A few weeks ago, when I traveled across the country for the Chanticleer International Book Awards in Washington State, I didn’t know the CIBAs would become my all-time favorite writer’s conference. My icing on the cake was winning a 1st Place Nellie Bly Journalism award for Chained Birds at the Saturday night, April 5, banquet. But in the future, even if I don’t have a book competing in the contest, I won’t hesitate to return for the outstanding brain trust and networking the event affords. (Not to mention the food!)
Chanticleer founder Kathryn (Kiffer) Brown and her husband, Andy, were phenomenal hosts who lined up an extraordinary panel of speakers for this intimate conference at the Bellingham Yacht Club, which drew just over 100 attendees from across the world. As one of the longest-running writers’ conferences, the CIBAs have perfected their mix of master classes with networking and food, including the most outrageous charcuterie cocktail hour overlooking the Bellingham Bay. π₯ π§ π§
Speakers included best-selling authors, screenwriters, writing coaches, and editors. I especially enjoyed getting to know the keynote speaker, J.D. Barker β a best-selling thriller author and all-around marketing/tech guru β and award-winning novelist John DeDakis, a former editor on CNNβs βThe Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.β John’s interview of J.D. was one of the conference highlights.
After two days of workshops and exchanging business cards and bookmarks, we all gathered Saturday night in the yacht club’s ballroom for a glitzy banquet and awards ceremony that lasted well past midnight. That was followed on Sunday by an author signing (and by that I mean a bunch of us schlepped books to sign and sell) at Village Books in Fairhaven Village, a multi-level downtown vintage-style store with a cafe that is a must-see if you’re ever in the area.
Nellie Bly
This year, there were 16 fiction and seven nonfiction award categories for the Chanticleer Book Reviews and International Writing Competitions. Taking home the well-deserved Grand Prize in the Nellie Bly category was NBC Dateline producer Dan Slepian for his book THE SING SING FILES: One Journalist, Six Innocent Men, and a Twenty-Year Fight for Justice. I congratulate Dan on his impactful book, which is a fantastic read and an even better listen, as he narrates the audiobook himself.
When Chained Birds was shortlisted for the Nellie Bly award in February, I did a mini-deep dive into the young journalist who got herself committed to a womenβs insane asylum in the late 1800s to report on its deplorable conditions. You can check out that post here.
Many thanks to Kiffer, Andy, and their entire team for organizing a first-rate writers conference in scenic Bellingham. I can’t wait to come back π
Carla Conti is a true crime journalist, storyteller, and prison reform advocate. Her debut book, Chained Birds: A True Crime Memoir of Justice, Survival and Redemption Behind Bars, is out now with WildBlue Press.
