Conference Purpose:

My goal in organizing the conference, was to plan an event that would celebrate not only the 75th anniversary of Nancy Drew but the 100th anniversary of the Stratemeyer Syndicate and all of the wonderful contributions to children's literature that are a result of the Syndicate. It was also be the 95th anniversary of the Tom Swift series. The focus of the conference was to enrich everyone with the history of the Syndicate and its series and to discuss the many facets and themes associated with Stratemeyer lore.

A series of videos/DVDs will soon be available documenting this historic conference. If you are interested, you may contact me using the e-mail link above. I have conference programs leftover for purchase: $5.00 each plus shipping. Contact me at the e-mail link above if you are interested--they feature great ads with pictures of Nancy Drew merchandise and a great deco cover of Nancy Drew's silhouette against the Manhattan skyline silhouetted.

Below you will find a series of thumbnail images categorized by daily events held at the conference with brief synopses of the events. If any come up as a red 'x', please reload the page or right click your mouse and select something like "view picture" or "show picture" to get the image to reload.

Everyone who attended had such a good time and learned so much. I'd love to do this again in Phoenix, AZ--perhaps in late 2007 or 2008.

Conference Pictures By Date/Event

Thursday, June 16:

Day tour of Stratemeyer Syndicate sites in New Jersey. Sites included: Edward Stratemeyer's house shown in the 1934 issue of Fortune Magazine, one of the Garis homes, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams' Maplewood home, the Maplewood offices of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, Edward Stratemeyer's grave, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams' grave.

Friday, June 17: Daytime:

Conference Began: 8:30am to 4:00pm, at NYSEC Ceremonial Hall. Nancy Drew® publisher Simon & Schuster was present.

Speakers:

James Keeline--Edward Stratemeyer: Many Words, Many Worlds
Geoffrey Lapin & Leslie Garis--The Garis-Stratemeyer Connection: A Conversation Between Leslie Garis and Geoffrey Lapin
Trudi Abel--The Great Book War and the Origins of the Stratemeyer Syndicate
Laura Ruby: The Journey of the 'Nancy Drew Series'
Geoffrey Lapin--Yet Another Carolyn Keene (60s Style)
Sharon Reid Harris--International Intrigue: Nancy Drew's Travelogue
Melanie Rehak--Nancy, Mildred, and Harriet: What the Girl Detective Learned from her Creators

Friday, June 17: Evening:

8:00pm to 12:00am: Nancy Drew 75th Anniversary Birthday Gala. FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) located at 27th street and 7th Avenue, New York City, A Building, 8th Floor, Faculty Dining Room.

The gala was a murder mystery type party in which the guests attending attempted to solve a mystery--clues were given out throughout the evening and then attendees submitted their solutions. A grand prize was given out.

The setting was 1933 at the Larkspur Lane, a notorious speakeasy. Period jazz and swing music set the mood as costumed revelers sleuthed for clues. There was a dessert bar set up. The evening drew upon fictional events and also real time events including a puzzling behind the scenes Nancy Drew mystery from 1932.

Saturday, June 18: Daytime:

Conference Continued: 8:30am to 5:00pm, at NYSEC Social Hall. A Special silent auction of Syndicate memorabillia was held.

The following vendors were present: Papercutz, Barnes & Noble with Susan Kandel's book, Her Interactive, Vintage book dealers, conference merchandise, Laura Ruby's Nancy Drew series of art, Specialty Board Games, special book displays.

Speakers:

James Keeline--Stratemeyer Syndicate Artists: A Few Thousand Words
Kathleen Chamberlain--The Secret in the Subtext: Lesbianism and Nancy Drew
Jim Lawrence Jr.--Syndicate Ghost: James Lawrence
Neil Morrison--Tom Swift Show-And-Tell
Susan Kandel--Not A Girl Detective: A Cece Caruso Mystery
Marilyn S. Greenwald--The Hired Hand: Leslie McFarlane and the Stratemeyer Syndicate
Pamela & Spencer Tandy--Russell H. Tandy and the Influence of Orientalism
Bob Nelson & Jennifer Fisher--America's Teenage Sleuths: Panel Discussion of Nancy Drew & the Hardy Boys Through the Years
Todd Latoski--Wandering Through the Wanderers--A Look at the First Nancy Drew Paperbacks
Papercutz--Nancy Drew Graphic Novels
Leslie Brazeau--How Nancy Drew Games Have Helped a New Generation Experience the Mystery and Excitement of Nancy Drew

We would like to thank our ad sponsors who placed ads in our programs: Papercutz, Her Interactive, Specialty Board Games, Simom & Schuster, Penguin Young Reader's Group, William Morrow Publishers, Bloomsbury, David Farah (inside back and back cover ads), Yellowback Library, Susabella Passengers and Friends, Gumshoe Girls, Spindrift Books, Renee Walker, Danny White, Lee & Mike Temares, Meredith Jaffe, Chronicle Books, and Ohio University Press.