expert speakers attending readers take denver 2023!
These are just some our expert speakers who are conducting our author trainings this year! You can find the full schedule of author trainings below as well. These trainings will be free to all attending authors.
Real Life of a Sniper with Jeff VanCleave, former Police Officer and Sniper
Contract Negotiations with Louise Fury, Literary Agent, The Bent Agency
Get Your Literary Legal Shit Together with Lawyer Joleen Hughes
Getting Published in the UK with Clio Cornish and Rebecca Hilsdon
Clio Cornish
Clio Cornish is Fiction Publisher for Penguin Michael Joseph UK. She joined PRH UK in 2019, having previously worked at HarperCollins and Harlequin/Mills & Boon, where she began her career on the Harlequin Presents Line.
Clio has published RITA-nominated authors, Costa and Waterstones Prize-nominated debuts, Richard and Judy and Between the Covers Book Club selections, eBook and New York Times bestsellers, a Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine pick and the UK’s Independent Bookshop Book of the Year. She won the London Book Fair Trailblazers Award in 2016 and has judged a number of literary prizes.
Clio is always looking for new page-turning fiction that gets readers talking. She loves electrifying chemistry and immersive locations – bonus points if the story ends with a twist!
Rebecca Hilsdon
Rebecca Hilsdon is Editorial Director for Fiction at Penguin Michael Joseph UK.
She has published Sunday Times and Amazon bestselling authors such as Raven Kennedy. Monica Murphy and Meghan Quinn and Danielle L. Jensen.
Rebecca is always looking for anything romantic, swoony and fantastical and can’t wait to chat to meet writers in Denver.
Emergency Medical Services and Hacking with Tony Fontana, US Air Force Veteran, Firefighter, Paramedic, and Ethical Hacker
Homicide Investigation with Evan Cox, ex-Investigator
Understanding DNA, Warrants & Rights, and Hostage Negotiation with John Ingram, ex-Hostage Negotiator
FBI & Crime Scene Investigation with Kirsten Swenson, FBI agent who was a part of the 9/11 clean up and investigation
Firearms Training with weapons expert and internet sensation, Ava Flanell
Homicide Investigation from Interrogation to Trial and Beyond with Steven Carlos, Retired LAPD Homicide Detective
- Swat Team standard operating procedures (clearing houses, apprehending suspects etc)
- Sniper specifics: weapon setup, exigent circumstance (taking over buildings to set up the shot)
- Specific types of weapons used
- Misconceptions about SWAT & Snipers in books and movies
- Too good to be true? Portrayals in movies and books that can, and have actually happened
Contract Negotiations with Louise Fury, Literary Agent, The Bent Agency
Get Your Literary Legal Shit Together with Lawyer Joleen Hughes
Getting Published in the UK with Clio Cornish and Rebecca Hilsdon
Clio Cornish
Clio Cornish is Fiction Publisher for Penguin Michael Joseph UK. She joined PRH UK in 2019, having previously worked at HarperCollins and Harlequin/Mills & Boon, where she began her career on the Harlequin Presents Line.
Clio has published RITA-nominated authors, Costa and Waterstones Prize-nominated debuts, Richard and Judy and Between the Covers Book Club selections, eBook and New York Times bestsellers, a Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine pick and the UK’s Independent Bookshop Book of the Year. She won the London Book Fair Trailblazers Award in 2016 and has judged a number of literary prizes.
Clio is always looking for new page-turning fiction that gets readers talking. She loves electrifying chemistry and immersive locations – bonus points if the story ends with a twist!
Rebecca Hilsdon
Rebecca Hilsdon is Editorial Director for Fiction at Penguin Michael Joseph UK.
She has published Sunday Times and Amazon bestselling authors such as Raven Kennedy. Monica Murphy and Meghan Quinn and Danielle L. Jensen.
Rebecca is always looking for anything romantic, swoony and fantastical and can’t wait to chat to meet writers in Denver.
Emergency Medical Services and Hacking with Tony Fontana, US Air Force Veteran, Firefighter, Paramedic, and Ethical Hacker
- EMS
- The role of EMS in a crime scene
- Does EMS ever pronounce death?
- Caring for wounded suspects
- Common misconceptions in television and books
- Hacker
- White hat hacker vs. black hat hacker
- Hacker's role in law enforcement
- Legal issues surrounding hackers - exemptions for white hat hackers?
- Common misconceptions in television and books
Homicide Investigation with Evan Cox, ex-Investigator
- Setting Up a homicide crime scene
- Terminology - own the scene, give up the scene, etc.
- Two perimeters: what's the difference and who gets to go where
- Crime scene log - IT'S EVERYTHING
- Interacting with the district attorney, coroner, and forensics teams on scene
- Blood Spatter - does it matter?
- Common misconceptions in television and books
- Roles on scene: Detective, Investigator, Patrol Officer/Deputy, Techs, etc.
Understanding DNA, Warrants & Rights, and Hostage Negotiation with John Ingram, ex-Hostage Negotiator
- Warrants & Rights
- History of warrants and why they exist/who do they protect?
- Writing of a warrant, describe and detail the what, where, etc.
- Submission process
- Execution of the warrant
- Ever changing situation: what happens when you need a different warrant? (i.e. suspect keeps changing the story, officer makes mistake and gives up the scene too early)
- Why is a competent warrant so important?
- Special situations and exemptions (i.e. exigent circumstance, fellow officer warrant)
- Fruit of the poisonous tree: evidence collected without warrant or exemption
- Hostage Negotiations
- Setting up the team (primary, secondary, intelligence officer & incident commander)
- Misconceptions: one good guy vs. one bad guy, peaceful outcome no matter what, hostage negotiators only buy time
- Priority of life
- DNA
- DNA 100% probability of guilt?
- Modern trials - juries & attorneys demand DNA for a conviction
- DNA can be tainted or compromised - intentional vs. unintentional. Law enforcement will usually provide a DNA sample to CODIS for exclusionary purposes
- What is CODIS?
- Breaking the mold - you no longer have to have a suspect to run DNA?
- Order for non-testimonial identification: three pronged situation
- DNA recovered from public spaces...is it legal?
- DNA analysis - important to have a suspect, but not mandatory
- Sexual assault DNA changes - state bureaus that now run DNA without a suspect
FBI & Crime Scene Investigation with Kirsten Swenson, FBI agent who was a part of the 9/11 clean up and investigation
- FBI & Crime Scene Investigation
- FBI & Books - the devil is in the details
- Misconceptions about the FBI portrayed in movies and books
- When does the FBI show up?
- Does the FBI automatically take over a scene?
- Hierarchy - who's in charge during an investigation?
- Weapons and gear - what an FBI agent would wear/carry on scene
Firearms Training with weapons expert and internet sensation, Ava Flanell
- Terminology (ammunition vs. bullets, magazine vs. clip etc.)
- Firearm operation & anatomy and proper technique
- Cartridge malfunction (weapon jamming)
- Media's common misconceptions about weapons/firearms
Homicide Investigation from Interrogation to Trial and Beyond with Steven Carlos, Retired LAPD Homicide Detective
- Interview vs. Interrogation - voluntary vs. mandatory
- Customizing the interrogation based on personality - emotional vs. fact finder (gather background information on suspect)
- Upfront physical evaluation
- Interrogation techniques - building rapport, setting rules, emotional leverage, presenting hard facts, using non-verbal communications: sweating, change of breath odor, tics, etc.
- Legal issues - the minute someone says they want an attorney, it's done. Coercive Behavior should NEVER happen
- Exception to the 4th amendment and right to counsel - emergency situations
- Moving forward with the arrest - confession vs. no confession
- Retracting statements & confessions
- Prepping for trial - detective responsibilities: formulate testimony, pre-trial conference, investigation is still ongoing, witness interviews and last minute evidence
- Timelines - preliminary trial, jury trial - trial doesn't start right away, forensics take a while
- Protective custody and detail, when is it used during trial?
- Polling the jury - after a guilty verdict, defense has the ability to poll the jury and find out how each individual juror voted. Ensures a true verdict (hail mary for defense). After a non-guilty verdict, the prosecution can request to speak to the jury. Jury not required to talk to the prosecution
- Misconceptions and inaccuracies in movies and books
