News And Announcements

And we’re off! Off-site, that is. Given there’s zero evidence to suggest we can safely gather physically come February, our 35th annual San Diego event will be conducted online. We’ve researched our options and the consensus among staff is that we can emulate the best of our in-person SCWC experience with only minor tweaks to our regular schedule, and by limiting workshop attendance accordingly. The shape and emphasis of our Presidents’ Day Weekend event is now clear. Its aim remains the same: Getting you where you want to be with your writing. As always, craft is where it’s at.

Before moving on, I must impart sad news. It’s primarily why I’ve been lax on SD35 this past month. Chrissie Barnett, my partner and co-director of the conference for over 30 years, whom to many here was a friend adored, even cherished, has passed on. Other than that she is deeply missed, the vacuum left in her wake becoming an awful gulf for me to cross, I posted a story on our blog for those who knew her; maybe for those who never did. You can read it here.

Now For Some Good “Muse”

Much to report on SCWCers … Kristi Pfeffer Fox (writing as K.A. Fox) sold the Italian rights to her Devil’s Own: Murphy’s Law, Book One, released November, 2019. The second, Judas Kiss, is her latest … Christa Yelich-Koth’s Spider’s Ring, the second in her Detective Trann Series is also now out …

From PJ Colando, The Jailbird’s Jackpot, sequel to The Winner’s Circle, which is a companion in her Faith, Family, Frenzy! Series, is now out … As is Kathryn Atkins’ My Piano Hands: A Flash Memoir Collection … And Russ Thompson’s YA novel, No Place to Hide.

Dropping soon, we’ve got David Reed’s Uphill & Into the Wind, out October. It’s a memoir about his 1973 cross-country odyssey that spans 5420 miles on bicycles … Dennis Crosby has Death’s Legacy out November … And Jerome (J.C.) Farmer’s Counterfeit Lover, out Nov. 2020. All from Acorn Publishing, by the way.

Congratulations, and best of success!

Discounted Pre-registration To Open

Discounted Early “Bard” Pre-registration opens October 1. Do so by November 1 and save a whopping $150 on Full Conference attendance. Regular updates will begin in October. In the meanwhile, here’s what you need to know now…

SCWC*SD35 LOCATION: The Cloud. Online. In the ether. Our virtual event will likely be conducted on Zoom, though there is another platform we’re considering.

SCWC*SD35 SCHEDULE: Lots of our regular emphasis on craft- and business-centric sessions, read & critique workshops, one-on-one consultations and more will pupulate our weekend. You can get an idea of the overall shape of the conference on the schedule page, which we’ll begin updating in a few weeks.

SCWC*SD35 STAFF: As always, authors, editors, agents, and other professionals will be joining us. Check ’em out on the staff page beginning in October.

And don’t forget to subscribe to our periodic updates to receive all the latest news in a timely fashion. You can also engage with our greater .COMmunity between events by joining our SCWC Facebook group, following us on Twitter, or view our feed on Instagram.

Till next time, be safe, be sensible, give yourself permission to write bad words (NaNoWriMo’s coming up), then join us. Aim for excellence. Settle only for exceptional.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS

“It is important,” the man in the grey suit interrupts. “Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find their treasures and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice cup of Lapsing souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There’s magic in that. It’s in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone’s soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do, because of your words. That is your role, your gift. Your sister may be able to see the future, but you yourself can shape it, boy. Do not forget that. There are many kinds of magic, after all.”

– Erin Morgenstern; The Night Circus

No truer words. And as we discovered yet again at SD34, making such magic out of mere words can be exhausting. The emotional reward, however, once such particularly vexing alchemy is made, its spell cast immutably upon the reader, is boundless. Which is why Saturday was punctuated by “Tiara Night,” where indeed we all were rulers of the word.

A hefty thank you to all the who placed their trust in the SCWC, along with Linda & Rick Ochocki on the front desk, our workshop leaders, agents, and advance readers. Thank you to our excellent guest speakers: Tori Eldridge (The Ninja Daughter), Adalyn Grace (All the Stars and Teeth), Holly Kammier (Lost Girl), and Nathan Makaryk (Nottingham). Good job. Now on to the rewards…

SCWC*34 Award Recipients

OUTSTANDING FICTION
Black Unicorn Rampant
By Heather Carter of San Diego, CA

OUTSTANDING FICTION
Black Hole Son
By Shawn Butler of Irvine, CA

OUTSTANDING FICTION
Hashtags and Vampires
By John Goshorn of Anaheim, CA

OUTSTANDING FICTION
King’s Pine
By Jason Hook of Lancaster, NH

OUTSTANDING FICTION
TBA
By William Haupricht of Detroit, MI

OUTSTANDING NON-FICTION
The Reinvention of Ink
By Lynne Friedman of Solana Beach, CA

OUTSTANDING NON-FICTION
Prison is No Place for Penny Loafers
By Dusty Thompson of Long Beach, CA

Oddly enough, given the talent in the room, there was no Topic Award. (Crappy topic, anyway.) Congratulations, all!

