Ah, San Francisco, how I love this city. Last week I attended the San Francisco Writer’s Conference. If you’ve never been to a writer’s conference, they’re usually multi-day events where writers of all stripes gather to discuss the craft and business of being a professional writer. If you’ve ever considered making a living from your writing, I highly recommend finding a writing conference near you that you can attend. Not only is it a great way to learn the business and hone your craft, it is also an excellent opportunity for networking with your writing peers. Having plenty of Facebook and Twitter contacts is great, but there’s still something to be said for meeting people in person.

While I was at the conference I spoke on a couple of panels. The first panel was about writing in science fiction and fantasy, and the second was about research non-western myth–specifically Asian myth as we did for our upcoming Ebony Gate. All in all it was a wonderful weekend. I got to hang out with my agent–in person!–and meet lots of great people. I attended panels on breaking into Hollywood, and on writing middle grade fiction.

I also spent an inordinate amount of time across the street, at the Ferry Building, where much excellent coffee and ice cream were to be had.

This years SFWC was held during the summer due to COVID delays. If you can get to San Francisco and think you’d like to attend, SFWC2023 will be held in February, where it is normally. The dates for 2023 are February 16-19. If you’d like to find out more, check them out at sfwriters.org.