News And Announcements

Our extra-long holiday weekend conference takes place over Presidents’ Day Weekend, enabling us to run “Rogue” workshops until the very wee hours of Monday morning. In fact, this past SD24 two late-nighters went until 6:15 AM critiquing each other’s work and commiserating about all things writerly in a make-shift tag-team session that stretched from 3:30 AM, which several of us were privy to from afar…

What that says about those of us privy to the sincere efforts of other writers soberly imbibing upon their craft at the time need not be mentioned. Thing is, as we’ll be celebrating our 25th anniversary come February, no doubt we’ll do so again.

Already we’ve brought a lot of new flock into the fold, author-, agent- and editor-wise, to address the issues today impacting writers of all ilk. Many familiar friends will also join us in February. What’s cool now to announce — before starting our regular updates in October — is that we’re debuting a brand new immersion track as a result of several regulars’ input.

The “3/10 Power Pen” debuts at SD25. This is a stand-alone track in which participants are expected to write – from scratch — the first 10 chapters of their book over the course of the conference weekend. With individual sessions prompted by leaders, the idea behind this is that an SCWC weekend is YOUR weekend. It’s your weekend to get work done, work that you can print and wag in some skeptical non-writer’s face as tangible evidence of your creative efforts. It’s geared for you to write. Now. You.

Regular updates begin in October, following our LA8 event. Meanwhile, register really early (by Sept. 1) and take advantage of our $100 Early “Bard” Registration discount to secure your deserved spot in the .COMmunity extending into all things SCWC.

SD25 will again take place at the lovely Crowne Plaza San Diego resort. We already have a few surprises in store for writers of all levels, including a new 3-day immersion track evolving from the input of many conferees over the years. It’ll be fun, mind-numbingly creative hard labor for you, but what else would you expect from the SCWC? More details on that to come. Meanwhile…

As usual, discounted pre-registration for next year’s extra-long weekend event will open mid-July. Please bare with us as we start building out the San Diego side of the revamped website to reflect such. Certain pages aren’t quite working yet, but we’re aware and are on it.

Speaking of the new site design, check out the Frequently Asked Questions page and tell us what you think on the SCWC Facebook group. Meanwhile, to tide you over ’til the next update, watch the second episode of our SCWC re-enactment series, Writers Recap, called “Rejection Exception.”

Woo-hoo, the brand spanking new SCWC website has arrived!  Took a smidge longer than hoped, and there’s a few buggy bits to iron out, but thanks to the venerable efforts of Write Click Media superstar Jeremy Lee James – wordslinging guru of all things social media and the web for writers – we’re live for LA8 (in Newport Beach).  There’s plenty to report…

The first of our special guest speakers to be announced is Ellen Bryson, whose highly anticipated debut novel The Transformation of Bartholomew Furtuno, described as Water for Elephants meets Geek Love, is out June in hardcover from Henry Holt and Co.  And a few of the other authorial types presently confirmed include award-winning writer/producer Erik Bork (HBO’s From Earth to the Moon, Band of Brothers, Rome), New York Times bestselling NovelCram: Building the Better Book queen Drusilla Campbell, acclaimed horror novelist Mark Clements, and writing provocateur Judy Reeves – celebrating the 10th Anniversary Edition of her Writer’s Book of Days.  Among the agents & editors joining us: Paul Fedorko (N.S. Bienstock), Mollie Glick (Foundry Literary & Media Agency), Matt Hudson (William Morris Endeavor Agency), Georgia Hughes (New World Books), and Sally van Haitsma, who only last month ventured out on her own after years of repping at Castiglia Literary (Best of success, Sally!)…

Some especially “good muse” to announce: Conferee Jane Howatt has signed a deal for her book, The Cop, The Killer, and Me, with Behler Publications editorial director Lynn Price, whom she submitted to at this past February’s SD24 conference.  Congratulations, Jane!  And no doubt Lynn will be back with us at LA8…

Registration is now open for our September event.  Do so by June 1 and save $75.  Regular updates will continue from here forward as there’s plenty more staff to tell you about, along with the preliminary schedule.  For those who already know they’ll be signing up for optional advance submission critique, followed by one-on-one consultation with your reader(s), select “To Be Determined” on the registration form and we’ll email you when the full list becomes available in June…

Finally, as we endeavor to get the kinks out of the new site, please feel free to let Michael know what you think of the interface, any suggestions you have or problems encountered.  Check back often as there’s lots more coming.

Congratulations to Claudia Whitsitt

WE HAVE A WINNER: Charles Redner, publisher of The Hummingbird Review, has announced the winner of the SD24 “An Impact of Another” writing contest. Hailing from Saline, MI, Claudia Whitsitt will receive a cash prize and possible publication in the anthology for her short story, “One Last Pearl.” Congratulations, Claudia!

In other news, we’ll be rolling over the site to its new design and begin announcing updates for our next event in September, LA8 (actually, in Newport Beach) on April 2nd.

Finally, be sure to check back and let us know what you think. And if you like to plan way, way ahead, know now that dates for San Diego 25 will be Presidents’ Day Weekend, Feb. 18-21, 2011, so whether it be in Newport Beach or San Diego — or both — we hope to see you there.

Here’s just a smidge of the feedback we’ve received so far about our recent San Diego event, but please keep ’em coming…

“The weekend was one of the most enlightening experiences in my life.”

“Outstanding…inspiring.”

“I learned a lot and enjoyed the conference.”

“I totally enjoyed the conference and took away new knowledge, tips and great advice. The NOVELCRAM workshop was FABULOUS.” 

“A ton of fun.”

“Thanks again for another great conference!”

“This was my first writer’s conference and I had a fabulous time. Exhausted by Monday but so much better informed.”

“The big advantage you have over other conferences is the wonderful feeling of “community” that happens during your events… The atmosphere is relaxed, yet everyone is very serious about learning and growing as a writer.”

“The best I’ve experienced.”

“The input I received from meeting the agents was priceless.” 

“A fabulous experience…I made some new friends, learned so much about the craft, and above all it turns out I don’t suck as much as I thought I did.”

“Excellent…I had a blast.”

“I look forward to the September event in Newport Beach.”

What a fantastic weekend, and what a fantastic conference. So many new voices and so much passion that the final two writers left standing workshopped among themselves beyond the close of Sunday’s late-night sessions, not calling it quits until 6:20 AM on Monday. Now that’s writing! With so much material deserving recognition, every writer in attendance warrants a shout out for their effort, regardless of where they’re at in their journey. Good job all! Now on to the awards…

SCWC*SD 24 Award Recipients:

• OUTSTANDING FICTION >> Barbara Gardner from Clarkdale, MS for Westside Blues
• OUTSTANDING FICTION >> Alyssa Kirk from Lebec, CA for Demonic Intentions
• OUTSTANDING FICTION >> Larry Markworth from Ventura, CA for Loss of Face
• OUTSTANDING TOPIC >> Elizabeth Mondok from Lancaster, CA for Why the Owl Asks Who (read here)
• OUTSTANDING TOPIC >> Melissa Fischer from Venice, CA for Why, Rick? (read here)

We’re getting gobs of great feedback and exceptional suggestions for next time, so please keep ’em coming. The next SCWC is our L.A. event (which actually takes place in Newport Beach), Sept. 24-26, 2010. Pre-registration opens in April, so check back for details. In the meantime, don’t forget to befriend the SCWC on Facebook and visit the SCWC Blog for additional updates and publishing news.