News And Announcements

Linda Thomas-Sundstrom, author of well over 40 novels rooted in contemporary, paranormal, and urban-fantasy, returns to the SCWC with a new workshop, “The Full Story: Tackling Beginnings, Middles, and Ends That Make Your Story Shine,” tackling how to craft openings that orient and entice, middles that escalate tension and deepen character, and endings that deliver resonance and satisfaction. As our Sunday Special Guest Speaker, she’ll join Janis Thomas in conversation about transitioning from relying solely on Big Five in effort to regain control of her work and publish better independently.

SD40 Weekend Schedule

Absent the inevitable minor tweak or two, the schedule has been updated so you can start planning your writerly weekend. One heads-up: a rare opportunity in that a slot has opened up to attend bestselling author Janis Thomas’ Novel Boot Camp track. Email me if you want in. >>Details

Legacy for Life

Legacy. For an author, it refers to a lasting impact cultivated through written words, relationships, and professional choices. It encompasses the stories left behind and what values and themes recur in your work. Not limited to fame or sales, legacy invites a long view of a path asking not just “What do I publish now?” but “What do I want my writing life to stand for over time?”

Determination and one passionate advocate is often what it takes to be the writer you aspire to be. The 40th annual SCWC*San Diego provides an opportunity to find The One.

Your work is worth it. Your legacy demands it. Join us for an incomparable in-person adventure and start the New Year, Write!

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC

As writers, how do we get from here to that place we want to share with strangers across the page? Online events offer convenience, but they can’t match the impact of in-person interaction and support with like-minded souls devoted to doing so like the SCWC. So let’s get to it …

For SD40, New York Times best-seller, five-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, anthology editor, comic book writer, and editor of Weird Tales Magazine, Jonathan Maberry will be joining us for the first time. Sage storyteller that he is, he’s got a lot of insight on how to navigate the myriad aspects of today’s expanding transmedia marketplace, and we’re happy to welcome him aboard to share it.

Also a first-timer, historical thriller novelist and journalist Paddy Kirsch will address his effort to make complex subjects accessible. He’s worked with NPR’s The Indicator from Planet Money, Marketplace, and the BBC, earning honors including an Edward R. Murrow Award and a Knight Fellowship at Stanford. Maybe sounds staid, but he definitely is not. He’s a storyteller!

On the workshop leader front, many regulars return, along with some new folk we’ll be introducing. Will start announcing what authors, agents, editors and other publishing professionals shortly.

Discounted registration is open. Don’t get lost in the crowd or muted behind a screen. Be seen. Be heard. Get read. Join us.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC

No foolin’… After a five-year absence and major renovation, the SCWC will return to our home of nearly two decades for our 40^th anniversary, the Crowne Plaza San Diego. While the Tiki motif is gone, in its place is a fresh environment that will further foster lasting personal connections.

One other big thing: we’re moving the San Diego event back to January. Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend is when we held our winter event for the first 10 or so years, so it seems fitting that we get back to where we once belonged!

Regular updates will begin soon. In the meantime, here’s all you need to know now:

THE WEBSITE: WritersConference.com is currently wrestling back end code gremlins, most notably with the dates listed below the top banner and copy in the footer. Am working to debug.

SCWC40 LOCATION: Our 40^th anniversary event will be held at the Crowne Plaza San Diego, our home of 17 years prior to the pandemic. Newly remodeled and upgraded, its centrally situated mere minutes away from Lindbergh Field International Airport, Sea World, Balboa Park, the San Diego Zoo, historic Old Town and downtown’s famous Gaslamp District. Address: 2270 Hotel Circle North, San Diego, CA 92108.

SCWC*SD40 SCHEDULE: To inform, inspire, encourage and reward both emerging and accomplished writers is what the SCWC has striven to do since 1986. Rest assured we will continue to do so in January. (And, yes, Janis Thomas’ Novel Boot Camp is slated.)

SCWC*SD40 STAFF: As usual, accomplished authors, editors, agents, and other publishing professionals will be there. Be sure to subscribe to our periodic .COMmunity updates to find out who, along with all other SCWC news.

Dates for our 40^th anniversary event are January 16-18, 2026. Discounted pre-registration is now open. If you’ve harnessed a dream of quality publication, be the writer you aspire to be and join us.

And for all planning to attend our inaugural conference in Central Oregon, October 17-19, 2025, details are here.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC

Who woulda thunk? The years “post” COVID have been tough. Trepidation regarding in-person events remains high. Wildfires are prevalent. The moon is waning. Sun setting. Cocktail prices spiking. Personal lives, aspirations, even dreams, thwarted for many.

This past weekend, however, for the first time since February of 2020, the conference felt full-on back to its most robustly intimate form. Such a fantastic coup of wordsmiths. So many important stories being told. Thank you all those who are our SCWC community.

