THE HISTORY OF THE SANTA BARBARA WRITERS CONFERENCE — 1986

An excerpt from the Santa Barbara Writers Conference Scrapbook by Armando Nieto, Mary Conrad, and Matt Pallamary: The following news clipping from May 31 1986 was published prior to the 14th annual Santa Barbara Writers Conference which took place from June 20-27, 1986. By then, the SBWC was fully established in the cottages and confines under the landmark blue roofs of the Miramar Hotel in Montecito, where legends were both celebrated and created.

Over the space of a quarter of a century, for one magical week a year the SBWC took over the old fashioned resort and became a world unto itself. There was a piano bar where you might walk in to find Steve Allen, Barnaby Conrad, or Cliff, the black house piano man tickling the ivories, and a long hallway that connected the registration desk to the bar and restaurant, aptly nicknamed "Peacock Alley" where people strutted their stuff, and a huge conference hall where the keynoters spoke.

In a smaller hall nestled beneath the main hall, Pirate Workshops were held after the evening speaker, ending when the last person read, almost always after midnight, and often into the wee hours of the morning. Night or day that setting was bordered by the Pacific Ocean and the beautiful Miramar beach front facing cottages, with tennis courts, and railroad tracks that sent locomotives and rattling box cars through the middle of the property at all hours of the day and night, past a stationary railroad club car restaurant beside the tracks. It was a perfect setting for a gathering of creative talent of all levels and genres, all dedicated to nurturing and celebrating their shared love of writing with varying degrees of angst, anger, fear, passion, and hope.

Beginning article

 

Beginning article 2

THE HISTORY OF THE SANTA BARBARA WRITERS CONFERENCE — 2004

An excerpt from the Santa Barbara Writers Conference Scrapbook by Armando Nieto, Mary Conrad, and Matt Pallamary: 2004 was the last year that the Conrads owned the SBWC and it was the conference's last year at Westmont College.

Gayle Lynds who is one of this year's keynoters for 2017, was a keynoter that year.

“I am here,” Gayle stated, “to talk about plotting, because Barnaby asked me.” She directed the students to look in their SBWC packets for The Writer Magazine. “There’s an article written by a very fine writer — the one with plotting, or plotting a thriller or plotting suspense, or something like that — with interviews written by Julian Abbott. Interviews with me, and Dennis Lehane, and Stuart Woods, and so Barnaby took it into his head that it would be a good thing for me to talk about.”

Gayle talked with the audience about her experience plotting and said that everything has a plot. “Even when they say it doesn’t have a plot, it’s got a plot.” She read from a 1939-40 book by Jack Woodford that discussed plotting. He wrote that in any other profession you can put relatives to work, but novels require a special skillset.

“‘Publishers’ relatives can’t write them. No matter how devoted the publisher is to his relatives, he can’t chisel them in on this one profession. It’s an honor left fairly free from nepotism.

"‘Of course publishers’ relatives do write novels, or have them written by ghost writers, but it’s one place where the nepotism game won’t really work, because you’ve got to have some brains to be a writer, and relatives never have brains. All the brains in the family run to one guy, in a given generation.’”

Gayle spoke again about the difference between a thriller and a mystery. She used the same Alfred Hitchcock example of a bomb place underneath a table that Andrew Klavan had used the previous day, “but I want to come to it from another direction.” She used the example of 9/11 in 2001 — acknowledging that it was a terrible event, but that in a thriller the story would start a few days before 9/11, perhaps with the terrorists preparing for the planes crashing, then build up to the moment of the crashes.

For this particular lecture she took the time to give the subtleties of plotting and story elements, interweaving her personal experience with the novels that she has written. “Two key words, for any novelist, are, What if?”

This was how she created a second novel to follow up on an earlier one. For years her publishers were after her to do a sequel, but Gayle could not see the story until finally she had her character go back to school and start a new way of life. At this point she admonished the audience to be in love with the story, because if they weren’t, then they could not credibly write for their audience, and once she came up with the new life for her character, she needed to develop plot elements to move the character into and through the story.

Gayle Lynds

Gayle Lynds - Coil

THE HISTORY OF THE SANTA BARBARA WRITERS CONFERENCE — 2002

An excerpt from the upcoming book by Armando Nieto, Mary Conrad, and Matt Pallamary: By the time the 30th Annual Santa Barbara Writers Conference opened on June 21st in 2002, it felt as if it had always been at Westmont College. Because of the influx of new students due to  regular attrition, hills too rigorous for some old-timers, and overall expanded enrollment because the Westmont College campus was bigger than the Miramar Hotel, the SBWC had the same air of a freshman’s first day at any university campus. It also helped that Mary Conrad doubled and at times tripled the number of Westmont College-student-staff-driven golf carts that criss-crossed the campus offering rides to any students challenged by the college’s hills.

Dorm accommodations enhanced this impression, where endless conversations filled the dorms with tales of the “old days” at the Miramar Hotel. The regularly scheduled meals in the campus cafeteria far exceeded the quality of the food at the Miramar and the new setup of dormitories and dining hall reminded workshop leader Matt Pallamary of his time in the Air Force, prompting him to nickname them the chow hall and barracks.

After the workshop leader introductions and business of logistics on Friday night, Saturday saw the familiar pattern of morning and afternoon workshops. Late Saturday afternoon, SBWC workshop leader Charles Champlin introduced two Hollywood legends, Eva Marie Saint and her husband and director/actor Jeff Hayden, in a reprise of their previous year’s reading of Willa Cather, On the Divide.

The converted for the conference gymnasium turned auditorium echoed with the words of Willa Cather from the sweeping plains of Nebraska as her work was read aloud by the consummate actors.

