The Society of Professional Obituary Writers (SPOW) will hold professional development sessions of its 2010 Convention in Philadelphia, Pa., April 22-24, 2010.

The event will start with a kickoff dinner on Thursday, April 22, at a site to be determined. Attendees will be responsible for paying their own dinner bill.

Professional development sessions will be held during the day on Friday, April 23, and Saturday, April 24, at The Philadelphia Inquirer building at 400 N. Broad St., Philadelphia. 

The convention theme: Obits, Philadelphia Style.

Jim Nicholson, the retired award-winning Daily News reporter who became a rock star among obit writers by writing about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people, will be the keynote speaker.

Irv Randolph, managing editor of The Philadelphia Tribune, will speak about his paper's history as America’s oldest and the Greater Philadelphia region’s largest newspaper serving the African-American community.

Obituary writers and other local journalists from Philadelphia will discuss their news outfit’s policies regarding obituaries. They will share their favorite obits and anecdotes about their experiences on the death beat, as well as offer practical tips on obit writing.

Tom Schecker and Barry Nelson, authors of "Mr. Ed: Dead: And Other Obituaries of the Most Famous People Who Never Lived," will discuss the use of obituaries as a satiric device.

The convention’s roundtable on diversity will focus on handling obituaries for African Americans.

Presentation of the 2010 SPOW Awards for obituary writing will be made at a Friday awards luncheon. Lunch is courtesy of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Program schedule updates will be posted at www.obitwriters.org/convention.html and www.obituaryforum.blogspot.com.