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SFWC Newsletter for DecEMber 2011
In this issue:
> Sizzling Books-to-Film and Literary Tracks for the 2012 SFWC
> What a Gift! The 2012 San Francisco Writers Conference
> News, Posts & Tweets: You've got to see this video taped at S.F. Writing for Change event!
> Events, Contests, and Deadlines
> More Interesting Stuff about Writers You Know
LOOK WHO ELSE IS COMING TO THE 2012 SFWC...
The presenters list is growing longer by the day with over 100 top-notch experts joining us at the 2012 San Francisco Writers Conference. Here are just a few new additions. Go to the website to see the complete list:
Rex Pickett, is a Hollywood screenwriter and director...and he is the author of the book that became the movie Sideways. That novel has sold over 150,000 copies and has been translated into twelve languages. In 2008, the Writers Guild of America voted it one of 101 Greatest Screenplays of all time.
Rocky Lang will also join us this year. He has been in the film and television industry as a screenwriter, director and producer all his adult life...and he is the author of several books (The Big Nasty is his latest). His company, Silver Screen Sizzles, helps writers connect with the right people in the entertainment industry. With presenters like Rex, Rocky and Hollywood agent Ken Sherman, the 2012 SFWC Books-to-Film track is going to be outstanding.
Monte Schulz, is owner of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference and son of the beloved cartoonist Charles Schulz. A tour for his new book This Side of Jordan will bring him to the SFWC as a presenter again this year.
Poets and short story writers take note...Laura Cogan, editor of ZYZZYVA, the journal of West Coast Writers and Artists will be a presenter and integral part of the 2012 SFWC literary track.
Are you writing high concept literary fiction, narrative non-fiction, or popular science? You'll want to meet Mollie Glick. A literary agent based in New York her agency, Foundry Literary + Media, represents a number of bestselling authors including Jonathan Evison, Patrick DeWitt, and Jenna Blum...oh and maybe you next?
Katharine Kerr is a prolific writer. She is the author of the popular 15-volume Deverry fantasy novels. How do you write a book series? Kit has the answers!
A PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT FOR A WRITER...2012 SFWC! Early Rate Expires Dec. 31st.
Forget the novelty pens, moleskin notebooks or Jack Kerouac T-shirts. Coming to the SFWC would be at the top of any writer's wish list. A gift registration to the 2012 is an easy way to give a quality gift of inspiration and writing information.
We just read a blog post by Meredith Jaeger about how she asked for--and received--the gift of the San Francisco Writers Conference from her mom for Christmas this year. Read Meredith's blog. http://thetroublewithtwentytwo.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/invest-in-yourself/
The holiday registration rate for the 2012 SFWC is $595...but only until December 31st. (It will then go up to $650 until Feb. 15th and $695 at-the-door if any seats are left! Remember the SFWC sells out every year.) So grab the holiday rate ASAP and wrap up a registration. Click here for registration information.
Okay, if you really want to buy an SFWC t-shirt, click here to go to ZAZZLE.
Warning! The SFWC/sFWU Writing Contest Deadline Looms
We can't believe it either! January 4 is the deadline to enter the Indie Publishing Contest sponsored by San Francisco Writers Conference, San Francisco Writers University and Author Solutions. The winner will be announced at the 2012 San Francisco Writers Conference...so start writing on these cold winter nights of December, enter by January 4th, and let the winner be YOU this February. This contest has $30,000 in prizes! For details go to: http://www.sfwriters.org/pages.cfm?ID=6
The Gift of books
As a writer and lover of books, you know it makes perfect sense to give books for holiday gifts. Honestly, isn't there a book that is perfect for anyone on your list? Pick up some cookbooks, travel and how-to books, historic epics and/or a great novel by one of our presenters...and you're practically done!
Better yet, you could do almost all of your shopping in one place...your neighborhood independent bookstore. If you simply must order your books online, check out your local bookstore's website (or any local publisher's site) to shop at their online stores. Let's get going and do some book shopping. Happy holidays and all good wishes for 2012.
We first met Zoe FitzGerald Carter when her manuscript for what would become the bestseller, Imperfect Endings, was a finalist in the SFWC Writing Contest. This year she will return to the 2012 conference as a speaker. SFWC is proud to play a role in helping authors launch their books in all kinds of ways.
Was YOUR book released this year (2011) or is it about to be published in early 2012? If you feel SFWC had a significant role in helping you get it published...please email us right away. Tell us all the pertinent details so we can highlight you and your book in an upcoming issue of the SFWC Newsletter, in our Tweets, on our Facebook page, and on the SFWC website. Your book can be traditionally published or self-published...hardbound, soft cover or ebook format. Tell us specifically what information you got at an SFWC conference that either motivated you or helped you to make a connection. Include a phone number so we can contact you for an interview, too!
Happy Holidays from The Writer magazine...with a super low subscription rate.
SFWC SCHOLARSHIPS Still available
Deadlines are looming, so here is a quick sampling of our scholarships that are still available:
The Kevin Smokler Scholarship: Write a 250 word article or story telling us why writing is important to you and/or why you want to write. Send submissions to Elizabeth Pomada at sfwriterscon@aol.com. Winners will be selected by Elizabeth and Kevin. The prize is a full registration to the 2012 San Francisco Writers Conference. Deadline for entries is January 2nd, 2012.
Guidelines for the Shirley Fong-Torres Scholarship will be posted on the SFWC website in the very near future but this scholarship will be for juniors and seniors in high school in the Bay Area. Shirley was a sparkling and funny presenter at the 2011 SFWC, but sadly passed away a few months later. Her daughter Tina is going to judge the entries for this competition.
Then there are other scholarships for adults, but time is running out to apply: The Bharti Kirchner-SFWC Ethnic Writing Scholarship, The Alexis Masters Scholarship For Spiritual Writing, and The Reuven Jaffe Scholarship.
For young adults there is the SFWC Student Scholarship for high school juniors and seniors going to school in San Francisco. Deadline to enter is January 2nd.
Go to the SFWC website to get the details for all of these scholarships and see which scholarship may work for you. (Travel, accommodations, incidentals, optional classes and activities are NOT included in these scholarships.) Don't worry...if you are already registered and win a scholarship, you'll have the option of rolling it over to the 2013 San Francisco Writers Conference! http://www.sfwriters.org/pages.cfm?ID=102
There is a brief window of opportunity to advertise in the San Francisco Writers Conference event program. Don't hesitate. If you have a book you want to showcase, a service or product for writers, or just want to support the nonprofit SFWC, consider purchasing space in the beautiful event program, get information and a rate sheet at http://www.sfwriters.org/sfwcImages/2012Rate%20Sheet_Contract.pdf or contact Barbara at Barbara@SFWriters.org for details.
REMINDER: SFWC ONLINE AUCTION IS SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY
Laurie McLean is gearing up to gather the biggest and best ever assortment of writing-related goodies for our next online auction. (One of the prizes is a session with a therapist to overcome writer's block!) The auction helps raise the money to award student scholarships and fund projects throughout the year.
Got an item you want featured in the SFWC Auction? It can be a service, a gift item, a rare book...whatever a writer would find irresistible works best! We will talk it up in the newsletter in advance and it will be on the auction site for ten days garnering tons of exposure. Contact Laurie McLean at laurie@agentsavant.com
UPCOMING WRITING EVENTS, CONTESTS & DEADLINES
Did you know December is International Plot Writing Month? This is for writers with a rough draft of a novel, memoir, screenplay who are wondering what to do next. PlotWriMo begins Dec. 1st and runs for 31 days and nights to craft your words into a story. Re"vision" the plot arc of your project in preparation for a major rewrite in 2012! http://plotwhisperer.blogspot.com/
December 18 at 2-5pm Poets Laureate and Poets Laureate Emeritus from California will join to read their poetry...followed by holiday treats, opportunities to meet and speak with the Laureates! Firehouse Arts Center, 4444 Railroad Avenue, Pleasanton, California. $5 or Free with student ID.
