East of Eden Revisited

When I first heard about the Maui Writers Conference, I thought, who wouldn't want to go to that? But then I realized such a gorgeous location would pull even the most ardent writer off-course, which is to say toward the beach and away from the conference hall.

The East of Eden Writers Conference, from Sept. 5-7, however, wouldn't tempt writers in that regard. While held in the beautiful location of Salinas where John Steinbeck grew up and set his famous novel East of Eden, the town in California's Central Valley is some twenty miles east of Monterey, the beguiling setting of Steinbeck's Cannery Row.

Besides tying in Steinbeck's history, via special events like a dinner at the Steinbeck Center and a Sunday brunch at Steinbeck's house, a beautifully restored Victorian, the conference includes dozens of fiction and nonfiction workshops, the chance to pitch to agents and publishers and a huge bookstore where you can pick up books for yourself and writer friends.

The keynote speakers will be Karen Joy Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club; Carolyn See, author of five novels including The Handyman; and thriller mystery writer Dave Corbett, author of Blood of Paradise.

Also attending will be agents from the following agencies: Michael Larsen - Elizabeth Pomada Literary Agents, Reese Halsey North, Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Curtis Brown and Andrea Hurst Literary Management.

You can register for one, two or the full three days of the conference. Whatever you choose, save yourself $25 by signing up by April 31.

Happy writing!

Convey Your Own Character

While my book is about how to convey the character of others, both fictional and non, authors nowadays need to convey their own character in order to spark the kind of opportunities that lead to publication, or if they're published, to more sales. Communicating your character can be accomplished in any number of ways: through articles, a blog, workshops, speaking engagements, etc.

One specific avenue is for such communication is through Writers & Poets, a prestigious nonprofit magazine for 1970 that was started in 1970. The print magazine is also online and features networking opportunities, markets for publication, publishing news, articles about writing and grant and award information.

P&W also features a free directory of writers where published writers can submit information about themselves along with their availability as speakers. The directory does require writers to list their publishing credentials, which then go through a verification process. But the time necessary to fill out the application is worth the chance to show who you are and what your write in a venue that perused by thousands of other writers.

Happy writing!

The Glimmer of Publication

Glimmer Train, a prestigious literary journal out of Portland, OR, sent an announcement that writers can, until April 30, submit fiction for a contest on the theme of Family Matters. Stories should be no more than 12.000 words and the entry fee is $15.

Rather than result in a small prize, this contest will offer $1,200 for 1st Place and include publication in the journal along with 20 free copies. Second and 3rd place have prizes of $500 and $300 and possible publication, respectively. Results will be posted July 31.

One of the nicest features of submitting to Glimmer Train is you can do so online.

Good luck!

WW #19: What You Can Tell About People When They're Absent

I had the pleasure of going to the San Jose Museum of Modern Art recently to hear an author speak.

While I didn't find the author particularly interesting, the visit was fabulous for the chance to see Michael Salter's 22-foot-tall robot make of Styrafoam.

The sculpture, or Styrobot, is currently featured in the high dome-ceilinged exhibition hall on the second floor. I walked in, and having no idea the exhibit had changed, stopped dead to stare at this monolith of white. The size, the complexity, the sheer humor: the work is fabulous in every respect.

As the talk and subsequent interview progressed, I had the time to consider the sculpture for longer than I might have had I simply come to visit. As I perused the piece, I noticed that while the robot looked symmetrical overall, many different pieces of Styrafoam were used so the right side didn't match the left. I also noticed the robot's empty eyes seem to be stare down at the viewer, yet the giant's posture — the long, hulking arms that reach to the floor — is not at all threatening.

This got me thinking about how, by scrutinizing something another person has made or left behind — a lipstick-smudged coffee cup, a pile of dirty sports clothes, a room with nothing out of place — we can learn something about them.

So for today's exercise, think of something another person has left behind or created and write about what that object says about the person. That they're serious? Sloppy? Possessed of a great sense of humor? Obsessed with painting bowls of fruit?