Maureen Mancini Amaturo

Co-Chairman Unicorn Writers’ Conference

Maureen Mancini Amaturo is a freelancer, poet, and writes fiction for both the adult and children's markets. After a career of fashion and beauty writing, Maureen saw fiction as a natural next step. She is founder of the Sound Shore Writers Group, actively involved in curating exhibits and producing shows for her local arts center, and teaches Fashion Illustration and Creative Writing to students of all ages.

Dodie Milardo

Director of PR & Sponsorship

Dodie Milardo is the author of the romance novel, Penelope’s Cruise. Dodie partners with charitable organizations by doing book signings and speaking at their events, with 90% of the net profit going directly to the organization.

Dodie is also the owner of To Give Is Divine, Ltd. whose mission is to develop and implement creative, innovative fundraising campaigns and donate a significant portion of the net profit to charity. Her motivation is simple.  She is very blessed to have a wonderful husband, family, and everything she needs and can’t just stay in her nice warm house with a refrigerator full of food and do nothing when there are so many people in our country who are hurting. 

Aside from writing and running her company, Dodie enjoys golf and ballroom dancing.  She also enjoys volunteering. She is very proud to have received the 2008 Volunteer of the Year Award from the Lyme/Old Lyme Auxiliary of Child and Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut.

Beth Thompson

Director of Library and Bookstore Services

Beth blogs about the funny, bittersweet side of parenting: http://stonington.patch.com/ . She is a freelance editor and award-winning fiction writer whose work has appeared in magazines such as e-Pregnancy, Writer's Forum and Taproot Literary Review.  Her first children's book, The Moon Came to Dinner, is represented by Black Hawk Literary Agency.

Beth lives in Connecticut, where she happily spends her days with her four young children, one who still naps and three who can usually be seen wielding swords or dressed as superheroes.  She also keeps a personal blog at: fourumblog.blogspot.com.

Katie Adamek

Literary Agent Coordinator

Intern-Black Hawk Literary Agency, Unicorn Writers’ Conference

Katie recently graduated from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania majoring in Professional Writing with a concentration in Culture and Media Studies. Two of her poems were published in Kutztown’s literary magazine Shoofly. Katie hopes to pursue a career in publishing.

Her recent internship with Black Hawk Literary Agency and Unicorn Writers’ Conference has been a rewarding experience and she is thankful to have had the opportunity to learn about the publishing and writing world. Katie hopes one day to have a published novel of her own; in fact the more the merrier! She also hopes to pursue a career either in editorial publishing or creative writing. Katie enjoys weaving imaginative tales with deep, complex characters and fantastical settings.

Elana Sadlon

Public Relations Coordinator

Elana is a junior at Newtown High School. Elena has had her works published in the Newtown school literary magazines for several years, along with previous experiences publishing a book. Elana is excited and grateful to be a part of the Unicorn Writers’ Conference.

Olivia

Public Relations Coordinator

Olivia will be a freshman at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in the fall. She currently plans on majoring in American Studies or Anthropology, because her novels are usually centered around how culture has impacted modern life (and vice versa), either for good or ill. She hopes to be a published author one day and also direct short films. She has enjoyed her time interning with Unicorn Writers’ Conference and Black Hawk Literary Agency, and looks forward to next year’s conference!