2002 News

THE HISTORY OF THE SANTA BARBARA WRITERS CONFERENCE — 2001

An excerpt from the upcoming book by Armando Nieto, Mary Conrad, and Matt Pallamary: In 2001, the 29th Santa Barbara Writers’ Conference found a new home at Westmont College in the hills behind Santa Barbara. The Miramar era was over, and the Westmont Campus was a dramatic change from the beachfront blue-roofed Miramar Hotel. With no ocean near the campus, Barnaby said, “There’s no beach to tempt the people away from their typewriters.” Duly noted. “They shouldn’t be on the beach; they should be writing!” he added laughing, in an interview with Santa Barbara News-Press reporter Ann Shields.

Tuesday night veteran newsman Sander Vanocur moderated a “Behind the Headlines” panel of journalists, including Ann Louise Bardach (Troubled Waters, Cuba, and others), Lou Canon (President Reagan — The Role of a Lifetime,) and Martha Smilgis (Time Magazine, People Magazine, and others).

In typical Barnaby style, he introduced Vanocur by saying “There has been altogether too much frivolity around this place,” so he read a piece by Dave Barry about the founding of America, with the hope of instilling some gravitas before hearing from the distinguished panel.

“Hundreds of years ago, America was different,” Barny read. “The only inhabitants were Indians who formed tribes and gave rivers hard to spell names. Meanwhile, in Italy, Christopher Columbus spent hours gazing out to sea and thinking, ‘someday I will be the cause of a holiday observed by millions of government workers.’ Columbus assembled a group of mariners and set out across the storm-tossed Atlantic in three tiny ships, the Ninja, the Piña Colada and the Heidi Ho.

"After numerous storm-tossed weeks they came to an island where Columbus had this conversation with the local chief.

"Columbus: You guys are Indians, right?

"Chief: Ramanona, jaway, which means, ‘No, we came over from Asia 20,000 years ago by the land mass bridge.’

"Columbus: Listen, we’ve spent weeks looking for India in these three storm-tossed ships and we have canons pointed at your wigwams, and we say that you’re Indians.

"Chief: Banama kawowi saki, which means ‘Welcome to India.’

"By the 17th Century the English had started a colony on an estuary and called it Jamestown. Their leader was John Smith, under whose direction Jamestown engaged in numerous activities primarily related to starving, then just when the colonists were about to give up, they discovered a vast untapped market for a product that consumers would set on fire and they’d inhale, gradually turning their lungs into malignant lumps of carbon.

"Meanwhile, the Puritans landed at Plymouth Rock. The new world was harsh and desolate and they would have starved, if not for a friendly native named Squanto. A year went by and the Puritans held their first Thanksgiving. They invited Squanto for turkey. ‘Next time,’ he advised, ‘try cooking it,’ then they watched the Lions/Bears game. Ultimately the Puritans built New England, part of it which can still be seen.

"Next came the revolution, the single most important historical event to occur in America with the exception of Super Bowl IV. Amid this climate the first Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. Its members realizing their actions could determine the fate of the new world, voted to give themselves a raise. The Continental Congress also knew that they would need an army and they knew just the man to lead it. A man who was respected and admired, a man who had experience, and the leadership needed to organize men and lead them into battle. That man, of course, was Dwight D. Eisenhower."

"None of this stuff,” Barny added, “has anything to do with Sander Vanocur, a man who you all recognize from television news. I give you Sander Vanocur."

2001 News Article

February Newsletter

February 5, 2017SwirlEarly Bird Registration 

Party in Hyatt bar  $575--full conference! This price is good through February 15  Register here. Improve your craft. Find your tribe. Make lifelong connections.

Spend your conference week beachside at the charming Santa Barbara Hyatt. Take advantage of early bird pricing and register for the conference by February 15.

We're pleased to announce that our list of 2017 agents is complete, and you may register for an appointment with an agent and advanced submission of a 5-page manuscript to be read before your appointment on June 20. Register for an agent here.

If you wish to register for an appointment with an agent,  you must already be registered for the conference.

We have a great group of agents to choose from:

Annie Bomke  Annie Bomke in San Diego

Amy Cloughley   Kimberley Cameron & Associates

Paul Fedorko  N.S. Bienstock, Inc.

Julie Hill  Julie Hill Literary Agency in Del Mar

Toni Lopopolo  Lopopolo Literary Management

Eric Myers Dystel and Goderich Literary Management

Patricia Nelson Marsal Lyon Literary Agency

Angela Rinaldi The Angela Rinaldi Literary Agency

BJ Robbins BJ Robbins Literary Agency in North Hollywood

Ken Sherman  Ken Sherman & Associates

Over the past 45 years, SBWC has provided a learning environment that can transform beginners into bestselling authors ... well, that and a lot of hard work on the part of the authors.

One of the best things about the Santa Barbara Writers Conference is the faculty. Our 30 teachers cover a broad range of genres.

The 2.5-hour workshops allow time for learning craft, as well as getting individualized feedback on your work.

We have a special room rate at the Hyatt Santa Barbara:

  • $199 (single occupancy) per night and free parking: 24 rooms in Santa Barbara House, a separate building, but adjacent to hotel
  • $209 (single occupancy) per night and $38 overnight parking, (or free parking close by on the street) in the hotel

For reservations call (888) 421-1442, or visit this reservation link: Santa Barbara Hyatt.

If you wish to register for an appointment with an agent,  you must already be registered for the conference to signup.

Since its origins in 1972, SBWC has given writers an oasis of time, place and focus to hone craft and connect with mentors, agents and publishers.

