Meet Your AWC24 Faculty
Author of a New York Times Best Crime Novel of the Year
Writing is a Process Faculty:
Susan Furlong
Susan Furlong is the author of several mysteries including WHAT THEY DON'T KNOW and SHATTERED JUSTICE, a New York Times Best Crime Novel of the Year. She also contributes, under a pen name, to the New York Times bestselling Novel Idea series.
Her twelfth novel, THE KILLER'S WIFE, is now available. She resides in Illinois with her husband and children.
Learn more about Susan's work here.
Susan will lead sessions on character development, finding your crime genre, and participate in the "
Ask Me Anything" panel discussion AWC24.
Epic Fantasy and Historical Romance Novelist
Summer Hanford
With two decades of writing experience, Summer Hanford has authored and co-authored over 45 novels. Her work is available in English, Spanish, French, Italian, and German. She has been an Amazon Best Selling Author over a dozen times, earning that acclaim in multiple countries across four continents, and will be releasing the sixth book in her second Epic Fantasy Series this autumn.
Summer’s work spans a healthy mix of Indi Publishers both large and small, as well as self-publishing. She is a fulltime writer and has been for over a decade, but at various points in her career has been a cover artist, interior formatter, developmental editor, publicist, and writing instructor. Learn more about Summer's work here.
![Author Photo Summer Hanford (2)[6607].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d32ffc_4f7e8e3b6c3a41ef9865a800fc51cd3a~mv2.jpg/v1/crop/x_303,y_356,w_1398,h_1372/fill/w_351,h_415,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Author%20Photo%20Summer%20Hanford%20(2)%5B6607%5D.jpg)
Summer will lead a session on writing Romance and another on Science Fiction/Fantasy, and participate in the "Ask Me Anything" panel discussion at AWC24.
Award Winning Fiction Writer and Novelist
Sherry Robinson
Sherry Robinson, an award-winning American fiction writer, is the author of three novels, Blessed (2019) and Shadows Hold Their Breath (2022), and Echo Her Lovely Bones (2nd edition, 2022, with Foreword by New York Times best-selling author Silas House). She is the retired Vice Provost and Professor of English at Eastern Kentucky University, where she spent thirteen years specializing in American Literature before moving into administrative positions.
Robinson is a native of Lexington, Kentucky, where her desire to be an author was also born. Sherry has an MA from Eastern Kentucky University and a PhD from the University of Kentucky, both in English. Robinson spent two summers at the Hindman Settlement School’s Appalachian Writers Workshop under the mentorship of Silas House. She completed an MFA in creative writing from Eastern Kentucky University, Bluegrass Writers Studio, in 2021.
Learn more about Sherry and her work here.
Sherry will lead a session on revisions and participate in and participate in the "Ask Me Anything" panel discussion at AWC24.
Political History Book Editor, Researcher, Author, Award Winning Journalist
Dr. Pam Parry
Dr. Pam Parry has been writing for more than 40 years. An award-winning journalist, she is a national scholar on media history, public relations, diversity, and presidential communications. She is the author of Eisenhower: The Public Relations President, and the immediate past editor of Journalism History – the nation’s oldest peer-reviewed journal on the subject.
Dr. Parry has appeared on C-SPAN, NPR and BBC Radio to discuss her research. She also has written one book on environmental science, co-edited two books on diversity, and is the lead co-editor of a book series on Women in American Political History, which has published seven titles with more books to be released in the near future. She holds four degrees, and previously was an accredited congressional correspondent, who also covered the White House and the U.S. Supreme Court. A professor and independent practitioner, Dr. Parry has written for The Baltimore Sun and for “The McLaughlin Group” television show. In 2016, the Kentucky Communication Association awarded her the Applegate Award for Excellence in Research. She is a former faculty member at Eastern Kentucky University.
Pam will lead a session on
bringing historical to life and the
"Ask Me Anything" panel discussion, at AWC24.
Award Winning Writer for Stage and Screen, Cannes Film Festival Finalist
Mark will lead a session on screenwriting and adaptation and will participate in the "Ask Me Anything" panel discussion, at AWC24.
Mark Daniels
Mark Daniels is an award-winning writer for stage and screen. His very first screenplay was a top five finalist at the international WILDsound Screenwriting Festival in Toronto.
Mark has had numerous screenplays optioned and purchased, including projects with Elaine Hendrix (THE PARENT TRAP), Darrin Henson (THE EXPRESS), Malcolm McDowell (A CLOCKWORK ORANGE) and Dean Cain (LOIS AND CLARK).
Mark has been a top ten screenplay finalist at the Cannes Film Festival. One of his recent projects, DECAY, is in financial development with the Robb Company in Los Angeles.
In addition to writing, Mr. Daniels oversees a film career pathway for high school students at Corbin Independent Schools, and he is also an instructor at Eastern Kentucky University in screenwriting and communications.
In his official role, Mark is the Principal at The Corbin School of Innovation, Director of Innovative Programs/Director of Pupil Personnel, and Bell-Knox-Whitley KY-ASAP Chairperson. He holds a B.A. in Communications, a B.S. in Education and an M.A. in Special Education and Rank I.
Mark is pictured here with actor Malcolm McDowell filming on location.
Writing is a Business Faculty:
President & CEO of the Law Firm Cole, Cole, Anderson & Newman
Frank K. Newman, J.D.
Frank K. Newman, J.D., is the President & CEO of the law firm Cole, Cole, Anderson & Newman, PSC. The firm is a recognized constant for coal miners and their families in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia since 1952, representing clients with occupational injuries, environmental hazard exposure, and occupational disability claims. Newman and his firm are regionally recognized for representing employees working in coal mining, coal-powered plants, and other coal-industry-related industries. The firm also represents individual and corporate clients in real estate acquisitions, transfers, and bankruptcy filings.
Since 2010, Frank has been drafting and negotiating book publishing contracts for Martin Sisters Publishing, an independent book publisher in Appalachian Kentucky. More recently, Frank has been drafting screenwriting contracts and has engaged in broader rights negotiations for authors who wish to adapt their books to film.
Frank will lead a session on creative rights, legal considerations, and contracts -- including new information about AI and ownership, and will participate in the "Ask Me Anything" panel discussion at AWC24.
Creative Producer, and Author Branding & Marketing Expert