Submission Period Now Closed for Free Scholarship Contest for SBWC 2019 June 16-21

Judging will take place over the next few days and winners will be announced May 6-8.

Enter to win a scholarship to the 47th Annual Santa Barbara Writers Conference.
No entry fee.
You may share this opportunity with others.
There are 3 categories to this contest. 
 You are welcome to enter each category, once, but please only one entry per email. 
 
Categories:

1. Opening sentence: Limit 50 words

2. Prose: This can be a short essay, a short story, or the opening to your novel or nonfiction project. Limit 500 words

3. Poem: Limit 50 lines

The judging team will look for writing excellence appropriate to each category.
 The judges are award-winning, published authors who are associated with SBWC. 
 We do not announce the names of the judges.
 To enter:
Email  <sbwc.mascot@gmail.com>

·       Put the category of your entry in the subject line.

·       This must be your original work, published or not.

·       Paste your writing entry and contact information into the body of the email or send an attached Word doc. 

Contact information should include:

·       Name

·       Phone number 

·       Email address

·       Mailing address

 There will be a full tuition day scholarship to the 2018 Santa Barbara Writers Conference awarded ($650 value) for each category.

1.     Scholarship recipients must be able to attend the conference this year.

2.     If not, the full scholarship will be awarded to the runner up.

3.     No entry fee

4.     Contest opens:  NOW April 21, 2019

5.     Submission period closes MIDNIGHT, Monday, April 29, 2018 PDT

6.     Submission period is 1 week only

 Winners announced in early May (the first week) 

SBWC Poster

Public Event Schedule

All afternoon and evening speakers at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference are open to the public for only $15 at the door. 

Click on image to view larger.

Complete List of 2018 SBWC Contest Winners & Honorable Mentions

Thank you to everyone who sent in writing for the 2018 SBWC writing contests. And congratulations to each of you for entering and being willing to share your work.

Below is a listing of the full SBWC tuition scholarship winners for the 2018 conference as well as honorable mentions. 

This year the writing was a cut above and we have named quite a few honorable mentions, all in alphabetical order under each category. 

 

HUMOR

Jerry Anderson from Escondido, CA (Full Scholarship)

Honorable Mention

• Sue D. Gelber from Denver, CO
• Malu Paradise Lujan from Berkeley, CA
• Nove Meyers from Port Orchard, WA
• Nate Streeper from Santa Barbara, CA

 

POETRY

Nancy Allen from Lynchburg, VA (Full Scholarship)

Honorable Mention

• Angela Borda from Santa Barbara, CA
• Ted Chiles from Santa Barbara, CA

OPENING SENTENCE

Honorable Mention

• Chris Carney from Santa Barbara, CA
• Mary Hill-Wagner from Montclair, CA
• Brett Hullinger from Draper, UT

COMBINATION OF ENTRIES

Jordan O’Halloran from Middletown, CA  (Full Scholarship)

PROSE

Deborah Sue George from Los Angeles, CA (Full Scholarship)

Honorable mention

• Dorthea Hubble Bonneau from Davis, CA
• Chris Carney from Santa Barbara, CA
• Ken McAlpine from Ventura, CA
• Jill Stegman from Grover Beach, CA
• Val Urbat from Newport, WA
• Lennox Wiseley from Porter Ranch, CA

Congrats to all,
Grace Rachow, SBWC Director

SBWC Humor Contest Winner

I am pleased to announce the winner of SBWC's Humor Contest is Jerry Anderson of Escondido, CA. This will be his first time attending the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. In addition to writing humorous pieces, he has written an historical novel. 

On Wednesday we will announce a number of honorable mentions out of the many entries to our writing contests this year.

In case you missed it, our earlier announced scholarship winners were:

Poetry -- Nancy Allen from Lynchburg, VA

Prose -- Deborah Sue George from Los Angeles, CA 

Combination of entries -- Jordan O'Halloran from Middletown, CA

All are first time attendees of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference.

Each will receive free tuition to the 2018 SBWC, June 17-22. 

Congrats to all.

The quality of writing submitted this year was amazing. It was challenging for the judges to make final decisions. But we still want to specifically honor more writers who sent in excellent entries and deserve kudos. So stay tuned.

Grace Rachow

SBWC Director

What if...

I return to Susan Gulbransen's story about the early days of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference often, usually in the days leading up to registration. Always, with fond memories.

I see Ray Bradbury standing alone by the pool at the Miramar. I hear Barnaby Conrad's infectious laughter as he tried unsuccessfully to read a couple "Worst First Lines" contest entries with a straight face. I relive the night Charles Schulz made sure everyone who wanted a signed book would leave happy, no matter how late the hour. 

And finally I think of the universe of possibilities that lie ahead in the stories yet to be written….

The Top 3 Winners of SBWC's 2018 Scholarship Contest

I am pleased to announce the top 3 winners for SBWC's 2018 Scholarship Contest in alphabetical order . 

Poetry -- Nancy Allen from Lynchburg, VA

Prose -- Deborah Sue George from Los Angeles, CA 

Combination of entries -- Jordan O'Halloran from Middletown, CA

All three are first time attendees of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference.

Each will receive free tuition to the 2018 SBWC, June 17-22. 

Congrats to all three.

We still have one active Humor writing contest with a submission deadline of midnight May 13. See previous blog entry for details on that. 

The winner of the humor contest will be announced May 18.

At that time we will also acknowledge a number of honorable mentions across all categories and contests.

The quality of writing submitted this year was amazing. It was challenging for the judges to make final decisions. But we still want to specifically single out more writers who sent in excellent entries and deserve kudos. So stay tuned.

Grace Rachow

SBWC Director

Free Humor Writing Scholarship Contest for SBWC 2018 June 17-22

Yes another contest!

Enter to win a scholarship to the 46th Annual Santa Barbara Writers Conference.

No entry fee.

You may share this opportunity with others.

The judging team will look for overall writing excellence as well as "the funny factor."

Submissions should be between 500 and 750 words.

Limit of 2 entries per person.

Each humorous entry should be sent in a separate email and will be judged separately. 

The judges are published humorous authors. 

We do not announce the names of the judges.

To enter:

Email <sbwc.mascot@gmail.com>

This must be your original work, published or not.
Paste your writing entry and contact information into the body of the email or send an attached Word doc. 
Contact information should include:

Name
Phone number
Email address
Mailing address
There will be a full tuition day scholarship to the 2018 Santa Barbara Writers Conference awarded ($650 value).

Scholarship recipients must be able to attend the conference this year, June 17-22.
If not, the full scholarship will be awarded to the runner up.
No entry fee
Contest opens: NOW April April 29, 2018
Submission period closes MIDNIGHT, Sunday May 13, 2018 PDT

This deadline has been extended by one week due to the availability of judges.
Submission period is 1 week only

Winners announced 3rd week of May.

Free Scholarship Contest for SBWC 2018 June 17-22

Entry period is over. Judging is taking place. 

Enter to win a scholarship to the 46th Annual Santa Barbara Writers Conference.

No entry fee.

You may share this opportunity with others.

There are 3 categories to this contest. 
 
You are welcome to enter each category, once, but please only one entry per email. 
 
Categories:

1. Opening sentence: Limit 50 words
2. Prose: This can be a short essay, a short story, or the opening to your novel or nonfiction project. Limit 500 words
3. Poem: Limit 50 lines

 
The judging team will look for writing excellence appropriate to each category.
 
The judges are award winning, published authors who are associated with SBWC. 
 
We do not announce the names of the judges.
 
To enter:

Email  <sbwc.mascot@gmail.com>

• Put the category of your entry in the subject line.
• This must be your original work, published or not.
• Paste your writing entry and contact information into the body of the email or send an attached Word doc. 

Contact information should include:

• Name
• Phone number 
• Email address
• Mailing address

 There will be a full tuition day scholarship to the 2018 Santa Barbara Writers Conference awarded ($650 value) for each category.

1. Scholarship recipients must be able to attend the conference this year.
2. If not, the full scholarship will be awarded to the runner up.
3. No entry fee
4. Contest opens:  NOW April 21, 2018
5. Submission period closes MIDNIGHT, Saturday, April 28, 2018 PDT
6. Submission period is 1 week only

 
 Winners  announced 1st week of May.

Hooking Readers with Marla Miller

Marla Miller’s Hooking Readers with opening pages and social media strategies is the much the same workshop she has delivered since her first SBWC workshop in 2003.

What changed is the publishing industry, and for this reason Marla deleted MarketingtheMusefrom her branding strategies. Why? Since indie publishing’s debut, her workshops became linked to those offered by marketers selling their wares to writers. 

Marla has no issue with marketing per se, but story comes first. Always. 

Bring your openings, 5-10 pages, fiction or nonfiction, to Marla’s Hooking Readers workshops. Any platform building ideas that stem from story and the writer’s profile are integrated into this read and critique workshop.

From time to time guests drop by - like an agent or editor - and when this happens, we add Q & A to our workshop discussion. 

Working with both fiction and nonfiction at all levels, Marla’s workshop cross-pollinates editorial work with marketing and social media strategies to expand author platforms. All are needed in the 21st century publishing reality. In all sessions, leader and participants will listen for reader hook-ability and social-media rooted, platform-building ideas and strategies.

Workshop attendees are invited to bring openings, 5-7 pages (fiction or narrative nonfiction) and book proposals – overview, introduction and sample chapter. Query letters for critiquing are also welcomed. Bring passion for your work and the willingness to hear constructively delivered critiques.

For 16 years, Marla Miller wrote for OC Register magazine before becoming founding editor-in-chief of an O.C. lifestyle magazine. In 1999, Simon and Schuster published her first book, All American Girls, the authorized biography of the World Cup/Gold Medal winning U.S Women’s National Soccer Team. Until 2003, her sports columns appeared on Oxygen.com. 

Though she appreciates the options writers now have, Miller’s point of view remains the same: first, write the best dang story you know how to write. 

Creative Nonfiction: Leaping from Form to Form by Jervey Tervalon

According to Jervey Tervalon, every good thing in his life comes from his writing and his habit of reading obsessively. He’s had the good fortune to be paid to write about growing up in Southern California and Louisiana. In total he’s published ten books, novels, story collections and memoir, as well as numerous stories, essays, articles, and poetry.

Tervalon is called a “professional teller and gatherer of stories” and “literary networker” by the LA Times, an “award-winning poet, screenwriter, and dramatist” by Simon and Schuster, and “literary sage, cultural recorder, working class hero, father” by a community blogger.

Recently he said he’s especially fond of food writing, because he gets to eat great food. However love of food has not kept him from more challenging subjects, including murder, drugs and race.  

His dexterity as a writer makes him an apt SBWC workshop leader in the area of creative nonfiction, which blends the skill sets of various forms of writing to create work that reads like great fiction, even if it is not.

His workshop at SBWC in creative nonfiction combines techniques of fiction and nonfiction. The successful creative nonfiction writer strives to incorporate what is important to him or her and then transforms those passions into a compelling narrative. 

Jervey Tervalon was born in New Orleans, but moved to Southern California with his family when he was a young boy. He received his MFA in creative writing from UC Irvine and was a Disney Screenwriting fellow and a Shanghai Writers Association fellow. He is cofounder and literary director of Pasadena LitFest and teaches fiction writing at the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara. His latest novel is Monster’s Chef, published by Amistad/HarperCollins.

Mystery Writing Demystified by Leonard Tourney

Leonard Tourney has been leading a  lively and popular mystery writing workshop at SBWC since 1986. He covers topics important to the mystery genre such as plotting, character development, creating tension and suspense, cluing, and point of view. 

He’s also been teaching writing at the university level for over forty years.

Of his ten published novels, nine have been mysteries.

It could therefore be said that Leonard Tourney knows a lot about teaching writing and a lot about writing mysteries.

What’s not apparent until you spend time in his workshop is that Leonard Tourney is a master of humor. This is not to say he doesn’t take mystery writing very seriously. He does.

Each workshop begins with a focused talk on one area of writing, and questions are welcome. The focus gradually segues into read and critique.  Feedback on the work presented becomes a great opportunity to amplify learning on the writing topic of the day.

Participants in this workshop should come with a willingness to consider new ideas, and actively participate in discussion during the read and critique session. It’s always helpful to practice open-minded listening to the writing of fellow participants and to all the feedback given…especially comments on your own work.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be intimidated by those you think are smarter and more accomplished than you.  It’s not necessarily so.

Leonard offers this tip to writers of all types of fiction: Complete the first draft as quickly as possible to discover the story for yourself. You can tweak and polish at your leisure.

SBWC Changed My Life by Marilee Zdenek

If you think back about your life, is there a specific day or event that changed everything? 

For me it was a week in June in 1977 when I came to the Santa Barbara Writers Conference for the first time.  Four of my nonfiction books had already been published, but I wanted to write fiction, and I heard this was the place to go, for I had a lot to learn. A few conferences later, Barnaby Conrad asked me to lead a workshop, which led me to research ways writers could draw on the wealth of wisdom in the right hemisphere of the brain

I’ve taught at SBWC almost every year since then, and each time I’m grateful for the career that developed as a result.  It wasn’t in fiction, although Ross Macdonald liked the beginning of my novel, and a fine agent, Don Congdon, took me on as a client when Sid Stebel said he should read my novel-in-process.  

SBWC opened doors to an international speaking career and three more books.  This conference was the turning point, and the rewards were literally life changing. The Right-Brain Experience was on the bestseller list of the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. Speaking invitations came from Germany and Switzerland, China and India and more.  So this conference changed the direction of my career, and therefore my life.

Every year I look forward to teaching and learning from the creative talent that is drawn here.  I stay in the hotel where the conference is held because I want to be in the midst of the highly charged energy of creative writers and speakers. I don’t want to miss a thing.  

I hope you’ll be there, too.

Marilee Zdenek is the author of 7 books, including Right Brain Experience.

Considered a pioneer in the use of right brain techniques and the constructive use of imagination, Zdenek lectures internationally and has taught her technique to Broadway casts, university students, and for 26 years at SBWC. Zdenek now considers the conference her literary home. Her most recent book is Between Fires, a memoir about recovering from devastating losses and creating a life that is meaningful and deeply satisfying.

Her SBWC workshop: The Right-Brain Experience

This is an experiential workshop to free the powers of your imagination. Each session includes right brain techniques that help you deal with your inner critic, discover ways to make your characters more fascinating, and your story to have greater depth.

A Letter from Monte

To Santa Barbara's community of writers, and all those who travel to this beautiful oceanside city to celebrate the world of letters:

Writing may well be a solitary art, but there is a society of writers whose enthusiastic embrace of each other is irreplaceable. Having been part of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference since 1975, I've come to see that this has been the true reason for our gathering in June all these years.

We read and listen and share our support for that ongoing enterprise. We applaud each other's accomplishments, offer consolation during droughts of rejections, and remind one another that putting words on a page is not supposed to be easy or necessarily rewarding to our bank accounts, so much as it is a gift to our soul. We write because we have to, or because it makes us smile, or brings comfort on gray days, or allows us to communicate with our reader that simplest of ideas that we, too, are alive in the world and this is what we think of being here, and what it feels like to be human. We are the messengers and entertainers, the philosophers and sometimes even the bearers of great notions.

I am welcoming anyone who loves books and writing of any kind, who feels he or she has a novel or a play or a screenplay, a poem, an essay, a memoir locked away inside, who wants to be part of this community of writing to come see us next June 17-22, 2018 and take part in the 46th Santa Barbara Writers Conference.

My name is Monte Schulz, and I am a writer.

Welcome to the new blog site

This is the first post. 

SBWC  poolside cocktail reception

THE HISTORY OF THE SANTA BARBARA WRITERS CONFERENCE — FILM

  Join us on June 18th  for the world premiere of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference Documentary film at 4:00 p.m. as part of the 45th opening ceremonies of the conference. This film complements the Santa Barbara Writers Conference Scrapbook which will be available at Chaucer's bookstore during the course of the conference. There will be a book signing later that evening alongside Fannie Flagg after her talk.

If you are already a member of the SBWC family we hope you will enjoy this nostalgic trip down memory lane and if you are new to the SBWC family, you will discover the rich literary tradition that you are becoming a part of.

If you are in the Santa Barbara area and want to see the where the historical roots of the conference come from, this event is open to the public.

Here is a teaser for the film.

SBWC 2017 Letter Welcome Letter for Attendees

June 18-23, 2017: Santa Barbara Writers Conference Welcome letter for Attendees

There are several useful links in this letter. If a link does not work by clicking, simply cut and paste into your browser.

Dear Writers,

The 2017 Santa Barbara Writers Conference begins Sunday, June 18, just two weeks away.  We look forward to meeting you and hope you have an exciting week at SBWC.

To do right now: 

Appointments with manuscript consultants:

If you wish, you may still mail 10 pages of your manuscript (2 copies please) ASAP to be given to one of our manuscript consultants to read before your appointment. We will have appointments scheduled throughout the conference week, and you may also bring your manuscript to the conference and sign up there for an appointment with a manuscript consultant. We would like to receive your mailed manuscript by June 11 at the latest.

Send to:

SBWC 

27 W Anapamu, Suite 305

Santa Barbara, CA 93101

(If you are local, yes, you may drop a packet off at this location.  This is a UPS Store where they know SBWC well, and they accept packets over the counter. No postage required, but the packet should have an address.)

You may also sign up for an appointment to speak with a manuscript consultant at the conference, with or without a manuscript. You might like to get some advice on a particular issue with your writing or want some ideas of how and where to submit your work and how to know if your manuscript is ready.

If your manuscript has been mailed ahead of time, you will receive your appointment time and place when you check into the conference.  If you sign up at the conference, you will pick your own appointment time.

Sunday, June 18 ?NOON  on…

Check-in will be in La Cantina on the first floor. You’ll receive:

• Your name badge and lanyard, which will be your pass to all conference events
• A program booklet for the week, including a map to help you navigate

This program/schedule is available to download now:

http://www.sbwriters.com/2017-Programs-and-Schedule-5a.pdf

• Other information to help you make the most of your conference week

Agents appointments Tuesday, June 20

If you participated in the advanced submission program or signed up for a 10-minute agent pitch, your Tuesday appointment times with agents and editors will be given to you when you check in.  The appointments are all on Tuesday, June 20.

Registration 10-minute agent pitch sessions (no manuscript) are still open, and you may sign up through June 19, as long as there are available appointments.  Be sure to give alternate picks, in case your first choices are full.

https://www.sbwriters.com/advpitch.php?q=conference/agent-editor-pitches.html

Welcome and orientation in El Cabrillo on Sunday June 18

3:00 PM Meet the workshop leaders and get tips on navigating the conference.

SBWC Scrapbook Movie, a Documentary

4:00 PM This is a documentary film of the first 30 years of SBWC that supplements the SBWC Scrapbook. 

The authors and filmmakers will be with us throughout the conference.

 Opening Night Dinner in The Vistas

5:00 PM -- No-host bar

5:30 PM -- Dinner

 If you wish to bring a guest, banquet tickets are available for $50. 

Award & Keynote Address in El Cabrillo

7:30 PM -- The Ross Macdonald Award

8:00 PM – Fannie Flagg speaks with a book signing to follow

9:30 PM The Pirate Workshops begin Sunday night 

These late-night, read-and-critique sessions are great fun for night owls, and there are two to chose from every night, Sunday through Friday.

Monday, June 19 through Friday, June 23

There are many daytime workshops to choose from every morning and afternoon, Monday - Friday. You are free to attend those that best suit your interests. There is no signup ahead of time…you just show up and see if a workshop works for you. If not, you are free to change and may sample workshops all week. You will design your own program.

If you wish to present your writing in workshops that do read and critique, remember to bring printed copies of your manuscript to read. Length allowed varies with workshop, but approximately 3-5 pages of your beginning is typical. An extra copy to share with the workshop leader is always appreciated. If you are headed to poetry workshops, bring about 12 copies of your poem for crafting.

Panels and Speakers

Every afternoon Mon.-Fri. at 4 PM, and every evening Sun.-Thur. at 8 PM, we’ll have either a panel or a speaker with book signings to follow. These events are included in the conference package for all registered attendees. Tickets are also available to the public for $10 each.

Poolside Cocktail Party, Tuesday, June 20

On Tuesday 5:00 - 6:30 PM all conference attendees are invited to a cocktail party around the pool.

If you wish to bring a guest, extra tickets to this party are available for $30. 

Closing Night Dinner, Friday, June 23

On Friday evening we’ll have our closing night dinner in El Cabrillo with appreciations and a few awards.

If you wish to bring a guest, extra banquet tickets are available for $50. 

How to Dress

In June, Santa Barbara often experiences morning fog, which burns off about noon to beautiful sunny afternoons. Dress in layers, so you can peel off a sweatshirt or sweater when the day warms up. The “fashion sense” at the conference is decidedly casual. Many students wear shorts or jeans to workshops. The opening and closing night banquets and cocktail party are also casual events, but it is a great time for something a little dressier if you have packed something. Anything goes.

SBWC Information Desk

All week long during daytime conference hours there’ll be someone to help you in the La Cantina, whether you’re checking in late or you can’t find your workshop or need advice on just about anything having to do with the conference or writing.

Bookstore in La Cantina

Chaucer’s Bookstore will sell books by all the speakers, panelists, many of the workshop leaders and general books of interest to writers. Author signings will also take place in this room.

If you have a book in print and which to bring it to sell on consignment with Chaucer's, you may.

Dining at the Hotel

Hyatt will be offering a special breakfast buffet and lunch menu.  Conference attendees wearing an SBWC badge will also be able to take advantage of a 20% discount in Bistro 1111 on regular price items. Please remind your server of this discount.

Parking

The Hyatt Hotel offers valet parking for $10 per day if space is available.

Overnight parking at the main hotel is more. If you have a blue handicapped sign for your car, valet parking is free. There is reasonably priced parking in the city lot across the street for the day. Don’t forget to put money in the self-serve collection boxes to avoid a ticket. Yes, they do check!

If you prefer to have free parking, there’s quite a lot of nearby street parking. If you arrive early in the morning, chances are better for finding a great spot. Beware of street sweeping on Monday and Tuesday afternoons. Be very careful where you park on those days or you could receive an expensive parking ticket from City of Santa Barbara. Don't assume you can park in the space in the morning and remember to change spots by afternoon. Once you enter the zone of SBWC, your mind will be on writing, not parking. Tip: if there is a wide expanse of parking available on a street one day, it probably means it is street sweeping day. 

 If you can walk a bit, there’s plenty free parking in the lot at the far corner of Ninos Drive and Por La Mar that serves Dwight Murphy Park. There is more street parking all around the park.

Social Media?

This year’s Twitter hash tag is #SBWC17. We encourage you to post photos and quotes from throughout the week to Twitter and Facebook.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sbwriters

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/sbwriters

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/santabarbarawriters/

If you have not followed us on Twitter, or "liked" our SBWC Facebook page or joined our Facebook group, please do if you participate in social media.

If you have not signed up for our monthly e-newsletter, you may do so at sbwriters.com. This is an opt-in list and you may unsubscribe at any time.

SBWC Talent Show

If you have a talent besides writing, you might want to participate in the SBWC talent show in La Cantina after the Friday night dinner. You may signup all week at the information desk. After the closing night banquet, you will find La Cantina transformed into a cabaret. This is a great way to unwind after an intense conference week.

However if you still want to workshop your writing Friday night, the pirates will continue into the wee hours.

We hope you’ll have a fantastic week at the 45th Annual SBWC. See you on Sunday, June 18!

Write On!

Grace Rachow

SBWC Director

Questions?  You may respond to this email or email info@sbwriters.com.

Still Time to Mail Manuscripts for Ms. Consultation

The 2017 Santa Barbara Writers Conference begins Sunday, June 18.  We look forward to meeting you and hope you have an exciting week. There is still time to register if you have not at sbwriters.com If you are already registered for the conference:

If you wish, you may still mail 10 pages of your manuscript (2 copies please) ASAP to be given to one of our manuscript consultants to read before your appointment. We will have appointments scheduled throughout the conference week, and you may also bring your manuscript to the conference and sign up there for an appointment with a manuscript consultant. We would like to receive your mailed manuscript by June 11 at the latest.

There is no extra charge for this service. It is part of your conference package.

Send to:

SBWC

27 W Anapamu, Suite 305

Santa Barbara, CA 93101

(If you are in the Santa Barbara area, yes, you may drop a packet off at this location, which is a UPS Store where they know SBWC well.)

You may also sign up for an appointment to speak with a manuscript consultant at the conference, with or without a manuscript. You might like to get some advice on a particular issue with your writing or want some ideas of how and where to submit your work and how to know if you manuscript is ready.

If your manuscript has been mailed ahead of time, you will receive your appointment time and place when you check into the conference.  If you sign up at the conference, you will pick your own appointment time.