Already recognized as one of the best writers' conferences in the country, the San Francisco Writers Conference has moved to the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero for 2019 as a way to provide additional value to its participants. The SFWC, an annual event produced by the nonprofit San Francisco Writers Foundation, will continue to offer a main conference program featuring over 100+ presenters—all of them literary and publishing industry notables. Now with the added space and convenient location of the new venue, the 16th San Francisco Writers Conference will offer several free and low-cost options during the Presidents' Day Weekend event (February 14-18, 2019).
A sampling of the free events include a journaling workshop with Amelia's Journal author Marissa Moss geared to children and children's writers; creativity-boosting Eyespiration Walks on the Embarcadero; and a Poetry & Jazz evening event with celebrity poet band, COPUS. The low-cost options include a full-day Poetry Summit ($195) and several stand-alone Master Classes. Details for all the open-to-the public events will be on the website at www.SFWriters.org.
The event tag line—A Celebration of Craft, Commerce and Community—will be reflected in the SFWC Keynoters for 2019. They will include mega-bestselling romantic thriller novelist Catherine Coulter (craft); the author of The Business of Being a Writer and former publisher of Writer's Digest Jane Friedman (commerce), and Pulitzer Prize winning/Emmy nominated journalist and Dear America author Jose Antonio Vargas (community). Tracks during the event will cover fiction, nonfiction, children/YA writing, books-to-screen, and poetry. Writers will also get to hear from experts in book marketing of all kinds and learn about both traditional and self-publishing.
"Access to the people who can help you get successfully published is the main reason attendees come to the conference," says SFWC Director Laurie McLean. This year attendees of the San Francisco Writers Conference will once again get to meet with an editor, a book promotion expert, or a book coach as part of the event. These 8-minute consults are included in the registration fee. For main conference attendees who want even more one-on-one time, they can opt to sit down with one of 20+ literary agents for a fifteen-minute consult ($100) or pitch their book projects at Speed Dating with Agents where a room full of agents will be listening to pitches ($75).
Now in its 16th year, the San Francisco Writers Conference is an annual gathering that draws 100+ bestselling authors, literary agents, publishers, editors, and publishing industry professionals to the Bay Area. These presenters, from the West Coast, New York City, and beyond, come to the event looking for new talent, to share their expertise with the attendees, and do some quality networking themselves. At the SFWC attendees rub shoulders with the very people who help build writing careers. The San Francisco Writers Conference has a professional but friendly vibe with many social events to further networking opportunities for all participants.
The 2019 San Francisco Writers Conference will be held President's Day Weekend, February 14th-18th at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero across from San Francisco's Ferry Building and is easily accessible on BART. The conference has a mission to support writers and written communication of all kinds. Event details—including the complete presenters list and online registration for the conference and classes—is available at: www.SFWriters.org.
LOW-COST and FREE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC SESSIONS:
New this year is an SFWC Poetry Summit featuring a dozen poets and poetry teachers including San Francisco Poet Laureate Kim Shuck. This poetry track is included for all registered attendees, but is also available as a separate one-day event. According to SFWC Operations Director Lissa Provost, "This is a rare opportunity to participate in a pragmatic, 'productivity to publishing' conference event designed specifically for poets."
Children's Session: This year the free open-to-the-public session will be: An Eye on Your Life—Interactive Writing and Journaling with Marissa Moss. While geared to her fans in 4th grade and up, the session will help any writer who wants to write a children's book. (RSVP on the website for this free session.)
An Evening of Poetry and Jazz is on Saturday (Feb. 16 beginning at 7:30 p.m.) and features poet band COPUS, Kim Shuck, Diane Frank, Andy Jones, Richard Loranger, and Lissa Provost. An open mic means anyone can share their poems and very short stories.
The SFWC Exhibit Hall showcases companies offering services and products for writers. Located in the Hyatt ballroom lobby, it is open to the public during most of the conference hours.
SFWC MASTER CLASSES These classes on February 14th and 18th are taught by SFWC presenters and designed for in-depth learning. Open to all writers, most range from $99 to $129. You do not have to be a conference attendee to attend these classes. http://sfwriters.org/master-classes
THE MAIN SFWC EVENT: Writing a great book is just the start of a writing career. Turning a manuscript into a bestseller takes determination, support, and knowledge of the publishing industry. The San Francisco Writers Conference offers a generous amount of information to help a writer succeed.
Attendees have access to the 70+ information-packed concurrent sessions covering a wide-range of topics (craft, publishing business, book/author marketing, self-publishing); keynote lunches; on-site social events where they can mingle with presenters and fellow writers; and pitch sessions where they will get honest feedback on their work. The event is suitable for writers in any genre (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, self-publishing, children's, YA, etc.).
AUTHOR PRESENTERS: See the current list at https://sfwriters.org/speakers#
AGENTS: There will be 20+ literary agents at SFWC19. For writers looking for representation, Speed Dating with Agents, allows attendees to pitch their work in hopes of connecting with their perfect literary agent. There are also optional 15-minute in-depth Conversations with Agents for maximum access. Links to the agent websites can be found on the SFWC website.
EDITORS & PUBLISHERS: Publishers and editors from top traditional publishing houses—Macmillan, St. Martin's Press, HarperCollins, Writer's Digest, Hachette's Little, Brown Books, and more—are always a highlight of the program.
TRADITIONAL and SELF-PUBLISHING are equally valuable options with benefits—and responsibilities—writers need to understand. The technology changes quickly so the SFWC self-publishing track helps attendees learn about current trends and possibilities with panels and sessions featuring self-publishing leaders including Carla King, PBS MediaShift; Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, and Steven Spatz of BookBaby, plus many more.
For a complete 2019 San Francisco Writers Conference presenters list, go to: www.SFWriters.org
SAN FRANCISCO WRITERS CONFERENCE REGISTRATION INFO:
GENERAL: Attendance is limited to 500 attendees and there will be more than 100 presenters for optimal interaction. REGISTRATION FEE: $895 while seats remain and there are early registration discounts. Register on-line at www.SFWriters.org Several Scholarships for the 2019 event are available.
MASTER CLASSES: Writing Intensive Workshops are scheduled for Thursday, February 14th and Monday, February 18th. These classes, ranging in price from $99 to $129, feature SFWC presenters and are open to non-attendees. Registration and details on these sessions is available at www.SFWriters.org.
The San Francisco Writers Conference ~ San Francisco Writers Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation. To learn about San Francisco Writers Conference and Foundation programs and events, go to the website at www.SFWriters.org or call (925) 420-6223.
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SHORTER VERSION OF THIS RELEASE:
2019 SAN FRANCISCO WRITERS CONFERENCE & CLASSES. A Celebration of Craft, Commerce and Community on February 14th-18th at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero. Featuring keynotes by NY Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter, The Business of Being an Author Jane Friedman and Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Dear America Jose Antonio Vargas. Quality interaction with 100+ literary agents, editors, publishers and bestselling authors at over 75 sessions. Exhibit hall, bookstore, and special presentations will be open to the public. The SFWC Master Classes and one-day Poetry Summit are open to non-SFWC writers. Get details—including a full presenter list and online registration—and opt-in for the SFWC Newsletter at www.SFWriters.org.
SPONSORS OF THE 2019 SAN FRANCISCO WRITERS CONFERENCE INCLUDE:
BookBaby, Draft2Digital, Mechanic's Institute,
Bestseller Sponsors: Smashwords—Self-Publishing Track sponsor,
Writer's Digest—Speed Dating for Agents sponsor
Women's National Book Association, California Writers Club and TriValley Writers. Harvey Pawl, Book Expo & BookShop West Portal (SFWC onsite bookstore).
Scholarship Benefactors: Catherine Coulter, Eli Potter, Laurie McLean, and Joyce Turley. Scholarships are listed on the website.
The San Francisco Writers Conference and the San Francisco Writing for Change conference are both produced by the San Francisco Writers Conference & San Francisco Writers Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit. The SFWC Director is Laurie McLean. For registration help, contact Richard Santos at registrations@sfwriters.org. For SFWC sponsorship and scholarship opportunities, contact Barbara Santos at Barbara@sfwriters.org. The SFWC website is: www.SFWriters.org