News And Announcements

In Demetra Brodsky’s arresting Dive Smack, Theo Mackey only remembers one thing for certain about the fire that destroyed his home: he lit the match. Gretchen McNeil (Ten) calls the debut novel, “A tense psychological drama with a voice that pulls you in and a twist you won’t see coming.” “Strong characters and a compelling mystery make this a real page-turner,” effuses Publishers Weekly. And Booklist raves, “Brodsky’s debut combines an engaging school story, filled with best friend shenanigans, first love, and a fascinating look at competitive diving, with a tense psychological mystery.” Demetra will join us in September to discuss her path to publication, and the bumpy journey that’s followed.

The working schedule has been posted on our Weekend-at-Glance page. As usual, the times of some workshops will likely change over the next several weeks. Until we update the final interactive schedule page, you can view all of the sessions currently slated on the Workshops & Events page.

Another agent aggressively looking to expand her client list has been added. Caroline George, of Cyle Young Literary Elite, will be accepting advance submissions in nearly every genre. Check out her bio on the Staff page. Also, it’s likely we’ll be announcing the addition of one more agent shortly.

Be aware that these deadlines are coming up fast…

• Advance Submissions: Aug. 31
• Discounted Hotel Lodging: Aug. 30
• “Best Foot Forward” Workshop Participation (still a few spots left to get in): Sept. 1

 
And for those planning far ahead, discounted pre-registration for our 33rd annual San Diego event, taking place Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 15-17, 2019, is now open. Limited to 175 writers, get all the vitals here.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS

Sue Grafton declared her, “[T]he first fresh literary voice I’ve heard in years. Sara Gran recombines all the elements of good, solid story-telling and lifts something original from a well-loved form.” Salon calls the series “delicious and addictive.” CNN says she “Reads … as if David Lynch directed a Raymond Chandler novel.” And just in time for Irvine, author Sara Gran’s self-proclaimed “world’s greatest detective” returns in The Infinite Blacktop, the third noir thriller featuring her inimitable PI Claire DeWitt.” Both a novelist and screenwriter (Southland, Chance), Sara will join us to share the circuitous journey that’s shaped her career, how Claire came to be, and a whole lot more. We couldn’t be more thrilled. Welcome, Sara!

Fresh off our Sunriver Writers’ Summit, attention turns full-bore to our LA(ish)16 event. The bulk of workshops lined up will be posted shortly. Advance Submission Readers are now open, however, but keep in mind that there are many more to be announced—including agents. We plan to have the majority listed by month’s end. (You can select “To Be Determined” and finalize your reader at a later date.) To be alerted when all the readers are listed, be sure to subscribe to our monthly .COMmunity update, follow our Facebook group, or both.

We’re starting to fill up earlier than usual. Take advantage of discounted pre-registration and do so by no later than July 1st to save $75 off Full Conference participation. Also, several recent Special Guest Speaker excerpts have been posted to SCWC*TV. Kick back, have a watch, and learn!

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS

Amy Meyerson, author of The Bookshop of Yesterdays, will join us September as a Special Guest Speaker. Of the book Publishers Weekly effuses, “In her heartfelt debut, Meyerson brings readers on a scavenger hunt full of literary clues and family secrets…. Filled with quotes from and allusions to The Tempest, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and Jane Eyre, Meyerson’s evocative novel is a fun homage to book lovers and the eclectic spirit of L.A.” And Kirkus lauds, “A lovely look at loss, family, and the comfort found in a good bookstore.” Welcome aboard, Amy!

We’ll start updating the staff page shortly, which will include the regular raft of familiar SCWC workshop leaders, as well as new friends we’re welcoming into the fold. Among the agents already confirmed, Jenny Herrera (David Black Agency), Jill Marr (Dijkstra Literary), and Ewe Stender (Triada US). Freelance editors Michael Mohr, Laura Taylor, and Jean Jenkin are back–Jean again conducting her popular “Best Foot Forward: Polishing to Impress” workshop. All, of course, will be accepting advance submissions.

Quality craft is the name of the game and, as always, it remains our primary focus.

