In the Press

New York Book Festival Award Winner

2007 New York Book Festival Names Winners

New York, NY

The New York Book Festival has named the best books of its 2007 competition and Michelle Dunn, local author and business woman has captured the New York Book Festivals award for her book, Starting a Collection Agency, how to make money collecting money, Second Edition in the "How to" category.  The runner-up is Mary Greenwood with her book How to Negotiate like a Pro.

With well over 400,000 books being released each year in the U.S. and U.K. markets, many worthy titles are overlooked. The New York Book Festival seeks to bring greater attention to worthy works of literature and grow their cultural impact beyond the grassroots.

The New York Book Festival includes a daytime celebration in Manhattan's magnificent Central Park on Saturday, June 23 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. near the Naumburg Bandshell. The day festival is free, open to the public and will feature vendors, author readings and signings, music, clowns, face-painting, children's story-telling circles and more.  Winners including Michelle Dunn will attend the awards cocktail ceremony in New York City on Friday evening.

Dunn is no stranger to winning awards; this is the second award for Starting a Collection Agency that Dunn has received.  She received the Writer's Digest Self Published Book Award for the first edition of this book. Dunn herself was recently awarded the title of one of the Top 5 Women in Collections.

National Association of Women Writers

National Association of Women Writers

NAWW WEEKLY ISSN 1534-3693 * Circulation Over 11,000 February 9, 2005

Getting To Know Your Network - Member Interview

This week: MICHELLE DUNN

Q: When did you realize you wanted to be a writer? 
A: When I was 9. 

Q: How and when did you make this dream a reality? 
A: I wrote stories and poems my whole life. I published my first book, which was an e-book in 2000. I published my first paperback in 2003, How to Make Money Collecting Money - Starting a Collection Agency. I am publishing 3 books in this series and will have the boxed set for sale on my Web site www.michelledunn.com by the end of the year. I wrote Starting a Collection Agency because I was featured in Ladies Home Journal and the amount of phone calls, emails and letters I received asking how to start an agency was overwhelming. So I wrote this book to help everyone who was asking how to do it. 

Q: What's the most important lesson you've learned so far in your writing career? 
A: Even though I am publishing my third book I feel like I am just starting my writing career. I was running my collection agency and writing was just a hobby. It takes a lot of hard work, time and attention. Writing your book is only part of it; you then have to self-publish or submit your manuscript. Then you have a whole new job - marketing! 

Q: What are you working on right now? 
A: I am publishing my third book, "Become the Squeaky Wheel, A Credit and Collections Guide for Everyone," and a book of short stories. I have the final book for the boxed set to publish after more editing. I am also writing a book on book and Web site promotion, and my life story. 

Q: Name some authors or books that have influenced your writing life in a positive way. 
A: Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Jackie Collins, Dan Poynter, Carolyn See, Paul & Sarah Edwards, Ann Rule, Jay Conrad Levinson. 
And books I can't live without: 
- The Self Publishing Manual, Dan Poynter 
- 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, John Kremer 
- Anything by Jay Conrad Levinson 
- The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle 
- Yes, You Can!, Sam Deep - Lyle Sussman 
- Anything new that comes out by Jackie Collins 

Q: What have you recently read or what are you reading right now that you would consider an outstanding work? 
A: "Yesterday I Cried, Celebrating the Lessons of Living and Loving" by Iyanla Vanzanti. 

Q: What excites or ignites your soul? 
A: True stories of triumph or biographies of people who made it on their own. I have read too many biographies and watch so many true stories. "Coal Miner's Daughter" is one of my favorites. When I watch a show like that or read a book about what someone did to make their life better and do what they love, I get very inspired.

Reprinted with permission from National Association of Women Writers, PO Box 700696, San Antonio TX 78270