before returning to Tampa in 2001. Over the years her work has appeared in such newspapers and magazines as The Wall Street Journal-Europe, Science, Town & Country, The San Francisco Chronicle, The St. Petersburg Times, and many others.

Finding Your Freelance Niche
Can one find success as a freelance writer? How should a freelance writer manage the financial side of his/her craft? Ladika will discuss the range of issues related to working independently as a freelancer: from discovering your preferred genre, to networking, to communicating with editors, to financing your career.

In her 25 years with The Walt Disney Company in New York, Tokyo, and Orlando, Lisa Leonard has created, cast, and coordinated events ranging from the world premieres of motion pictures like Pirates of the Carribean, Pocahontas, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, to TV filmings like Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Regis and Kelly, and Good Morning America, to convention productions around the world for clients like General Motors, IBM, and The International Toy Fair. Having successfully translated her extensive experience with Disney, she has expanded her client roster to include Dreamworks Motion Pictures, Home Shopping Network, and even MOSI right here in Tampa. Lisa brings a wealth of performing arts knowledge and energy to all her projects, having started her career as a dancer at Walt Disney World, and continues to enjoy acting as spokesperson for charities and special events around America in her spare time.

Auditioning for Industrials,Theme Parks and Events
The 101 gets you there and then leads you to corporate possibilities as a career outside of Entertainment.

Suzette M. Marteny’s experience includes intellectual property strategy including prosecution of new technologies and exploitation of existing intellectual property. She is a member of The Florida Bar, The Federal Bar, The Hillsborough County Bar Association, The American Intellectual Property Law Association, and The Hillsborough Association of Women Lawyers. Ms. Marteny has experience in acting as local counsel in the entertainment industry representation of the Recording Industry Association of America.

Legal Issues for Artists
The wise artist pays careful attention to the laws governing art and is familiar with the contracts that are used to conduct the business of art.

Ryan Meany's stories have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and The Best New American Voices and have appeared in Crazyhorse, River City and Saw Palm. In 2002 he received his MFA from the University of Florida, where he taught freshman composition and creative writing while studying under Padgett Powell and David Leavitt. He currently teaches at the University of Tampa and is at work on a collection of short stories.

Creative Writing Panel: Life of a Writer*
This panel of speakers will discuss their diverse experiences with balancing the many facets of their lives as creative writers. They will discuss their own writing and their personal stories as teachers and writers, and offer advice for how to network with and negotiate with editorial audiences.
*In conjuction with Tracy Crow and Dianne Donnelly

Carol Mickett is a philosopher and artist. Her work, prior to her art partnership with Robert Stackhouse, has included director of History Speaks, a video archive of the history of Kansas City, guest editor/writer for Kawsmouth, a journal of history from the University of Missouri-Kansas City; a producer/writer for Uniquely Kansas City, a 5 part documentary for Kansas City Public Television; and host/producer of Art Radio. Mickett is the recipient of numerous grants and has published essays, poems, and interviews in Canadian Philosophical Review, Hypatia, Prairie Schooner, and New Letters among others. Mickett, who worked for over a decade in academia, holds her Ph.D. in philosophy.

Art and The Practical: A Collaboration*
"Practical" is a word not commonly associated with artists. But, being practical is essential to all art making and being able to live as an artist. The question is: How can an artist be practical and, at the same time, thrive in both her/his art and life?
*In conjuction with Robert Stackhouse

In 1989, Leslie Neumann took a leap of faith. She moved from New York City, where she had lived and worked for more than 15 years, and settled into a small fishing village on the Gulf of Mexico in the Tampa Bay area. Since then, Neumann has experienced success as an artist.
She exhibits widely in commercial galleries and museums and is able to live solely from the sales of her encaustic paintings. Her work has been purchased for the permanent collections of Florida museums and Art in Public Places Projects, including the Gulf Coast Museum of Art in Largo, the Tampa Museum of Art, the Polk Museum of Art, the University of Florida, the Maitland Art Center, the City of Tampa and the city of Orlando. In addition, her work is displayed in corporate art collections nationwide, including ADT, Nissan Motor Corporation, and Marriott Hotels.
Neumann is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Gottlieb Foundation Grant and both New York and Florida Individual Artist Fellowships. She earned her B.F.A. from the California College of Art and her Master’s degree from New York University.

Rewards and Challenges of Following your Bliss
This session focuses on all aspects of an artist’s creativity and career.

