Santa Barbara Writers Conference Information

Reports of our demise.......are greatly exaggerated, to misquote Mark Twain. SBWC is alive and well, and we are busily planning for our Weekend of Poetry and June conference in 2010.

Meanwhile, we are launching several new initiatives aimed at getting the conference back on its feet financially, including a national writing contest and one-day workshops in poetry, fiction, memoir and marketing this summer and fall. (See details below.) If you would like to help, and can afford to send a donation even in these perilous economic times, SBWC would be the stronger for it. Any amount would be welcome: $50, $25 - even $10 would help. We look forward to a great year, albeit a year of transition, and to a bright future. For more information on the conference's future, see the Director's Message on our Web site.

1st Annual SBWC Writing Contest

We're pleased to announce the first annual SBWC Writing Contest in Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry. Winners in each category will receive a scholarship for tuition to the 2010 Santa Barbara Writers Conference and a grand prize winner will get a scholarship and the opportunity to have lunch with a top agent during the conference.

Fiction entries can be in any genre. Nonfiction can be essay, article or memoir. Fiction and nonfiction entries must be no more than 3,000 words. Poets may submit up to five poems, no more than 15 pages total. Each category will be judged by a team of SBWC workshop leaders and the winners will be chosen from among the finalists by a noted author. You can enter as many times as you like in all the categories. If these guidelines aren't followed, your entry will be disqualified. The cost is $25 per entry, and the deadline is June 1. The winners will be announced July 20 and celebrated at a special event later this summer.

Mail your entries to SBWC Writing Contest, P.O. Box 6627, Santa Barbara, CA 93160. Include a check made out to SBWC to cover all entry fees.