welcome to kimberland...

My bouncygiddiness is also due to the fact that the date for the International Food Blogger Conference is swiftly approaching! In just a few short weeks, I'll be headed to Seattle for the very first time to attend this foodie-star-studded event. Featuring foodie notables like James Oseland, the editor-in-chief of Saveur Magazine; Victoria Von Biel, executive editor of Bon Appetit; and Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me fame, we are in for quite a weekend of tips and advice from some of the best in the food publishing world. I was a little scared I wouldn't be able to go at first because I'd only been able to secure sponsorship for the conference itself from Red Lobster, and finances being what they are in my world, forking out a few hundred bucks for plane tickets just wasn't feasible. And the few flights I could afford had such terrible departure times that I would have missed what I consider one of the most important sessions of the conference: Pitch to Publish. Fortunately, another company stepped in and made my trip to Seattle possible so I wouldn't have to miss a thing.

I'm excited about the Pitch to Publish session because it could give me the tools I've so desperately searched for to finally make my book happen. Most of you know that I'm dying to write and publish a book based on PGEW, but as of yet I've been unsuccessful in finding the right way to get noticed by big publishing houses. Since one of the presenters for this workshop will be Molly Wizen of Orangette, my personal food blogging hero for starting off like I did and making it all the way to full-fledged author and writer for Bon Appetit, this is one session I cannot possibly miss! Not that it'll result in a book advance right off the bat, but I'm hoping to glean some good info and possibly make some connections that can help me get started. Who's to say I can't have my own Julie Powell moment someday, right?