Fresh off the just-announced news of his winning the Gold in Sports Fiction at the 2015 Readers Favorite International Book Awards for his breakout success Game of Love (Curiosity Quills Press), Ara Grigorian rounds out our LA13 Special Guest Speaker slate. It’s been one helluva journey for Ara and his debut novel, and a bit of a whirlwind since its release this past May. An award well deserved, he’ll tell us all about the agonizing slog to publication, and the heady reception his book has received since it long-awaited publication. In addition to speaker duties, Ara will be conducting two workshops in our StoryCore track, “Finding the Beats of Your Story” and “Romance, Bromance and Beyond.”
Three other SCWCers on staff for our Irvine conference were also honored by the 2015 RFIRA. Kathy Porter Earth’s Ultimate Conflict scored Gold in Science Fiction. Darlene Quinn’s fourth installment of her popular Web series, Conflicting Webs, took the Silver in General Fiction. And in the Children’s/Fable, Sheri Fink’s enchanting The Little Seahorse landed a Bronze. Good job, everybody. Congratulations!
Less Than a Month Out
While the deadline has passed for optionally submitting material to Advance Submission Readers, a few have caught up on their workload and will remain open until September 15. If interested, be sure to contact the conference first to check a specific Reader’s availability. Those who are sold out are noted under their respective bio on the staff page.
We’re starting to fill up, but there’s still room to register for Irvine. Discounted pre-registration remains open at this time. We have a wonderful line-up of authors, agents and editors, a terrific schedule that’s nearly complete, and the usual surprises in store. Your work is worth it, so don’t miss out.
More Good “Muse”
On the good “muse” front, two more SCWCers with books due out soon. The jacket for Seamus Beirne’s debut novel, the historical adventure Breakout from Sugar Island, has been revealed by Fireship Press. We’re awaiting the publisher’s announcement of a release date and expect to have it soon. On the literary fiction side, Jill G. Hall’s The Black Velvet Coat tells the alternating stories of two women separated by decades, yet bound by a vintage coat and brass key found in its pocket. The novel will be published October 6 from She Writes Press.
That’s it for now. Be sure to join our .COMmunity by subscribing to periodic updates (under the navigation bar on the right) and never miss an important announcement. Those planning ahead for our 30th annual San Diego conference, taking Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 12-15, 2016, register before October 1 and save a whopping $100 off Full Conference.
–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC