Word by Word, by John Tullius & Elizabeth Engstrom and the presenters of the Maui Writers Conference, is a compilation of presentations made during the first six years of the event, and includes inspiration and information from Richard Paul Evans, Terry Brooks, Ernest J. Gaines, Elizabeth George, Julie Garwood, David Guterson, Mitch Albom, Tony Hillerman, Ron Howard, Susan Isaacs, Barry Kemp, Ridley Pearson, Nicholas Sparks, and more than a dozen others. It will also include success stories from new writers in all phases of writing and publishing.
The Maui Writers Conference began in 1993 and takes place every Labor Day weekend at the Grand Wailea Hotel and Spa. It attracts hundreds of participants each year who come to the island to interact with agents and editors, and to hear presentations by some of the most successful authors and screenwriters today.
John Tullius is the director of the Maui Writers Conference, the author of thirteen books, including co-author of the best seller Body of a Crime and Against the Law. He has written scores of articles for dozens of magazines including Cosmopolitan, Playboy, and Town and Country, and was a contributing editor for Tennis Magazine. Elizabeth Engstrom has written six books, including Lizzie Borden, Lizard Wine, When Darkness Loves Us, Black Ambrosia, The Alchemy of Love and Nightmare Flower, which received a Bram Stoker nomination for fiction. She has edited three anthologies, and has written over a hundred short stories, articles, and essays. She is coordinator of the Maui Writers Retreat and director of its Department of Continuing Education.