Michael Neff - Bio, Book, and Even Political Activism
From WebdelSol.Com to Algonkian to "Year of The Rhinoceros"
Our ultimate goal is to realistically increase your odds of becoming a published author by showing you how to inhabit that upper percentile of writers who will have their work taken seriously by professionals in the business.
- Michael Neff
Michael Neff is the creator and director of Algonkian Writer Conferences which includes the New York Pitch Conference, Algonkian Novel Workshops, the San Francisco Write to Market Conference, and more. As a result of his "Algonkian method" workshops and his own editorial expertise, Michael and his programs have ushered dozens of authors over the past several years into agent contracts as well as publication contracts with major houses, including in 2011 such novels as ON MAGGIE'S WATCH by Ann Garvin, LIPSTICK IN AFGHANISTAN by Roberta Gately, CROAK by Gina Damico, THE WISDOM OF HAIR by Kim Boykin, and more. He routinely works closely with literary agents and senior publishing house editors in New York to locate and tap potential in budding new authors working in a variety of genres including upmarket literary and general fiction, serious and light women's fiction, narrative non-fiction, historical fiction, mystery and YA fantasy.
In addition to his Algonkian pursuits, Michael is also the "Bay Area Associate" for AEI Film Productions in Los Angeles. As an associate, he is actively searching for high concept projects that can be transformed into films or books.
Michael Neff's motto is From the heart, but smart. He preaches the art of passion and rigorous training, frank feedback, and the mental toughness necessary to become a published author, whether the writer seeks publication by a New York house or an independent press. Algonkian Writer Conferences are regularly attended by published authors and MFA graduates for the purpose of obtaining new skills and connections.
His own novel, YEAR OF THE RHINOCEROS, was published by Red Hen Press as a result of direct solicitation by their editors. The novel (narrative samples) about the corporate conquest of Washington during the Reagan years, features as main characters a liberal and a conservative who put aside their differences and work together to expose ongoing corruption in the White House while at the same time struggling to save as many lives as possible from real harm. The novel (Amazon customer reviews) is based on a true story, a real place, and on Michael's own experiences working in Washington.
Michael is also well known in literary circles for his creation and direction of Web del Sol, a popular Internet publisher and community portal for scores of journals, indie presses, filmmakers, poets, and writers. Since 1994, WDS.Com has served content to millions of readers worldwide, and links lead to WDS.Com content from over 500,000 other websites. WebdelSol.Com has been featured or reviewed in everything from Chronicle of Higher Education to Poets and Writers to the New York Times. As WDS.Com continued to grow, Michael proceeded to create, direct, and/or contribute as editor to several journals and literary projects, including but not limited to Del Sol Press, The Potomac Journal of Poetry and Politics, Del Sol Review, In Posse Review, Double Room, Perihelion, 5_Trope, and La Petite Zine.
As the editor-in-chief of Del Sol Press, he founded the Robert Olen Butler Short Fiction Prize for exeptional writers of short fiction; and recently, he began a blog for new writers called The Writer's Edge, co-hosted by Anthony Policastro, Chris Stewart, Paula Marguiles, and agent Richard Curtis.
Upon parting ways with the Washington bureaucrats in the early 21st century, Michael Neff worked closely with the ACLU and other plantiffs in 2000 and 2001 to successfully defeat Internet censorship laws instigated by Evangelicals and the conservative right in battleground states like Michigan and Arizona. He has also joined others to lobby offices on Capitol Hill for greater whistleblower protections recently stripped from law by those in Congress anxious to avoid scrutiny.
And finally, Michael's literary work has also appeared in many prominent publications, including North American Review, Quarterly West, Pittsburgh Quarterly, The Literary Review, American Way Magazine, and Conjunctions, as well as several Internet publications. He was one of the winners of the first Imitation William Faulkner Contest sponsored by the University of Mississippi, and has served as judge for various writing contests, including the Writer's Digest Finalist Prize for best short fiction.
His literary influences include Jayne Anne Philips, Marquez, Sartre, Fitzgerald, Flannery O'Connor, Ken Kesey, and Dostoevsky. He holds degrees in English and Political Science from Florida State University.
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Comments or questions? Write to Michael Neff.
