Living in California, it’s natural that a lot of the writers who’ve become friends since I tiptoed into the crime fiction business less than a decade ago are westerners, which is probably why my favorite conferences aimed at writers cluster west of the Mississippi.
My baptismal exposure to writers’ conferences – as distinct from conventions, where the real focus is on fans – was the Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference, held annually in Marin County California at an influential bookstore. The first conference that I signed up for, when I was apologetic at my own temerity in thinking I might write crime fiction, featured Sue Grafton, who was – and still is – so down to earth, approachable, and direct that I could stop pinching myself when I sat next to her at lunch and actually soak up a little advice and courage. I’ve been back twice since then and, in 2008, found my agent, Kimberley Cameron, there. I also met and had small classes with such accessible luminaries as Elizabeth George, Cara Black, and Jackie Winspear. Conferences are structured for writers. Honesty, openness, and the ability to ask questions that may expose one’s weaknesses are crucial.
A conference I really enjoy is the California Crime Writers Conference in L.A. (It’s biennial and on June 6-7 this year.) Friend and fellow author Terry Shames and I decided to go in 2013 and the first person I saw was Holly West, presiding at the registration table. Her big smile started the weekend off perfectly. Before I knew it, I had met a handful of authors I already admired, including Jeri Westerson, Sue Ann Jaffarian, and Diane Vallere. To my delight, Sue Grafton and Elizabeth George were the keynote lunch speakers and they shared some of the best and most heartening advice for writers, lessons they had learned, sometimes the hard way, in their own brilliant careers. You know it’s a successful conference when you see them both on the program!
Organized and run by Sisters in Crime’s and Mystery Writers of America’s southern California chapters, it’s quickly become a significant place for writers to network, listen to each other’s problems, and wander out to eat in groups while debating prologues, flashbacks, and social media marketing. We also drink together, the latter – and I say this as a non-drinker who puts away quarts of Pellegrino at these things – being as important a part of conferences as any other aspect. Tip to newcomers: the party’s always at the bar and you’re always welcome! See you at CCWC.
Susan C Shea is the author of the “wickedly funny” Dani O’Rourke Mysteries, president of the Norcal chapter of Sisters in Crime, and secretary of the national SinC Board.