The Santa Barbara Writers Conference Scrapbook, a history of the conference, written by founder Mary Conrad and longtime friends of SBWC, Y. Armando Nieto and Matthew J. Pallamary, is now available on Amazon.

For SBWC fans in the Santa Barbara area, there will be a book signing at Chaucer's bookstore on February 9 at 7PM. Meet all three authors.

There is a documentary film of the same title debuting June 18, 2017 at SBWC.

The film and the book are labors of love, and both reflect the special nature of this conference.

New York Times bestselling author Christopher Moore says: "I went into the Santa Barbara Writers Conference a foundering insurance man and came out a writer. I wouldn't have made it without the camaraderie and enthusiasm for the craft I found there." 

We invite you to be a part of this ongoing literary legacy.

I hope to see you June 18-23, 2017.

Grace Rachow SBWC Director

THE HISTORY OF THE SANTA BARBARA WRITERS CONFERENCE — 2000

An excerpt from the upcoming book by Armando Nieto, Mary Conrad, and Matt Pallamary:The Santa Barbara Writers Conference went on hiatus during the year 2000 due to the closing of the Miramar, thoughts of the Conference were never far from longtime attendees and staff. It was also the year that the conference lost Sparky.

Poetess and workshop leader Perie Longo captures the essence of the loss of the Miramar with the following poem.

Souvenir from the Miramar: Fall, 2000

by Perie Longo

They could be tears, these bougainvillea blossoms,

shed for the passing of the train we won’t hear

come June, we writers who collected at the Miramar

each year, recollected our lives best we could

in  fog, sometimes fire, turned anguish

into something approachable and fine,

a keepsake until next time. Without notice

they closed it, restoration the reason,

everything for sale; lights and beds, dressers,

night-stands, a cache of  ugly prints torn

from the wall, bolts still stuck in the center

of frame tops. I dragged through the lobby,

dining room, around the pool, peeked

into rooms where the air of years laid down

on tossed mattresses and sighed. Behind

the buildings I wound around yellow tapes

strung  to keep us out, crossed the railroad tracks

and eased to the beach glad to see the sand

still there, the gulls, at least the sky’s blue roof.

And conversations about those who leave

this earth without asking our permission.

I save some bougainvillea petals

from the bush near the train tracks where

a gray parrot once mocked our words.

I wanted to gather a whole sprig,

but overnight they collapsed on the counter

like separate words to be rearranged

into something else, something to carry us on,

we weavers and bleeders of words,

something to bring us back.

September ‘00

2000 News 12

12734161_10153497833796909_776770426654969445_n

THE HISTORY OF THE SANTA BARBARA WRITERS CONFERENCE — 1999

An excerpt from the upcoming book by Armando Nieto, Mary Conrad, and Matt Pallamary:

Catherine Ryan Hyde and screenwriter Leslie Dixon (Outrageous Fortune, Mrs. Doubtfire, Pay it Forward, etc.), were introduced by SBWC workshop leaders and screenwriting team of Vicki Patik and Walter H. Davis. At conference time Dixon was still finalizing rewrites of the screenplay adaptation of Pay it Forward which would star Kevin Spacy.

Catherine was an unpublished writer when she first came to the SBWC as a student in 1993, and then returning as a successful author in 1999. She appeared a tad uncomfortable with her newly acquired fame.

“Leslie, maybe you should tell them about Pay It Forward,” said Ryan Hyde. “Because you didn’t write it and you can be more effusive than I can.”

Dixon began by speaking about screenwriting and the adaptation of an original work to the big screen. “I think when it comes to being a screenwriter and adapting a novel, the biggest thing is; is there a movie in this book?

You look at Beloved, which is one of the best books ever written, and you look at the movie which is a downer, and you ask yourself, what happened?”

Dixon talked about Gone With the Wind, and other novels which became great movies. When adapting a novel to film she said she looks at how the story can be told best by film — without a dreaded “voiceover.”

Where Pay it Forward was concerned, Dixon said she was reading it in bed and kept wondering, what happens next? When she finished reading she turned to her husband who was asleep next to her and said aloud, “I’m going to get this project,” and then to the SBWC audience, she said, “And I did!”

“See,” said Catherine, “I knew she should tell the story!”

The story of how the two women met and worked together was part of the SBWC magic, containing a series of coincidences including a mutual friendship with Barnaby Conrad. For attendees at the 1999 Conference the lecture had a Cinderella-esque aspect that captured the attention of more than one aspiring writer. The enthusiasm of the speakers also bespoke the sense that Catherine and Leslie both knew how rare the Pay it Forward Hollywood experience was for them.

Pay It Forward Poster1999 Pic 6

If you are in Santa Barbara join us for the Santa Barbara Writers Conference Scrapbook publication party!

https://youtu.be/KZIkSZWKg4g

 

 

 

THE HISTORY OF THE SANTA BARBARA WRITERS CONFERENCE — 1998

An excerpt from the upcoming book by Armando Nieto, Mary Conrad, and Matt Pallamary: On Sunday night the SBWC heard from Robert McKee, an acknowledged guru of Hollywood screenwriters, and a master at any form of story-telling. The title of his lecture was “Character vs. Plot Driven,” and he began by citing one of the earlier teachers and story-tellers, Aristotle in the Poetics.

Story

“What is more important in a story? The story told, or the characters in the story?

“Aristotle also had a hierarchy of good writing,” McKee said, “which included plot, character, idea, dialogue, music, and spectacle.”

According to Aristotle, “Spectacle is the least creative aspect of a production. It is the least important aspect of the production. It just costs money.”

McKee noted that Aristotle had a lot in common with modern day producers. “In fact, Aristotle sounds like a Hollywood producer, more than once in the Poetics,” McKee said. He guided the audience through an examination of modern film and Broadway productions and other forms of story telling, noting Aristotle’s litany  scrambled.

“In what order are things promoted today?” he queried, “Spectacle. Second? Music. Third? Witty dialogue. Number five? The idea. And number six the story.”

McKee said that Aristotle also noted that when story telling goes bad in a culture so does society. The result is decadence.

“Compare for example the last two Oscar winners,” said McKee. “Titanic, and the abysmal The English Patient.” Spectacle and so many caricatures in the movie making.

He continued, “Just once, I’d like to hear the stiff-upper-lip British ship’s captain say, ‘I’m fucking scared man!’”

The lecture continued with a recitation of the intervention points required to stop the decline in culture represented by films, plays, and literature in the U.S. and he discussed character vs. characterization, saying that the only way to know the true human nature of a character is by their choices under pressure. It cannot simply be a good or bad choice because the character will always choose the good or the right from their point of view. It’s one of the laws of nature.

“This is true, from Genghis Khan to Adolf Hitler. Choice and dilemma of the character reveal the nature of a character. Characterization is what is said about the character, what the character says or does, the story. Characterization is not character.

"It is the pressure combined with choices made under pressure that reveals the true 'character' of a character."

McKee said this is true in films, as it is in literature. “Sophie’s Choice, for example,” he proffered.

Increasingly difficult choices that lead to change are the milestones of a good story, movie or production.

1998 News 24

 Logo

JUNE 18-23, 2017

January 11, 2017 SwirlEarly Bird Registration   $575--full conference! Through February 15  Register here. Improve your craft. Find your tribe. Make lifelong connectionsSpend your conference week beachside at the charming Santa Barbara Hyatt. We're pleased to announce that the very talented Catherine Ryan Hyde has been added to our list of speakers for SBWC 2017. She's an alumna of this conference with 32 published novels and counting. Her latest is Say Goodbye for Now.Another alumna and longtime friend of the conference, the charming and funny Fannie Flagg, will honor us by speaking opening night. Her most recent novel is The Whole Town's Talking.

Over the past 45 years, SBWC has created a learning environment that can transform talented writers (beginners included) into bestselling authors ... well, that and a lot of hard work on the part of the authors.

One of the best things about the Santa Barbara Writers Conference is the faculty. Our teachers cover a broad range of genres.

The 2.5-hour workshops allow time for learning craft, as well as getting individualized feedback on your work.

Early bird registration is open now. Please call 1-888-421-1442 and say you are attending the Santa Barbara Writers Conference to get the discounted rate.

On February 1, we'll open registration for meetings with agents. You must already be registered for the conference to signup.

Since its origins in 1972, SBWC has given writers an oasis of time, place and focus to hone craft and connect with mentors, agents and publishers.

The Santa Barbara Writers Conference Scrapbook, a history of the conference written by founder Mary Conrad and longtime friends of SBWC, Y. Armando Nieto and Matthew J. Pallamary, is now available on Amazon.

There is a documentary film of the same title debuting at the SBWC in June.

The film and the book are labors of love, and both reflect the special nature of this conference.

New York Times bestselling author Christopher Moore says: "I went into the Santa Barbara Writers Conference a foundering insurance man and came out a writer. I wouldn't have made it without the camaraderie and enthusiasm for the craft I found there." 

We invite you to be a part of this ongoing literary legacy.

I hope to see you June 18-23, 2017.

Grace Rachow SBWC Director

THE HISTORY OF THE SANTA BARBARA WRITERS CONFERENCE — 1997

An excerpt from the upcoming book by Armando Nieto, Mary Conrad, and Matt Pallamary: The 25th Anniversary of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference would have been SBWC Chief of Staff Paul Lazarus’ 20th anniversary with the conference. Unfortunately, Paul suffered a heart attack after hip replacement surgery.

William Styron (Lie Down in Darkness, Set This House on Fire, Sophie’s Choice, and Confessions of Nat Turner), not seen since the Conference’s early days returned to receive the inaugural SBWC Lifetime of Literary Excellence Award. Charles Champlin introduced him for brief comments on “The Writing of My First Book.”

Styron shook his head and said, “For years people have been calling my first novel LAY Down in Darkness. It’s Lie Down in Darkness.” Regarding the editing demanded by his first book’s publisher, the story would have been tame by modern standards.

“There’s not a single four-letter word in it,” Styron announced to the Miramar audience.

“Thank God,” some said out loud.

The road to writing and publishing was about as straight forward for Styron as for any aspiring writer. His first book made the best-sellers list at number seven when he’d been called to service in the Marines for the Korean conflict. He was in good company, as that list also included Norman Mailer’s From Here to Eternity and J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. Time magazine spurned the three young writers as “doomed to obscurity.” Styron enjoyed telling that story to the SBWC students.

The story of how he came to write his first book was also interesting. He quit his job reading manuscripts for a New York publisher in 1947. “I burned to write a novel,” he said, “but what about?”

He was motivated when he learned that a 22 year-old woman from his home town that he had a crush on, but never pursued, had committed suicide. “He’d never so much as held her hand,” Barney Brantingham wrote in a Santa Barbara News-Press article at the time.

Styron worked long and hard on the novel in a state of shock in his Brooklyn Flatbush neighborhood rooming house, and eventually finished Lie Down in Darkness. It was during that period that he met a fellow boarder, a Polish woman who didn’t speak a lot of English and had a tattoo from a German death camp. He developed a crush on her too, although his timing was bad because besides the language barrier she already had a boyfriend. Years later she became the title figure in Sophie’s Choice.

At the time there wasn’t a lot written about the holocaust and he had been working on a novel that wasn’t quite coming together.

“I’d become preoccupied with the camps. One book had the story of a gypsy woman forced to make a choice between her two children, forced by the Nazis to become a murderer of her own child,” then it occurred to him to marry the story of the woman from his boarding house twenty-odd years prior. He put aside the incomplete novel and began anew. Four years later Sophie’s Choice was the result.

1997 news 29

1997 ended on a sad and somber note for the Santa Barbara Writers Conference family. Susan Miles Gulbransen wrote about the passing of Paul Lazarus in a December 1997 column with affection.

“Every once in a while, someone touches your life, makes a huge difference and leaves you a much better person. Paul Lazarus was that kind of someone. As an insider in the movie business, the retired studio executive could have been a pontificating guru or a larger-than-life celebrity. Instead, Paul always remained a gracious, humorous and supportive friend whether in the company of deal makers or aspiring writers.

“Few people knew the movie industry like Paul Lazarus. As the middle of the Lazarus generational sandwich, he grew up in the movies. His father began a film career in 1916 while the industry was still in its infancy and warned his son not to try the crazy business.”

Paul Lazarus, retired Hollywood studio executive and SBWC Chief of Staff did end up working in the film industry. He brought his wisdom and experience in the genre to the SBWC, and a generation of writers thank him. He was loved, admired, and he will be remembered.

Paul and Ellie Lazarus1997

Paul and Ellie Lazarus

THE HISTORY OF THE SANTA BARBARA WRITERS CONFERENCE — 1996

An excerpt from the upcoming book by Armando Nieto, Mary Conrad, and Matt Pallamary: On Monday night two accomplished writers took the stage, one a newcomer, the other an old friend of the Conference. Elmore “Dutch” Leonard author of 32 novels including Mr. Majestyk, Hombre, Stick, and 52 Pick-up, fifteen of which were made into films and Scott Frank an accomplished screenplay writer, including the screen version of Leonard’s Get Shorty.

Dutch opened with a reading of how he wrote a scene in the book Get Shorty, where the character Chili Parker played by John Travolta meets the producer played by Danny Devito, as a way of showing how the written word gets transposed on film. True to his style, Leonard’s read words were short, crisp, and pithy.

“If only I was a light skinned black chick I could sing and do it on my own,” he read, the words of a transvestite reacquainting herself with Chili.

The patter between Chili and other characters continued in Leonard’s gravelly, cough-accented voice for ten minutes. Short bits, (cough), “inflict pain if I need to,” the character said. “Look at me,” Chili said, “no, I mean look at me like I’m looking at you. You’re nothing to me. It’s nothing personal. It’s just business...”

The audience was then treated to a slice of the Get Shorty movie and a scene played out by Danny Devito and John Travolta. Oddly enough, the dialogue between Devito and Travolta was close to what Dutch had read, but the rest of the scene so crisply read by Leonard was fleshed out with an overacting transvestite character. Clearly, the best part of the scene was the dialogue that Travolta and Devito delivered almost exactly as Dutch had written.

Scott Frank related the story of a two hour lunch with Leonard where he told of how others had made movies of his novels that were horrible. Scott went home and said to his wife that he didn’t want to give Leonard another horror story.

For that reason more than any other the scene with Devito and Travolta rang with verisimilitude, to the pleasure of the audience, author, and screenwriter.

get-shorty

elmore-dutch-leonard1984

Elmore (Dutch) Leonard

THE HISTORY OF THE SANTA BARBARA WRITERS CONFERENCE — 1995

An excerpt from the upcoming book by Armando Nieto, Mary Conrad, and Matt Pallamary: At the 1995 SBWC Bob Kane explained how he finally got his moment in the limelight with the resurgence of the Batman franchise. He opened his 4:00 pm lecture on Wednesday afternoon talking about growing up in the Bronx to the sound of Bing Crosby’s voice—“ba ba ba boom!”

Kane came up with the concept for Batman in 1939.

Speaking after a weekend when a Batman movie garnered $53 million Kane had a lot to say about Hollywood.

“Hollywood had a strange habit,” he began. “You bring them a concept and they buy it, and then they bring in ten other writers to change it for you.”

Kane expressed praise for all the Batman movies, and for the ‘60s television show based on his characters. He encouraged the audience to stay true to their characters and passions, no matter what. Regarding the movie industry itself, he said, “They speak with forked tongues in Hollywood. If you’re a failure there you’re treated like a leper.

“You’ve got to stick to your guns. You should never stop working and being creative. Being creative is like breathing. When you stop, you die.”

In his Santa Barbara News-Press article on the lecture, Daniel M. Jimenez talked with thirteen-year-old Billy Eckerson and his eleven-year-old brother Brent, both wearing Batman paraphernalia.

“Batman is more like a detective than Superman,” Billy said, echoing the argument that fans had been having for more than fifty years. Billy said he wants to create comics when he grows up.

Batman made his first appearance in Detective Comics No. 27 in May of 1939 with “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate,” starring “The Bat Man.” When the first printing sold out immediately, subsequent issues built a following almost as big as Superman. A year later Kane approached his publishers about adding a teen-aged side kick named Robin. Despite his bosses grumbling that mothers wouldn’t approve of a young boy running around at night with the caped crusader, sales of Batman with Robin outsold Batman alone, five to one.

In 1995, a copy of that original Batman Detective Comics No. 27 was worth $150,000, depending on condition.

1995-bob-kane

THE HISTORY OF THE SANTA BARBARA WRITERS CONFERENCE — 1994

An excerpt from the upcoming book by Armando Nieto, Mary Conrad, and Matt Pallamary: In the June 17, 1994 welcoming Friday issue of Write Right ON! Jan Curran quoted Ray Bradbury:

If you want to write, if you want to create, you must be the most sublime fool that God ever turned out and sent rambling. You must write every single day of your life.

 “I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon you. May you live with hysteria, and out of it make fine stories. May you be in love for the next 20,000 days, and out of that love, remake a world.”

Ray opened the 22nd SBWC, as he had for the previous 21 years, and waxed eloquent on the subject of “Why Aren’t You Home Writing?”

By 1994 the SBWC was a well-established, premiere event for west coast literati, across the country and in other parts of the world. Australia was always well represented as well as England and the far east, but if you were to ask any of the participants, students, staff, or featured speaker you would get a variety of explanations for success.

In a Santa Barbara Independent article on June 16, 1994, Bill Greenwald wrote, “There’s something about the Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference — a feeling, an ambiance you can’t describe. It’s a sense of being right there in the   middle of the literary swirl.” Greenwald continued, “It’s not intended for dilettantes who want to impress themselves by going to a writer’s convention, but the 22 year-old Santa Barbara institution is so multifaceted that even they will get something they didn’t expect.”

Barnaby Conrad, SBWC director and cofounder said, “We try to make it so no one who can write gets away unnoticed. Most beginners feel they have no chance to meet other writers. Here they have a chance to rub shoulders with famous writers and get professional advice.”

Columnist and former Los Angeles Times arts editor Charles Champlin said, “First, it gives you a chance to think about what you do and why you do it. It renews you. Writing is a lonely business. It [the SBWC] engenders a family feeling. There’s a terrific spirit throughout the conference.”

charles-chuck-champlin1987

 Chuck Champlin  - Veteran SBWC Workshop Leader

 Ray Bradbury had this to say: “I think what makes the Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference different is that it’s more relaxed than others, not as pompous and self-conscious.” When asked how he prepared for each of his 22 appearances as opening speaker he said, “I just get up there and explode and have a lot of fun."

Ray was quoted as saying, “Last year I told you to stop watching the local news,” gesticulating with a finger the size of bratwurst. “Today I tell you to fire the people standing in the way of your writing!”

Sparky Schulz, returned from a one-year hiatus to follow Ray on Sunday afternoon, speaking on the topic “Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and Me.” It was a homecoming for frequent SBWC attendees.

Sparky was always asked where he got ideas for Snoopy and Charlie Brown. “An idea comes from your whole life. You don’t just create characters out of nothing and force ideas out of them. It has to come from your own life.”

He told the audience about a memory of reading that crunching wintergreen flavored Lifesavers candy would produce sparks. He said it followed that if one chewed them in the dark, the sparks would be visible.

“This is where cartoon ideas come from,” said the Peanuts creator, because although he was unsuccessful in making sparks, he still used the idea in a strip with Snoopy and Charlie Brown. “It takes maturity. You have to live. You have to suffer before you can cartoon these things.”

charles-schulz1984

 Sparky

1994 was the year that Bob Kane, creator of Batman, became a friend of the SBWC.  He passed through workshops, parties and SBWC events always accompanied by a bevy of devotees and a stunning companion who turned out to be Elizabeth, his wife. Although not scheduled as a speaker it was obvious that he loved being part of the maelstrom of creativity at the Miramar, and would be wooed to return to tell the Batman story at a future conference.

1994-pic-4

THE HISTORY OF THE SANTA BARBARA WRITERS CONFERENCE

The brainchild of Y. Armando Nieto, a long time SBWC volunteer,  known to veteran conference participants as "Mando",  The History of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference project has evolved on two fronts in the form of a book and film titled with same name. sbwc-front-cover

As seen in the byline, the book was written in a three way collaboration between Mando, long time SBWC workshop leader Matt Pallamary, and founder Mary Conrad, along with the deeply appreciated help and graphics support from veteran humor workshop leader Ernie Witham.

The film, the book, and the conference itself would never have existed if it were not for the efforts of Barnaby and Mary Conrad, the founders of the SBWC.

Barnaby was the well known and loved face and "front man"of the conference, but it was Mary's tireless devotion and work behind the scenes that made the SBWC a reality.

barnaby-and-mary-conrad-1980

 

Enter Lisa Angle, the talented filmmaker and producer of Literary Gumbo who conference attendees usually see behind a camera at the conference filming keynoters, who came up with the suggestion to make a documentary film of the conference which has been entered into the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Add to that Mando's nephew, Hollywood special effects wizard Andras Kavalecz who generously donated his time and considerable talents to the film and the many SBWC "old timers" who came to be interviewed for the film, among them, Fannie Flagg and Catherine Ryan Hyde, with a special shout out of appreciation to Chris Mitchum who flew in from Boston over the weekend and flew right back in a "turn and burn", specifically for the twenty minute interview!

And one more shout out of appreciation to Canadian recording artist André Nobels for his generous musical contribution to the film's soundtrack.

http://www.andrenobels.com/

Here is the film's trailer for your viewing pleasure and enticement.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCFQ2nhNZlc[/embed]

 

THE HISTORY OF THE SANTA BARBARA WRITERS CONFERENCE — 1993

An excerpt from the upcoming book by Armando Nieto, Mary Conrad, and Matt Pallamary: SBWC Chief of Staff Paul Lazarus introduced Robert B. Parker, he highlighted Parker’s background as a tenured professor at Northeastern University in Boston. Lazarus explained that although a tenured professor, Parker was only teaching one Wednesday class a week when he left the university to write full time. When asked why he left academia where he only had to teach on Wednesdays, Parker replied, “Yeah, but it was every Wednesday.” His Spenser thrillers were hailed by the Washington Post as “a seminal and exceptional series in the history of American hard-boiled detective fiction.”

Parker was a big, affable man with an “elegant mustache,” according to one newspaper account of his visit to the SBWC. With his doctorate in English Literature, he created the well-read Spenser, a Boston detective whose cases comprised twenty-four novels and a television series. That same newspaper account noted that the purchase and subsequent loss of a handgun was the only genre related research Parker conducted in developing his character’s character.

On his writing process: “I write five pages five days a week.”

On his struggle as a beginning writer: “None, I’m sorry to say. I wrote my first book and sent it off to Houghton Mifflin because they were the closest. Three weeks later they wrote me to say they wanted to publish it,” and the Spenser series was born with publication of The Godwulf Manuscript.

Parker was sheepish in explaining that his wife Joan was responsible for much of his success; for encouraging his pursuit of a doctorate to get a better job, and negotiating with agents and publishers. “Trust me,” he explained, “if you have to get into an argument with one of us you want it to be me and not Joan.”

On what mystery writer he read: “I don’t read much at all. I have a Phd, so I don’t have to,” he joked, but seriously, he explained that he saved his creative juices for writing. “I like Dutch, because of the way he sounds,” referring to Elmore Leonard. He also admitted to reading non-fiction.

On Robert Urich who portrayed Spenser in the TV series: “No, I didn’t imagine Urich as Spenser. If I thought of anyone it would probably be a young Robert Mitchum, or now, an older Robert Mitchum.”

1993-pic-12

robert-mitchum1979

Robert Mitchum

SBWC workshop leader Matt Pallamary always had an affinity for the Spenser books and television series because he grew up in Dorchester, a tough Irish Catholic neighborhood, a setting where many scenes from and many of the Spenser stories took place. Best selling Crime writer Dennis Lehane is also from Dorchester.

When Matt met Parker this first time in Santa Barbara the exchange went something like this:

"Hi Bob, it's nice to meet you. I grew up in Dorchester and I have always enjoyed Spenser."

Parker sat back, eyes wide in an exaggerated gesture and said,  "Dorchester? What the f*ck are you doing here?"

THE HISTORY OF THE SANTA BARBARA WRITERS CONFERENCE — 1992

An excerpt from the upcoming book by Armando Nieto, Mary Conrad, and Matt Pallamary: sbwc-front-cover

Ray Bradbury spoke on Friday night about belief in oneself and to never lose faith. “When you make your first sale you need to celebrate, because it may be a year before you make another.”

He told how as a boy he opened an envelope on the lawn of his mother’s house and let out a yell when he read a letter telling him of his first sale. “My mother and I hugged each other and danced around the yard!” he said. For which he received a free subscription to the magazine.

He didn’t make another sale for more than a year.

Ray said that when his family moved to Los Angeles he was thirteen years old and he discovered the places in local museums where Hollywood memorabilia was housed. He searched out those places and wrote letters to cartoonists, pulp fiction writers, and the people who made magic in B movies, and he spent hours and days reading stories about everything, haunting the libraries.

He said he didn’t go to college. “I went to libraries, and I stayed there,” he said. “And when I was 27 years old I graduated from the library!”

He also spoke about his time in Ireland with movie director John Huston, who was filming his classic “Moby Dick.” As he told the story behind Green Shadows, White Whale, writer Bradbury painted a picture of his time in Ireland chasing Huston’s dream of an epic screenplay worthy of the concept in the director’s mind. Waving his arms and drawing out the pub owner and cab driver from the pages of his novel and memory he filled the auditorium with images of Irish fog, warm Guinness, and cold rain.

He got the gig, writing the screenplay for Moby Dick, when John Huston invited him to his hotel in Los Angeles and asked, “Well Ray, what are you doing for the next year?” When Ray answered, “nothing,” Huston continued, “Well, tell you what. Why don’t you go home tonight, read as much as you can of the book [Moby Dick], come back tomorrow and help me kill the white whale?”

Bradbury did go home and said to his wife, “Maggie, pray for me. I have to read a book tonight and give a book report in the morning.”

1992-news-2

 

 

November Newsletter

462895_306725996049613_224041766_o JUNE 18-23, 2017 Early Bird Registration A Perfect Holiday Gift to Yourself

$575--full conference for all six days! Through February 15 Register here.

Improve your craft. Find your tribe. Make lifelong connections.

The Santa Barbara Writers Conference will reconvene June 18 - 23 at the charming, beachside Santa Barbara Hyatt.

We'll have agents, afternoon panels, 20 daily writing workshops, two banquets and an ocean view cocktail party.

Guest speakers include: Fannie Flagg, David Brin, Armando Lucas Correa, Lesley M. M. Blume, and Tracy Daugherty.

Since its origins in 1972, SBWC has given writers an oasis of time, place and focus to hone craft and connect with mentors, agents and publishers.

A few of America's influential writers who have spoken at SBWC: Ray Bradbury, Eudora Welty, James Michener, Charles M. Schulz, and Elmore Leonard.

We invite you to be a part of this ongoing literary legacy.

Registration is open now.

We look forward to seeing you June 18-23, 2017.

Grace Rachow SBWC Director

Our 45th Year! "The answer to all writing is love." — Ray Bradbury

"The best in the nation." — James A. Michener

"A most stimulating time—a glorious week!" — Eudora Welty

"An important and wonderful week." — Elmore Leonard

"SBWC offers aspiring talents opportunities to have their work seen by professionals who can help them reach publication." — Los Angeles Times

THE HISTORY OF THE SANTA BARBARA WRITERS CONFERENCE — 1991

An excerpt from the upcoming book by Armando Nieto, Mary Conrad, and Matt Pallamary: The Santa Barbara Writers Conference Scrapbook  — Words of Wisdom from Thirty Years of Literary Excellence 1973 – 2003

On January 7th - Saddam Hussein prepared his troops for what he said would be a long violent war against the United States and on January 8th "Davis Rules" with Jonathan Winters & Randy Quaid premiered on ABC-TV.

On January 10th US Congress began its debate on the Persian Gulf crisis and on January 11th - Congress empowered George Bush Sr. to order attack on Iraq following up on January 12th by giving Bush authority to wage war against Iraq. Operation Desert Storm began against Saddam Hussein on January 17th.

On March 3rd the Los Angeles Police severely beat motorist Rodney King, which was captured on amateur video and on March 15th Four Los Angeles, California police officers were indicted for the videotaped March 3rd beating of motorist Rodney King during an arrest.

From thirty-six students at the Cate School in 1973, the students attending the 19th Annual Santa Barbara Writers Conference now numbered 300 plus, 60% of whom were returnees and 26 faculty members. All the elements that made the conference a premiere event were coordinated by Mary Conrad, assisted by her cadre of volunteers.

A late addition to the conference was Joseph Wambaugh, The Onion Field, The Blue Knight, and many others. Returning speakers included Elmore Leonard, Cat Chaser, 52 Pick-Up, Killshot, Get Shorty, and others, and longtime SBWC favorite Sue Grafton, A is for Alibi, and the rest of her alphabet series, and perennial favorite Charles (Sparky) Schulz.

Before introducing Ray Bradbury on Friday night, Barnaby Conrad read a few examples of what could be submissions for the annual “Worst Opening Sentence” contest which was open to all conference attendees.

He’d always hated being bound and gagged…”

The sun rose slowly, like a fiery fur ball coughed up uneasily onto a sky-blue carpet by a giant unseen cat…”

While the riddle of the long intestine cannot be unraveled here, we can at least allude to the romance of digestion…”

The sun fought like a tiger to escape from its cage of dark clouds and finally emerged gently as a lamb, bestowing its soft warmth upon Leanne, her golden hair blown by the wind which swept across the high, rocky hill overlooking her ancestral home, once threatened by fire and flood, now owned by the man who killed her father, raped her grandmother, and was soon to become her husband.”

Arguably, only Ray Bradbury could comfortably follow Barnaby at his best, and Ray started the 19th SBWC lecturing on “Tomorrow the Universe.” In the welcoming Write Right On! Jan Curran quoted from Bradbury’s book, A Complete Guide to Writing Fiction:

“If you want to write, if you want to create, you must be the most sublime fool that Gold ever turned out and rambling…You must write every single day of your life…I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon you…may you live with hysteria, and out of it make fine stories…may you be in love for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.”

1991 news 23

Joe Wambaugh and Chuck Champlin

Joe Wambaugh and Chuck Champlin

1991 news 41

1991 news 29

May 27 Newsletter

The Santa Barbara Writers Conference: June 5-10, 2016

June 5-10, 2016
SwirlSBWC 2016: June 5-10, Hyatt Santa Barbara We still have some spaces left at this year’s conference, so if you have not already registered, here are five reasons to attend SBWC 2016 
1. Our student to faculty ratio is excellent.  Connect with mentors and authors and get feedback on your stories in more than twenty daily workshops. Before Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man and Practical Demonkeeping, Fannie Flagg and Christopher Moore were SBWC students workshopping in some of these very same classes.
2. Enjoy the American Riviera. Spend some time at the beach across the street and write the Great American Novel in one of the most beautiful places in the U.S.3. Learn how to pitch your book, and then slyly or forcefully practice on the agents and editors we have corralled for the wine and cheese party by the pool on Tuesday, June 7th.4. Sip late-night coffee and develop your voice in one of our 9 p.m. pirate workshops. T. S. Eliot famously said, “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice.”

5. Begin a friendship to last a lifetime with someone who truly understands your passion. Ray Bradbury told us in 2008, “You learn writing by writing every day and by having good friends surrounding you who love you and love writing as much as you do."

And if that isn't enough to convince you to sign up today, here's a few more reasons to attend:

  • Hear five talented and inspiring evening speakers including Rufi Thorpe whose newest book, Dear Fang, With Love got an Oprah nod.
  • Attend dynamic and informative panels and afternoon speakers on topics ranging from how to market your book once published to how to navigate the sometimes rough road to publication.
  • Join our afternoon poetry readings.
  • Schedule 10-minute agent pitch sessions for only $25.
  • Attend a pool-side wine and cheese party where you can chat visiting agents up about your project.

Our 44th Year!

Snoopy

"A most stimulating time—a glorious week!" — Eudora Welty

"The best in the nation." — James A. Michener

"An important and wonderful week." — Elmore Leonard

"SBWC offers aspiring talents opportunities to have their work seen by professionals who can help them reach publication." — Los Angeles Times

FacebookAdd
our rss feed to your reader
Register now for only $650That cost includes two full banquet dinners (opening and closing night), awards ceremony, agent meetings, more than 20 different workshops, afternoon panels, a talent show on the last day (where attendees can show off other talents besides writing) and much, much more.    Write On! Grace Rachow and Erin Munsch