Upcoming events

  • September Meeting - "The Power of Place" Presenter Ruth Nolan, Professor of English and Creative Writing, College of the Desert

    • Saturday, September 08, 2018
    • 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
    • Rancho Mirage Library Community Room
    September Meeting
    Presenter: Ruth Nolan, Professor of English and Creative Writing, College of the Desert


    Ruth Nolan is professor of English and creative writing at College of the Desert in Palm Springs, CA and is a Mojave Desert/Coachella Valley-based writer. A former wildland firefighter for the US Forest Service and BLM California Desert District, she is the author Ruby Mountain (Finishing Line Press); editor of No Place for a Puritan: The Literature of California’s Deserts (Heyday Books); and co-editor of Fire and Rain: Ecopoetry of California (Scarlet Tanager.) She is the winner of the 2018 Los Angeles Poetry Society Award and the recipient of a 2018 Love of Learning Award from the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society for her forthcoming book Fire on the Mojave: Stories from the Deserts and Mountains of Inland Southern California, for which she also won a 2017 California Writers Residency Award. Her short story, “Palimpsest,” published in LA Fiction: Southland Writing by Southland Writers (Red Hen Press), was nominated for a 2016 PEN Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writer and also received an Honorable Mention Award in Sequestrum Magazine’s 2016 Editor’s Reprint contest. Her poetry and essays have been published in Women’s Studies Quarterly; Rattling Wall; The Cost of Paper; Angels Flight LA/Literary West; KCET Los Angeles; Desert Oracle; Cholla Needles; News from Native California; Sierra Club Desert Report; Lumen; Pacific Review; The Desert Sun/USA Today and Inlandia Literary Journeys. Ruth serves on the advisory board for Poets & Writers West, leads community-inclusive writing workshops throughout inland Southern California and holds her M.F.A. in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts from the University of California, Riverside. She’s the mother of a young adult daughter and grandmother of three toddlers. She may be reached at ruthnolan13@gmail.com

    Topic: The Power of Place


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  • Workshop: "THE POWER OF PLACE: Using Setting to Bring Your Stories/Poems to Life" with Ruth Nolan, Professor of English and Creative Writing, College of the Desert

    • Sunday, September 09, 2018
    • 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
    • Riviera Resort, Palm Springs, 1600 N Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262, Royal Room 1. Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    Register

    Sunday, September 9, 2018

    Workshop:
    THE POWER OF PLACE:
    Using Setting to Bring Your Stories/Poems to Life

    with
    Ruth Nolan, Professor of English and Creative Writing, College of the Desert


    Sunday, September 9, 2018

    10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

    Riviera Resort, Palm Springs
    1600 N Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
    Royal Room 1. Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    Directions
    Ballroom Floor Plan

    Schedule: Beginning at 10:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m. Lunch served at 11:30 a.m. Ample time for questions at end. Workshop over promptly at 3 p.m.

    Workshop Description:
    THE POWER OF PLACE: Using Setting to Bring Your Stories/Poems to Life
    This workshop will be a very dynamic, writing-generative experience filled with tips on how to use the crucial literary element of "setting" to maximum effect in your writing. We'll study how to make your settings function as literary agents, and even characters, in your writing, by examining short samples of fiction, essays and poetry that utilize "setting" to maximum effect, then you will dig in to build and write your own settings to life, using prompts provided by the workshop instructor. Come ready to generate lots of writing during this action-packed day!

    About this workshop facilitator: 

    Ruth Nolan is professor of English and creative writing at College of the Desert in Palm Springs, CA and is a Mojave Desert/Coachella Valley-based writer. A former wildland firefighter for the US Forest Service and BLM California Desert District, she is the author Ruby Mountain (Finishing Line Press); editor of No Place for a Puritan: The Literature of California’s Deserts (Heyday Books); and co-editor of Fire and Rain: Ecopoetry of California (Scarlet Tanager.) She is the winner of the 2018 Los Angeles Poetry Society Award and the recipient of a 2018 Love of Learning Award from the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society for her forthcoming book Fire on the Mojave: Stories from the Deserts and Mountains of Inland Southern California, for which she also won a 2017 California Writers Residency Award. Her short story, “Palimpsest,” published in LA Fiction: Southland Writing by Southland Writers (Red Hen Press), was nominated for a 2016 PEN Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writer and also received an Honorable Mention Award in Sequestrum Magazine’s 2016 Editor’s Reprint contest. Her poetry and essays have been published in Women’s Studies Quarterly; Rattling Wall; The Cost of Paper; Angels Flight LA/Literary West; KCET Los Angeles; Desert Oracle; Cholla Needles; News from Native California; Sierra Club Desert Report; Lumen; Pacific Review; The Desert Sun/USA Today and Inlandia Literary Journeys. Ruth serves on the advisory board for Poets & Writers West, leads community-inclusive writing workshops throughout inland Southern California and holds her M.F.A. in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts from the University of California, Riverside. She’s the mother of a young adult daughter and grandmother of three toddlers. She may be reached at ruthnolan13@gmail.com

    Click here to register for this workshop

    Registration Details:

    • PSWG Members: $50.00
    • Non-Members: $65.00
    • Payment in Full is confirmation of seating.
    • Online payment via PayPal or credit card only.
    • Lunch included
    • Workshop attendees cancelling their attendance and wishing a refund will be handled on a case by case basis by the PSWG Board.
    • Day of workshop sales available ONLY if workshop is not full. Bring check. Workshop events are limited to 40 participants.
    • Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    • Click here to register for this workshop

    Event Contact: Jim Misko: jim@jimmisko.com
    or Judith Magee: judith783@gmail.com

    www.palmspringswritersguild.com

    Show details

  • October Meeting - "How I Ran Away to the French Riviera and Wrote a NY Times Bestseller" Presenter Andrew Kaplan, Best-selling author

    • Saturday, October 06, 2018
    • 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
    • Rancho Mirage Library Community Room
    October Meeting
    Presenter: Andrew Kaplan, Best-selling author 


    Andrew Kaplan is the author of two bestselling spy thriller book series: “Scorpion” and “Homeland,” including the international bestselling phenomenon, “Homeland: Carrie’s Run,” a tie-in prequel novel to the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning “Homeland” television series. His last Homeland novel, “Homeland: Saul’s Game,” won the 2015 Scribe Best Novel of the Year award. A former journalist, war correspondent and consultant, he covered events around the world and served in both the U.S. Army and the Israeli Army during the Six Day War. His books have sold millions of copies and have been translated into 22 languages. In addition to his Homeland and Scorpion novels, each of which has been Number 1 on the Amazon Mystery and Thriller bestseller lists (at one time, 3 of the top 10 Amazon mystery/thrillers were Scorpion books), his standalone novels include the NY Times bestseller and Main Selection of the Book of the Month Club, “Dragonfire,” which Kirkus Reviews called “Electrifying! Andrew Kaplan at his dazzling best!” “Hour of the Assassins,” (“Possibly the best action adventure book ever written!”) and “War of the Raven,” which Publishers Weekly hailed as “a smashing, sexy and unforgettable read,” and which was cited by the American Library Association as one of the “100 Best Books ever written about World War Two.” Of his Scorpion series, Suspense Magazine declared: “It matches the best work of the late Robert Ludlum and then surpasses it.” In addition to “Homeland,” his television and screenwriting career includes the James Bond classic, “Goldeneye”. 

    Topic: How I Ran Away to the French Riviera and Wrote a NY Times Bestseller




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  • Workshop: "Part 1: Seven Elements That Can Turn Your Book into a New York Times Bestseller Part 2: How to Create Instantly Compelling Characters" with Andrew Kaplan, Best-selling author

    • Monday, October 08, 2018
    • 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
    • Riviera Resort, Palm Springs, 1600 N Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262, Royal Room 1. Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    Register

    Monday, October 8, 2018

    Workshop:

    Part 1: Seven Elements That Can Turn Your Book into a New York Times Bestseller 

     Part 2:  How to Create Instantly Compelling Characters

    with
    Andrew Kaplan, Best-selling author


    Monday, October 8, 2018

    10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

    Riviera Resort, Palm Springs
    1600 N Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
    Royal Room 1. Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    Directions
    Ballroom Floor Plan

    Schedule: Beginning at 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Lunch served at 11:30 a.m. Ample time for questions at end. Workshop over promptly at 3 p.m.

    Workshop Description: TBD
    Part 1: Seven Elements That Can Turn Your Book into a New York Times Bestseller
    In Part One of this two-part workshop, author Andrew Kaplan breaks down seven Key Elements, any one of which has the potential of turning a writer’s book into a New York Timesblockbuster. Using examples from well-known authors, Andrew breaks down these elements and demonstrates how any one of them can transform your work into the kind of book that sells, the kind of book that reminds you why you became a writer in the first place.

    Part 2: How to Create Instantly Compelling Characters
    Creating characters that arouse interest in the reader is critical for any type of writing, be it fiction, memoir, or non-fiction. In Part Two of the Workshop, Andrew will show how to create Instantly Compelling Characters; characters that leap off the page, grab a reader and say, “Pay attention to me!”

    About this workshop facilitator: 

    Andrew Kaplan is the author of two bestselling spy thriller book series: “Scorpion” and “Homeland,” including the international bestselling phenomenon, “Homeland: Carrie’s Run,” a tie-in prequel novel to the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning “Homeland” television series. His last Homeland novel, “Homeland: Saul’s Game,” won the 2015 Scribe Best Novel of the Year award. A former journalist, war correspondent and consultant, he covered events around the world and served in both the U.S. Army and the Israeli Army during the Six Day War. His books have sold millions of copies and have been translated into 22 languages. In addition to his Homeland and Scorpion novels, each of which has been Number 1 on the Amazon Mystery and Thriller bestseller lists (at one time, 3 of the top 10 Amazon mystery/thrillers were Scorpion books), his standalone novels include the NY Times bestseller and Main Selection of the Book of the Month Club, “Dragonfire,” which Kirkus Reviews called “Electrifying! Andrew Kaplan at his dazzling best!” “Hour of the Assassins,” (“Possibly the best action adventure book ever written!”) and “War of the Raven,” which Publishers Weekly hailed as “a smashing, sexy and unforgettable read,” and which was cited by the American Library Association as one of the “100 Best Books ever written about World War Two.” Of his Scorpion series, Suspense Magazine declared: “It matches the best work of the late Robert Ludlum and then surpasses it.” In addition to “Homeland,” his television and screenwriting career includes the James Bond classic, “Goldeneye”. A fact not widely known is that shortly before Robert Ludlum died, Ludlum and his agent Henry Morrison reached out to Andrew to take over the Bourne series and to initiate the Covert One series. He turned them down.

    Click here to register for this workshop

    Registration Details:

    • PSWG Members: $130.00
    • Non-Members: $145.00
    • Payment in Full is confirmation of seating.
    • Online payment via PayPal or credit card only.
    • Lunch included.
    • Workshop attendees cancelling their attendance and wishing a refund will be handled on a case by case basis by the PSWG Board.
    • Day of workshop sales available ONLY if workshop is not full. Bring check. Workshop events are limited to 40 participants.
    • Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    • Click here to register for this workshop

    Event Contact: Jim Misko: jim@jimmisko.com
    or Judith Magee: judith783@gmail.com

    www.palmspringswritersguild.com

    Show details

  • Memoir Contest for the 2018/2019 Season. Member Only. Deadline is noon on December 1, 2018.

    • Thursday, November 01, 2018
    • 9:00 AM
    • Saturday, December 01, 2018
    • 12:00 PM
    • Rancho Mirage Public Library. Registration opens November 1, 2018.
    Registration is closed
    Memoir Contest for the 2018/2019 Season

    The memoirs are judged on plot, setting, character development, use of dialogue, and mechanics. 

      Enter submissions starting November 1, 2018

    Deadline! noon on DECEMBER 1, 2018

    Contest is open to current PSWG Members only

    Not a member? Become a member!

    Membership fee must be received prior to contest submission.


    Judge
    Sue William Silverman

    Sue William Silverman’s most recent work of creative nonfiction is The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew(University of Nebraska Press), which was a finalist in Foreword Reviews IndieFab Book of the Year Award. Her first memoir, Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You (University of Georgia Press), won the Association of Writers and Writers Program award, while another book, Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey through Sexual Addiction  (W. W. Norton), is also a Lifetime TV original movie. Her craft book is Fearless Confessions: A Writer's Guide to Memoir (Georgia) and her poetry collection is Hieroglyphics in Neon (Orchises). She teaches in the MFA in Writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. As a professional speaker, Sue has appeared on such shows as The View and Anderson Cooper – 360. 

    Website:  www.SueWilliamSilverman.com
    Twitter: @SueSilverman
    Instagram: suewilliamsilverman

            Entry Fee: $25.00 per memoir

    Entry Rules:

     All members must login to enable registration and complete the online contest entry form.

    Contest Entry: $25.00 

    Submission requires an online contest entry form and subsequent payment. Online Submission only! Submissions are to be emailed as attachments in MS Word Document (.doc or .docx). Any other file format will be disqualified.

    • All entries must be formatted as WORD documents, double spaced in 12 point Times New Roman font.
    • Manuscripts must have 1 inch margins.
    • Maximum word count 2,500 words
    • Appearing in each page header: Title of manuscript.
    • Pages must be numbered in lower right hand corner.
    • All manuscripts must be original, unpublished work.
    • Author’s name MUST NOT appear anywhere on manuscript.
    • Submissions must be an original, unpublished (print or electronic) written work and a non-previous prize winner.
    • Contest Entry Fee payments via PayPal or Guest of PayPal must be paid at time of completing Contest Entry Form. 
    • Submission requires an online contest entry form and subsequent payment.
 Online Submission only! Submissions are to be emailed as attachments in MS Word Document (.doc or .docx). Any other file format will be disqualified.

    Please note: failure to comply with the rules will result in a disqualification. Disqualified applicants and non- winners are not reimbursed application fees.

    At contest conclusion, submissions will be deleted. Critique of your work is not provided for this contest.

    How to fill out online registration:

    Step 1: To enable registration, please be sure you have successfully logged in with your email and password.

    Step 2: Click "Register" button, fill out online entry form and follow prompts for payment. Credit card payment is available and is immediate.

    Step 3: After payment is processed, an automatic email will be sent to you with instructions for electronic (email) submission.

    Contest Prize List for Annual Short Story Contest:

    • 1st Place: $300
    • 2nd Place: $200
    • 3rd Place: $100
    For questions regarding this contest

    please email Lynn De Turk pswgcontest@gmail.com

    Show details

  • November Meeting - "Perils and Payoffs: The Risky Business of Researching for Fiction" Presenter Elizabeth Sims, Award-winning author

    • Saturday, November 03, 2018
    • 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
    • Rancho Mirage Library Community Room

    November Meeting
    Presenter: Elizabeth Sims, Award-winning author 


    Perils and Payoffs: The Risky Business of Researching for Fiction
    Prizewinning author Elizabeth Sims will give you an insider’s look at techniques that make today’s fiction jump off the page! She’ll share the keys to finding out just about anything, from real people who know what they’re talking about. Also, she’ll discuss how to gain first-hand experience, having tagged along on movie auditions, attended class at Harvard Law School, played music on the street for money, used a firearm, talked with cops, opened and walked through countless scary doors, and much more. Her tales—often hilarious, always truthful—will give you a real taste of how professional writers bring authenticity to their work. Join Elizabeth for this unforgettable talk, with Q & A afterward.

    Topic: Perils and Payoffs: The Risky Business of Researching for Fiction



    Show details

  • Workshop: "Short Story Writing for Publication" with Elizabeth Sims, Award-winning author

    • Sunday, November 04, 2018
    • 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
    • Miramonte Resort and Spa, 45000 Indian Wells Ln, Indian Wells, CA 92210
    Register

    Sunday, November 4, 2018

    Workshop:

    Short Story Writing for Publication

    with
    Elizabeth Sims,  Award-winning author


    Sunday, November 4, 2018

    10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

    Miramonte Resort and Spa, Indian Wells
    45000 Indian Wells Ln, Indian Wells, CA 92210
    Directions

    Schedule: Beginning at 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Lunch is served at 11:30 a.m. Ample time for questions at end. Workshop over promptly at 3 p.m.

    Workshop Description:
    Short Story Writing for Publication
    The short story is not only the gateway to writing compelling longer fiction, it’s a legitimate and exciting literary form in itself. This workshop, taught by prizewinning author Elizabeth Sims, gets deep into the craft of story construction. Her goal is to help you approach the art and craft of writing short stories as a professional does, with ingenuity and verve. Moreover, you’ll learn how to become a better writer on your own, going forward. Emphasis will be on story craft elements such as structure, character development, dialogue, image, and conflict. Together with Elizabeth, you’ll do a bit of analytical reading, then move into techniques to help you create new material freely and without anxiety. You’ll learn foolproof ways to map out a story, and you’ll get some writing done, with an eye to producing publishable work. Elizabeth will briefly discuss the habits of professional writers as well as the business of writing. Join her for this brisk, inspiring workshop!

    About this workshop facilitator: 

    Elizabeth Sims is the author of the Rita Farmer Mysteries, the Lambda and GCLS Goldie Award-winning Lillian Byrd Crime Series, and other fiction, including the standalone novel Crimes in a Second Language, which won the 2017 Florida Book Awards silver medal. Her work has been published by a major press (Macmillan) as well as several smaller houses, and she’s written short works for numerous collections and magazines. She publishes independently under her personal imprint, Spruce Park Press.

    In addition, Elizabeth is an internationally recognized authority on writing. She’s written dozens of feature articles on the craft of writing for Writer's Digestmagazine, where she’s a contributing editor. Her instructional title, You've Got a Book in You: A Stress-Free Guide to Writing the Book of Your Dreams (Writer's Digest Books) has been specially recognized by NaNoWriMo and hundreds of other web sites and bloggers. Her weekly blog, Zestful Writing (esimsauthor.blogspot) has been included in top-100 blog lists.

    Elizabeth earned degrees in English from Michigan State University and Wayne State University, where she won the Tompkins Award for graduate fiction. She's worked as a reporter, photographer, technical writer, bookseller, street busker, ranch hand, corporate executive, certified lifeguard, college writing instructor, and symphonic percussionist. She is represented by the Donald Maass Literary Agency. Elizabeth belongs to several literary societies as well as American Mensa.

    Click here to register for this workshop

    Registration Details:

    • PSWG Members: $85.00
    • Non-Members: $100.00
    • Payment in Full is confirmation of seating.
    • Online payment via PayPal or credit card only.
    • Lunch included.
    • Workshop attendees cancelling their attendance and wishing a refund will be handled on a case by case basis by the PSWG Board.
    • Day of workshop sales available ONLY if workshop is not full. Bring check. Workshop events are limited to 40 participants.
    • Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    • Click here to register for this workshop

    Event Contact: Jim Misko: jim@jimmisko.com
    or Judith Magee: judith783@gmail.com

    www.palmspringswritersguild.com

    Show details

  • December Meeting - “What is Voice?" Presenter Malaga Baldi, Independent Agent and owner of the Baldi Agency

    • Saturday, December 01, 2018
    • 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
    • Rancho Mirage Library Community Room

    December Meeting
    Presenter: Malaga Baldi, Independent Agent and owner of the Baldi Agency

    Malaga Baldi has worked as an independent literary agent since 1986. The Baldi Agency is an eclectic agency specializing in literary fiction, memoir and cultural history with over forty clients. She worked as a cashier at Gotham Book Mart, in the Ballantine Books Publicity Department, as an associate at Candida Donadio & Associates and the Elaine Markson Agency before going out on her own.  Baldi graduated from Hampshire College and lives in NYC with her spouse, daughter and aged black standard poodle.

    Baldi works with large and small houses alike -- from Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Knopf, Harper Collins, Simon Schuster to Skyhorse, Cleis Press, Bellevue Literary Books and the University of Wisconsin Press.  Award Winning William J. Mann's biography of Marlon Brando, THE CONTENDER is due out in 2019 from Harper Collins.  Mann's WISECRACKER, KATE are currently in development for the screen. Mann's TINSELTOWN received an Edgar Best Fact Crime Award and is optioned for television.  Kia Corthron's THE CASTLE CROSS THE MAGNET CARTER won the Center for Fiction First Novel Award, Blanche Boyd's TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN was selected as an Amazon best May 2018 novel and Baldi received the Publishing Triangle Leadership Award earlier this spring.

    Topic: What is Voice?



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  • Workshop: “No More Tears! Query Letter Writing" with Malaga Baldi, Independent Agent and owner of Baldi Agency

    • Sunday, December 02, 2018
    • 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
    • Riviera Resort, Palm Springs, 1600 N Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262, Royal Room 1. Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    Register

    Sunday, December 2, 2018

    Workshop:

    No More Tears! Query Letter Writing

    with
    Malaga Baldi
    Independent Agent & owner of Baldi Agency


    Sunday, December 2, 2018

    10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

    Riviera Resort, Palm Springs
    1600 N Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
    Royal Room 1. Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    Directions
    Ballroom Floor Plan

    Schedule: Beginning at 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Lunch served at 11:30 a.m. Ample time for questions at end. Workshop over promptly at 3 p.m.

    Workshop Description:
    No More Tears! Query Letter Writing
    Who reads the query letter?
    What goes into a query letter?
    When do you write a query letter?
    How do you write a query letter?
    Why is it so important?

    The workshop is a nuts & bolts informal and general discussion covering many publishing topics.  

    IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT ALL PARTICIPANTS BRING IN THEIR WORKING QUERY LETTER.

    Participants are asked to bring in their blind query letters, omitting their names, addresses, anything that might compromise their identity...

    I will mix participant's queries with some of my examples and ask volunteers to read letters aloud. We’ll review and critique each letter. After participants share their thoughts and opinions, I will offer helpful criticism and pointers on how each letter can be improved. The goal is to improve each query, so a future agent will request to read/review & consider the entire manuscript...

    Every agency has their own guidelines. Always read Agency guidelines. 

    About this workshop facilitator:
    Malaga Baldi has worked as an independent literary agent since 1986. The Baldi Agency is an eclectic agency specializing in literary fiction, memoir and cultural history with over forty clients. She worked as a cashier at Gotham Book Mart, in the Ballantine Books Publicity Department, as an associate at Candida Donadio & Associates and the Elaine Markson Agency before going out on her own.  Baldi graduated from Hampshire College and lives in NYC with her spouse, daughter and aged black standard poodle.

    Baldi works with large and small houses alike -- from Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Knopf, Harper Collins, Simon Schuster to Skyhorse, Cleis Press, Bellevue Literary Books and the University of Wisconsin Press.  Award Winning William J. Mann's biography of Marlon Brando, THE CONTENDER is due out in 2019 from Harper Collins.  Mann's WISECRACKER, KATE are currently in development for the screen. Mann's TINSELTOWN received an Edgar Best Fact Crime Award and is optioned for television.  Kia Corthron's THE CASTLE CROSS THE MAGNET CARTER won the Center for Fiction First Novel Award, Blanche Boyd's TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN was selected as an Amazon best May 2018 novel and Baldi received the Publishing Triangle Leadership Award earlier this spring.

    Click here to register for this workshop

    Registration Details:

    • PSWG Members: $85.00
    • Non-Members: $100.00
    • Payment in Full is confirmation of seating.
    • Online payment via PayPal or credit card only.
    • Lunch included.
    • Workshop attendees cancelling their attendance and wishing a refund will be handled on a case by case basis by the PSWG Board.
    • Day of workshop sales available ONLY if workshop is not full. Bring check. Workshop events are limited to 40 participants.
    • Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    • Click here to register for this workshop

    Event Contact: Jim Misko: jim@jimmisko.com
    or Judith Magee: judith783@gmail.com

    www.palmspringswritersguild.com

    Show details

  • January Meeting - “I’ve Written The End – Pass Me the Maalox” – Preparing Your Manuscript for Publication" Presenter Lynn Price, Publisher, Behler Publications

    • Saturday, January 05, 2019
    • 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
    • Rancho Mirage Library Community Room

    January Meeting
    Presenter: Lynn Price, Publisher, Behler Publications

    Since 2003, Behler Publications (http://behlerpublications.com/) has been publishing best selling and critically acclaimed memoir/nonfiction about everyday people who end up doing extraordinary things due to a pivotal event that alters their perspective about life. Acquisitions Director Lynn Price looks for books where readers say, "I'm a better/more thoughtful/smarter person for having read this book." 

    Bestsellers include Jan’s Story, by CBS journalist Barry Petersen; Finding Dad by Emmy Awarding winning and Better Connecticut TV host Kara Sundlun; Fancy Feet, by Heidi Cave; and IPPY Gold Medal winner, The Chicken Who Saved Us: The Remarkable Story of Andrew and Frightful, by Kristin Adams. 

    Lynn employs two unreliable rescue beagles to serve as her secretaries.  

    Topic: “I’ve Written The End – Pass Me the Maalox” – Preparing Your Manuscript for Publication


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  • Workshop: “Publishing Options - Making the Right Decision" with Lynn Price, Publisher, Behler Publications

    • Monday, January 07, 2019
    • 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
    • Riviera Resort, Palm Springs, 1600 N Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262, Royal Room 1. Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    Register

    Monday, January 7, 2019

    Workshop:

    Publishing Options - Making the Right Decision

    with
    Lynn Price, Publisher, Behler Publications


    Monday, January 7, 2019

    10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

    Riviera Resort, Palm Springs
    1600 N Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
    Royal Room 1. Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    Directions
    Ballroom Floor Plan

    Schedule: Beginning at 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Lunch served at 11:30 a.m. Ample time for questions at end. Workshop over promptly at 3 p.m.

    Workshop Description:
    Publishing Options: Making the Right Decisions
    The workshop will provide information on the different publishing options available to writers--commercial trade press versus self publication--and what each can and can’t do for authors.  She will also cover questions that every writer should ask a publisher and themselves before deciding on a publishing option.  By attending the seminar, writers will understand the myths and realities of all publishing options, understand how to capture the marketplace, and understand the business/financial aspect of self publishing.  

    About this workshop facilitator:

    Since 2003, Behler Publications (http://behlerpublications.com/) has been publishing best selling and critically acclaimed memoir/nonfiction about everyday people who end up doing extraordinary things due to a pivotal event that alters their perspective about life. Acquisitions Director Lynn Price looks for books where readers say, "I'm a better/more thoughtful/smarter person for having read this book." 

    Bestsellers include Jan’s Story, by CBS journalist Barry Petersen; Finding Dadby Emmy Awarding winning and Better Connecticut TV host Kara Sundlun; Fancy Feet, by Heidi Cave; and IPPY Gold Medal winner, The Chicken Who Saved Us: The Remarkable Story of Andrew and Frightful, by Kristin Adams. 

    Lynn employs two unreliable rescue beagles to serve as her secretaries. 

    Click here to register for this workshop

    Registration Details:

    • PSWG Members: $ TBD
    • Non-Members: $ TBD
    • Payment in Full is confirmation of seating.
    • Online payment via PayPal or credit card only.
    • Includes lunch.
    • Workshop attendees cancelling their attendance and wishing a refund will be handled on a case by case basis by the PSWG Board.
    • Day of workshop sales available ONLY if workshop is not full. Bring check. Workshop events are limited to 40 participants.
    • Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    • Click here to register for this workshop

    Event Contact: Jim Misko: jim@jimmisko.com
    or Judith Magee: judith783@gmail.com

    www.palmspringswritersguild.com

    Show details

  • February Meeting - “Topic TBD" Presenter Gary Fisketjon, Knopf Vice President and Editor at Large

    • Saturday, February 09, 2019
    • 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
    • Rancho Mirage Library Community Room

    February Meeting
    Presenter: Gary Fisketjon, Knopf Vice President and Editor at Large

    Gary Fisketjon is widely known in the literary world both for his hand in revolutionizing the modern book publishing industry in the US, and for his reputation as a meticulous and comprehensive editor. After graduating from Williams College, with a BA in history and literature, he entered the Radcliffe Publishing Course at Harvard University. He joined Random House Publishing in the late 1970s. As a young editor with many contacts among emerging writers, Fisketjon saw that the literary market lacked a proper format in which they could be published, and in 1984 he founded Vintage Contemporaries, “a line of high-quality trade paperbacks” that created a new forum with much better distribution through independent booksellers. Its immediate success transformed how contemporary fiction was published in the country; it also helped authors including Jay McInerney and Richard Russo to become well-known with their first books, and brought new readers to established but underappreciated writers such as Raymond Carver and Richard Ford. Mr. Fisketjon joined the Atlantic Monthly Press as editorial director in 1986 but returned to Random House in 1990, where he settled at Knopf. As Knopf’s vice president and editor-at-large, Fisketjon has worked with a number of acclaimed writers, including Donna Tartt, Bret Easton Ellis, Kent Haruf, Patricia Highsmith, Tobias Wolff, Julian Barnes, Cormac McCarthy, and Haruki Murakami, while also picking out and fostering new talent. Since 1986, he has also become one of the few regular American editorial presences at the Frankfurt Book Fair. 

    Fisketjon divides his time between New York and Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee.

    Topic: TBD



    Show details

  • Workshop: “Topic TBD" with Gary Fisketjon, Knopf Vice President and Editor at Large

    • Sunday, February 10, 2019
    • 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
    • Miramonte Resort and Spa, 45000 Indian Wells Ln, Indian Wells, CA 92210
    Register

    Sunday, February 10, 2019

    Workshop:

    Topic TBD

    with
    Gary Fisketjon
    Knopf Vice President and Editor at Large


    Sunday, February 10, 2019

    10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

    Miramonte Resort and Spa, Indian Wells
    45000 Indian Wells Ln, Indian Wells, CA 92210
    Directions

    Schedule: Beginning at 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Lunch served at 11:30 a.m. Ample time for questions at end. Workshop over promptly at 3 p.m.

    Workshop Description:
    TBD

    About this workshop facilitator: 

    Gary Fisketjon is widely known in the literary world both for his hand in revolutionizing the modern book publishing industry in the US, and for his reputation as a meticulous and comprehensive editor. After graduating from Williams College, with a BA in history and literature, he entered the Radcliffe Publishing Course at Harvard University. He joined Random House Publishing in the late 1970s. As a young editor with many contacts among emerging writers, Fisketjon saw that the literary market lacked a proper format in which they could be published, and in 1984 he founded Vintage Contemporaries, “a line of high-quality trade paperbacks” that created a new forum with much better distribution through independent booksellers. Its immediate success transformed how contemporary fiction was published in the country; it also helped authors including Jay McInerney and Richard Russo to become well-known with their first books, and brought new readers to established but underappreciated writers such as Raymond Carver and Richard Ford. Mr. Fisketjon joined the Atlantic Monthly Press as editorial director in 1986 but returned to Random House in 1990, where he settled at Knopf. As Knopf’s vice president and editor-at-large, Fisketjon has worked with a number of acclaimed writers, including Donna Tartt, Bret Easton Ellis, Kent Haruf, Patricia Highsmith, Tobias Wolff, Julian Barnes, Cormac McCarthy, and Haruki Murakami, while also picking out and fostering new talent. Since 1986, he has also become one of the few regular American editorial presences at the Frankfurt Book Fair. 

    Fisketjon divides his time between New York and Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee.

    Click here to register for this workshop

    Registration Details:

    • PSWG Members: $130.00
    • Non-Members: $155.00
    • Payment in Full is confirmation of seating.
    • Online payment via PayPal or credit card only.
    • Includes lunch.
    • Workshop attendees cancelling their attendance and wishing a refund will be handled on a case by case basis by the PSWG Board.
    • Day of workshop sales available ONLY if workshop is not full. Bring check. Workshop events are limited to 40 participants.
    • Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    • Click here to register for this workshop

    Event Contact: Jim Misko: jim@jimmisko.com
    or Judith Magee: judith783@gmail.com

    www.palmspringswritersguild.com

    Show details

  • Workshop: “TBD"

    • Saturday, March 02, 2019
    • 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
    • Riviera Resort, Palm Springs, 1600 N Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262, Royal Room 1. Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    Registration is closed

    Saturday, March 2, 2019

    Workshop:

    TBD

    with
    TBD


    Saturday, March 2, 2019

    Time TBD

    Riviera Resort, Palm Springs
    1600 N Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
    Royal Room 1. Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    Directions
    Ballroom Floor Plan

    Schedule: Beginning at 0:00 a.m. to 0:00 p.m. Lunch served at 00:00 p.m. Ample time for questions at end. Workshop over promptly at 0 p.m.

    Workshop Description:
    TBD


    About this workshop facilitator:
    TBD

    Click here to register for this workshop

    Registration Details:

    • PSWG Members: $TBD
    • Non-Members: $TBD
    • Payment in Full is confirmation of seating.
    • Lunch included.
    • Online payment via PayPal or credit card only.
    • Workshop attendees cancelling their attendance and wishing a refund will be handled on a case by case basis by the PSWG Board.
    • Day of workshop sales available ONLY if workshop is not full. Bring check. Workshop events are limited to 40 participants.
    • Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    • Click here to register for this workshop

    Event Contact: Jim Misko: jim@jimmisko.com
    or Judith Magee: judith783@gmail.com

    www.palmspringswritersguild.com

    Show details

  • March Meeting - “TBD" Presenter TBD

    • Saturday, March 02, 2019
    • 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
    • Rancho Mirage Library Community Room

    March Meeting
    Presenter: TBD

    Topic: TBD



    Show details

  • 2019 Annual Short Story Contest. Member Only. Deadline is noon on April 15, 2019. READ MORE...

    • Friday, March 15, 2019
    • 9:00 AM
    • Monday, April 15, 2019
    • 12:00 PM
    • Rancho Mirage Public Library. Registration opens March 15, 2019.
    Registration is closed
    2019 Annual Short Story Contest

    1st place: $300
    2nd place: $200
    3rd place: $100

    The short stories are judged on plot, setting, character development, use of dialogue, and mechanics. 

      Enter submissions starting March 15, 2019

    Deadline! noon on APRIL 15, 2019

    Contest is open to current PSWG Members only

    Not a member? Become a member!

    Membership fee must be received prior to contest submission.


    Judge Lisa Moore
    Professor of Creative Writing in the English Department at Memorial 
    University.


            Entry Fee: $25.00 per story

    Entry Rules:

     All members must login to enable registration and complete the online contest entry form.

    Contest Entry: $25.00 

    Submission requires an online contest entry form and subsequent payment. Online Submission only! Submissions are to be emailed as attachments in MS Word Document (.doc or .docx). Any other file format will be disqualified.

    • All entries must be formatted as WORD documents, double spaced in 12 point Times New Roman font.
    • Manuscripts must have 1 inch margins.
    • Entry word count should not exceed 2,500 words.
    • Title of manuscript must appear in each page header.
    • Pages must be numbered in lower right hand corner.
    • All manuscripts must be original, unpublished work.
    • Author’s name MUST NOT appear anywhere on manuscript.
    • Submissions must be an original, unpublished (print or electronic) written work and a non-previous prize winner.
    • Contest Entry Fee payments via PayPal or Guest of PayPal must be paid at time of completing Contest Entry Form. 

    Please note: failure to comply with the rules will result in a disqualification. Disqualified applicants and non- winners are not reimbursed application fees.

    At contest conclusion, submissions will be deleted. Critique of your work is not provided for this contest.

    How to fill out online registration:

    Step 1: To enable registration, please be sure you have successfully logged in with your email and password.

    Step 2: Click "Register" button, fill out online entry form and follow prompts for payment. Credit card payment is available and is immediate.

    Step 3: After payment is processed, an automatic email will be sent to you with instructions for electronic (email) submission.

    Contest Prize List for Annual Short Story Contest:

    • 1st Place: $300
    • 2nd Place: $200
    • 3rd Place: $100
    For questions regarding this contest

    please email Lynn De Turk pswgcontest@gmail.com

    Show details

  • June Meeting - “Seven Secrets of Successfully Selling Books" Presenter Brian Jud, President, Premium Book Company

    • Saturday, June 01, 2019
    • 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
    • Rancho Mirage Library Community Room

    June Meeting
    Presenter: Brian Jud, President, Premium Book Company

    Brian Jud is an author, book-marketing consultant, speaker, seminar leader, television host and president of Premium Book Company that sells books to non-bookstore buyers on a non-returnable, commission basis. Brian is also the Executive Director of the Association of Publishers for Special Sales, and the creator of Book Selling University.

    Brian is the author of How to Make Real Money Selling Books (Without Worrying About Returns) This is the ultimate do-it-yourself guide to selling your books to non-bookstore buyers in large quantities, with no returns. He also wrote Beyond the Bookstore (a Publishers Weekly® book), a primer on non-bookstore marketing.

    Brian has also written and published five titles on career transition that are distributed internationally. He is a prolific writer of articles about book publishing and marketing. He is the author of the eight e-booklets with Proven Tips for Publishing Success and the contributing editor to the monthly newsletters, Book Marketing Matters, The Sales Informer, The Authority and Bound to Sell. He was the host of the television show, The Book Authority that aired for 13 years.

    Topic: Seven Secrets of Successfully Selling Books



    Show details

  • Workshop: “The Buck Starts Here: How to Write and Sell Books in Large Quantities" with Brian Jud

    • Sunday, June 02, 2019
    • 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
    • Riviera Resort, Palm Springs, 1600 N Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262, Royal Room 1. Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    Register

    Sunday, June 2, 2019

    Workshop:

    The Buck Starts Here:
    How to Write and Sell Books in Large Quantities

    with
    Brian Jud


    Sunday, June 2, 2019

    10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

    Riviera Resort, Palm Springs
    1600 N Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
    Royal Room 1. Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    Directions
    Ballroom Floor Plan

    Schedule: Beginning at 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Lunch served at 11:30 a.m. Ample time for questions at end. Workshop over promptly at 3 p.m.

    Workshop Description:
    The Buck Starts Here: How to Write and Sell Books in Large Quantities
    Every year, more books are sold to buyers in market segments outside of bookstores than are sold through bookstores – bricks or clicks. And they can be sold more profitably, in large quantities and on a non-returnable basis. These include buyers for discount stores, warehouse clubs, corporations, associations, schools, the military and many more. Much can be done in the writing stage to get your share of these sales and discover a new world of opportunity.

    About this workshop facilitator:

    Brian Jud is an author, book-marketing consultant, speaker, seminar leader, television host and president of Premium Book Company that sells books to non-bookstore buyers on a non-returnable, commission basis. Brian is also the Executive Director of the Association of Publishers for Special Sales, and the creator of Book Selling University.

    Brian is the author of How to Make Real Money Selling Books (Without Worrying About Returns) This is the ultimate do-it-yourself guide to selling your books to non-bookstore buyers in large quantities, with no returns. He also wrote Beyond the Bookstore (a Publishers Weekly® book), a primer on non-bookstore marketing.

    Brian has also written and published five titles on career transition that are distributed internationally. He is a prolific writer of articles about book publishing and marketing. He is the author of the eight e-booklets withProven Tips for Publishing Success and the contributing editor to the monthly newsletters, Book Marketing Matters, The Sales Informer, The Authority and Bound to Sell. He was the host of the television show, The Book Authority that aired for 13 years.

    Click here to register for this workshop

    Registration Details:

    • PSWG Members: $50.00
    • Non-Members: $65.00
    • Payment in Full is confirmation of seating.
    • Online payment via PayPal or credit card only.
    • Lunch included.
    • Workshop attendees cancelling their attendance and wishing a refund will be handled on a case by case basis by the PSWG Board.
    • Day of workshop sales available ONLY if workshop is not full. Bring check. Workshop events are limited to 40 participants.
    • Park in Ballroom parking spaces for free parking.
    • Click here to register for this workshop

    Event Contact: Jim Misko: jim@jimmisko.com
    or Judith Magee: judith783@gmail.com

    www.palmspringswritersguild.com

    Show details

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