News And Announcements

The first release in a three-book deal, Elle Jauffret’s Threads of Deception is out November, 2024. Chronicling the travails of criminal attorney-turned-private-chef suffering with French foreign accent syndrome Claire Fontaine, USA Today bestselling suspense author Hank Phillippi Ryan calls it,  “A charming traditional mystery with a unique French twist … this chic, cinematic, and unpredictable story, revealed in a gorgeous setting, will keep you turning the pages as fast as you can.” Annette Lyon (Just One More) lauds, “Jauffret’s use of an unusual medical condition, fascinating backstory, and vivid setting add to the intrigue and interest, but her descriptions of scrumptious food will have you planning a visit to the nearest French bakery.” Elle is the first of our Special Guest Speakers to be announced for San Diego 39, where she’ll join Janis Thomas for a roundtable discussion.

While several SD39 authors, editors and agents have been posted on the Staff page, there’s plenty more to be added. We’ll also begin rolling out what’s in store on the workshop front later this week. One thing to be aware of, the Novel Boot Camp has already sold out and is on waiting list only. If interested in possibly participating, should a slot become available, be sure to email me to be added. The list is first come, first served.

Advance Submission Reader selection will open Monday, November 4^th. If you’ve already registered for the conference and selected a reader “to be announced,” email me directly with your selections so we can get you dialed in.

As always, San Diego’s shaping up to be another sensational weekend. We’re super excited about the new hotel, which we should have run-of-the-house of. Dates for our 39^th annual winter event are Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 14-16, 2025. Discounted registration is now open.

And speaking of Special Guest Speaker roundtable discussions, here’s Janis conducting one at our most recent San Diego event, with Jennifer Silva Redmond and Judy Reeves, on the topic of revealing intimacy in memoir: How much is too much? (Visit SCWC*TV for more.)

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC

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 39^th 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

Before we start regular conference updates proper, a heads-up that bestselling author and SCWC Director Janis Thomas will once again conduct her popular Novel Boot Camp in San Diego. Limited to only 10 participants, this immersive, 8-workshop track requires pre-registration and tends to sell out sooner than later. >>Complete details

Also, please be mindful that we’re still wrangling a few gremlins in our email server. Should be resolved soon, but do subscribe for updates if you haven’t received one over the past four weeks.

So Much Good “Muse”

What with wrestling tech since February, have neglected deserved props to all the SCWCers with new books…

Mustang to Paducah, A Zany Romp Into the Sixties, by Raul Ramos Y Sanchez (America Libre), mixes a stoner road trip and multiple murders with exuberant gonzo abandon … Pat Spencer’s Golden Boxty in the Fry Pan is a coming-of-age novel that brings to life the hardships and joys of a multi-generational Irish family struggling to stay together during the Great Depression … Post and Perilous is the third in Laura E. Akers’ Davina Glenn mystery adventure series.

From prolific author Teresa Burrell, the fraught trials of attorney Sabre Brown continue with The Advocate’s Nightmare, The Advocate’s Oath and The Advocate’s Phantom. The longstanding series (now up to 16 titles) draws heavily from T’s work as a lawyer in San Diego, whose private practice specialized in domestic, criminal, and civil cases. Also a former teacher, her work in juvenile court focused on representing abused minors and juvenile delinquents.

On the brink of World War II, Katharina Berger was the most sought-after stage and film actress in Germany. George (G.J.) Berger’s To Steal a Moment’s Time, explores his struggling mother’s remarkable diaries journaled while trying to survive Nazism and find his father during the first year of his life … The Diabolical, Book 11 in David Putnam’s Bruno Johnson thriller series. Janet Evanovich calls it, “Riveting, scary, but with plenty of wit and humanity” … Patrick Holcomb’s Where the Seams Meet plumbs the emotional depths of a desperately fractured relationship between a father and his son through their one common denominator: baseball.

“Spine-tingling […] deftly highlights the injustices of the American legal system regarding child abuse and parental rights all while presenting an engrossing cult thriller,” declares Publishers Weekly of of Mary G. Thompson’s young adult thriller, The Word … Book six of Indy Quillen’s award-winning Fox Walker suspense series, Perceptions, thrusts her expert tracker hero into a murder mystery that forces him to question his legendary bushcraft skills and world view … Shady Fortunes, Douglas J. Bornemann’s fifth installment in his historical fantasy The Dreamweaver Chronicles drops August 20^th.

August 27 sees the arrival of Melanie Doctors’ debut domestic drama Sleep in Peace. Of it, our own Ara Grigorian (Fortuny Bay series) effuses, “Wit, vulnerability, family saga, and love all come together in this story of self-discovery and second chances” … And from Christina Fong, the third in her YA fantasy Nightingale Songs Trilogy, ‘Til the Last Ember of Starlight, is out October, 2025.

Congratulations and best of success to all!

Dates for our 39^th annual winter event are Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 14-16, 2025. Discounted pre-registration is now open. Register today and save.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC

Dates for our 39th annual San Diego conference are Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 14-16, 2025. Discounted pre-registration is now open. While regular updates will begin in August, here’s all you need to know now:

THE WEBSITE: WritersConference.com is currently being revitalized to better accommodate mobile devices. Consequently, over the next several weeks there may be backend code glitches I haven’t caught or ironed out yet. When launched, the new site will be significantly different than the current iteration. Should you encounter registration issues, please email me directly. (No need to blame the conference kitty.)

EMAIL: The ongoing disruptions we’ve been experiencing with @writersconference.com email functionality and delivery, since at least September of 2023, should be resolved within the next two weeks. Fingers & toes crossed. If you’ve not received a recent email update from us, be sure to subscribe in order to get all the latest news going forward.

SCWC*SD39 SCHEDULE: As usual, plenty of craft- and business-centric sessions, read & critique workshops, one-on-one consultations and more that will round out our writers’ weekend.

SCWC*SD39 STAFF: Accomplished authors, editors, agents, and other publishing professionals will be joining us, again, as usual. Be sure to subscribe to our periodic .COMmunity updates to find out who, along with all other SCWC news.

Until next time, remember that there is no single right way to forge publication success – only an infinite number of wrong ways. The SCWC is devoted to finding your best way.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC

Craft is where it’s at. With a lucky break from the rain, and despite unanticipated challenges with the venue, our plot of writers celebrated the weekend by digging in and doing the work. Janis, Rick and I thank all for placing their trust in the SCWC. A hearty thanks to our workshop leaders and volunteers. And thank you to special guests Matt Coyle (Odyssey’s End), Suzanne Redfearn (Where Butterflies Wander), Jennifer Silva Redmond (Honeymoon at Sea), and Judy Reeves (When Your Heart Says Go)—all dutifully aspiring to excellence and settling only for exceptional with their work.

With yet another rapturously exhausting conference now behind us, let’s get on to which conferees were awarded for pages put forth in read & critique workshops and advance submission consultation.

SCWC*San Diego 38 Award Recipients

OUTSTANDING FICTION (TBA)
TBA
by Jason Hook of Lancaster, NH

OUTSTANDING FICTION (Literary)
Mirror-Image America
by Daze Castillo of San Diego, CA

OUTSTANDING SHORT STORY
Untitled
by Diana Fulton of El Dorado, CA

Also, 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 SD38 was “Key(s).” Here’s the winning entry . . .

OUTSTANDING TOPIC STORY
Untitled
by Diana Fulton of Redwood City, CA

Somewhere in the Florida Keys …

“Morning. What brings y’all in so early?” the waitress asked, smacking her gum.

“Well, we planned to go sailin’ today,” said the woman, neatly dressed in navy Capri pants and a white linen top matching her permed hair.

“Yeah? What happened?” She twirled her pencil.

The woman glanced at her husband, who stared at the ceiling silently, hands resting on his small potbelly.

“I dropped his sailboat keys into the ocean.” Her leather cheeks reddened.

The waitress nearly spat out her gum. “You did what now?”

“I tried to toss ‘em to him, but they slipped right outta my hand. I had just put on lotion.”

The man muttered something incomprehensible.

“Sweet baby Jesus! Didn’t y’all have a floaty keychain?”

“We did, but our baby grandson was playing with it and it broke right off.”

“Lord. What are y’all gonna do?”

“We were fixin’ to have some coffee,” the man interjected, “while we wait for the boat store to open.”

“Course, yessir,” the waitress replied, “coming right up and I’ll throw in some key lime pie.”

When she returned with the order, the couple sat just as she had left them.

“Sir, I have to ask. Are you ‘bout ready to kill your wife?”

“No ma’am,” he said. “What these gray hairs have brought me is the wisdom that my wife is more important than any old boat.”

He gazed at her. She placed her age-spotted hand on top of his and smile. “My Ernie!”

Good writing is where you find it, regardless of length, and should be acknowledged. That said, I need to set this up: The hotel we were forced to hold the conference at was a stop-gap solution. Unforeseen challenges arose. Among them? Only one bartender. The one bartender they did provide was three days new to the job when we arrived. His name is Ernesto. How he managed to do so, we don’t know, but he did so with gusto and a smile. We wanted to honor him so much (for dealing so pleasantly and patiently with us), that extra points were given to anybody submitting a Topic Award story that weaved him into it.

Diana submitted the below, but in her late-night editing cut any reference to the actual topic (“Key(s)”) from the entry. However, our judges could not withhold their support for citing its quality.

WARNING: This story contains potty language. Get over it. Life should not be bleepable. We’re writers.

Untitled
by Diana Fulton of Irvine, CA

A wise writer wrote “The first murder is the hardest,” yet so far it had been deceptively easy. Why this weekend, this conference? The non-existent coffee, the broken printer, the shitty Mexican food; those transgressions could be forgiven. However, the lack of alcohol was a capital offense.

She needed a martini, maybe two or seven. For Christ’s sake, there were 150 writers at the conference, shuffling around her like zombies with a taste for agent brains. She was so damn sick of smiling she thought her face might explode, embedding false eyelashes into the walls.

Her ass had been kissed so many times she was afraid her asshole would start kissing back. How the hell was she supposed to endure this without alcohol?

The idea of murder had been simmering in her soul for years. She’d read enough unbearably crusty detective manuscripts from former lawyers and Connolly wannabes to learn how to avoid consequences.

She took the stairs, avoiding the elevator where perfectly practiced pitches pummeled her as if Blake Snell himself were throwing them.

She set the stage; a thoughtful rip in her Hello Kitty nightshirt, a lamp knocked to the floor, the gun tucked under a pillow. She had a permit to carry, she wasn’t stupid. No sense getting away with murder if you were jailed for a lesser offense. A drink would be nice.

A knock on the door, the click of the lock as it disengaged. She smiled, a genuine smile this time.

“Hello, Ernesto.”

Congratulations, all!

Dates for our 39th annual San Diego conference are Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 14-16, 2025. Limited to 175 writers, discounted pre-registration opens August 1. In the meantime, changes abound as we inaugurate SCWC 3.0. What’s all cool to come will be announcing soon.

Until next time, write more, suck less, and be the writer you aspire to be. Your work is worth it.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC

Returning to the SCWC with her sixth novel, Where Butterflies Wander, out February 6th from Lake Union, #1 Amazon bestselling author Suzanne Redfearn will regale and inform us with her travels and travails negotiating an ever-evolving publishing landscape. She replaces our previously announced Sunday afternoon Special Guest Speaker due to unforeseen circumstances. Suzanne’s previous books have been translated into twenty-four languages and have been recognized by RT Reviews, Target Recommends, Goodreads, Publisher’s Marketplace, and Kirkus Reviews. In an Instant was awarded Best New Fiction from Best Book Awards and was a Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist. Author Gian Sardar (When the World Goes Quiet) extols of her latest, “A poignant tale of blame, forgiveness, and the slender threads that weave into the tapestry of life. Redfearn takes her readers from heartbreak to hope, all the way making us see our ties to what’s been lost, and that even the most unlikely people can set us free.”

While close to having the final weekend schedule in place, another new workshop has just been introduced:

“Painting with Prose: Crafting Children’s Picture Books”
Leader: Henry Herz
Objective: Unleash your inner child and grab your most colorful crayons for a deep dive into the vibrant heart of children’s picture book creation. Unveiling the secrets of blending lyrical language with arresting artwork, we’ll explore how simple stories can weave complex emotions and teach young minds without preaching; delve into dynamic design and visual storytelling that captivates evolving brains. Exceptional structure, plot, character development, word choice, rhyme, pacing, themes and humor remain–they’re all as essential to pic-lit as excellent adult fiction.

Been a long while since we’ve addressed the genre, but since so many of you have asked for it recently, we’re doing so. Hot market. Take advantage.

There’s still plenty of room to join us in San Diego. Discounted Full Conference pre-registration remains open at this time. You’ve earned it. Your work is worth it. Join us!

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC