Winter is coming! Our extended 32nd annual Presidents’ Day Weekend conference takes place February 16-18, 2018. Offering over five-dozen workshops—including “Rogue” read & critique sessions that often run deep into the balmy wee hours, five months out there’s already plenty to report.
The author of The Midnight Dance, her debut young adult fantasy out October from Swoon Reads/Macmillan, Nikki Katz joins us for the first as a Special Guest Speaker. Replete with magical realism and Gothic settings, the intricately woven story delivers a unique and haunting twist on a classic fairy tale which #1 New York Times bestseller Jay Asher (Thirteen Reasons Why) calls, “A dark adventure, stunningly written!” And Suzanne Lazear, author of the Aether Chronicles series, declares it, “Deliciously dark and twisty, taking you on a luscious ride.” A recovering rocket scientist, Nikki will share how it came about it.
Other staffers making their SCWC debut include Loretta Ellsworth, author of the young adult novels The Shrouding Woman, In Search of Mockingbird, In a Heartbeat and Unforgettable, along with her new, full-on adult title, Stars over Clear Lake; Pendleton (Penn) Wallace, author of the Ted Higuera Thriller and Catrina Flaherty Mystery series; New York literary agents John Bowers, of the Bent Agency, and Kaitlyn Johnson, from Corvisiero Literary. More workshop leaders, agents, editors and another guest speaker will be announced next update. Rest assured than many of our best, familiar folk are already aboard, even some we haven’t seen for a while. With them will come many new workshops we’re thinking need to be introduced, as well as some we need to bring back to get to the core of what we do best: craft.
Gobs of Good “Muse”
Busy days for many SCWCers. Books recently released or very soon to be include the launch of yet another series by the prolific Bethany Lopez. Pinch of Salt (Volume 1 of Three Sister Catering), which made the Smashwords Hotlist: Weekly Indie Romance Bestsellers and Hot Pre-orders … The follow-up to his internationally award-winning Game of Love, Ara Grigorian’s contemporary romance Ten Year Dance … Chasing Hope, a contemporary drama from Holly Kammier … And Jessica Therrien’s latest, Carry Me Home, inspired by the true story of a teenage girl’s involvement in several Mexican gangs in San Jose and Los Angeles.
On the spooky, creepy, lovely, downright scary side of things, Laura Perkins’ (writing as Mercy Hallow) dark fantasy Sythe: Legions of the Claimed … Linda Thomas-Sundstrom’s Desert Wolf continues the series … And Evan Ramspott’s (who writes under the pen name Better Hero Army) fourth installment of his zombie-themed saga, Plagued: The Battle Creek Zombie Rectification Experiment. Nonfiction-wise: Greta Boris & Megan Haskell have Aspiring to Author: A Guide for Your Publishing Career … And Robert Yehling (with Jeff Emmerson) has Beyond ADHD: Overcoming the Label and Thriving.
Congratulations and best of success to all!
That’s it for now. Be sure to subscribe to our periodic .COMmunity updates to receive all the latest news. To engage with our greater writing community in the meantime, join the well-moderated conversation on our SCWC Facebook page.
Discounted pre-registration is open now. San Diego 32 is your winter writerly haven. Be there or beware.
—Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC
