Young Writers Program

Santa Barbara Writers Conference

* two-day workshops for teens 14-18 *

The Santa Barbara Writers Conference is pleased to announce the advent of the SBWC Young Writers Program, a mini-conference within the conference. Intended for students 14 to 18 years old, this mini-conference will offer three two-day workshops during the regular conference on topics of specific interest to teens.

They are offering a special discounted rate for teens of $475, which includes all the regular conference offerings plus the teen workshops.

Who should attend?
Young writers of all genres -- graduating eighth-graders through graduating high school seniors.

Why?
To improve craft through workshops that include read and critique aimed specifically at young writer markets. Like all writers, young writers benefit from connection to a community of voices that speak our language. In today's world of budget cuts, most secondary schools cannot offer programs that encourage a writer's growth. SBWC's Young Writers Program students will blossom with guidance from workshop leaders sensitive to the "coming of age" issues emblematic of this group. They will also learn the nuts and bolts of the business end of writing from workshop leaders who have successfully navigated the maze called "the road to publication."

Where and When?
It's part of the regular conference, June 23-30, 2006, at Fess Parker's DoubleTree Resort on the ocean in Santa Barbara. YWP students who choose to stay at the DoubleTree will be housed in a separate section operated and monitored like a college dorm complete with resident assistants -- RAs -- overseeing YWP student activities.

For more information, visit www.sbwc.org, contact sbwritersconference@cox.netor call them at (805) 964-0367.

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Young Writers Program

workshop leaders include:

USC freshman Dallas Woodburn is an SBWC alumna who has written two collections of stories and essays (There's A Huge Pimple on My Nose! and the recently published 3 a.m.) and has been widely published in national magazines, including Writer's Digest, Justine, Listen, Writing, Encounter, and The Hudson Valley Literary Magazine. She was featured in the nationally released book, So You Wanna Be A Writer? and was chosen Cosmo Girl! magazine's "Girl of the Month." Her Web site and Write On! Foundation to increase literacy awareness have also garnered national attention and honors. She has taught her own summer writing camp class the past two summers, and has spoken at the Jack London Writer's Camp. Dallas' essays have also been published in the books Good Friends Come Along Once in a Lifetime and Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul IV.

Nika Hoffman is director of the creative writing program at the prestigious Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California. Her students' literary journal, Dark as Day, has been awarded numerous national awards for excellence since its establishment in 2000. Her two-day SBWC workshop is entitled "Deep Tissue Writing for Young Writers."

Daniela Schonberger is a 3rd-year student at UCSB majoring in literature. Her passion for performance poetry has drawn her into the competitive culture of slam poetry. She is currently qualified for the Ventura Slam Team. In April 2005, she was featured at Santa Ynez High School's Poetry Festival. She continues to captivate audiences with her poetic expression in locations such as Santa Barbara, Ventura, Santa Monica and Los Angeles. Working with Santa Barbara Channel and The Mosaic Project, a non-profit organization, has helped her launch her own open mic venue in Goleta, where she encourages artists of every kind to share their work. Her own work has been published in the UCSB literary magazine, Composition.