February 6, 2009

2009 San Francisco Writers Conference features superstar authors

Richard Paul Evans (The Christmas Box) will join Pulitzer Prize winning author Jane Smiley (A Thousand Acres) and Lolly Winston (Good Grief) as keynote speakers at the 2009 San Francisco Writers Conference. The public is invited to hear the keynotes for a $10 donation to the San Francisco Writers Conference Scholarship Fund.

The conference will be held at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel over President’s Day Weekend (also Valentine’s Day this year) Feb. 13-15. Full event details and online registration are available at the Web site: www.SFWriters.org

“Many writers feel that now is the ideal time to aggressively pursue their ambition of getting published. For just $10, writers can sit in on a keynote session and gain lasting insight, and learn a lot from these superstar authors,” said SFWC Marketing Director Barbara Santos.

For writers already sure they want to become published authors—whether their project is a detective novel, poetry chapbook, children’s picture book or cookbook — the San Francisco Writers Conference is an invaluable way to connect with the publishing industry. Because it is limited to just 300 attendees, it offers plenty of one-on-one interaction with top literary agents and editors from major publishing houses including Bantam / Dell, Penguin / Plume, St. Martin’s, HarperOne, Jossey-Bass, Walker Books, New World Library, Tricycle Press / Ten Speed and Grand Central.

The event is internationally recognized for its quality program and faculty. During the 3-day program, registered attendees can attend any of the 50+ information-packed sessions covering non-fiction and fiction writing genres—including expanded poetry and children’s writing tracks—industry trends, and practical topics including book marketing and state-of-the-art author promotion techniques.

The San Francisco Writers Conference registration fee includes writing workshops, panel discussions, keynote speakers and information on traditional publishing and self-publishing. There will be social events, “Open Mic” sessions, an onsite “coffee house” dubbed Café Ferlinghetti and an event bookstore at the Mark Hopkins.

The registration fee is $645 until Feb. 12 and $695 thereafter. Included are all sessions (except the optional Speed Dating for Agents), a gala welcome party, breakfasts and luncheons in the ballroom, late-night open mics and pitch contests.

Attendees can register online with a credit card at the SFWC Web site www.SFWriters.org or request a form by mail. To request the form by mail, write to San Francisco Writers Conference, 1029 Jones St., San Francisco, CA 94109.