San Diego 35 will take place Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 12-14, 2021. Limited to 175 writers, discounted pre-registration opens August 1. Up next, our annual Fall event in Irvine takes place September 18-20, 2020. Discounted pre-registration opens March 1st. Limited to 150 writers, full details can be found here.

Until next time, from Wes, Chrissie and myself, be the writer you aspire to be. Aim for excellence. Settle only for exceptional.

– Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS

Of her latest release New York Times bestseller Caroline Mitchell raves, “Lost Girl is a compulsive thrill-ride that reads as if it’s been pulled straight from the headlines. Kammier’s journalism background brings undeniable authenticity to a novel that has it all—a love story, a murder mystery, and a real-life introduction into the distinctive world of television news.” “In a nutshell, 5-stars!” extols six-time Romantic Times award-winning author Laura Taylor. Its author, our own international best-selling author and co-founder of Acorn Publishing, Holly Kammier will round out San Diego 34’s Special Guest Speaker roster, replacing Anita Abriel due to unforeseen circumstances. A cross-over title overlapping characters and locations from her first two books, Kingston Court and Choosing Hope, Lost Girl is out January. We couldn’t be more delighted to hear all about her daring writer’s journey.

Happy New “Muse”

What better way to welcome 2020 than with the latest books from SCWCers? Out now: Solange Ritchie’s legal thriller Dying Declaratino … Gregory Fournier’s The Elusive Purple Gang: Detroit’s Kosher Nostra … and Wild in the Windy City Volume 3: New Year’s Eve Edition, an anthology featuring a story by the ever-prolific Bethany Lopez.

PJ Colando’s I am… a Character, a short story collection, drops January … February brings us Danielle Lizotte Harrington’s debut YA novel, The Diseased Ones … Come March, Jessica Therrien’s The Mercenary’s Daughter, co-authored with Joe Gazzam.

Plus this just in … Jan Steele’s Shoes on the Stairs (Acorn Publishing) is an award-winning finalist for both Best New Fiction and Women’s Fiction in the 2019 Best Book Awards, sponsored by American Book Fest … And SCWC*LA/Irvine16 Outstanding Fiction Award-winner Jasmin Lolani Hakes, recognized for her sweeping Hilo-set saga Hula, just sold the book at auction to Scribner.

Great job. Best of success to all!

Whoosh! Deadlines Fast Approaching

The bulk of sessions slated for San Diego 34 are now available for review on the Workshops and Events page.

The deadline for submitting material to advance submission readers is January 12, 2020. Am sure a few of the readers — especially agents and editors — will begin selling out before then. Visit All About Advance Submissions to learn more.

The deadline for discounted lodging at the Crowne Plaza Hanalei San Diego, the longtime home of the conference, is January 13, 2020. Details here.

The 2-part “Best Foot Forward: Polishing to Impress” workshop, conducted by editor Jean Jenkins, is limited to the first 12 participants that sign up. Submission of required materials is due by no later than February 1, 2020. Complete details can be found here.

“The Publisher Is In: Your Post-Conference Publishing Plan,” a one-on-one time strategizing consultation with Acorn Publishing co-founder Holly Kammier, is also limited to 12 slots, available to conferees on a first come, first served basis. Details here.

Until next time, discounted pre-registration remains open. Do so now and save $75 on Full Conference participation. Writers from everywhere are welcome. Your work is worth it. Kick off the New Year – Write!

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS

One of the most highly anticipated young adult releases of 2020, of All the Stars and Teeth Entertainment Weekly declares, “This epic fantasy, which subverts gender stereotypes and expectations, has the potential to break out in the mold of [Tomi] Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone, with its fresh take on themes on vengeance and coming-of-age.” #1 New York Times bestselling author Adeyemi herself hails it, “Fierce and unrelenting … Do yourself a favor and get lost in this beautiful book!” Macmillan acquired the two-book high seas adventure series in an aggressive pre-empt. Its debut author, Adalyn Grace, will join us as a Special Guest Speaker in February to discuss how it came to be. Welcome Adalyn!

Advance Submission Readers

With only a couple-three more likely to be added, the bulk of our Advance Submission Readers have been confirmed and are now open for selection. Along with the many authors and editors, literary agents accepting submissions:

• Lisa Abellera, with Kimberley Cameron and Associates
• Tara Gilbert, with Corvisiero Literary Agency (added 11/11/19)
• Amanda Jain, with Bookends Literary Agency
• Jill Marr, with Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency (bumped to Irvine, 2020)
• Sarah Phair, with Sanford J. Greenburger Associates
• Dr. Uwe Stender, with Triada US Literary Agency
• Jennifer Chen Tran, with Bradford Literary Agency

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For those signing up for a reader, or multiple readers, be aware that the deadline to submit material is January 20th, 2020. Many readers will sell out before then (and be noted as such on the Staff page). It is advisable to sign up for readers early, then submit your pages only when you’re absolutely certain they’re ready for review. Do not submit multiple versions of the same submission as we near the deadline. Here’s where to Learn All About Advance Submissions.

