A quick update note for those of you watching for changes to the content here on our site. I've updated Diana Gabaldon's biography and have added a new speaker to the list. He's the subject of today's Meet the Presenter blog.

Meet Patrick Taylor.

Born in 1941, Taylor was brought up in Bangor, Northern Ireland, and receieved his medical education in Ulster. He initially practiced in a rural Ulster village akin to Ballybucklebo before taking specialist training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. After living in Belfast through the first two years of the recent Irish Troubles (1969-1994) he and his family emigrated to Canada where he pursued a career in medical research and teaching in the field of human infertility. His contributions have been honoured with three lifetime achievement awards including the Lifetime Award of Excellence of the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society.

A talent for the written word, first recognized when he was 16 by his winning the “Campbellian Prize for Literature”, led to an outpouring of contributions to the medical literature. His scientific works include 170 papers and six textbooks, one translated from the original French. For ten years, (1991-2001) he was editor-in-chief of the Canadian Obstetrics and Gynaecology journal.

To add leavening to dry, academic prose Taylor has always nurtured his creative side. His monthly medical humour columns which began in 1991, En Passant, Medicine Chest and Taylor’s Twist were followed by his appointment as book reviewer to Stitches: The Journal of Medical Humour.

It seems like a good day to introduce another presenter, don't you think? Today's presenter is brand new to SiWC, and we're looking forward to having him here.

Meet Ken Sherman.

Ken Sherman is the President of Ken Sherman and Associates, a Beverly Hills-based literary agency. 

An agent for more than twenty years, Ken represents screen, television and book writers, and also sells film and television rights to books plus life rights.  A few of Ken's clients include John Updike, David Guterson, author of Snow Falling on Cedars, Tawni O'Dell, whose first novel, Back Roads, became an international best seller and Oprah Book Club selection, Starhawk, considered the best-known witch in the world, Anne Perry, the world's best-known Victorian murder mystery writer and author of 50 books, and the estates of Luis Buñuel and John Hersey.

A popular and accomplished speaker, Ken has lectured extensively at venues including UCLA, USC, Loyola University in both New Orleans and Los Angeles, The Santa Barbara Writer's Conference, Maui Writer's Conference, University of Oklahoma, Sherwood Oaks Experimental College, Santa Fe Writer's Conference and the Novelists, Inc. Conference/San Diego, The Aspen Institute, and The Aspen Summer Words Writer's Conference.

Since graduating from the University of California-Berkeley as a psychology major, Ken has returned to the classroom numerous times having taught his course, "The Business of Writing for Screen, Television and Publishing", at both USC and UCLA for more than six years.

Plans for 2010 are coming together well. Here at SiWC Central, we are SO excited about all that's going on. Keep your eyes on this space, because there's big news coming soon... Very Big News.

Did I say that loudly enough? Perhaps I should put it in bold. Very Big News. Coming soon! I wish I could tell you now, but I will. Soon. I promise.

To tide you over until then, here's a bit of news I'm tremendously excited about, a brand new presenter. Meet Ivan Coyote.

Ivan Coyote was born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. An award-winning author of five collections of short stories, one novel, two CD’s, four short films and a renowned performer, Ivan’s first love is live storytelling, and over the last fifteen years she has become an audience favourite at music, poetry, spoken word and writer's festivals from Anchorage to Amsterdam. The Globe and Mail called Ivan "a natural-born storyteller" and Ottawa X Press said "Coyote is to CanLit what k.d. lang is to country music: a beautifully odd fixture."

Welcome, Ivan!

Well, hello! Happy Monday.

It's a Meet-the-Presenter day here on the SiWC blog. How about an author this time, brand new to SiWC?

Meet Julia Quinn.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn loves to dispel the myth that smart women don't read (or write) romance, and in 2001 she did so in grand style, competing on the the game show The Weakest Link and walking away with the $79,000 jackpot.  She displayed a decided lack of knowledge about baseball, country music, and plush toys, but she is proud to say that she aced all things British and literary, answered all of her history and geography questions correctly, and knew that there was a Da Vinci long before there was a code.

Ms. Quinn is a ten-time finalist (and two-time winner!) in Romance Writers of America's RITA Award, her books have been translated into eighteen languages, and she has been profiled in USA Today and TIME Magazine.  Earlier this year her recent novel, What Happens in London, was selected by the American Library Association for a RUSA Award, honoring the best in genre fiction.

Her twentieth historical romance, Ten Things I Love About You, will be released later this spring.

Welcome, Julia!