MCWC 2021, our second all-online conference, was a smashing success! Although we are all eager to be back in person together, the 32nd annual Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference was a lively and fun three days of workshops, seminars, open mics, and readings that carried on great MCWC traditions and brought many new writers and friends into our inclusive writing community.
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, MCWC was able to fund a record 30 participants at this year’s conference, which was held online from August 5 - 7. We were delighted to be able to offer three new scholarships this year, endowed in memory of Dana Winn and James I. Garner, and by friend of MCWC Susan Lundgren. As in 2020, the online format allowed MCWC to expand its reach, and we were happy to welcome writers from all over the USA, the United Kingdom, and Australia to the conference this year!
Ariana Benson, a poet from the American South who was awarded the Susan Lundgren Scholarship, says: “I was particularly excited to work with Saretta Morgan, because she is a Black ecopoet whose work I admire deeply. I was also encouraged by the breadth of scholarship opportunities offered. I hoped to workshop a few poems, and to draft some that I could use for my manuscript-in-progress.”
She describes her conference experience as “wonderful.”
“Saretta is just as skilled a workshop facilitator as she is a poet,” Ariana says. “She created a safe space for everyone to share and learn from each other. I also found the lecture and panel discussions quite helpful, especially the ones that provided practical publishing advice. Overall, I thought the conference was very well done.This experience meant a lot to me as a writer who has only been deeply invested in and submitting poems/attending conferences for about a year. I felt comfortable working with and welcomed by the more experienced poets in my class. I would certainly recommend MCWC to other emerging writers.”
Saretta Morgan giving a reading.
Jack Foraker, a writer based in Los Angeles who won a Albertina Tholakele Dube Scholarship for Young Writers, says: “I had never shown anyone my novel before. The project was a private world I got to explore, and I was thrilled at that privacy initially, but because it was so private I started to feel isolated and a little stir-crazy about the whole thing. I went into MCWC 2021 really looking forward to finally getting eyes on the novel.”
“This conference not only gave me insight into where to revise my novel and a treasure trove of notes from the conference's speakers, but also wonderful connections to other writers in California and across the world,” Jack said. “It made me feel like part of a larger community of writers, which I didn't even know was something that I was missing. I genuinely loved MCWC and have already recommended it to other writers. Lillian Li deserves a special shout-out for being such an amazing workshop leader (I'm still thinking about her insights into novel set pieces). Also, Torrey Peters' talk made me think of audience in an entirely new (and soul-nourishing) framework.”
Lillian Li with her novel workshop.
Gowri Koneswaran, a writer based in Washington, DC who received the Nella Larsen Scholarship, says: “I absolutely devoured my time during the conference and could not believe how so many hours ‘alone’ at my computer felt so connective, generative, and educational. During our workshops, I learned so much from my fellow participants as well as our instructor.”
She adds, “I could not be more thankful for this donor's generosity in making these funds available to me. Without them, I would not have been able to attend. And given how long we have been enduring this pandemic, the ability to connect with writers and learn from afar was absolutely invaluable.”
Robin Michel, a writer based in San Francisco, CA who was awarded the Anne G. Locascio Scholarship says, “I have found MCWC to be such a warm and generous community. It's exciting to work with such a diverse group of writers. Working on a manuscript that examines intergenerational trauma, the impacts of disability, mental illness, and poverty, and an oppressive religious environment, often becomes a dance of courage and cowardice. At MCWC, writers are encouraged to speak their truth and go deeper in understanding what their experiences mean. I was unfamiliar with Krys Malcolm Belc prior to the conference, and found him to be such an outstanding and thoughtful instructor. He is very gifted, challenging one to do their very best, and holding space for writers to be vulnerable.”
She adds: “Receiving the scholarship provided validation and support I very much needed at this time, and has helped me believe in my ability to tell this story. Helped me to be kinder to myself.I am so grateful to have received the Anne G. Locascio Scholarship, and was greatly moved when Lisa shared a bit of her mother's story with me (and I remember her grieving the loss of her mother in 2020). I am committed to telling my own mother's story with deep compassion (even the hard parts), and to receive a scholarship given in a mother's honor becomes a double blessing.”
Designed to make our Conference accessible to writers from diverse backgrounds and to reward writing of outstanding merit, our scholarships are largely funded by generous individual donors. If you would like to fund one, please do get in touch! Want to make a general donation to the MCWC instead? Details on how to do that can be found here.