News And Announcements

There’s nothing quite like sharing a few days – and nights – with a plot of writers immersed in the work, aspiring for excellence and determined to settle only for exceptional. And what a weekend it was. So many fascinating stories came through; so many new friends made. Wes, Rick, Linda and I applaud all the conferees who placed their trust in the SCWC, and especially the terrific workshop leaders who so generously threw their all in getting them where they strive to be.

Big shout out to our terrific guest speakers, Claudia Whitsitt (Lingering Clouds), Scott McGaugh (Brotherhood of the Flying Coffin: The Glider Pilots of World War II), and Gayle Carline (New Dragon Soaring). Knocked it out the park, folks. Thank you.

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

SCWC*San Diego 37 Award Recipients

OUTSTANDING FICTION (Epic Fantasy)
Far Corelay
by Greg Uke of Escondido, CA

OUTSTANDING MEMOIR
Mother Matter
by Pamela Garvey of Saint Louis, MO

OUTSTANDING SHORT STORY
If You Stay, You Will Die
by Greg Laskaris of San Diego, 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 SD37 was “Flight.” Here’s the winning entry…

OUTSTANDING TOPIC STORY
San Diego Word Bar
by
Diana Fulton
of Irine, CA

Welcome. We pride ourselves on our vast selection of words, offering carefully curated flights to satisfy the most discerning patron.

Perhaps you’d like to begin with our Classic Flight. This includes a rich collection from aged words. You’ll start with the Dante, a blend of hot and cold, fire on the tongue, ice in the belly. From there, move to the French original, Voltaire, with its philosophical jewels. The Austin selection is full and robust, pure of spirit, rich with humor and acidic undertones. Dickens completes the flight with an extraordinary energetic pigment, not bleak at all. We also carry our savory Shakespeare flight with the Romeo Reserve, Multilayered Macbeth, Caesar Cellar and Hamlet Heritage.

Our latest collection includes contemporary words for the adventurous palate. The SDWC Flight provides a multidimensional sensory experience. Begin with the Whitsitt, a mysterious and complex bouquet with a hint of sweetness that will leave you wanting more. Next, taste the deep and smooth McGaugh with a bouquet that lingers on the palate long after digestion of the words. The Carline, with its opulent textures, is easy to imbibe late into the night. And finally, if you dare, take a walk on the wild side with the Reeves’ exotic elegance.

If any of these samples tantalize your tongue, complete works are available for purchase to enjoy in your favorite reading corner.

Congratulations, all!

Dates for our 38th annual San Diego conference will be Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 16-18, 2024. Limited to 175 writers, discounted pre-registration opens August 1. Between now and next year, our 20th annual Fall event will again take place in Irvine, September 15-17, 2023. Discounted pre-registration opens March 1st. Limited to 150 participants, full details can be found here.

Until next time, write more, suck less, and be the writer you aspire to be.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC

Longtime SCWC workshop leader and all around especially good egg Gayle Carline will be our Sunday afternoon Special Guest Speaker, replacing the previously announced. Having successfully transitioned from traditional press to full-on indie, Gayle is the author of the popular Peri Minneopa Mysteries, including Freezer Burn, Hit or Missus, The Hot Mess, Clean Sweep, Murder Bytes and A More Deadly Union, featuring a housecleaner-turned-detective living in the OC. Other titles include the stand-alone From the Horse’s Mouth: One Lucky Memoir, and the first of a equine-themed mystery series, Murder on the Hoof. Writing as G.S. Carline, her latest is the epic genre-jump into historical fantasy. The Dragon Shadows trilogy is comprised of Blood Dragon Rising, Moon Dragon Falling and upcoming finale, New Dragon Soaring, to be published next week.

The deadline for discounted Full Conference pre-registration is fast approaching, so take advantage of the savings. Until our SD37 post-conference wrap update, write more, suck less, and join us in San Diego. Your words are worth it.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS

Is “good enough” any longer an issue in today’s publishing world? Given many’s rush to publication and what myriad options are readily available to do so, one wonders. The SCWC maintains that quality of craft remains paramount. Emphatically so. Aim for Excellence. Settle only Exceptional, that’s our motto. Our Prime Directive.

But the world has changed. And perhaps the number one question aspiring authors have asked over recent SCWCs is, “How should I publish?”

Valid question. Providing you empirically qualified information to make an educated decision, to increase your odds of publishing successfully regardless which path you choose, is our job. As eschewing traditional publication altogether has become increasingly popular, many often cite those who’ve elected to self- or indie-publish and gone on to great success. One case in point: Colleen Hoover.

Cited in a recent New York Times profile, author Colleen Hoover self-published her first novel in 2012. In 2022, the Times reports, Hoover “sold more books this year than Dr. Seuss. She’s sold more books than James Patterson and John Grisham — combined.”

Truly, for the modern-day writer, only opportunities abound and everything is possible.

Authorpreneurship

Publishing successfully requires more than writing a terrific read. Even if going traditional, the onus of marketing, outreach, book signings, engaging the eyeballs and ear wells of strangers in effort to sell books, then writing more on top of it, will inevitably fall on the author. The authorpreneur. In that spirit, alongside our typical emphasis on craft & execution sessions, we’re devoting more time and attention to publishing alternatives at SD37 than ever before.

We’re introducing 18 new workshops, a panel discussion that takes a rearview look at hybrid-published books and what their authors feel about doing so in retrospect; a session facilitated by Marla Miller, “Talking Truth to Publishing” (details), which invites participation of both published and non-published writers, and more.

Strictly on the craft side of things, a few seats remain open in author Janis Thomas’s Novel Boot Camp (details), which is expected to sell out in the next week or so, then go to waiting list only. (Updated 1/20/23 – SOLD OUT; waiting list only.)

Check out “What The SCWC Can Do For You” to discover how our community can help find yours. Discounted pre-registration is open. Join us in February and be the authorpreneur you aspire to be.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS

Following a brief break, returning to the SCWC for the first time with not only a few of her exceptional workshops, but the latest release in her Love and Loss series, none other than Claudia Whitsitt will be our third Special Guest Speaker for San Diego 37. In Lingering Clouds, a jaded Julie Murphey must grapple with conflicted emotions over two men – her unrepentant ex-husband whose cancer has returned, though she feels obligated to care for, and a dutiful neighbor who sparks one dim flame in her cold, dead heart. In addition to her four-book Samantha Mystery Series, Claudia is author of the award-winning middle grade historical fiction series, Kids Like You, set during the Vietnam War era.

While there’s plenty of room to join us in February, Janis Thomas’s 8-part stand-alone “Novel Boot Camp” immersive has only a few seats left open. If you missed attending it in 2022, now is your chance to jump in. >>Details

More Good “Muse”

As we welcome the new year, we welcome also the forthcoming releases by some of our favorite SCWCers … Out February from Gayle Carline – who’s also introducing a new workshop for SD37, “Battle Plan: Everything You Need to Know Before Going Indie” – the final in her Dragon Shadows trilogy, New Dragon Rising … and from workshop leader Robin “R.D.” Kardon, Flying Home, which completes her popular Flygirl trilogy.

In May, 2023, Jasmin Iolani Hakes’s Hula will be released by HarperCollins. She earned an Outstanding Fiction award for it at LA16, conducted workshops at SD35, and soon, after an interminable delay due to COVID, we finally get to luxuriate in the finished product … Also dropping in May from Schiffer Publishing, Amy Fisher (writing as Rose Guildenstern) debuts her metaphysical novel Iago’s Penumbra. Amy is also presenting a highly anticipated new workshop in San Diego, “Using Tarot to Write Your Story & Demystify Your Process.”

Best of success, everybody!

Discounted pre-registration remains open at this time. Be the writer you aspire to be and join us.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS

Of her work legendary mystery novelist Tony Hillerman lauded, “Neat, suspenseful plots about the kind of people you worry about, written with skill.” L. C. Hayden (Harry Bronson Mystery Thrillers) calls her latest, “A must-read … A fascinating, well-written story.” Joining us for the first time, author of The Miner’s Canary, a who-done-it about a single mom haunted by a death she might have prevented, Barbara Pronin is our second Special Guest Speaker to be announced. She’ll also facilitate a new session, “Plotters, Pantsers and Approach.”