December 20, 2011 Authors, Illustrators, Editors, Publishers and Literary Agents are invited to submit an application postmarked by December 20th to participate in the 2nd annual Northern California Storybook & Literature Festival scheduled for April 14, 2012, at the Maidu Library and Community Center in Roseville. Space may be limited. Accepted applicants will be notified in January 2012. A joint program between the Placer, Roseville, and Sacramento public libraries, the festival is free for participants and the public.
Happy Hanukkah! Merry Christmas! Live Kwanzaa! Happy New Year! Where did this year go? Less than two months to get your manuscript in shape before the 2012 San Francisco Writers Conference.
December 26 is BOXING DAY! Ruth Lynn Miller is singing her heart out at A Grape in the Fog, 400 Old County Rd., Pacifica at 8 pm. The show is called EAT YOUR HEART OUT JOAN RIVERS http://lynnruthmiller.net/
December 31 Last day for the SFWC Registration Holiday Rate of $595.
January 2, 2012 Deadline to enter the Bharti Kirchner-SFWC Ethnic Writing Scholarship.
Go to http://www.sfwriters.org/pages.cfm?ID=102 for details. Please direct questions to Elizabeth Pomada at sfwriterscon@aol.com.
January 2, 2012 Deadline for the San Francisco Writers Conference Young Writers Scholarship entries. Please let Bay Area high school students (who are also talented writers) know about this wonderful opportunity to experience a day at the 2012 SFWC. Go to http://www.sfwriters.org/pages.cfm?ID=102 for details.
January 4th Deadline to enter the San Francisco Indie Publishing Contest sponsored by San Francisco Writers University and Author Solutions. This contest has over $30,000 in book publishing prizes! http://www.sfwriters.org/pages.cfm?ID=6
January 14 - 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. - Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada workshop: The 6 Cs for Becoming a Successful Writer in the Digital Age. All Saints Episcopal Church, 2150 Benton Drive, Redding, CA 96003 COST: $69 ($89 for nonmembers): includes coffee, box lunch, 20 pages of valuable handouts. For questions, contact: programs@writers-forum.net or Sharon Owen 530-547-5303 or sharonowen@citlink.net.
January 16 is the deadline for The Alexis Masters Scholarship for Spiritual Writing. Go to http://www.sfwriters.org/pages.cfm?ID=102 for details and rules.
January 21 Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, an ebook publishing and distribution platform for ebook authors, publishers, agents and readers; California Writers Club-Sacramento Branch Luncheon Meeting, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Tokyo Buffet, 7217 Greenback Lane, Citrus Heights, CA.
January 28 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Content, Character and Connection: Becoming a Successful Author in a Bottom-Up World. CWC Workshop with Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada. Fee range: $75 member early rate to $99 for a non-member. Scholarships are available. Bay Park Hotel, 1425 Munras Avenue, Monterey. For info: www.centralcoastwriters.org
January 29, 2012 New Year "Create Your Success Story" Workshop with Mary E. Knippel. $35 WNBA members; $55 non-members http://wnba-sfchapter.org/
January 31, 2012. Deadline for entries. 2012 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. Two prizes of $5,000 each are given biennially for works of fiction and nonfiction. The awards, cosponsored by the Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation, are intended to "encourage new or emerging writers and honor the Saroyan legacy of originality, vitality, and stylistic innovation." $50 entry fee. Visit the website for more information, entry forms, and complete guidelines. saroyanprize.stanford.edu
February 16 Writing Intensive MASTER classes sponsored by San Francisco Writers University. In-depth sessions start the day before the San Francisco Writers Conference...with some of the most popular SFWC presenters.Katharine Sands will offer her ever-popular session--Pitchcraft! Master Classes are open to all for a fee. Free orientation and mixer is for conference attendees. Details and registration coming soon.
February 16-19 San Francisco Writers Conference at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel. Keynotes by Lisa See, Lolly Winston, Alan Rinzler. Once again...100 presenters, 50+ sessions--and accepting just 300 attendees this year. Seats are going fast! For all the juicy details go to: www.SFWriters.org
February 20 WRITING INTENSIVE classes sponsored by San Francisco Writers University. In-depth sessions follow the San Francisco Writers Conference... with some of the most popular SFWC presenters. Open to non-conference attendees, too. Details and registration information will be detailed in the January SFWC Newsletter.
June 9 & 10 2012 Call for Entries! 3rd Annual New Media Film Festival in Los Angeles California. Judges Pixar, Industrial Light & Magic, and The Caucus. Over $25k in prizes. Choose from 17 Categories... All Ages, All Cultures, All Media, and Affordable. Go to www.NewMediaFilmFestival.com and click on submit.
NEWS, Postings, Tweets, Blogs and Websites!
We certainly apologize if you happened upon the San Francisco Writers Conference and/or the San Francisco Writers University websites while they were in the process of being hacked last month. Luckily, the offensive and/or funny images (Justin Bieber's head on a naked woman's body. Really!?) were removed post haste by our webmistress, Alexis Masters. While the main page of the website was hacked, rest assured the registration portion of the SFWC website is SECURE and was never in jeopardy. Thanks to all of you who emailed us (including Dan Poynter who knows a thing or two about websites) to let us know about the problem.
Michael Larsen has been busy writing blog entries...and a letter to the new mayor of San Francisco, Ed Lee. Want to see what Michael suggested to Mayor Lee? Go to: http://sfwriters.info/blog/
Are you pursuing your greatest ambition? See Ransom Stevens in a 12-minute TEDx speech...then overcome those pesky obstacles and start thinking like a bestselling author! http://yourpursuitofgreatness.com/html/the_speech.html
Hmmm...presenters helping presenters! We like that. Joan Gelfand reviewedMary Mackey's "The Sugar Zone" for the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joan-gelfand/the-sugar-zone-is-bitters_b_1117904.html By the way, Mary will NOT be at the 2012 SFWC due to a conflict in her schedule. There is always next year!
San Francisco author Victoria Costello won the 2009 SFWC Sue Dyer Scholarship based on the first chapter of her memoir in progress. The now completed book which Andrew Solomon called "lucid" and "invaluable" combines memoir and science to offer a personal perspective on causes and treatments of mental disorders and addictions that run in families. A Lethal Inheritance, A Mother Uncovers the Science Behind Three Generations of Mental Illness, releases on Jan 24th from Prometheus Books. Excerpts will appear in parenting publications and in the March issue of Scientific American Mind . In lieu of a book tour she is working with advocacy organizations and universities to promote her book through a series of workshops for parents and psychology students. The book website is http://alethalinheritance.com.
SFWC Facebook: www.facebook.com/SanFranciscoWritersConference
Follow us on TWITTER at: @SFWC or http://twitter.com/SFWC
SFWC YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/SFWritersConference or SFWritersConference
San Francisco Writers Conference WEBSITE: www.SFWriters.org
San Francisco Writers University: www.SFWritersU.com (yes, .com not .org!) Take some free classes.
SEND US YOUR WRITING NEWS for the January 2012 SFWC NEWSLETTER by December 30th. If you have a success story or writing-related news to share with us and/or our readers, please send it to us at Barbara@SFWriters.org. Event items should be free or low-cost and open to the public.
Please note--We email our newsletters and almost all of our conference updates and information to you, so if you change your email address, please re-opt in with the corrected email address. The easiest way to do this is to use the link at the end of this newsletter.Happy Holidays and Cheers from all of us!
Michael and Elizabeth, SFWC Co-directors 415 673-0939/ SFwriterscon@aol.com
Barbara Santos, Director of Marketing Barbara@sfwriters.org
Laurie McLean, Director of Finances & Contests; Dean of SFWU Laurie@agentsavant.com
Rich Santos, Director of Registrations & Website Registrations@SFWriters.org
2012 SFWC SPONSORS & SUPPORTERS
Contact Barbara at Barbara@SFWriters.org or Elizabeth at sfwriterscon@aol.com if you would like to be a sponsor or supporter of SFWC, too.
WEBSITE: www.SFWriters.org Telephone: 415-673-0939