Celebrities

• Zev Buffman, Festival Chairman; veteran Broadway Producer and current CEO/President RiverPark Center – with 40 Broadway plays, musicals and 27 Tony nominations to his record, Buffman brings a vast array of experiences to Discovering New Mysteries. He and colleagues like Angela Lansbury and William Morris became alarmed that the Mystery Play, once a main staple on Broadway, Toronto and the West End had all but disappeared. So, 3 years ago he began an offensive to encourage new writers to tackle writing mystery plays and screenplays. It is his mastery that is developing new mysteries.
• Heather Graham (aka Shannon Drake) is a New York Times and USA Today best selling author. After the birth of her third child (she now has 5 children), Heather stayed home and began to write, working on short horror stories and romances. She has been published for more than 20 years and in approximately 20 languages, and she has written more than 100 novels and novellas including romantic suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult and Christmas family fare. Her newest release comes in July – look for The Vision, a new ghost novel.
• Ray Bradbury is a rare individual whose writing has changed the way people think. He has more than 500 published works including beloved books such as The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Something Wicked This Way Comes and Fahrenheit 451. He has also published short stories, plays, screenplays, television scripts, and verse. In 2000, the National Book Foundation awarded Bradbury the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and in 2004 he received the National Medal of Arts.

• Mary Higgins Clark, known in the genre as the Queen of Suspense, her success is seen both on and off the page.  A worldwide bestselling author, Mary Higgins Clark has written twenty-five suspense novels, selling more than 80 million copies just in the United States.  Ms. Clark's writing career spans forty years and has brought industry top honors including a Mystery Writers of America annual award given in her name.  Now, she will add an honorary Angie Award and the 2008 First Lady of Mystery title bestowed upon her during this summer's International Mystery Writers' Festival.

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• Legendary actor Gene Hackman is switching from the silver screen to the silver pen this summer as he makes a special appearance during the 2008 International Mystery Writers' Festival in Owensboro, KY.
  Hackman and his co-author Daniel Lenihan are promoting their new novel, Escape from Andersonville:  A Novel of the Civil War.  These two accomplished artists are receiving an honorary Angie Award on Saturday, June 21st – the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Award.
• Sue Grafton, Louisville's great, best selling author. A Kentucky native and a prolific writer of chronological series of mystery novels known as the "Alphabet Series." Grafton has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of Americal She is published in more than 15 languages and 20 countries.
• Stuart M. Kaminsky, Festival Co-Chair and the current Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America and a five-time nominee and winner of an Edgar Award for best mystery novel. He is author of more than 60 published mysteries, text books on film and television, as well as biographies of Clint Eastwood, Gary Cooper and John Huston. He has written episodes for television's Nero Wolfe Mysteries. His screenplays include "Once Upon a Time in America," which starred Robert DiNiro, "FM" with Catherine Deneuve, and Hidden Fears" with Meg Foster and Frederick Forrest. In addition to his other books, he writes the "CSI: NY" novels and was the author of two "Rockford Files" books. Kaminsky will co-chair the festival's executive committee with Buffman.
• Robert S. Levinson – His novel "The Elvis and Marilyn Affair" received "Best Novel About Hollywood" recognition from the Hollywood Press Club. A winner of the Ellery Queen Readers Award for 3 consecutive years, his most recent novels "Ask a Dead Man" and "Where the Lies Begin" both were selected for The Los Angeles Times Best seller list. Robert served on the Board of Directors for Mystery Writers of America, the Writers Guild of America and the Country Music Association. He recently wrote and produced The Edgar Awards Gala in New York City, as well as the new International Thriller Writers Awards Gala. He graciously offered to assist us in our New Festival's Gala this coming June.
• Samuel "Biff" Liff, who has directed and worked on many hits, including "My Fair Lady," "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," "The Matchmaker" and "Call Me Mister." He has worked with stars such as Shirley Booth, Thornton Wilder, David Niven, Carol Channing, Gloria Swanson and Tyrone Guthrie. For the last 25 years, he has been heading the Theatre Division of the William Morris Agency, the world's largest and oldest entertainment agency. Liff represents a variety of clients in the theatrical field, including Julie Andrews, Julie Harris, Angela Lansbury, Jane Alexander and Chita Rivera.
• William Link – An astonishing creator of numerous Television series classics: Peter Falk's "Columbo", Angela Lansbury's "Murder She Wrote", The Bill Cosby Mysteries, Mannix, Ellery Queen and others. Winner of 2 Emmy Awards, the Edgar Award. The Golden Globe Award, the Peabody award, the Christopher Award, The Hall of fame of Television Arts and Sciences and a past president of the Mystery Writers of America.