Speaking of new, we’re introducing a record number of workshops come February. From “Creating Characters that Suck / Screw Up a Lot!” and “Setting as Character” to “Using Tarot to Write Your Story & Demystify Your Process” and “Battle Plan: Everything You Need to Know Before Going Indie,” check the Workshops and Events page to see what’s in store.

Recent Good “Muse”

SCWCers with books recently out or will be soon … From George Berger, Chasing Justice, a legal thriller with split timelines … The ninth book in Matt Coyle’s Rick Cahill detective series, Doomed Legacy … A Fearsome Moonlight Black, the first in David Putnam’s new Bone Detective crime thriller series. (We detecting a theme here?)

Christina Mai Fong’s second in her Nightingale Songs children’s fantasy series, Ballads of Shadow and Light … Dior or Die, the first in a new murder mystery series by Laura Akers … From Kelley Gusich (writing as Kelly Kay Bowles) an urban fantasy, The Meld: Magic, Please.

The second in her historical fantasy Dragon Shadows trilogy, Gayle Carline’s Moon Dragon Falling … And with Book 5 in The Jilted Wives Club, Bethany Lopez’s Accidental Wife.

We’ll be opening up advance submission readers once remaining staff is finalized. In the meantime, Janis Thomas’ stand-alone “Novel Boot Camp” has a few spots open. It’s the only track that requires sign-up in advance and will sell out sooner than later. Also, discounted pre-registration remains open here.

Your work is worth it, join us!

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS

In every major European invasion of the war, a force of volunteers on specialized duty that their own government projected would have a 50 percent casualty rate, led the way. Joining us for the first time, veteran journalist and New York Times bestselling author Scott McGaugh will discuss the story behind his upcoming release Brotherhood of the Flying Coffin: The Glider Pilots of World War II. His other books include the Civil War biography Surgeon in Blue, and Honor Before Glory, which takes readers on a riveting rescue mission by Japanese American soldiers and is in film development.

Mucho Good “Muse”

Have been remiss in reporting all the SCWCer books out as of late, so let’s get to it. From Barbara Pronin, The Miner’s Canary, a suspenseful thriller … Wanda McLaughlin’s romantic suspense High Desert Heat … From Gayle Carline, Blood Dragon Rising, the first in her historical fantasy Dragon Shadows trilogy.

Dana Hammer’s delicious comedic horror, The Cannibal’s Guide to Fasting …   Book four in his Physics, Lust and Greed Series, The Outlaw Gillis Kerg is Mike Murphey’s latest … Nell: Marshal of Bodie, a historical thriller, introduces readers to John Edward Mullen’s new Nell Doherty Mysteries.

Book 2 in USA Today Bestseller Bethany Lopez’s The Jilted Wives Club trilogy, Trophy Wife, explores the good, bad and ugly of dating again in your thirties and forties … Jennifer Coburn’s Cradle of the Reich is called by New York Times bestselling author Kate Quinn, “The Handmaid’s Tale meets WWII” . . . and from Mikel J. Wilson, the 10th anniversary edition of his metaphysical novel Sedona: The Lost Vortex.

Reunion at Fortuny Bay, a contemporary romance, is the first book in Ara Grigorian’s Fortuny Bay Series … Writing as Mercy Hollow, Rubidium: Legions of the Claimed is first in a new dark urban fantasy series by Laura Perkins … Kathryn Atkins’ satirical take on “a gorgeous and painfully vain yet misunderstood member of heaven’s team, Deathlist.

From Indy Quillen, the fourth in her always suspenseful Fox Walker adventure series, Astray … And finally, Megan Haskell’s Aether Bound Book 1 The Rise of Lilith fantasy series.

Best of success to all!

Conference Registration Open

Fresh off our recent event in Irvine, we’ll begin rolling out the workshop staff, advance submission readers, two remaining guest speakers and more for San Diego 37 shortly. Steeply discounted pre-registration is now open here.

Until next time, remember that there is no single right way to achieve publication success – only an infinite number of wrong ways. Check out “What The SCWC Can Do For You” to discover how our community can help find yours.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS