Membership Information

Books on Copyrights and
Other Legal Issues

Articles on Editing and
Self Publishing

Articles on Building and Marketing Book Web Site

Book Printers

Book Services

Legal Services, etc.

Other Organizations

Other Resources

Index to the Site

Link to SPAWN


Webmaster

SPAWN Events

See also Contests and Awards

Please note: Although SPAWNews does its best to filter announcements and press releases for various events, seminars, and classes, we cannot guarantee a successful experience for all who attend.

****

"Write On!" Summer Writing Camp

Summer writing camp for youth ages 8-18. The workshops will be held on consecutive weekends, August 9, 10 and 17, from 2 to 4 p.m., in the conference room at Jensen Design and Survey at 1672 Donlon Street, Ventura, CA.

Students will learn how to improve central components of their writing, including dialogue, characterization, plot and setting, through various creativity-inducing writing exercises. Poets, playwrights, short-story writers, novelists – all are welcome to join!

The cost is $125 per student. A portion of the money raised will go towards my nonprofit literacy organization "Write On!" (www.zest.net/writeon.) To register or get more information, call Dallas Woodburn at 805-889-5570 or email dallaswoodburn@aol.com, or visit my website: http://www.zest.net/writeon or blog: http://www.dallaswoodburn.blogspot.com.

Dallas Woodburn has written for numerous national publications, including Family Circle, Writer's Digest, The Writer, Cicada, Justine, Listen, and her work has appeared in four Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies.

****

CLAS Writing Workshop
The Seven Secrets of Successful Authors
A seven-week step-by-step guide to writing and self-editing your novel or nonfiction book from first draft to publication.

Dates/time: Tuesdays, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., August 12 through September 23, 2008
Location: Bank of Books at 748 E. Main Street, Ventura
Presented by: California Literary Arts Society (CLAS)
Fees: Entire series: $75 for members of CLAS, $100 for nonmembers.
Individual sessions: $12 for members; $20 for nonmembers Includes handouts.

Reservations: email marye@literaryarts-ca.org or call 805/643-3385
Send check to: CLAS, P.O. Box 782, Ventura, CA 93002

The instructor is Mary Embree, professional book editor, literary consultant, and author The Author’s Toolkit: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing and Publishing Your Book and the recently released Birds and Bees of Words: A Guide to the Most Common Errors in Usage, Spelling, and Grammar. Mary is the founder of SPAWN, Small Publishers, Artists & Writers Network and co-founder of CLAS, California Literary Arts Society.

****

The 2008 Backspace Writers Conference brings together literary agents, acquisitions editors, bestselling authors, and publishing professionals for a two-day, two-track program of workshops, panels, and networking in the heart of the publishing world.

August 7 & 8, 2008 • Radisson Martinique • New York City

Keynote speakers are Mark Tavani, a senior editor at Random House, and John Searles, bestselling author and books editor at Cosmopolitan Magazine.

Backspace is once again offering the popular “Two Minutes, Two Pages” workshops in which a pair of agents react to authors' pages as if they were reading them in slush, and Jeff Kleinman will do a two-hour workshop titled, "Buy This Book!"

Cost for the two-day event is $395. Mystery Writers of America is offering their members a $50 discount. Attendance is limited to 200, but there's still room! www.backspacewritersconference.com

****

The Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference takes place August 13-24, 2008 at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. For more information: http://www.middlebury.edu/blwc.

****

On Saturday, September 20^th, the Independent Writers of Southern California (IWOSC) presents CRAFTING THE EXCEPTIONAL MAGAZINE PITCH—the dynamics behind creating a winning story pitch or query that will get the attention of editors. Learn the fundamentals of a well-written story—tips and techniques are available for those writers who want to polish their skills.

Veterans Memorial Building, 4117 Overland Avenue (corner of Culver Boulevard), Culver City. Parking: free. 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. $15 for members; non-members --$35. Reservations required. (877) 799-7483, or info@iwosc.org. Deadline for reservations (if space is still available) is 4 p.m., Fri., the day before the program.

Note: SPAWNews advises "caveat emptor" when dealing with venues, contests or promotions unknown to you.