From daily news, web comics, politics, celebrity sightings and even our personal lives and more, the digital age has brought along with it the ability for anyone to write about anything. It is estimated that there are more than a million on-line blogs. For some writers, these blogs take on a life of their own, with hundreds or even millions of followers, and become an entryway into the world of publishing. For Brian Fies, author of "Mom’s Cancer", that was how his world as a published author began – writing a serialized Internet comic, which grew a steady readership, won 2005 Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic, and ended with a hardcover edition published by Harry N. Abrams in 2006. It has since gone on to win the 2007 Lulu Blooker Prize for Best Comic, the 2007 Harvey Award for Best New Talent, and the 2007 German Youth Literature Prize. Charles Kochman, is Executive Editor of Abrams ComicArts and is the editor of the #1 New York Times bestselling series Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. Prior to joining ABRAMS in 2005, Kochman was an editor at DC Comics and MAD Magazine, Bantam Books, and Putnam Publishing. A graduate of Brooklyn College in 1985, Kochman is a member of the National Cartoonists Society, and is on the board of advisors for MoCCA (the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art). He worked with Brian to develop his web comic, Mom’s Cancer, into print. Kate Lee, Literary Agent at International Creative Management specializes in online writers. Her list of authors includes journalists, business and technology thinkers, bloggers, professors, novelists, memoirists, pop culture experts, and many others. A 2004 profile in The New Yorker credited her with being the first agent to scout for writers on the web and in 2008, the New York Post named her One of the 50 Most Powerful Women in New York. How do you transform a web author to a book author? How do publishers and agents find these talented writers? With so many successful blogs on the Internet, how do you choose what should be published? Once a blog is transferred into print, can the blog go on living? Please join our panel as we discuss all this and more. When: Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 - 5:30 pm Where: Random House, 1745 Broadway, NY, NY - 2nd floor What: Beer, wine, soft drinks, and hors d'oeuvres begin at 5:30 pm, with program to follow. BBGNY is an educational forum. No Solicitations please. Reservations are no longer being accepted via web. Please bring cash or check to the door. Member $50.00 NonMember $60.00 www.bookbindersguild.org