Nick Pages has been a professional in the entertainment industry for 25 years. He has been on both sides of the recording console and the microphone. Among his achievements are composing, arranging, and producing music of all genres for children's fitness videos. He has composed with accomplished artists in Nashville. He also works in television, film, jingles, and the gaming industry.

How to Market Your Music
Dominick Pages will speak on effective ways to market original music. Find the roadmap to success, from Internet exposure to establishing personal relationships with industry professionals.

Rose has pursued a multitude of roles in the art world as a visual artist, jewelry designer, gallery owner, art teacher and art marketing coach. She has exhibited her art in museums and galleries across the country and markets her work in the United States, Italy, and Japan. She has had a studio and retail presence in Tampa for ten years. Her extensive efforts to sell her art both wholesale through juried markets and retail have made her well versed in negotiating with art vendors and art markets.
Rose has taught at Syracuse University, Goucher College, University of Maryland, the Feminist Art Institute in New York, and currently at The Art Institute of Tampa and Hillsborough Community College. She earned an MFA from Syracuse University and holds a degree of fine arts from the Academia Di Belle Arte in Florence, Italy.

Marketing Yourself: Thriving in the Conceptual Age
Marketing art has become almost as creative as the process of producing it. In order to get recognized and reviewed you need the game plan in place. Sharon Rose leads you through those dreaded tasks of self promotion and approaching galleries to find your appreciative audience. She demonstrates that not only is it possible to create an ongoing relationship with galleries, but you can also earn a living with your creative endeavors.

Robert Stackhouse, an internationally recognized artist known for his large-scale architectural sculpture and large-scale paintings, has moved into a new phase of his career with his art partnership with Carol Mickett. His works are included in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art, The Museum of Contemporary Art, The Walker Art Center, The Art Institute of Chicago and the Australia National Gallery, Canberra. He holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of South Florida, is Professor Emeritus of the Corcoran School of Art and is the recipient of three NEA grants.

Art and The Practical: A Collaboration *
"Practical" is a word not commonly associated with artists. But, being practical is essential to all art making and being able to live as an artist. The question is: How can an artist be practical and, at the same time, thrive in both her/his art and life?
*In conjuction with Carol Mickett

Christopher Still’s passion for Florida’s history and his gift of art have materialized into a celebrated career, with his works visible throughout the state. As a young man, Still received a full scholarship to attend the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and continued his studies with courses in human anatomy at Jefferson Medical School and an apprenticeship in traditional techniques in Florence, Italy. Still returned to Tampa Bay in 1986 to explore his home state with “the new eyes” he had received through education.
Still’s compositions are a testament to his ability to bridge art, science, and history. He is known best for large-scale projects, such as the ten murals located in the Florida House of Representatives in Tallahassee or paintings and sculptures in the new Airside C at Tampa International Airport, which capture the natural beauty and unique heritage of Florida and contain multiple levels of symbolism. His paintings also are exhibited in museums, such as the Smithsonian Institution and the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Still currently is working on a commission for Ruth Eckerd Hall and is planning for a major retrospective of his work at the Gulf Coast Museum of Art in Fall 2008.

A Passion for Life
Nationally recognized Florida artist Christopher Still will be sharing his experiences as a painter and entrepreneur. He will discuss how his creativity has enabled him to live his life with passion and maintain his artistic integrity while finding personal and economic success.

Malcolm Teasdale found his passion in the world of advertising and started his first agency over twenty years ago. He launched his first business at the age of 18, catching the entrepreneurial spirit running a direct marketing and product distribution company. Today, he leads the creative force and is the marketing expert behind Teasdale Worldwide, a strategic marketing company that creates edgy, effectual messaging. Malcolm also uses his industry experience to share his knowledge through a variety of forums that include frequent television appearances. Malcolm Out Loud Productions is currently producing world-class, cutting edge events in the Tampa Bay area and beyond. Malcolm founded the non-profit organization Global Arts Movement for Education^TM (G.A.M.E.) and Enspirati^TM. G.A.M.E.’s mission is to raise and award millions of dollars in art related grants and scholarships to a wide range of artistic groups, schools and universities. Enspirati^TM is an artist’s guild that is dedicated to educating artists on the business aspects of their trade. He is the author of insightful articles and white papers and is currently completing his first book, Your Opinion Really Doesn't Matter (Your Customer's Does).

Succeeding on Your Terms
Being a talented writer, visual artist, or performer is not enough. You need a marketing strategy for success. Malcolm A. Teasdale speaks on strategically elevating your art form to the next level by finding your uniqueness, developing your brand and communicating to your audience.