Sheraton Mission Valley will be the physical site for our 39th annual San Diego conference. Conveniently located along the Hotel Circle corridor, where we’ve remained ensconced for so many years (though, this time, there’s a Denny’s within walking distance!). Much like our now defunct old home, writers will have run-of-the house and a bar that actually keeps proper hours. Discounted single and double occupancy rates are available for SCWCers staying at the hotel conference weekend. Booking details available here.
Now that we know where we’ll be, it’s time to focus on what we’ll be for SD39. As always, craft is where it’s at—getting eyeballs and ear wells on your work, addressing where you’re at now, exploring techniques, tactics and strategies to elevate material to its most commercially viable potential.
Prose. Plot. Profit. Pick Two?
There are myriad reasons why writers write. Most are earnest, aspirational even, some just mercenary. Regardless one’s motives, given the number of writers electing to eschew traditional publishing avenues, we’ll be devoting time to the nuts and bolts of alternative publication paths with workshops developed since SD38. Among them, author/editor Jennifer Silva Redmond will debut “For a Few Dollars More: The Cost of Selling Yourself Short.” Another, as yet to be titled, will be a deep dive into how the fairly maverick moves one author’s book production–from concept & execution through marketing & distribution—has impressed more than a handful of accomplished, longtime SCWC staffers, both trad and indie.
As always, the schedule will be replete with many other new in-person, extended workshops devoted to where you’re at with your work now, with ample opportunities to help connect you with that one passionate advocate that can make all the difference between achieving publication success or not.
Many author & publishing professional friends, both familiar and new, will be joining us February. On the agents front, those confirmed thus far for advance submission review and consultation include: Cathie-Hendrick-Armstrong, of Marsal Lyon Literary; Jessica Berg, of Rosecliff Literary; Sheyla Krigge, of High Line Literary Collective; and the latest member of Sandra Dijkstra Literary, Jake Lovell. We anticipate opening up the bulk of advance submission readers for selection November 1.
Recent Good “Muse”
Publishers Marketplace reports that longtime SCWCer and USA Today bestselling author Bethany Lopez landed a two-book international deal. From her Mason Creek series, Perfect Summer and Perfect Hideway sold to Alice Renzi at Ruby Ink (Italy) by Amanda Wooden at SBR Media.
Based on the lives of her ancestors, Kirkus Reviews says Laura C. Rader’s Hatfield 1677 “paints a stirring picture with the subtlest of brush strokes—this is no simplistic struggle between good and evil … An engrossing novel that challenges stale narratives of colonial America.”
Years in the making, Tway Huynh’s gorgeous Lessons of Kindness presents a diverse range of more than seventy contributors from around the world who donated their true stories based upon a common wish to share how they encountered goodness in times of uncertainty and despair.
Dates for our 39th annual winter event are Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 14-16, 2025. Discounted registration is now open. Be the writer you aspire to be and join us.
–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC
