South Coast Writers Conference Opens for Registration!, Feb. 12

Southwestern Oregon Community College is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 21st Annual South Coast Writers Conference. The conference brings together a collection of writers from the Northwest to share, explore and celebrate the many facets of writ­ing. Co-sponsored by Southwestern Oregon Community College and Gold Beach Visitors Center, the conference will be held in Gold Beach on Presidents’ Day weekend, Feb. 12 and 13, 2016 at the Event Center on the Beach and Gold Beach High School. This is an opportunity for an extended stay to write and explore the splendor of America’s Wild Rivers Coast. The conference is an eclectic gathering of writers of various genres including novice and published authors. “It is our goal that participants and presenters leave the confer­ence inspired and renewed, with new insights and skills, and better connected to fellow writers and resources,” said Janet Pretti, Curry Campus Executive Dean. The conference will feature some of the Northwest’s best writers to guide in an exploration and celebration of the many facets of writing: Jason Brick, Barri Chase, Miriam Gershow, Peter Brown Hoffmeister, Anne Osterlund, Kate Power & Steve Einhorn (songwriters), Bruce Holland Rogers, Heidi Schulz, Eric Witchey and Carolyne Wright. Peter Brown Hoffmeister will be the keynote speaker at the conference. Peter is the author of Graphic the Valley, The End of Boys, Let Them Be Eaten By Bears, and the forthcoming This Is The Part Where You Laugh (Knopf, Random House, 2016) and Too Shattered For Mending (Knopf, Random House, 2017). He has served as a Joshua Tree National Park Artist-In-Residence and an Oregon Literary Arts Fellow in Fiction. His books have earned starred reviews from Booklist and School Library Journal, and have been translated into Chinese, Italian, and German. Hoffmeister has been featured on national CBS radio, Fox radio, Sirius XM, NPR, The Los Angeles Times television broadcast, and the AM Northwest television show. Peter Brown Hoffmeister will give the keynote presentation, “The Intentional Art of Failure” at Authors’ Night on Friday evening. Workshops are scheduled to begin on Friday with a 6-hour workshop with three options to choose from; the cost for the Friday session is $55. Four 90-minute workshops are offered on Saturday, with five options for each session. Register before January 31 for the early registration price of $60 for Saturday or $115 for both days. Early registration for this popular conference is encouraged to secure a place in the work­shops. Authors’ Night, featuring the workshop presenters reading from their work, is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 12, 2016, and will be held in the Showcase Building at the Curry County Fairgrounds. This event is free and open to the public. More information is available on the conference website at www.socc.edu/scwriters.