Beyond our extraordinary workshop & volunteer staff, special shout out to guest speakers Elle Jauffret, Henry Lien and Kristi Fox. Good job across the board. Next up…

SCWC*San Diego 39 Award Recipients

OUTSTANDING FICTION (Horror)
TBA
By
Chris Garrett
Of Phoenix, AZ

OUTSTANDING FICTION (Historical)
Nell: Labor Spy
By
John Mullen
Of Poway, CA

OUTSTANDING FICTION (Commercial)
TBA
By
Daniel Axelrod
Of San Diego, CA

OUTSTANDING NONFICTION
TBA
By
Jennifer Becker
Of San Diego, CA

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 SD39 was “Rain/Reign/Rein.” Here’s the winning entry . . .

OUTSTANDING TOPIC STORY
Rain of Terror
By
Diana Fulton
Of Irvine, CA

FORECAST: CLOUDY

First workshop begins. Inciting incident? What the hell is that? Do I have one? Beats? As in vegetable or music? Perhaps, I don’t know as much as I thought. Oh Lord, I have a prologue. Only 80k words for debut authors? My baby is a plump 220k. The room cools. I huddle into my sweater.

FORECAST: SHOWERS

The writer to my right has written six novels. To my left, ten novels. The speaker, over 40 novels. One novel is nothing. Speaker recommends networking. Hello? Reigning Queen of Introverts here. I don’t even like to talk to myself. Social media presence? Are you fucking kidding me?

BREAKING NEWS: SEVER WEATHER. TAKE SHELTER

Meeting with agent not what I imagined. No A+, no happy face. Excess exposition. Avoid flashbacks. I dab at my coffee stained shirt and hold back tears. At the cage match, the gong brutally silences my words. The evening speaker performs a theme song he wrote for his book.

A writer has to sing too? I’m in trouble. Should I release the reins of this writing fantasy?

FORECAST: PARTLY SUNNY. RAINBOWS

Too many drinks. Head pounding. Writing virginity gone. Maybe my characters are flat, my settings nonexistent and tell overwhelms the showing. My baby will never be the same. She will be better. I bid farewell to my new friends. I can’t wait for next to do this again.

#   #  #

Congratulations, Diana! Don’t fret. You’re gonna do just fine.

Everything Old is New Again

For the first decade we held the SCWC on Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend. Now we’re going back to where we once belonged. The 40th annual SCWC*San Diego will take place January 16-18, 2026. Adjust your clocks accordingly.

A conference devoted to the writers in the room and not just those behind a podium (or computer monitor), our winter event is limited to 175 participants. Discounted pre-registration opens June 1. Till then, write well, write more, suck less, and be the writer you aspire to be. Your words are worth it.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC

Rounding out the Special Guest Speakers for our 39th annual San Diego event are two writers we especially like.

Ever-prolific USA Today bestselling novelist and short story writer Kristi (K.A.) Fox joins us. Writing across genres under a variety of names, spanning young adult urban fantasy to contemporary and paranormal romance, her latest is Hidden By Fate and Masks: A Cinderella Fairy Tale Romance (as Krysta Fox). Kristi will also be conducting workshops throughout the weekend.

Henry Lien, best known for his acclaimed young adult fantasy novels Peasprout Chen, Future Legend of Skate and Sword and Peasprout Chen: Battle of Champions, and an accomplished short story writer whose works have been nominated for the Nebula Award, will discuss his latest: the nonfiction Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird: The Art of Eastern Storytelling. Out February from W. W. Norton & Company.

Dates for SD39 are Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 14-16, 2025. Discounted registration remains open at this time. Do so today and save!

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC

Step into a vibrant sanctuary where your love of storytelling is not just understood but celebrated; where your writing journey takes center stage. That’s what’s in store for you at our 39th annual San Diego event–a weekend dedicated not just to honing craft, but turbo-charging careers with the vital information needed to navigate current publishing crossroads.

The majority of workshops slated for February are now available to peruse. Among the many:

• Against All Odds: Publishing WELL from Scratch
  with Tway Huynh
• Developing Captivating Series Characters
  with Matt Coyle
• For a Few Dollars More: The Cost of Selling Yourself Short
  with Jennifer Silva Redmond & Eric Peterson
• How to Craft a Strong & Believable Villain
  with Dennis Crosby
• Late Bloomers: Publishing After 50
  with Carl Vonderau & Linda Moore
• Networking for Introverts
  with Dennis Crosby
• Plot Your Novel Using Percentages
  with Jessica Berg
• Promoting Your Book on a Shoestring Budget
  with KC Grifant
• When is ‘Done!’ Done Enough?
  with Marla Miller, Jessica Berg, Jake Lovell & Cathie Hendrick-Armstrong

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Complete details on nearly 50 sessions can be found on the Workshops & Events page.

Dates for SD39 are Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 14-16, 2025. Discounted registration remains open. Be the writer you aspire to be and join us!

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC