ABOUT KILLER NASHVILLE 2009 

Under the direction of a not-for-profit board of directors, Killer Nashville is held annually the third weekend in August in Nashville, Tennessee and attracts over 70 authors each year, plus scores of fans and budding authors.  The 2008 event welcomed attendees representing over twenty-five different states from New York to California, Florida to Maine.  Attendees included authors, screenwriters, playwrights, filmmakers, fans, attorneys, editors, agents, and publishers.  With the addition in 2007 of Canadian sponsorship and support from our friends in Great Britain, we have truly become an international conference.

Killer Nashville began in 2006 to 

1. Assist writers of all writing genres and formats;
2. Develop a better understanding of the craft of the mystery, thriller, and true crime genres specifically;
3. Discuss such topics as investigative techniques, verifying crime information, and submitting one’s manuscript for publication; and
4. Portray law enforcement and forensic science in a fair and accurate manner.

Killer Nashville is offered in four concurrent tracks ensuring the event has something for everyone:

1. The Writing Track - providing support, information, and craft techniques for beginning authors, writers, playwrights, and filmmakers; and
2. The Marketing Track - providing advanced information in the areas of business, finance, publishing, writing, and promotion.
3. The Fan Track - providing a miscellaneous offering to readers and fans of literature
4. The Forensic Track - providing insight into the latest in forensic investigations;

All of the above are offered over the course of three days.  Attendees do not have to declare a track upon registering and are encouraged to “jump tracks” at any time should a topic be of interest.

As we move into our fourth year, why has Killer Nashville become so popular?  Probably because we make every effort to give each author who attends Killer Nashville a platform to:

• sell his/her books;
• sign his/her books;
• network with other writers; and
• talk about his/her unique perspective on the writing process

and we are also able to keep our past ticket prices bare-bones with the financial, logistical, informational, and promotional support of (in alphabetical order):

• Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF);
• American Blackguard;
• Barnes & Noble Booksellers;
• Brentwood Police Department;
• F+W Publications / Writers Digest Books;
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI);
• First Tennessee Bank;
• Forensic Institute for Research and Education (F.I.R.E.)
• Franklin (Tennessee) Police Department;
• Hachette Book Group / Little, Brown & Company;
• Landmark Booksellers;
• Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU);
• Mystery Scene Magazine;
• Mystery Writers of America;
• Nashville Business Journal;
• Nashville City Paper;
• Nashville Scene;
• Oceanview Publishing;
• Southeast Mystery Writers of America;
• Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI);
• The Tennessean;
• Wilson County (Tennessee) Sheriff’s Department;
• numerous list serves and member lists from various other organizations via volunteers who took it upon themselves to spread the word and help with the actual event;
• numerous web pages that include our information and links;
• writer/filmmaker Clay Stafford who was the visionary behind Killer Nashville and continues to be our main annual sponsor; and
• many others.

And with Barnes & Noble manning our onsite bookstore at the Marriott Cool Springs Hotel & Convention Center, we are able to encourage book buyers not only from within our conference, but are also able to offer book signings to the outside public for FREE as well.

Killer Nashville was founded by writer / filmmaker Clay Stafford of American Blackguard Film & Television who is still heavily involved in the role of President.  Day-to-day operations are managed by Executive Director Beth Terrell.

If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.