Club Offers Two Scholarships to Attend Writers' Conference

PLEASANTON, CALIF.: Do you dream that your book will be a bestseller or even be made into a movie, but you need a little training? If you write a short, 100-150 word essay about how you would benefit from attending a writing conference, you may get a chance to go to one for free.

"There will be one adult and one student scholarship chosen from the essay submissions," said Jordan Bernal, Conference Chair for the Tri-Valley Branch of the California Writers Club (CWC). It is holding a daylong writers' conference in Pleasanton on Saturday, April 22. "To request a scholarship, a student must be between 14 and 22 years of age with a valid student ID. All scholarship requests are confidential."

Essay submissions are due by Feb. 1 and must be e-mailed to conference@trivalleywriters.org. Scholarship winners will be notified before Feb. 12.

Conference sessions will take place at the Four Points by Sheraton, 5115 Hopyard Rd., Pleasanton. The keynote speaker is a New York Times and international bestselling author, Anne Perry. She has written more than 50 novels, which have sold over 25 million copies. The Times selected her as one of the 20th century’s "100 Masters of Crime."

Successful authors, marketing experts, an agent, an editor and electronic publishing innovators will conduct workshops on the craft of writing and the business of publishing. For details including cost, registration, schedules and a writing contest for participants, visit: http://www.trivalleywriters.org/conferences/conference2017.

Check in and breakfast are from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m.

Sessions include:

· 9 -10:30 a.m. Essential Elements of Writing, presenters Anne Perry (Fiction), Victoria Zackheim (Creative Non-Fiction/Memoir) and Liz Koehler-Pentacoff (Children).

· 9 -10:30 a.m. Tips for Thriving in the Publishing Revolution, presenter Laurie McLean of Fuse Literary.

· 10:45 -11:45 a.m. Collaboration in Writing, presenters Mark Gelineau and Joe King.

· 10:45 -11:45 a.m. The Importance of Social Media and Websites for Authors, presenter Linda Lee.

· 10:45 -11:45 a.m. Book Design Options for Self-Publishers, presenter Joel Friedlander.

· 1 - 1:45 p.m. Keynote speech "Put Your Heart on the Page," by author Anne Perry.

· 2 -3 p.m. How Poetry Can Help Your Prose and Vice Versa, presenter Dave Denny.

· 2-3 p.m. Steps to Self-Publishing, presenter Jim Azevedo of Smashwords.

· 2-3 p.m. Author Platform, Branding and Monetization, presenter Joel Friedlander.

· 3:15 - 4:15 p.m. Writing Your Memoir So It Reads Like a Sizzling Piece of Fiction, presenter Victoria Zackheim.

· 3:15 - 4:15 p.m. Working and Communicating Effectively with an Editor, presenter Annie Tucker.

· 3:15 - 4:15 p.m. The Business of Writing, presenters Larry Townsend (copyright) and Bruce Raine (accounting).

Early bird registration for the conference ends Feb. 12 and costs $115 for CWC members, $140 for non-members and $80 for students aged 14-22 with student IDs. Regular registration is from Feb. 13 to April 10 and costs $165 for CWC members, $190 for non-members and $80 for students. Registration fees can be paid online or by check. For details go to: http://www.trivalleywriters.org/conferences/conference2017/registration/.

The CWC Tri-Valley Branch also invites writers of all genres and experience levels to learn about their craft at its monthly meetings. Saturday meetings normally take place Sept. through June from 2 to 4 p.m. with check-in at 1:30 p.m. (This April's regular meeting will not take place because the club's writers' conference is in April.)

Regular meeting cost for CWC members is $12, non-members, $17. Anyone interested in the program or CWC may attend with no obligation to join. Reservations can be made by sending a message via e-mail to reservations@trivalleywriters.org no later than the Wednesday prior to each meeting. Visit http://www.trivalleywriters.or... for more information.