The SCWC provides multi-tiered workshop tracks. Advance sign-up is not required for most workshops, so conferees are free to go to any session they choose. Should you find that a particular session is not for you, or if you’d prefer to simply tap into another. Workshop summaries can be found here (when available).
Special Guest Speakers
To Be Announced
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Authors & Industry Experts
MICHAEL STEVEN GREGORY, Executive Director of both the Central Oregon Writers’ Conference and Southern California Writers’ Conference, is an award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter. He has scripted network series, directed television and features, and been involved as a writer, producer or director in over 150 short films. His longform projects include the doculogues We, The Writer and We, The Screenwriter, the romantic-comedy A Valentine Carol, and groundbreaking Don King Presents: Prizefighter, for 2K Games. His books include Disc Golf: All You Need to Know about the Game You Want to Play, which remained a periodic bestseller well over a decade after publication. Michael is also the owner of AuthorEdge, a transmedia content producer for publishers.
- SESSIONS: No-Host Mixer, Introductions
ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Screenplays, TV and short-form scripts; first 15 pages in proper format, cover letter
JANIS THOMAS is Director of the Southern California Writers’ Conference, and bestselling author of such domestic suspense novels as All That’s Left of Me and What Remains True, both with Lake Union, and three critically acclaimed humorous works of women’s fiction—Something New, Sweet Nothings, and Say Never—as well as the mystery Murder in A-Minor. She has written more than fifty songs and two children’s books, which she created with her dad, is a passionate writing advocate, a popular workshop leader, speaker, and editor. Her latest is the paranormal thriller Finding Grace, which Kirkus Reviews calls “An authentically creepy tale.”
- SESSIONS: TBA
ADVANCE SUBMISSION CRITIQUE: Women’s fiction, suspense, mystery; first 10 pages double-spaced; cover letter
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Workshops: Read & Critique
- All-Genre
- Commercial/Women’s/Memoir/Romance/Narrative
- Literary/Alternative/Narrative Nonfiction
- Mystery/Suspense/Thriller/Crime
- Paranormal/Horror/Transcendental
- Young Adult/New Adult
Workshops: Craft & Execution
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Workshops: Memoir/Creative Nonfiction
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Workshops: Path to Publication
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Updated 3/29/25 |
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2026 |
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Noon – 8:00 PM |
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REGISTRATION OPEN | ||
1:00 PM – 1:45 PM |
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Orientation | How to make the Most of the Conference – Thomas |
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2 PM – 3:30 PM |
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Craft | To Be Announced | TBA |
Craft | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Business/Alt. | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Path to Publication | To Be Announced |
TBA |
3:40 PM – 5:10 PM |
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Craft | To Be Announced | TBA |
Craft | To Be Announced | TBA |
Business/Alt. | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Path to Publiication | To Be Announced |
TBA |
5:30 PM – 7:15 PM |
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NO-HOST MIXER | ||
7:15 PM – 8:00 PM |
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WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS | ||
8:00 PM – 8:45 PM |
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EVENING SPEAKER: TBA |
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9:00 PM – ON “ROGUE” WORKSHOPS |
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Read & Critique | All-Genre | TBA |
Read & Critique | Sci-Fi & Fantasy | TBA |
SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 2026 |
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8:00 AM – 6:00 PM |
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REGISTRATION OPEN | ||
8:30 AM – 8:50 AM |
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ORIENTATION | ||
9 AM – 10:30 AM |
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Read & Critique | To Be Announced | TBA |
Craft | To Be Announced | TBA |
Craft | To Be Announced | TBA |
Path to Publiication | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Novel Boot Camp | What’s It All About, Author? |
Thomas |
10:40 AM – 12:10 PM |
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Read & Critique | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Craft | To Be Announced | TBA |
Craft | To Be Announced | TBA |
Path to Publiication | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Novel Boot Camp | Who Comes First? |
Thomas |
12:10 PM – 1:00 PM |
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LUNCH ON YOUR OWN | ||
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM |
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Read & Critique | To Be Announced | TBA |
Craft | To Be Announced | TBA |
Craft | To Be Announced | TBA |
Path to Publiication | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Novel Boot Camp | The Structure of it All |
Thomas |
One-on-One | Advance Submission Appointments | Various |
2:40 PM – 4:10 PM |
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Read & Critique | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Craft | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Craft | To Be Announced |
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Path to Publiication | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Novel Boot Camp | The Beats Go On (optional) |
Thomas |
One-on-One | Advance Submission Appointments | Various |
4:15 PM – 5:30 PM |
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PAGE ONE CAGE MATCH | ||
6:45 PM- 8:00 PM |
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SCWC BANQUET | ||
8:00 PM- 8:45 PM |
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EVENING SPEAKER: TBA | ||
9:00 PM – ON “ROGUE” WORKSHOPS |
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Read & Critique | All-Genre | TBA |
Read & Critique | Sci-Fi & Fantasy | TBA |
SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2026 |
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7:00 AM – 8:30 AM |
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EARLY “BARD” READ & CRITIQUE WORKSHOP |
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9 AM – 10:30 AM |
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Read & Critique | To Be Announced | TBA |
Craft | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Craft | To Be Announced | TBA |
Path to Publiication | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Novel Boot Camp | WE’VE got the Beats? |
Thomas |
One-on-One | Advance Submission Appointments | Various |
10:40 AM – 12:10 PM |
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Read & Critique | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Craft | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Craft | To Be Announced | TBA |
Path to Publiication | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Novel Boot Camp | We’ve got MORE Beats |
Thomas |
One-on-One | Advance Submission Appointments | Various |
12:10 PM – 1:00 PM |
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LUNCH ON YOUR OWN | ||
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM |
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Read & Critique | To Be Announced | TBA |
Craft | To Be Announced | TBA |
Craft | To Be Announced | TBA |
Path to Publiication | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Novel Boot Camp | Brass Tacks and Hard Facts |
Thomas |
One-on-One | Advance Submission Appointments | Various |
2:40 PM – 4:10 PM |
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Read & Critique | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Craft | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Craft | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Path to Publiication | To Be Announced |
TBA |
Novel Boot Camp | The End is Just the Beginning |
Thomas |
4:30 PM – 5:15 PM |
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AFTERNOON SPEAKER: TBA |
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5:30 PM – 6:00 PM |
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SCWC AWARDS & FAREWELL | ||
Schedule subject to change without notice. |
Panels, Appointments and Events
- Advance Submission One-on-One Consultations
- No-host Mixer
- Page One Cage Match
- Friday Evening Special Guest Speaker: TBA
- Saturday Evening Special Guest Speaker: TBA
- Sunday Afternoon Special Guest Speaker: TBA