Special Guest Speakers 2007
Saturday
Ray Bradbury, author of The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451 and successful playwright, poet, short story writer and screenwriter, once again opens the conference with his inspiring talk about writing and love. Ray has been with us every year since SBWC was founded in 1972, and he has had an enormous impact on the thousands of writers who had heard him over the years. Ray’s latest book is Farewell Summer. An extension of his semiautobiographical Dandelion Wine (published in 1957), Farewell Summer was released in October 2006. True to form, this latest work of Ray’s received a starred review in Publishers Weekly’s August 7, 2006, issue. SBWC’s 2005 book, A Tribute to Ray Bradbury: Thirty-three Years of Inspiration at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, will be available for signing at the conference. Mr. Bradbury is scheduled to speak Saturday, June 23 at 7:30 PM.
J.F. Freedman is a former screenwriter and the author of nine novels, the latest of which is A Killing In The Valley, published in August 2006. The novel is an explosive thriller, a blistering courtroom drama, and a strong examination of the racial and class divides that are in the forefront of modern California politics and social life. Freedman’s other novels include Fallen Idols, Bird’s Eye View, Above the Law, The Disappearance, Key Witness, House of Smoke and The Obstacle Course. His first novel, Against The Wind, was an international best-seller with more than two million copies in print worldwide. Mr. Freedman is scheduled to speak Saturday, June 23 at 4:00 PM.
Sunday
Gail Tsukiyama is the author of four best-selling literary novels. Her first, Women of the Silk, was published in 1991. Her second, The Samurai’s Garden, was published in 1995, followed by Night of Many Dreams in 1998 and The Language of Threads in May 2002. She is working on a new novel due out in fall 2007. A resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, she has taught creative writing at San Francisco State University and the University of California, Berkeley, and has been a freelance book reviewer for the San Francisco Chronicle. During 1997 to 1999, and again in 2006, she sat as a judge for the Kiriyama Book Prize and is Book Review Editor for Pacific Rim Voices. In September 2001, she was one of 50 authors chosen by the Library of Congress to participate in the first National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., and has been guest speaker at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, the Sydney Writers’ Festival, and the Vancouver International Writers Festival. Ms. Tsukiyama is scheduled to speak Sunday, June 24 at 7:30 PM.
Jeff Herman founded The Jeff Herman Literary Agency, LLC, in 1987 while still in his twenties. The agency has sold many hundreds of titles to publishers, and is one of the most dynamic and innovative agencies in the business. Herman’s agency has a strong presence in general adult nonfiction, including business, general reference, commercial self-help, technology, recovery/healing, and spiritual subjects. Herman’s own publications include Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Editors, Publishers and Literary Agents (more than 350,000 copies sold), and Write the Perfect Book Proposal: 10 Proposals That Sold and Why! His books are considered to be among the best tools available to writers. He’s also the co-founder of his own indie house, Three Dog Press (3dp). Previously, Herman worked for a New York public relations firm where he designed and managed national consumer marketing campaigns for Nabisco Brands and AT&T. Prior to that he was a publicist at Schocken Books, now a Random House imprint, where he promoted the bestseller: When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Herman speaks throughout the country about all aspects of how to get published and be a successful author. He’s been written about in dozens of books and publications, including Success, Entrepreneur, Publisher’s Weekly, Forbes, Associated Press, and The New Yorker. He’s also been on many television and radio shows. Herman graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Science degree. He was captain of the school’s award winning debate team and a leader in student government. Mr. Herman is scheduled to speak Sunday, June 24 at 4:00 PM.
Monday
Carolyn See is the author of 10 books, including this year’s bestselling novel, There Will Never Be Another You. Her novels also include The Handyman and Golden Days, and she has written two acclaimed nonfiction books: Making a Literary Life: Advice for Writers and Other Dreamers and Dreaming: Hard Luck and Good Times in America. She is a book critic for The Washington Post and has served on the boards of the National Book Critics Circle and PEN/West International. Carolyn has won both Guggenheim and Getty Fellowships and teaches English at UCLA. Ms. See is scheduled to speak Monday, June 25 at 7:30 PM.
Tuesday
Gayle Lynds is the award-winning author of eight international espionage novels, including The Last Spymaster, The Coil, Masquerade, and Mesmerized, which are published in some 20 countries. Her books have won numerous awards, including “Novel of the Year” (The Last Spymaster) given by the Military Writers Society of America, People magazine "Page-Turner of the Week" and "Beach Read of the Week." She will receive the 3rd annual Barnaby and Mary Conrad Founders Award for Fiction in 2007, and speak to the conference on Tuesday night, June 26. Publishers Weekly lists her work among the top ten spy novels of all time, and called The Last Spymaster a "classic espionage thriller… (that) strikes a perfect balance between the private lives of her characters and the blood and betrayal of their professional adventures.” BookPage concurs: “Gayle Lynds has joined the deified ranks of spy thriller authors like Robert Ludlum and John le Carre.” With Ludlum, she created the Covert-One series. The Hades Factor was a CBS miniseries in April 2006. Gayle’s late husband, the noted detective novelist Dennis Lynds, was an SBWC teacher and dear friend. We are proud of SBWC’s long association with both of them. Ms. Lynds is scheduled to speak Tuesday, June 26 at 7:30 PM.
Wednesday
Christopher Moore, an SBWC alumnus, is the author of You Suck: A Love Story, just out from HarperCollins. His other books include A Dirty Job, winner of the 2006 Quill Award for best novel; The Stupidest Angel, also a Quill winner, in 2005, for best science fiction/fantasy, horror book; Fluke; Lamb; Practical Demonkeeping; Coyote Blue; Bloodsucking Fiends; Island of the Sequined Love Nun; and The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove. Mr. Moore is scheduled to speak Wednesday, June 27 at 7:30 PM.
EllynAnne Geisel EllynAnne Geisel’s 2006 book, The Apron Book, with a forward by Good Housekeeping’s editor, Ellen Levine, was nurtured during EllynAnne’s attendance at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference six years ago, and she credits the inspiration she received from hearing Jack Canfield, Fannie Flagg and others at the conference for motivating her to write the book. Since then, EllynAnne has gathered more than 300 aprons and apron memories from across America. She celebrates the spirit of the men and women who wore aprons through her traveling exhibit, Apron Chronicles: A Patchwork of American Recollections, which is managed by The Women’s Museum of Dallas, a Smithsonian affiliate. EllynAnne now creates inventive vintage-inspired designs for her company, Apron Memories®. Her collection of aprons has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and Country Living, and Bree on the hit ABC television show Desperate Housewives has worn her creations. EllynAnne lives in Pueblo, CO. Ms. Geisel is scheduled to speak Wednesday, June 27 at 4:00 PM.
Thursday
Gregory Maguire is the author of the best-selling books Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Son of a Witch, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Lost, and Mirror, Mirror. Wicked was made into a Broadway play in 2003 and has broken box office records in New York, Chicago, London and Los Angeles. Maguire received his Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Tufts University. He is a founder and co-director of Children’s Literature New England, Inc. a non-profit educational charity established in 1987. The author of numerous books for children, Maguire is also a contributor to Am I Blue?: Coming Out From the Silence, a collection of short stories for gay and lesbian teenagers. Maguire has been a popular speaker at schools, bookstores, and conferences across the United States and has led workshops in creative writing for children and for adults. Mr. Maguire is scheduled to speak Thursday, June 28 at 7:30 PM.
Panel Presentations
Monday: Agents & Editors Panel
The Writer magazine’s Agents & Editors Panel, featuring The Writer editor Elfrieda Abbe and top agents and editors from around the country. This event is open only to conferees.
Tuesday: New Book Panel
Join Moderator Shelly Lowenkopf for our New Book Panel, featuring recently published authors. Admission: $15. Speakers include:
Kendall Conrad is the author of Eat Well Feel Well, a collection of 150 Specific Carbohydrate Diet-compliant recipes. Kendall’s introduction to the life-changing Specific Carbohydrate Diet came when her daughter developed severe digestive disruptions as a toddler. Conrad’s daughter was not only in pain, but she was having great difficulty absorbing nutrients from foods and was failing to thrive. Conrad found a nutritionist who turned her onto biochemist Elaine Gottschall’s revolutionary diet, outlined in the bestselling book Breaking the Vicious Cycle. Conrad’s book covers the basics of this diet and how and why it works (basically you have to eliminate complex carbohydrates, but simple natural sugars such as those from fruits and honey are just fine), but the focus is on the fantastic food. Conrad lives with her husband and two daughters in Montecito, CA.
Karin Finell grew up in Berlin and in 1952 emigrated to California. She received her B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa--suma cum laude) and M.A. in English Lit. UCLA (1966 and 1970), she published articles in German and U.S. magazines, chapters in anthologies, and poetry in literary magazines. In October 2006, her memoir of WW II, Good-bye to the Mermaids: A Childhood Lost in Hitler’s Berlin, was published by the University of Missouri Press. Finell is the recipient of the 2006 Siemens Award, first place in the Literature Division of the John E. Profant Foundation of the Arts, and is a nominee-finalist in the non-fiction division for ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Award for 2006. She lives with her husband Martin Dent, and her German shepherd, Aldo, in Santa Barbara, California.
Nora Gallagher is the author of three books, including two memoirs Things Seen and Unseen: A Year Lived in Faith and Practicing Resurrection, both published by Knopf and Vintage Books. Gallagher’s recent novel, Changing Light, was published by Pantheon Books in early 2007. Her essays, book reviews and journalism have appeared in many publications including The New York Times Magazine, DoubleTake, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, Utne Reader, The Village Voice, Mother Jones, and The Los Angeles Times. Ms. Gallagher has received fellowships from the Wesleyan Writers Conference, Blue Mountain Center, New York, (twice); the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, New Hampshire (twice); and the Mesa Refuge, Pt. Reyes, California. She is the editor of the award-winning Notes from the Field, published by Chronicle Books, 1999. She lives in Santa Barbara with her husband, the novelist and poet, Vincent Stanley.
Lisa Pearl Rosenbaum Lisa’s debut novel, A Day of Small Beginnings was published by Little, Brown and Company in November, 2006 and was selected by Barnes and Noble for its Discover Great New Writers program. She has worked as both a choreographer and a lawyer. As an undergraduate at Goddard College and at New York University, from which she received her BA degree, she developed a life-long interest in religion and philosophy. She later completed post-graduate work in international relations at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Walter Lipsman, and their daughters, Ariana and Maya.
Wednesday: Self-Publishing and Other Non-traditional Roads to Publication Panel
Join our expert panel for a lively discussion about their experience with alternatives to traditional publication. Moderated by workshop leader John Daniel of Daniel and Daniel Publishers.
Steve Crandell A journalist for more than two decades, Steven Crandell spent 10 years as the producer of several national news programs for Television New Zealand. Steven has a BA from Stanford University in English Lit and an MA in Creative Writing from University of East Anglia in England. Steven’s first book, Silver Tongue: Secrets of Mr. Santa Barbara, (2006) is a humorous and insightful tribute to his father, Larry Crandell. He is now a partner with Larry in a consultancy helping non-profits.
Tom Kendrick Tom’s first book, Bluewater Gold Rush: The Odyssey of a California Sea Urchin Diver (Azalea Creek Publishing) was published in October 2006. The book is an intimate snapshot of a vanished era: the California sea urchin industry from 1978 through 1996, a time before anyone worried about over-fishing the urchin beds, when boats were simpler, and crewing on an urchin boat was just a few men against the power of the elements. Kendrick, an avid surfer who fell into urchin diving as a way to earn a living while scoping out surfing grounds, spent 22 years on the urchin boats, as everything from a lowly tender to captain of his own vessel. In Bluewater, he tells of almost losing his wife to his own greed, of business dealings gone sweet and sour and of memorable characters met along the way. At age 55 he no longer dives professionally, but still surfs and writes. He lives in Sebastopol, California.
Heyoka Merrifield is an artist and author of Sacred Art Sacred Earth: Transformative Art — Birthing a New Myth and The White Buffalo Woman Trilogy, which he self-published and later sold to a prominent publishing house. From his earliest childhood memories, art has always been his passion. He was born in Santa Barbara and his family moved all over the Western states from Washington to Texas. In 1969, he moved to the Colville Indian Reservation in northwest Washington where he could live in the wilderness and explore his Native American heritage. Early in his career, Heyoka’s art work was well received, and he exhibited his pieces in gallery and museum shows. While living in the remote Northwest he has continued to make pieces for the celebrities that have collected his work over the years. A few of his notable collectors are: Joan Baez, Carol Burnett, Glenn Campbell, Cher, Neil Diamond, Michael Jackson, George Harrison, Stevie Nicks, Joni Mitchell, Ringo Starr, and Cheryl Tiegs. Heyoka concludes, ‘Being an artist is a sacred responsibility. As artists we create images that help define and empower the mystery of our innermost self.’ Heyoka will be selling his art during the Faculty/Alumni book signing in the Plaza, from 5-6 p.m. June 26, with a portion of all sales going to the SBWC Scholarship Fund.
Steve Mettee is the publisher of Quill Driver Books and the author of The Fast-Track Course on How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal. Quill Driver Books publishes nonfiction books including books on writing. QDB’s authors include, Irving Stone, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, and America’s most popular medical columnist Peter H. Gott, M.D. QDB has been recognized as one of the "Top 101 Independent Book Publishers" and by Writer’s Digest as one the 100 most new-writer friendly book publishers in the United States. Mettee is always in the market for exceptional nonfiction books
Thursday: Emerging Voices Panel
Join Moderator Dallas Woodburn as she moderates a panel discussing young writers. Speakers include:
Reyna Grande was born in Guerrero, Mexico in 1975. At a very young age, her parents left her in the care of her grandmother while they immigrated to the U.S. to find work. Grande crossed the border as an illegal immigrant at nine years old, and she has lived in California ever since. She attended the University of California, Santa Cruz and in 1999 became the first person in her family to graduate from college. She received her B.A. in creative writing and film & video. Her first novel, Across a Hundred Mountains, was published in June 2006 by Atria Books. She is currently working on her M.F.A. in creative writing while completing her second novel.
Marlise Elizabeth Kast, author of Tabloid Prodigy, has had a lifelong commitment to writing, both as a journalist and as a creative writer. Her passion for the bleeding pen began at age seven when her teacher gave her a journal with the words, "Pour yourself onto these pages." This single decree sparked a lifetime commitment to writing, both professionally as a sports and travel journalist and privately as a creative writer. A graduate of Santa Barbara’s Westmont College, Marlise double-majored in English and communications, earning her degree in three years. In 1997, Marlise moved to Los Angeles and accepted a position with The Stock House. This, her first exposure to Hollywood, took Marlise behind the camera as a production assistant, where she filmed stock footage for motion pictures and television shows. Seeking an avenue that would blend show business with creative writing, Marlise interviewed at Globe magazine’s Los Angeles office and began her career as a reporter. At the age of 21, Marlise became one of the industry’s top celebrity journalists, writing over 200 articles in three years. Tabloid Prodigy was published by Running Press, a division of Perseus Books. Currently based in San Diego, Marlise Elizabeth Kast is working on the manuscript for her second book. For more information, visit her website.
Tara L. Nicole is the author of Dancing in the Rain: The Final Cut. In this debut novel, based on a true life story, Tara takes on the story of a young girl as she experiences the increasingly common aspects of teenage life including falling in love, heartbreak, insecurity, drinking, depression and, finally, the coping mechanism of self-injury. Tara was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California. After attending Santa Barbara Junior High and San Marcos High School she attended Brandeis University in Boston, from which she recently graduated with a BA in economics and business. She is 22 years old and Dancing is her first novel.
Aury Wallington Aury’s television writing credits include Sex and the City, Veronica Mars, and Courting Alex. Her novel, POP! (Razorbill Books), was named one of the New York Public Library’s 2007 Books for the Teen Age, a list of the best young adult novels of the year. She was the winner of the 1999 MTV Write Stuff fiction contest, and her stories have been included in the anthologies Pieces: A Collection of New Voices (Pocket Books) and Outlandish Affairs (Luath Press). Aury lives in Los Angeles with her dog, Tuesday. You can learn more about Aury on her website.
While all guest appearances have been confirmed, special circumstances occasionally make it necessary to change scheduled events.
