Wrapped up the 2012 PNWA summer conference yesterday. Had a chance to catch up with authors Boyd Morrison, C.C. Humpreys, Bob Dugoni and others. Great crew of agents and editors, too. Nice getting to meet Penguin’s Meghan Stevenson and Sourcebook’s Peter Lynch.

Managing Director Kelli Lidane runs a tight ship. If you haven’t had a chance to attend the conference, I’d recommend it. President Pam Binder and the board changed the pitch format this year to a speed pitching, “Power Block” format. For attendees, it allows for a greater exposure to agents and editors. Twenty-eight at a time, over an hour and a half block. Three minute pitch and move on at the buzzer. If they keep the format, I’m guessing we’ll see some modifications. One thing was for certain, the format spared the agents and editors from too many elevator and hallway pitches.

Nothing official yet, but I heard rumors the PNWA is going to remove the Screenwriting category from the Literary Contest. I’d chaired the category for the last couple of years but the numbers were down and it wasn’t paying for itself. However, Trustee Darcy Carson announced at the awards banquet that because of rising submissions, they plan to give YA its own category next year.

Thanks to all the volunteers for helping with the Power Pitch Blocks. Hats off to Amy Waeschle and Susan Bogert. It gets slightly crazy in there, but we had a stellar group. All the hard work was much appreciated.