News And Announcements

First off, we’re moving! Just minutes from the airport, a venue we’ve had our eyes on since returning to in-person events, one much better suited to the SCWC’s needs and long-term objectives, DoubleTree by Hilton San Diego – Hotel Circle will be our new home. Much like the pre-COVID property we remained at for 16 or so years (since closed), this one is similar to our Irvine hotel in that it’s not so large other events interfere with our writers’ weekend immersion. Took a little time to pull together so late in the game, but lodging is open now and discounted pre-registration has been extended. Regular updates begin shortly.

Along with a slew of new workshops, SD38 will feature revered SCWC workshop leaders Jennifer Sylva Redmond and Judy Reeves in a roundtable discussion with bestselling author/SCWC co-director Janis Thomas Friday evening. Both have lauded, long-awaited memoirs recently out, Honeymoon at Sea: How I Found Myself Living on a Small Boat and When Your Heart Says Go: My Year of Traveling Beyond Loss and Loneliness, respectively. Beyond being infinitely informative, with that trio you can trust that the discussion will be fun.

Speaking of Janis Thomas, her newly expanded 8-workshop stand-alone Novel Boot Camp returns February. Limited to only 10 participants, pre-registration is required. At the SCWC, craft is king. Exceptional craft is what distinguishes a writer. And as Janis has long demonstrated, she is queen. >>Details

Following the staff’s post-mortem of our recent September event, in effort to assess what pressing issues most need to be addressed come February, we’re making a tweak to the workshop tiers format that’s served us consistently over the past 62 SCWC events. Many issues we’ve observed factored in: publishing modalities, corporate houses cutting back & re-aligning to celebrity/notoriety anxieties, premature publication, A.I. angst, hybrid press schemes, etc. – essentially, what too many writers don’t know what they don’t know when it comes to this business. Irvine was only two months ago, yet things have evolved since then on a few fronts. Even if for only legacy affirmation, the fact remains that writing commercially viable work is a business. Whether traditional, boutique, university or self-published, it’s a business that requires an agile skillset to succeed. So, here’s the SCWC daytime workshops tier structure newly defined…

1. Read & Critique: Troubleshooting problematic aspects of craft that undermine authorial authority, derail or confuse the reader. Fixing what’s not working as presumed.
2. Story: Big picture. Broadstrokes. Spitballing. Structure. Solutions & prospects.
3. Craft: Nitty gritty. Voice. Execution. Plot. Purpose.
4. Business & Alternative: Pretty much everything we prioritize as needing to be addressed now. This minute. This very moment.

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This is what you’re in store for at the SCWC. If you’re not up to it, we get it. Drift. If you’re serious, however, we’re here for you. Writing’s tough. It’s personal. But at the end of the day it is a business. One you can succeed in, if only you aspire and are prepared to put in the hard labor required to do so.

The SCWC is about the writers in the room and words on the page, not the people behind the podium. Any conference that thinks otherwise is a sham. And there’s a lot of them out there.

Good “Muse”

Next update, I’ll delve into all the latest SCWC success releases. Given the lag with the hotel issue, however, this time I want to focus on one SCWCer. Her name is Candace Buford. She sent us an email:

• I went to this conference a few years ago and learned so much–particularly from Marla Miller and Pitch Witches. The pitch I crafted with Marla and the opening pages we revised helped me get my agent! I am now a full time author, writing primarily YA and MG for HarperCollins, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, and Disney Books. My newest book (SUSIE KING TAYLOR, Aladdin/Simon & Schuster) comes out on September 26. I also had a release earlier this summer (GOOD AS GOLD, Disney 6/6/23)…

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Not the first time, of course, for the conference. But every individual time that a writer succeeds in part because of the conference is the best time.

I hope you’ll trust and allow us to be your best time, come February. Register now.

–Michael Steven GregoryExecutive Director, SCWC

Dates for our 38th annual winter event in San Diego are Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 16-18, 2024. Steeply discounted pre-registration is now open. Even this far out, it’s already shaping up to be another great gathering. While regular updates will begin in October, here’s all you need to know now:

(UPDATED 11/8/2023) SCWC*SD38 LOCATION: We WILL NOT be returning to the Marriott Mission Valley, but instead moving over to DoubleTree by Hilton San Diego – Hotel Circle, near our old haunt.

SCWC*SD38 SCHEDULE: As usual, there’ll be plenty of craft- and business-centric sessions, read & critique workshops, one-on-one consultations and more that will round out our writers’ weekend.

Of particular note, Janis Thomas will return with her newly  expanded 8-workshop stand-alone Novel Boot Camp. Limited to only 10 participants, the track sold out fast at SD37 and requires pre-registration. >>Details

SCWC*SD38 STAFF: As always, authors, editors, agents, and other publishing professionals will be joining us. Be sure to subscribe to our periodic .COMmunity updates to find out who, along with all timely SCWC news.

Until next time, remember that there is no single right way to publication success – only an infinite number of wrong ways. The SCWC is devoted to finding your best way. You can join us in Irvine this September to discover how here.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/RWS

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