A Slew of Good “Muse”

Lots of SCWCers with books recently released or soon to be. Out now…

Marlene Wagman-Geller’a Women Who Launch: The Women Who Shattered Glass Ceilings … Bestselling crime writer Dallas Barnes’ A Man in Heat is his latest after taking a long break … Bethany Lopez’s Cupcake Explosion, the fourth in her Cupcakes Book series … The second mystery in the Chalkboard Outline Series by Kelley Bowles Gusich (as Kelley Kaye), Poison by Punctuation, along with a young adult novel, Down in the Belly of the Whale (writing as Kelley Kay Bowles).

Dropping in June: From the prolific Janis Thomas, her latest domestic suspense, All That’s Left of Me … Dark Paradise by Gene Desrochers, a Caribbean noir murder mystery set on the island of St. Thomas, “where murder is as common as sunshine” … Fantasy writer Dot Caffrey’s re-release of Awakened (formerly known as Awakening Powers) will be out August through Acorn Publishing … Speaking of which, SCWC conferee Teresa Harrison has just signed with the hybrid house for her debut title, Maiden.

August McLaughlin’s Girl Boner: The Good Girl’s Guide to Sexual Empowerment is also out August, fittingly, from Amberjack Publishing … Also Greta Boris’ third entry in her Seven Deadly Sins series, Sanctity of Sloth (Fawkes Press).

On the awards & recognition front: Cherie Kephart’s A Few Minor Adjustments just won Silver in the 2018 Independent Publisher Book Awards for best Autobiography/Memoir: Personal Struggle / Health Issues … And Matt Coyle’s “The #2 Pencil” has been nominated a Derringer Award for Best Long Story. It’s in the Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea anthology.

Discounted Early “Bard” Pre-registration is now open. Subscribe to our .COMmunity and never miss an important update. You can also follow the SCWC on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. More soon.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS

Out April 3rd in hardcover from Henry Holt and Co., Peasprout Chen, Future Legend of Skate and Sword introduces readers young and elder to a vibrant new heroine and the fiercely competitive world in which she dreams of becoming a legend of wu liu, the deadly and beautiful art of martial arts figure skating. The first in a series, Publishers Weekly calls the debut novel, “Massively entertaining… Peasprout Chen is a future legend, indeed.” While New York Times-bestselling author Daniel José Older effuses, “Martial Arts! Global intrigue in fantastical lands! Ferocious figure skating! A disgruntled oracular monkey with a butcher knife! This book had everything I didn’t realize I needed and more–a thrilling, heartfelt tale about growing up and standing up for yourself told against a backdrop of stunning fight scenes and brilliant worldbuilding.” Its author is Henry Lien, and we can’t wait to welcome him to the SCWC. Our first Special Guest Speaker to be announced, Henry will join us in September to share with us his writer’s journey and more.

Pre-registration Begins

Discounted Early “Bard” Pre-registration is now open for our 16th annual Fall conference. Do so by April 1, 2018 and save a whopping $125 on Full Conference participation. Being fresh off our Winter event in San Diego, we’re developing several new workshops for September. As always, time and attention will be paid most to where you are today as a writer and how to get you where you want to be tomorrow. And every day after. Craft, of course, is key. We’ll begin rolling out regular updates starting next month. In the meanwhile, here’s what you need to know now…

SCWC*LA16 (IRVINE) LOCATION: The conference will again be held at the Wyndham Irvine Hotel, located at 17941 Von Karman Avenue, Irvine, CA 92614. Dates are September 21-23, 2018. Lodging discounts are available to SCWC conferees. Phone (949) 863-1999 to book your reservation, or click here to do so online. Deadline for discounted hotel registration is August 30, 2018.

SCWC*LA16 (IRVINE) SCHEDULE: Rest assured that plenty of craft- and business-centric sessions, read & critique workshops, one-on-one consultations and more will fill up the weekend. Though we won’t begin plugging things in until later, you can get an idea of the overall shape of the conference on the schedule page.

SCWC*LA16 (IRVINE) STAFF: In addition to the many familiar workshop leaders, agents, editors and other publishing professionals returning in 2018, many fresh folk will be joining the fold.

