Public Speaking for Book Club Meetings and Conferences
Public Speaking for Book Club Meetings and Conferences
Public Speaking
Barbara Barnett is available to speak at book clubs meetings and conferences large and small. Book now for spring and summer 2019!
Invite Me To Speak
Topics range from inspirational talks on her eclectic mid-life journey to the craft of writing to the nuts and bolts of social media, from classical literature to pop culture:
The Byronic Hero in Pop Culture
Lord Byron’s Childe Harold is original “Byronic Hero.” Mad, Bad and Dangerous to know, said Lady Caroline Lamb of Bryon himself, and the eponymous and enduring hero of fiction, film, television, comic books and video games. In this engaging lecture-discussion, Barnett offers a feast of modern-day and classic tragic, misunderstood, brilliant and damaged heroes (and antiheroes). As magnetic as they are challenging, as brilliant as they are self-destructive, they pull us in and make us fall in love with them, even as they push away all comers.
- Child Roland, the anti-hero of Stephen King’s Dark Tower
- Aragorn, the reluctant hero of Lord of the Rings
- The dark, brooding Edward Rochester of Bronte’s Jane Eyre
- The Doctor of Doctor Who (at times)
- Gregory House
- The Dark Knight—Batman
- And so many more…
Your Debut Novel
Traditional or Self, Agent or no agent, Platform and Publicity. Reviews and Ratings. Join Barbara Barnett on the journey to her Bram Stoker Award-nominated debut novel The Apothecary’s Curse and beyond. From the eternal question pants or outline to the decision to hire an editor and the tortuous wait for rejections and ultimately offers, Barnett offers humor and wisdom—and real takeaways to put you on the path to your first published novel.
- The road from concept to elevator pitch to outline, revision and ultimate offer
- To Pants or Not to Pants: the Pitfalls and Discovery of writing by the seat of Your Pants—and why you shouldn’t
- The three-act structure
- Scenes and how to write them
- Killing the Darlings
- The eternal wait for an offer
- The road to publication: editorial letters, copyedits, galleys and ARCs
- Reviews, Ratings, Blogs, and Interviews
- Platform
The Conan Doyle Conundrum
How is it possible that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, best known for creating Sherlock Holmes – the most rational, logical, enduring character in fiction – also had a lifelong belief in the world of fairies and all things supernatural? Join Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of The Apothecary’s Curse and Chasing Zebras: The Unofficial Guide to House, M.D. Barbara Barnett for a fascinating exploration of how Holmes and the fairy world might comfortably co-exist in Sir Arthur’s fertile, expansive imagination.
Our Passion for Disaster (Movies)
Some are cautionary tales for a world teeter-tottering on self-destruction; others are just for fun (and laughs). Join author-blogger Barbara Barnett for an interactive exploration of our love affair with disaster movies.
- Why we love them
- The “formula”
- Natural Disasters to the consequences of humanity’s stupidity
- The apocalypse revisited (again and again)
- Sharknado: Really? The MST Effect
- The 50 best Disaster Movies
Novel Writing: Outlining, Pantsing, and Everything In Between
To outline or not to outline? That is the question. But is writing by the seat of your pants, stream-of-consciousness style the way to reach the novel’s finish line? There are enough models out there to make a would-be novelist’s head spin, but what’s right for one author may not be right for you. Join Bram Stoker Award-nominated novelist Barbara Barnett (The Apothecary’s Curse) as she describes her own journey and guides attendees to success. (Adults; 60 min; $175 with permission to sell books)
Between Fear and Wonder: The Hidden History of Speculative Fiction
The worlds of the unknown and hidden have both fascinated and terrified us for millennia and fueled imaginative literature for nearly as long as we’ve been telling stories and speculating about the unknown and wondering what’s next for us humans! A Bram Stoker Award-nominated novelist, TV critic, and Executive Editor of pop culture magazine BlogCritics, Barbara Barnett presents an engaging multimedia history of speculative fiction, from the Gilgamesh Legend to the tomorrow’s biggest blockbuster.
Radical Amazement
More than a philosophy, Radical Amazement represents a way of viewing the world through “wow” moments, and through those small moments finding the awe in this amazing universe. Ever notice how a child gazes endlessly snowflakes? Looks wide-eyed the first time he or she sees a rainbow in the sky? There’s no logical reason for kids to have all the fun. Radical Amazement is a philosophy, a practice, the means of staying focused on what’s important, what’s beautiful, what’s “wow,” in a divided, distorted world. An ordained Cantor (Hazzan) in the Jewish Conservative movement, a long-time educator in spirituality and prayer, and contributing writer to the book Spiritual Pregnancy (Llewellen Worldwide, 2015), Barnett will teach you how to again look at the world through the eyes of your inner child, but imbue the experience with a spirituality that can only be appreciated by an adult.
3 Rs of Building Your Writing Confidence: Researching, Revisiting, Rebounding
Whether you’re a newbie or have been writing for years, confidence may be the most elusive arrow in your writing quiver. Barbara Barnett provides tips and tricks to building your writing confidence through researching, revisiting and rebounding in this interactive session.
Comic-Con: A Journalist’s Eye View
Barbara Barnett has covered San Diego Comic-Con for the past several years, observing the mega pop-culture part from out front and behind the scenes. She will take attendees on a personal tour, sharing her celeb photos, videos and interview clips and experiences.
A Sampling of Ms. Barnett's Appearances:
- MENSA Chicago’s HalloWeeM Conventions
- Faulkner Society Words and Music Literary Conference
- Horror Writers Association StokerCon Conference
- Killer Nashville Mystery Writers Conference
- Capricon Convention
- Keynote Address: Adult Reader Advisory Round Table ARRTCon for Northern Illinois Librarians
- Chicago Writers Association
- Off-Campus Writers Workshop
- Nebula Awards Conference
- National MENSA Convention
- Windycon
- Book clubs, libraries and more.
Public Speaking3,Public Speaking
Barbara Barnett is available to speak at book clubs meetings and conferences large and small. Book now for spring and summer 2019!
Topics range from inspirational talks on her eclectic mid-life journey to the craft of writing to the nuts and bolts of social media, from classical literature to pop culture:
Recent and upcoming appearances include:
- 2017, 2019 MENSA Chicago’s HalloWeeM Convention
- 2017 Faulkner Society Words and Music Literary Conference
- 2017 Horror Writers Association StokerCon Conference
- 2017 Killer Nashville Mystery Writers Conference
- 2018, 2019 Capricon Convention
- 2017 Keynote Address: Adult Reader Advisory Round Table ARRTCon for Northern Illinois Librarians
- Chicago Writers Association
- Off-Campus Writers Workshop
- 2018, 2019 Nebula Awards Conference
- 2018 Wisconsin MENSA convention
- 2018 National MENSA Convention
- 2018 Windycon
- Book clubs, libraries and more.
From Bronte to Batman: The Byronic Hero in Pop Culture
Lord Byron’s Childe Harold is original “Byronic Hero.” Mad, Bad and Dangerous to know, said Lady Caroline Lamb of Bryon himself, and the eponymous and enduring hero of fiction, film, television, comic books and video games. In this engaging lecture-discussion, Barnett offers a feast of modern-day and classic tragic, misunderstood, brilliant and damaged heroes (and antiheroes). As magnetic as they are challenging, as brilliant as they are self-destructive, they pull us in and make us fall in love with them, even as they push away all comers.
- Child Roland, the anti-hero of Stephen King’s Dark Tower
- Aragorn, the reluctant hero of Lord of the Rings
- The dark, brooding Edward Rochester of Bronte’s Jane Eyre
- The Doctor of Doctor Who (at times)
- Gregory House
- The Dark Knight—Batman
- And so many more…
Debut Novel: An Author’s Journey
Traditional or Self, Agent or no agent, Platform and Publicity. Reviews and Ratings. Join Barbara Barnett on the journey to her Bram Stoker Award-nominated debut novel The Apothecary’s Curse. From the eternal question pants or outline to the decision to hire an editor and the tortuous wait for rejections and ultimately offers, Barnett offers humor and wisdom—and real takeaways to put you on the path to your first published novel.
- The road from concept to elevator pitch to outline, revision and ultimate offer
- To Pants or Not to Pants: the Pitfalls and Discovery of writing by the seat of Your Pants—and why you shouldn’t
- The three-act structure
- Scenes and how to write them
- Killing the Darlings
- The eternal wait for an offer
- The road to publication: editorial letters, copyedits, galleys and ARCs
- Reviews, Ratings, Blogs, and Interviews
- Platform
The Conan Doyle Conundrum
How is it possible that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, best known for creating Sherlock Holmes – the most rational, logical, enduring character in fiction – also had a lifelong belief in the world of fairies and all things supernatural? Join Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of The Apothecary’s Curse and Chasing Zebras: The Unofficial Guide to House, M.D. Barbara Barnett for a fascinating exploration of how Holmes and the fairy world might comfortably co-exist in Sir Arthur’s fertile, expansive imagination.
Our Passion for Disaster (Movies)
Some are cautionary tales for a world teeter-tottering on self-destruction; others are just for fun (and laughs). Join author-blogger Barbara Barnett for an interactive exploration of our love affair with disaster movies.
- Why we love them
- The “formula”
- Natural Disasters to the consequences of humanity’s stupidity
- The apocalypse revisited (again and again)
- Sharknado: Really? The MST Effect
- The 50 best Disaster Movies
Novel Writing: Outlining, Pantsing, and Everything In Between
To outline or not to outline? That is the question. But is writing by the seat of your pants, stream-of-consciousness style the way to reach the novel’s finish line? There are enough models out there to make a would-be novelist’s head spin, but what’s right for one author may not be right for you. Join Bram Stoker Award-nominated novelist Barbara Barnett (The Apothecary’s Curse) as she describes her own journey and guides attendees to success. (Adults; 60 min; $175 with permission to sell books)
Between Fear and Wonder: The Hidden History of Speculative Fiction
The worlds of the unknown and hidden have both fascinated and terrified us for millennia and fueled imaginative literature for nearly as long as we’ve been telling stories and speculating about the unknown and wondering what’s next for us humans! A Bram Stoker Award-nominated novelist, TV critic, and Executive Editor of pop culture magazine BlogCritics, Barbara Barnett presents an engaging multimedia history of speculative fiction, from the Gilgamesh Legend to the tomorrow’s biggest blockbuster.
Radical Amazement
More than a philosophy, Radical Amazement represents a way of viewing the world through “wow” moments, and through those small moments finding the awe in this amazing universe. Ever notice how a child gazes endlessly snowflakes? Looks wide-eyed the first time he or she sees a rainbow in the sky? There’s no logical reason for kids to have all the fun. Radical Amazement is a philosophy, a practice, the means of staying focused on what’s important, what’s beautiful, what’s “wow,” in a divided, distorted world. An ordained Cantor (Hazzan) in the Jewish Conservative movement, a long-time educator in spirituality and prayer, and contributing writer to the book Spiritual Pregnancy (Llewellen Worldwide, 2015), Barnett will teach you how to again look at the world through the eyes of your inner child, but imbue the experience with a spirituality that can only be appreciated by an adult.
3 Rs of Building Your Writing Confidence: Researching, Revisiting, Rebounding
Whether you’re a newbie or have been writing for years, confidence may be the most elusive arrow in your writing quiver. Barbara Barnett provides tips and tricks to building your writing confidence through researching, revisiting and rebounding in this interactive session.
Comic-Con: A Journalist’s Eye View
Barbara Barnett has covered San Diego Comic-Con for the past several years, observing the mega pop-culture part from out front and behind the scenes. She will take attendees on a personal tour, sharing her celeb photos, videos and interview clips and experiences.