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As Festival Director and Founder of the International Memoir Writers Association, I am delighted to announce our year-round programming online and in person.
Quick Snapshot of Events
- July 25th – Festival Speaker Madonna Treadway in Conversation with Marni Freedman about her new book, Grief Hack: Creative Tools for Transforming Loss at Deisel Book Store
- August 15 – The Best Book Club on Earth with Host Tracy J. Jones featuring Elizabeth Silver and her newest book, The Majority
- September 14 – Festival U: Online Day of Learning with World-Class Talent
- October 8 – SDWF celebrates our Poet-in-Residence Gill Sotu as he launches his new book Equally Strange, Beautifully Different – Poems
- December 6 – The 10th Annual Memoir Showcase: But I Did It Anyway
- January 2025 – SDWF celebrates historical fiction author and Instructor-in-Residence Jennifer Coburn as she launches her new book, The Girls of the Glimmer Factory
- April 5, 2025 – The 6th Annual San Diego Writers Festival on beautiful Coronado Island
Year Round
The San Diego Writers Festival
In 2019, my wonderful co-founder Jeniffer Thompson and I launched the San Diego Writers Festival. We get to meet leading voices in all realms of the writing world. It’s an honor to be at the forefront of creative voices in fiction, nonfiction, journalism, screenwriting, genre writing, memoir, songwriting, poetry, comic books, and publishing.
The San Diego Writers Festival is a FREE Writers Festival that is made possible by the generous support of our sponsors, exhibitors, and volunteers. Please support our sponsors and exhibitors by visiting their profile pages.
Be in the know
Subscribe to get all the juicy details and chances to win free books.
Be sure to add info@sandiegowritersfestival.com to your address book!
Stay tuned for announcements about our stellar lineup!
Festival U 2024: A Full Day of Authors, Agents and Publishers - Our SDWF Annual Fundraiser
One Day ~ Online ~ 7 Amazing Workshops for Only $60
Spaces are limited. Grab yours now!
SDWF-U is our yearly fundraiser and online day of learning. (This fundraiser helps keep the in-person Festival 100% FREE to the public.) The festival program runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and includes 7 stellar classes, workshops, panels, and discussions with world-class talent. San Diego Writers Festival is proud to partner with Barnes and Noble booksellers.
This year, our focus is on all things PUBLISHING. Four authors, two agents, and three publishers will offer guidance and professional insight to assist you on your journey to write and publish your book.
Spaces are limited. Grab yours now!
SDWF-U is our yearly fundraiser and online day of learning. (This fundraiser helps keep the in-person Festival 100% FREE to the public.) The festival program runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and includes 7 stellar classes, workshops, panels, and discussions with world-class talent. San Diego Writers Festival is proud to partner with Barnes and Noble booksellers.
This year, our focus is on all things PUBLISHING. Four authors, two agents, and three publishers will offer guidance and professional insight to assist you on your journey to write and publish your book.
Schedule (all times are PDT)
- 10 am – New York Times Bestselling Author Chip ConleyDiscusses his new book, Learning to Love Midlife (As Featured on Oprah)
- 11 am – What Every Writer Should Know about Small Publishers: Meet Successful Publishers from Tupelo Press, Ashland Creek Press, and Agate Press
- 12 pm – The Pulse of Publishing Today – Alternatives to Publishing Panel with Award-Winning Author Anastasia Zadeik and Agent April Eberhardt
- 1 pm – Famed Psychologist and Author Peter A. Levine in conversation with Marni about his new book, An Autobiography of Trauma: A Healing Journey
- 2 pm – Agent Elise Capron, in our famous ASK-AN-AGENT-ANYTHING session. Bring your questions.
- 3 pm – Zibby Owens discusses Blank and the trends she sees in the publishing industry.
- 4 pm – Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez discusses her memoir, My Side of the River, and what it meant to be a NY Times Editor’s pick.
Writing about how much Marni Freedman has impacted my life is difficult. Difficult because I could fill two volumes with descriptive phrases that apply to this very gifted writing coach and mentor. Her ability to assess my writing and offer concrete tools, processes, and possible plans of action is what enabled me to grow my writing. With her guidance, I have succeeded with my personal writing goals. When I met Marni, I lacked confidence and clarity, but I have gained both. Marni met me where I was and gently nudged me forward. I thank her for being patient and supportive in my becoming a better writer. I am fortunate to have her in my life.
Janet Hafner
It is one year since I started my creative writing work with Ms. Freedman. I was very pleased and honored to win a spot in the Showcase Memoir Event in December 2021 under Marni’s thoughtful support.
Paul Steinkoenig
One of Marni’s gifts to developing writers is her ability to recognize the scope of our talent. She then provides unfailing encouragement, sincere friendship, and a broad scope of expertise to see our projects to completion. In the many years we have worked together, I have seen her nudge writers to mold an unwieldy narrative into a tight memoir, a rambling fiction into a punchy thriller, and a collection of travel experiences into a hilarious novel. Into the bargain, she weaves a tight web of professional and personal support, not only with the aspiring but also with the published among us. She’s a treasure, and I am proud to be part of her tribe.
Nancy G. Villalobos
Chuck Dunning
IMWA Memoir Showcase
10th Annual Memoir Showcase Submissions Open From June 12 to August 18
Performance will be on December 6, 2024
Theme: But I Did It Anyway
Winning showcase writers will be assigned a writing coach to help refine their story for the stage.
About The International Memoir Writers Association
Founded in 2016, The International Memoir Writers Association is a community of writers committed to the craft and business of memoir writing. Our purpose is to create a community of inspired, nurtured, and educated memoirists and non-fiction writers. We host monthly member meetings with speakers who educate our writers on both the craft and business of memoir writing. Writers of all levels are welcome and encouraged to join.
About Shaking the Tree – Our Award-Winning Anthology
The International Memoir Writers Association is proud to present a selection of the most compelling, true stories from their annual Memoir Showcase contests. These pivotal portraits speak to our diverse community and its willingness to share the most challenging, awe-inspiring moments that make up the human experience. The stories within these pages are breathtaking. You can’t make this stuff up.
Note: To be published in Shaking the Tree, you will need to submit your 5-page true story to the Memoir Showcase contest. This year’s theme is “But I Did it Anyway.” See full guidelines below.
The Best Book Club On Earth: Read the Book Meet the Author
The Warwick’s + San Diego Writers Festival Book Club
Since 2020, the Warwick’s + SDWF Book Club has met virtually four times a year to interview up-and-coming and best-selling authors. The best part? This book club is run by writers for writers, so this is a rare “spoiler event,” where we get to ask our authors anything and everything about how these page-turning novels or memoirs came together. It’s an hour of learning, discovery, insight, and inspiration as Tracy J. Jones interviews these amazing writers. And you can send in your questions, too! It’s a way for the San Diego Writers Festival community to be engaged all year.