Before Irvine, our exclusive Sunriver Writers’ Summit will be held near Bend, OR, May 26-27, 2018. Held in the resort community of Sunriver, the 2-day intensive features three workshop tracks to choose from, with their respective emphases on writing memoir & personal narrative, substantive story building, and scripting the commercial screenplay (longform, episodic and short). What better way to prepare for September than escape to Central Oregon’s High Plateau and immerse yourself in The Great White Art? Details here.

If you haven’t, do subscribe to our periodic .COMmunity updates and never miss an important update. And be sure to join the well-moderated conversation on our Facebook Group for all sorts of publishing news, support, SCWC exclusives, announcements, and more.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS

Yet another stellar weekend of writers who traveled from far and near to immerse themselves in story. To all the many talented first-timers and returning veteran members of our extended conference community, Wes, Chrissie, myself—we thank you for raising the bar, elevating expectations and daring to do better than best with your work. With your dreams. Your trust. Your generosity. In other words: Thank you for being writers. Truly, a memorable SCWC.

And to Melanie Hooks and Laura Perkins, whose Rogue Read & Critique ran deep into Sunday’s wee hours, thank you for texting me the selfie from your workshop at 3 a.m. No, really. No.

This year’s Special Guest Speakers warrant a shout out, as well. Big Spoon to Kelly Abbott (Great Jones Street Publishing), Greta Boris (Margin of Lust), Rachel Howzell Hall (City of Saviors) and Cherie Kephart (A Few Minor Adjustments). Quality talks and information provided by all. We’ll be posting highlights from each on SCWC*TV soon.

Now, on to the awards . . .

SCWC*LA/IRVINE 15 Award Recipients

OUTSTANDING NONFICTION (Memoir)
Miss Yoo, a Piece of Me
By Hanna Yoo of Rancho Mirage, CA

OUTSTANDING FICTION (Commercial Fiction)
Rocker Chick
By Kellie Crawford of Los Angeles, CA

OUTSTANDING FICTION (“Cozy” Horror)
Dead Viking Rehab
By Dana Hammer of Anaheim, CA

OUTSTANDING FICTION (Mystery)
Starlet: Mystery and Murder in Old Hollywood
By Sandra Homicz of Dana Point, CA

Of course, each SCWC holds a contest in which all writers are invited to participate. The rules are simple: Write a piece in any form you wish of no more than 250 words based on the one-word topic announced Friday night. The topic for LA15 was “Bare/Bear/Behr/Beyer.” Here’s this year’s winning entry . . .

OUTSTANDING TOPIC STORY
Soft Centers
by
Terry Black
of Mission Viejo, CA

They’re not afraid of us, but they should be.

They think we’re cute, and photogenic. They think we add a forbidden thrill, a delightful shiver of danger to their woodland vacation. They love to see us plodding on all fours, irritably growling, hunting for game, stockpiling calories against the long, dark winter. They watch spellbound as we stand mid-river, waiting for the salmon to fling themselves upstream, catching their tender pink flesh in our great drooling jaws, ending the migration of a thousand miles with a single, shredding bite.

They take pictures. They take “selfies,” trying to frame themselves in a digital photo with a bear standing uncomfortably close, as if to showcase their bravado, smiling inanely just a few feet away. They think we we’d never attack them – that we’d never indulge in a tasty side order of photo-snapping tourist meat.

And most of the time they’re right.

Most of the time.

But I’ve noticed something about our flesh-colored visitors. They like to test the boundaries, to skirt the edges of safe and secure. By wandering just a little too close, or staying just a little too late in the season, when the fish and grubs and rodents disappear, and sweet nourishment becomes harder to find. When the hunger gnaws and festers, and turns all-consuming. When tourists begin to look less like nuisances and more like dinner.

When we stop growling and suddenly strike.

I enjoy the tourists. I especially like their soft centers.

###

Congratulations to all the award winners!

We’ll return to the O.C. next year with our 16^th annual LA(ish) event. Dates are September 21-23. Discounted pre-registration opens March 1, 2018. In the meantime, our 32^nd annual San Diego conference will take place Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 16-18, 2018. Limited to 175 writers, all the details can be found here.

—Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC