This past October, I was thinking about the San Francisco Writers Conference, weighing whether or not I could attend in 2024. I had a brilliant experience at the conference in 2023. The consideration that dampened my resolve was a scheduling conflict at work.
I figured I may need to search for another professional development conference. SFWC wasn’t my only option. But I’d done some homework and learned a few things since last year. I fondly remembered my discussions with Katherine Sands and Brenda Knight, and I hoped for a chance to speak to them again. I also wanted an opportunity to meet Michael Carr, whom I didn’t have the nerve to pitch to in the drink line last year. And it would be nice to see Jacob Weisman again.
I was ambivalent, surveying the paths before me. Within an hour of my pondering, I received an email from the San Francisco Writers Foundation. They are the organization that administers the conference and its attendant activities, like a yearly writing contest and a scholarship program.
They cordially informed me that I placed as a finalist in the Adult Non-Fiction category of their writing contest!
It came flooding back to me. After I emailed my 10 pages to Katherine Sands I was fired up. I also submitted the first 1,500 words of those 10 pages to the Foundation’s writing contest. I remembered resolving to “enter and forget it,” to put it out of my mind, so I wouldn’t psych myself out. Well, that worked. The email went on to explain:
I hope you consider coming to the conference because I know there will be agents there who want to meet you. Whether you want to meet them or plan to publish yourself, you will have many opportunities as you’ve already distinguished yourself as a contest finalist. If you do come to the conference, we’ll have a table reserved up front for you during the Saturday Keynote Lunch. We want to congratulate you publicly before the keynote and get a group photo with you.
So there you have it, I am an Adult Non-Fiction finalist in the San Francisco Writers Foundation Writing Contest! Additionally, my piece, “The Black Box of Memory,” will be published in their 2023 Anthology, entitled What We’ve Believed. Here’s a preview of the cover:
So, um…YES, I’m going to attend the entire conference. I can’t wait to meet the other finalists. I am downright queasy with the prospect of returning to that lovely conference and pitching my project to the pros. We shall see. Keep my cool and find joy in the process, or what’s the point? I’ll keep you posted. Wish me luck!
Thank you for reading. Reading Rules!
My Writes 