By Amy Lutz, MCWC Executive Assistant
We’re pleased to announce the faculty for MCWC 2018! This year features not only an all-star cast but a bigger cast than usual. We will be offering nine morning workshops, including a screenwriting workshop sponsored by Humanitas, a Hollywood non-profit founded and funded to foster screenwriting talent. Afternoons will be packed with craft seminars, one-on-one consultations, open mic readings, and more; and evenings will be full of the camaraderie and community we are known for. You can also add on our one-day Publishing Bootcamp, taught by the recognized authority on publishing in the digital age, Jane Friedman.
Mark your calendars now, because scholarship applications open January 1 and close February 15. During this period you can also apply for the MCWC 2018 Master Class, The Art of Fiction. This juried-in workshop, restricted to only twelve participants, will be taught by National Book Award nominee Elizabeth McKenzie. More information on scholarships, Master Class, and our full conference schedule will be available at mcwc.org from the beginning of the New Year. Till then, read below for a sneak peek at the MCWC 2018 faculty. General registration opens on March 1, 2018.
Elizabeth McKenzie
Shanthi Sekaran
Vanessa Hua
Master Class: Elizabeth McKenzie
Elizabeth McKenzie’s most recent novel, The Portable Veblen, was long listed for the 2016 National Book Award for fiction. Her short fiction has been awarded a Pushcart Prize and has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Best American Nonrequired Reading, and others.
Novel: Shanthi Sekaran
Shanthi Sekaran’s recent novel, Lucky Boy, was named an Indie Next Great Read, and an Amazon Editors’ Pick. Her stories and essays have appeared in The New York Times, Canteen Magazine, The Rumpus and LitHub.
Short Fiction: Vanessa Hua
Vanessa Hua is the author of Deceit and Other Possibilities, winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature and a finalist for the California Book Award. She is a columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle, and has written for The New York Times, Washington Post, and The Atlantic.
Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Linda Joy Myers
Indigo Moor
MG/YA: Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Guadalupe Garcia McCall’s debut YA novel, Under the Mesquite, won the prestigious Pura Belpré Award, was named a Morris Award finalist, and received a Tomas Rivera Children’s Book award among many other accolades. Guadalupe’s 4th YA novel, All the Stars Denied, is due for publication in the spring.
Memoir: Linda Joy Myers
Linda Joy Myers is president of the National Association of Memoir Writers and author of the award-winning memoir Don’t Call Me Mother—A Daughter’s Journey from Abandonment to Forgiveness. She has also written two books on craft: The Power of Memoir and Journey of Memoir.
Poetry: Indigo Moor
Poet Laureate of Sacramento, Indigo Moor is also a scriptwriter and author. He is on the advisory board for the Sacramento Poetry Center, a Cave Canem fellow, the resident artist at 916 ink, and a graduate member of the Artist’s Residency Institute for Teaching Artists.
Elizabeth Rosner
Nina Sadowsky
Jason S. Ridler
Non-fiction: Elizabeth Rosner
Elizabeth Rosner’s first book of non-fiction, Survivor Café: the Legacy of Trauma and the Labyrinth of Memory, has been featured on National Public Radio and in The New York Times. Elizabeth has also published three award-winning novels and her essays and poems have appeared in the NY Times Magazine, Elle, the Forward, and several anthologies. In addition to teaching the non-fiction workshop, Elizabeth will be this year’s keynote speaker.
Screenwriting: Nina Sadwosky
Nina Sadowsky is a screenwriter, film producer, novelist and entertainment lawyer (in recovery). Her first novel, Just Fall, is now in development as an original series for STARZ. She has written numerous original screenplays and adaptations for such companies as The Walt Disney Company, Working Title Films, and Lifetime Television. And she is the producer of movies as diverse as The House of Sand and Fog and The Wedding Planner.
Emerging Writers: Jason S. Ridler
Jason S. Ridler’s novels include Hex-Rated—the first installment of the Brimstone Files series for Nightshade Press, Rise of the Luchador, and Death Match. He has also published over sixty stories. His next historical work, Mavericks of War, is forthcoming from Stackpole Books.
Kerrie Flanagan
Gabriel Tallent
Norma Watkins
Paths to Publishing: Kerrie Flanagan
Kerrie Flanagan is an author, writing consultant, publisher, and freelance writer. Her new book, The Writer’s Digest Guide to Magazine Article Writing, will be released in July of 2018.
Paths to Publishing: Gabriel Tallent
Once an MCWC Under-25 scholar, Gabriel Tallent’s debut novel, My Absolute Darling, was an instant New York Times bestseller and named one of the most notable books of 2017 by both The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Paths to Publishing: Norma Watkins
Norma Watkins has published two memoirs, The Last Resort and That Woman From Mississippi. She is professor emerita at Miami Dade College where she held an endowed chair, and teaches creative writing for Mendocino College.
Mark Gottlieb
Duvall Osteen
Susan Chang
Mark Gottlieb, Agent
Mark Gottlieb has ranked #1 among Agents on Publishers Marketplace in Overall Deals and other individual categories. He is an agent with book publishing’s leading literary agency, Trident Media Group.
Duvall Osteen, Agent
Duvall Osteen is a literary agent at Aragi Inc., where she’s had the opportunity to work with a long list of distinctive authors, including Junot Díaz, Edwidge Danticat, Denis Johnson, and Anne Carson.
Susan Chang, Editor
Susan Chang is a Senior Editor at Tor Books. She acquires and edits books for the Starscape middle-grade and Tor Teen young-adult imprints.
Publishing Bootcamp: Jane Friedman
Jane Friedman is widely recognized as a leading authority on digital media strategy for authors and publishers (in other words, how to get published in this digital age). She is the co-founder of The Hot Sheet, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, a columnist for Publishers Weekly, and a professor with The Great Courses.
*Barring any mishaps involving reindeers.