June 28, 2012
Since its debut in 2009, the CWA Speakers Bureau has rapidly become one of the organization’s marquee offerings and matched talented CWA members with dozens of area programmers. Speakers have reported steady success in securing event bookings, earning money, and selling books. Event programmers, meanwhile, have increasingly told us that the CWA Speakers Bureau Menu serves a helpful resource as they plan their event calendar and seek presentations on a diverse range of topics.
In August, we will post the NEW 2012-2013 CWA Speakers Bureau Menu on our Windy City Writers blog and, more importantly, distribute a hard copy of the menu to over 220 Chicago area libraries and venues. The planning for that menu begins now.
(Note: the Speakers Bureau is open only to CWA members. If you have a colleague who wishes to be included, he or she will first need to join CWA.)
Here are the details:
·One program listing costs $35; each additional listing (with a maximum of three listings total) costs $25. You can pay online by visiting: http://windycitywriters.com/register-speakers-bureau-2012/ or by sending a check made payable to Chicago Writers Association, P.O. Box 6505, Evanston, IL 60204. Payment is due JULY 15.
·Payment and listing are active for one year, as we will create a new menu in the summer of 2013.
·You must submit your program profile/menu listing to me electronically in the text of an e-mail (not as an attachment) at smithwriting@gmail.com by JULY 15. This is a firm deadline with no exceptions.
·Your program profile/menu listing must include the following in this precise order.
Those submissions not following the guidelines will be returned with a request to resubmit following the directions by the July 15 deadline.
Please use the 2011-2012 program menu as a reference.
Program Title
Your Name
Program Description (75 words or less)
Intended Audience (adults, children, all, etc)
Program Duration (in minutes)
Suggested Fee (example: $100; $100-150; Free; $100 negotiable; if you want permission to sell books, then say so)
References (name, organization, phone and e-mail for 1-2 references). References should be able to comment on the specific program you are listing or, at the minimum, another program you have presented. References cannot be of the personal nature.
Your contact information, including e-mail, phone, and website
All presentations will be subject to CWA approval.
Please note: there is no guarantee you will get booked for an event. Ultimately, your program has to speak for itself and, as always in the writing world, a degree of luck and timing is involved. The event programmer will contact you to schedule a presentation. It is your responsibility to follow up, arrange the event details, set the fee, etc. The CWA is a vehicle to promote your program in the most effective and credible means possible.
If you should have any questions, please contact me by e-mail or phone.
Sincerely,
Danny Smith
Director, CWA Speakers Bureau
(773) 775-1306
smithwriting@gmail.com
