I am very honored to be interviewing Marko Vignjevic, Serbian author based out of Belgrade. Marko talks about the literary scene in Belgrade, and reads from his latest book published by Montag Press: ‘Catalogue Diabolique’. You can see Marko’s Amazon page here.

This is the first in a series of readings of Shakespeare’s sonnets. I talk about how I learned to read poetry. I read and provide a small analysis.

In this pod-cast I discuss the International Fiction Writers’ Conference that I have been organizing. This conference will take place Sunday April 25th at 3pm. If you are reading this before the above date you can sign up here.

We have four speakers:

Speaker 1 - Professor Angus Fletcher will be sharing new neuroscientific understandings of how narrative structures interact with brain chemistry - providing fresh insights into the science of Poetics.

From 3pm - 4pm: Professor Angus Fletcher of Ohio State University department of English, author of ‘Wonderworks: The 25 Most Powerful Inventions in the History of Literature.’ This is a book that looks at literary invention as unique technical breakthroughs that can be viewed as both narrative and neuroscientific advancement. Professor Fletcher will be talking about literature and storytelling as technologies, how to innovate literature and story and the reasons that computer AI cannot innovate literature but humans can.

Speaker 2 - Writer and director Kostas Ouzas will be sharing how the independent fiction writers he works with have created their own custom audiences using digital marketing.

From 4:15 pm - 5:00 pm: Kostas Ouzas is a writer and director, known for The Car Yard (2009), Plague (2015) and Don't Look Back (2011). Based out of Melbourne Australia, Kostas is the founder of Self Publishing Hero, which is an academy that helps independent authors use digital advertising to make a full time income. He argues that there has never been a better time to be a writer, and has helped many writers find, engage, build and monetize their own fan base through digital marketing.

Speaker 3 - Charlie Franco will be discussing Montag Press, the Bay Area indie publishing house he founded, and the current state of indie publishing.

From 5:15 pm - 6:00 pm: Charlie Franco. General Manager and found of Montag Press. MONTAG PRESS is a BAY AREA-based publisher of original fiction and drama. Montag Press publishes the highest quality stories and plays for paperback and e-book distribution through established online retailers. Charlie will be talking about the current state of Indie book publishing.

Speaker 4 - John Wojewoda, author and event organizer, will be discussing NFT and blockchain technologies as it pertains to independent fiction.

From 6:15 pm - 7:00 pm: John Wojewoda, from Toronto Canada author of Three Wojewoda Plays and organizer of the event. John will be discussing NFT Book Publishing, particularly in relation to .crypto domains. He will be discussing the potential that blockchain technologies may have for the creative book publishing industries, and will give a quick overview of how publishing a book on a blockchain might work.