Passion, perseverance, and an unyielding belief that a great story well told will one day find a home is what sustained our third Special Guest Speaker to be announced for SD29. Winner of the SCWC Outstanding Fiction Award at SD14, for the manuscript that he would ultimately non-novelize and not see published for another 14 years, Raymond M. Wong joins us with his enchanting memoir, I’m Not Chinese: The Journey from Resentment to Reverence. Released just this month, Ray will discuss just what a long, strange trip it’s been writing his first full-length book and ultimately finding it a home at Apprentice House Press. We look forward to hearing all about it. Congratulations, Raymond, and welcome back!
New Workshops, New Track, New Friends & Familiar
As always, the SCWC’s emphasis is to aim for excellence and settle only for exceptional—in storytelling, in craft, in conducting the business side of writing in an utterly informed, professional manner. To that end, staffers both familiar and new are joining us with plenty of fresh workshops specifically tailored to getting you, the writer, where you want to be with your work.
In addition to the regular tiers of read & critique, fiction and nonfiction craft & troubleshooting workshops, and business/alternative sessions running concurrently each day, our StoryCore: Building the Better Book track will make its debut. Geared for those writers revving to go, but not necessarily knowing where or how best to start crafting an exceptional story that’s commercially viable, StoryCore is for you. As is the goal of all SCWC tracks, it’ll not be panel-centric, “Writing 101” blather that fails to address your needs.
Check back soon for details. Meanwhile …
Latest “Good Muse”
Among the SD29 workshop leaders with new books coming out: Celebrated journalist/true crime author Caitlin Rother’s Naked Addiction, her first novel, is out November … From author/writer provocateur Judy Reeves, her long-awaited Wild Women, Wild Voices (New World Library) drops April, 2015, along with Darlene Quinn’s latest installment in her multiple-award-winning Webs Series, Conflicted Webs.
And on the conferee front, also with an April publication date, finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Fiction and Glimmer Train’s Short Story Award for New Writers Aline Ohanesian’s exquisite debut novel, Orhan’s Inheritance, arrives in hardcover from Algonquin Books. Of it, Gayle Brandeis (Delta Girls) lauds, “From its first startling image, Orhan’s Inheritance will seep under your skin and leave an indelible mark upon your heart.”
In Memory of a Writer
Celebrated novelist, exceptional writers’ advocate, longtime SCWC colleague, founder & facilitator of NovelCram, and truly a valued friend, Drusilla Campbell passed away last week. She did so bravely and on her own terms, after a fierce battle with cancer. She lives on in her many novels and will not be forgotten.
Join the SCWC .COMumnity
Early “Bard” Discount off Full Conference registration is now open. We’ll be updating staff, readers, workshops & events for SD29 over the next weeks so check back often for all the latest. Be sure to never miss an update by simply subscribing to “Join our .COMmunity” (located just below the right side navigation bar up above). And if you haven’t opted into the conversation on our SCWC Community Facebook wall, an invaluable source of vital writing/publishing information, don’t deny yourself. Do it!
–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC
