Announcing the 2024 Southwest Washington Writers Conference Keynote and Master Class presenters: Garth Stein and Olivia Hawker!
Our keynote speaker for the 2024 Saturday conference on Sept. 7 is Garth Stein, the internationally bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain, which has sold more than 6 million copies worldwide, been translated into 38 languages, and spent more than three years on the New York Times bestseller list. The novel inspired a Young Reader edition as well as four children’s picture books. A 2019 motion picture film based on the book starred Milo Ventimiglia, Amanda Seyfried, and Kevin Costner as the voice of Enzo the golden retriever.
Stein is the author of three other novels—A Sudden Light, How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets, and Raven Stole the Moon. He’s the co-founder of Seattle7Writers, a nonprofit collective dedicated to energizing readers, writers, and their communities by providing funding, programming, and donations of free books to those in need. He’s the chair of the Author Leadership Circle of the Book Industry Charitable Foundation and holds a Master of Fine Arts in film from Columbia. He’s produced and directed several award-winning documentaries and music videos and won many literary awards, including two Pacific Northwest Book Awards.
Besides his keynote “The World According to Garth,” he will also teach a workshop entitled: It’s All About the Rock.
Garth’s ancestry is diverse: his mother is of Tlingit Indian and Irish descent; his father is Jewish. Garth lives in Seattle with his wife and three sons. He was an amateur race car driver until he left racing after a serious crash—while racing in the rain.
Olivia Hawker, a Washington Post bestselling author of historical fiction with thousands of five-star reviews, will teach our Friday masterclass on Sept. 6. One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award and the Willa Award. Her other books are The Ragged Edge of Night, The Fire and the Ore, The Rise of Light, and October in the Earth.
Olivia, also known as Libbie Grant, lives in Canada and the San Juan Islands of Washington.
She will teach two three-hour workshops on Friday. The first is based on her bestselling how-to book, Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing. The workshop guides participants through the process of writing a complete outline based around a character’s arc.
The second three-hour workshop, How to Write a Bestseller, focuses on evaluating the market and writing to target books to current trends. It’s recommended for more experienced writers who can complete a manuscript in a few months (writers looking to go from midlist to front list).
We also are honored to welcome 2023-2025 Washington State Poet Laureate Arianne True (Choctaw and Chickasaw), who will teach a poetry workshop on Saturday afternoon at the conference. Arianne is a queer poet and teaching artist from Seattle who has dedicated time to working with young people. She’s received fellowships and residencies from Jack Straw, the Hugo House, Artist Trust, and the Seattle Repertory Theater. Arianne, a proud alum of Hedgebrook and of the MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts, lives near the Salish Sea with her cat.
Conferees can discuss their projects with Scott Eagan of Greyhaus Literary, who represents writers of traditional romance and women’s fiction. They can also discuss freelance writing options with Eric Schwartz, editor of The Chronicle, and Krysta Carper, editor and publisher of LewisTalk and ThurstonTalk.
It’s exciting for us to offer authors, readers, and others the opportunity to learn while raising money for Centralia College Foundation. Proceeds go toward scholarships with the Centralia College Foundation and toward the continuation of the conference.
Start planning now. Early registration will open in mid-April. Sign up early for the best rate!
The 10th Annual Southwest Washington Writers Conference will take place at the Walton Science Center at Centralia College on September 6th and 7th, 2024.
To become a conference sponsor or a volunteer, please contact us by email at swwc18@gmail.com.
