By Amy Lutz, MCWC Operations Manager
MCWC Executive Director Lisa Locascio and this year’s Paths to Publishing Panel, including Ginny Rorby, Cameron Lund, and Tomas Moniz (Photo credit: MCWC Social Media Manager Adriane Tharp)
MCWC 2020, our first-ever online conference, was a resounding success! Throughout the four day virtual gathering, many participants expressed how grateful they felt for the opportunity to focus on writing with the MCWC community in the midst of this year’s turmoil. Though our Mendocino-themed virtual backgrounds (featuring photography by Mimi Carroll) couldn’t fully replicate the magic of gathering on the Coast, we were still able to provide the intensive craft instruction, high quality faculty, and community connections that make up the heart of MCWC. As we head into a new conference year, we are making the most of the opportunities available in our virtual state.
Due to the virtual format, we were able to connect with writers all over the United States this year. We even had international writers joining us from the UK, France, Canada, and Taiwan. MCWC 2020 scholarship recipient Kailyn McCord created two maps of all the participants’ locations (for those that opted-in to be included): one conventional Google map, and one beautiful hand-drawn map showing on which indigenous lands each MCWC 2020 participant was located. Cclick on the images below to see them larger. We are so thrilled to have connected with people from all over the world this year, including writers who joined us from Paris, France, Taipei, Taiwan, and Alberta, Canada!
MCWC 2020 was also such a unique conference because of the generous donors who went above and beyond to support the MCWC community during the COVID crisis. We cannot thank our donors enough. Because of their generosity, we were able to offer an unprecedented amount of scholarships this year—roughly 40 participants received financial support to attend MCWC 2020!
We are looking forward to MCWC 2021 and are taking what we learned during MCWC 2020 to start planning next year’s conference. We are monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic as we begin to create MCWC 2021. The safety of the Mendocino community and our participants, faculty, and volunteers is our utmost priority.
MCWC 2020 Co-President Ginny Rorby
MCWC 2020 Co-President Nona Smith
MCWC 2020 NRR Editor Susan Bono
MCWC 2020 marked the end of an era for the conference leadership, as long-time board members Ginny Rorby, Nona Smith, and Susan Bono stepped down from their roles at MCWC. We are sad to see them go, but wish them all the best and are so grateful they will still be a part of the MCWC community. Ginny and Nona will be joining our Sustaining Members (a superpowered team of former MCWC Board members and other cherished community members), while Susan will stay with us till the end of the year to help support the transition of the Noyo River Review to its new editorial team.
MCWC 2021 President Kara Vernor
We are delighted to announce that MCWC board member Kara Vernor is stepping up to be the new MCWC President. Kara has years of non-profit experience and will bring her management expertise to her new role as President. Laura Welter will continue to be our Vice President and Kate Erickson will continue as our Treasurer, and Anna Levy will join the Executive Committee as Secretary. MCWC is so lucky to have this incredible team leading the way into what is sure to be another successful year!
Announcing
MCWC Winter Virtual Publishing Series
At MCWC 2020, many of you asked for more instruction about different types of publishing opportunities. We’re happy to announce a series of Saturday lunchtime seminars throughout the year, each one focused on a specific publishing topic, taught by the high-quality faculty you’ve come to expect from MCWC.
Our first seminar, Save The…Novel? will held via Zoom at 12 PM PST on December 6th and taught by Francesca Lia Block. Save the Cat by Blake Snyder is considered either a bible for screenwriters or a superficial and formulaic shortcut. However, more and more, novelists as well as screenwriters are applying Snyder’s beats to their work. In this seminar, we will go over Snyder’s beats, give examples of how to apply them to individual student novels and then, as a class, create a sample outline. We will raise the question: are methods of this type an improvement, or do they signal the demise of the novel? And if so, what intuitive modes of storytelling can be used as an alternative?
Future seminars will include Submitting to Literary Magazines with Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo in January and Publishing with Small Presses in February with Diana Arterian.
Tickets for seminar will be $20, or pay $50 and attend all three! This seminar series is an important fundraiser for us, but if the ticket price is prohibitory for you, please email MCWC Executive Director Lisa Locascio at director@mcwc.org. Full details and registration information will be available on our website, mcwc.org, in the coming weeks.