This year I got a chance to go to "LIFE, THE UNIVERSE, AND EVERYTHING" (LTUE) convention held in Provo, Utah at the Marriott Convention Center.  It was a great 3 day convention on the writing and publishing industry with an emphasis in the science fiction and fantasy genre.  I have attended 4 out of the last 5 years and this was the best convention of the past 3 years.  Unfortunately, I was only able to go to 2 days of the convention but I got some good "nuggets" of info.  Here are the forums I attended:

Writing Action By Larry Correia, author of Monster Hunter International and Hard Magic
How to Scare People by Dan Wells, author of I Am Not  A Serial Killer and Mr Monster
Killer Openings, with Jessica Day George, Dene Low, Lisa Mangum, and Steve Walker
Plots, Subplots, and Foreshadowing with Larry Correia, Howard Taylor, and Dan Willis
Contemporary/Urban Fantasy with Dan Wells, Michael Young, Larry Correia, and Leslie Muir Lytle
Digital Vs Traditional Art Techniques with Isaac Stewart and some other people I forget
How To Use Free Online Tools To Avoid A Zombie Uprising by Isaac Stewart (aka: how to make  a simple map for writers)
Characters Morals And Theology Vs The Authors Morals with James Dashner, Dan Wells, Tracy Hickman, Jaleta Clegg and Brad R Torgeson
Plotstorming From Character From Paul Genesse
Rewriting To Greatness With Dave Wolverton (aka David Farland)

The Guest Author Of Honor was James Dashner, but in my mind the author's I felt made the largest contribution to this event were Dan Wells, Larry Correia, Howard Taylor, and Tracy Hickman.  I wish I had known that Tracy Hickman was their earlier so I could listen to him on more panels.  The one panel I heard him on was Character Morals, and without knowing it was Tracy Hickman I was really impressed with what he had to say, and how nice he was to everyone he talked to.

If you have never been to a writer's convention, or any sort of Scifi, Fantasy, or geek convention, it is a great place to learn about the industry, network, and become a better writer.  Highly recommended.

I videotaped and/or voice recorded all of the above panels so I will post those videos as soon as I can.  Over 8 hours of media is a lot to get to but I promise it will be up soon.