With the release of Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn, the conclusion to the Twilight saga, and the upcoming release of Christopher Paolini's Brisingr, many people have become excited with the fantasy and science fiction genres. This week, Matthew Peterson will be speaking at the World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon) in Denver, Colorado with Ben Bova (acclaimed author of over one-hundred books) and a few others about the topic of publicity. The WorldCon is one of the largest genre-based conventions in the world. Authors, publishers, agents, and fans will all be in attendance.

With the increase of published books and the decrease of budgets, the role of publicity has slowly changed hands from the publisher to the author. Of course, popular authors still get hefty publicity and marketing budgets and even a personal publicist assigned to them, but the majority of authors, especially new ones, are lucky to get any marketing or publicity in behalf of the publisher. Perhaps the publisher will put one ad in a magazine and schedule a radio interview or book signing, but the bulk of the work is expected to come from the author.

Authors can create websites, set up newsletters, send press releases, and engage in social networking. Adventurous authors may approach the media, including radio, newspaper, and TV. Authors tend to have the best luck with the local outlets, but when it comes to national attention, that's where things become a bit more difficult. An experienced publicist, although expensive, can really help in this regard.

Attending conventions like the WorldCon is one way authors get their faces in front of people. Rarely do fans get one-on-one experiences with authors than at a convention. If you'd like to meet Matthew Peterson in person, come to the WorldCon in Denver and hear him speak in room 506 on Friday at 4 PM.

About the Author:

Matthew Peterson is an award-winning short story writer, second degree black belt in karate, Eagle scout, computer programmer, and former missionary. He lives in Arizona with his wife, five boys and their giant African tortoise. Matthew?s debut young adult novel, Paraworld Zero (ISBN # 978-1-59092-491-4), hit the BarnesAndNoble.com bestseller list, was honored by four book contests, and garnered many favorable reviews. Reviewers are comparing it to Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Artemis Fowl. Go to www.ParaWorlds.com to learn more.