A slate of six distinguished speakers took to the podium to share writing and publishing tips and experience with the 75 participants at the 11th Annual Lake Chapala Writers Conference on Thursday and Friday, March 12 and 13 at the Hotel Danza Del Sol in Ajijic.
Most of the conference’s more than six dozen attendees have published work and are either full-time or seasonal residents at Lake Chapala.
The six-member team of presenters was headed by featured presenters Linda Joy Myers and Dennis Stovell. Myers has worked as a therapist for 35 years in Berkley, California where she now conducts memoir and other writing workshops. She founded the National Association of Memoir Writers and has won a series of awards for the books she has published.
Stovell worked with the group to explain freelance work and demystify publishing. He is a publisher, writer, literary activist, Fulbright scholar and has won numerous awards for book design and his contributions to the publishing industry. He is an assistant professor and director of the publishing program at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon.
Rachel McMillen, who publishes mysteries set in British Columbia under the nom de plume, R.J. McMillen, spends her winters in Ajijic. She worked with conference writers sharing her vast knowledge of writing basics. Roberta Rich divides her year between Vancouver and Colima as she continues writing historical fiction. Her first novel, “The Midwife of Venice,” sold a whopping 130,000 copies in Canada and then was released in the United States. The second book in the trilogy, “The Harem Midwife,” is also doing very well. “The Midwife Trial” will complete the series when it is released in early 2016. During her session, Rich helped writers with the research and organization that is vital to success in historical nov
els.
Diane Hicks-Morrow, who has been named Poet Laureate of Prince Edward Island, led a pair of afternoon break-out sessions, “the Poet’s Toolbox” and “Anyone Can Write Poetry.”
Sandi Gelles-Cole scheduled a series of short helpful sessions with writers who are in the final stages of a book. Gelles-Cole, who is moving to lakeside in a few months, is a former acquisitions editor for major New York publishers and has
During the conference the attendees purchased raffle tickets for the 14 donated gifts of fine art and crafts representing several local businesses. The income from the raffle will be donated to the children of Santa Cruz de la Soledad to purchase pencils, paper and other school supplies. worked with hundreds of writers during her career. She has transitioned her skills into a broader format and is now working with writers as both a coach andbook doctor. In these roles she can continue to do the work she most enjoys, working with writers and helping them guide their books to publishing success.
Participants received gift bags supplied and stuffed with the goods, gifts and services of several local businesses, including Ajijic Art House, ESun Energy, Diane Pearl Colecciones, American Legion Post 7, the Guadalajara Reporter, El Ojo del Lago and Banco Activner.