Much Good “Muse” to Report

So many SCWCers working in so many genres. Those with new releases include Dennis Bowen’s seventh installment of his International Thriller Series, The Jasmine Negative … Ashlynn Cubbison’s Chasing Beverly, in which an “Olympic hopeful sacrifices her own aspirations in order to breathe life into her mother’s dreams” … Mike Murphey’s The Conman, a novel based on the life of former pro-ball pitcher Keith Comstock … And from Melissa Fischer, The Advocacy, a novel set in 1992 Ghana, drawn from her own experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer there.

On the creepy jeepers side of things, the second book in Pamela G. McCord’s Pekin Dewlap Mystery series, The Ghost on Firefly Lane, find the trio of best friends hired to help a sad spirit step into the light … And in audio book, Evan Ramspott’s (writing as Better Hero Army) Book 2 of his Plagued States of America series, Plagued: The Rock Island Zombie Counteractant Experiment, is now out. It’s narrated by our own Melanie Hooks, who is beginning to amass an impressive catalogue of audio work.

Coming up in 2020: Nikki Katz’s The King’s Questioner, “an epic YA fantasy featuring royal drama, dark magic, and a secret that could topple a kingdom” (January) … Suzanne Redfearn’s “thoughtful exploration of life, death, and the world in between,” In an Instant (March) … Robert Mitchell Evans’ space opera, Vulcan’s Forge (March). Best of success to all!

And speaking of working in genre fiction, be sure to watch this new doculogue from our recent Irvine event. Featuring Kali Wallace, August Norman, and Jonathan & Jynafer Yanez, it drills into the challenges and business of doing so.

Early “Bard” Discount

Discounted pre-registration for our 34th annual winter event is open. Do so by December 1st and save $100 on Full Conference participation. The workshop slate will be posted shortly. Subscribe to our mailing list or join our Facebook community to stay up to date.

Happy NaNoWriMo!

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS

International bestselling author Kristin Harmel (The Room on Rue Amelie) declares, “I was utterly moved and transfixed by The Light After the War, a beautiful novel that spans a decade across four continents in the wake of World War II. You’ll be swept away by this fast-paced, heartbreaking, and hopeful tale of friendship, family, second chances, and the enduring power of love, based on the true story of [its author’s] mother and her fascinating journey away from war-torn Europe in the 1940s. A must-read for anyone interested in the emotional toll of the Second World War.” Out February from Simon & Schuster–marking a departure from her 14 popular romance and women’s fiction titles–that author, Anita Hughes Abriel, is our third Special Guest Speaker confirmed for San Diego 34. And does she have stories to tell.

Latest Good “Muse”

SCWCers with new titles now out, or soon will be, include Margo Judge. White Out, the first in a planned trilogy, is a young adult mystery blended with magical realism that unveils its heroine’s secrets to her departed father in the form of a journal … Cam Daly’s Horseplay: Labworld Earth Book One, which was awarded an SCWC Outstanding Science Fiction Award. A most apt review concludes, “This is what you would get if HBO had James Cameron make a Men In Black series” … And the fourth book in Nancy Churchill’s Pennington Sisters mystery series, Catalina Carnage, once again challenges the siblings to stop a sinister plot to murder one of their own.

Lacey Impellizeri, an SCWCer since the age of 14, just made her debut splash. Your Words Count: A Writing and Editing Planner to Help You Finish Your Book. A large-format intensive 6-Month writing and editing workbook, it’s designed to be picked up any time of the year, or in any phase of the process, and serve as a daily accountability journal. With sections on weekly reflection, character creation, story outlining, and marketing and publishing advice, Your Words Count strives to be the ultimate guide for a nascent writing career.

Greta Boris’ The Origin of Sin, a prequel novella to her Seven Deadly Sins series of psychological thrillers, will be released at the end of October … And in January, Holly Kammier’s Lost Girl infuses her journalism background into a taught new thriller set in the world of television news. Congratulations and the best of success to all!

Discounted pre-registration is now open. Do so by November 1st and save $125 on Full Conference participation. Plenty more to report soon. Subscribe to our mailing list or join our Facebook community to stay up on all the latest.

Until next time, keep up the good fight. Write.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS

So excited to share this quick heads-up: Game of Thrones co-executive producer and writer Bryan Cogman calls Nathan Makaryk’s epic debut novel, Nottingham, “The most pleasurable reading experience I’ve had since first discovering George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.” In this bold re-imagining of the Robin Hood legend, with King Richard half a world away fighting for God and personal ambition, his country languishes on the brink of anarchy and six intertwined lives are given voice that history has failed to mention, challenging who really were the true heroes and villains in one of England’s largest shires. A strange and extraordinary tale, Nathan will join us in February as a Special Guest Speaker to tell us all about it and more.

Discounted pre-registration is now open for our 34th annual winter event. Register for Full Conference participation by September 15, 2019 and save a whopping $150. Regular updates will begin in October, following this month’s Irvine conference. Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list for any important updates.

Now go forth and write well!

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS