My First Santa Barbara Writers Conference
An Amateur Writer’s First Time at the Annual Literary Confab by the Sea
“We want to help each other.” These were the words of Santa Barbara Writers Conference (SBWC) Director Grace Rachow during the opening orientation, and I could not have found them to be truer.
First, some context. Hi, I’m Nathan. I’m a copy editor here at the Independent, but before that, I wanted to be an author, even earning a master’s degree in creative writing and writing the first draft of a fantasy novel. While I’ve had some collaborative experience in the writing world, it has always been in an academic setting. As it turns out, finding like-minded people who are as enthusiastic about storytelling as I am in the real world is trickier than one might imagine. Thankfully, the Independent came to my rescue.
A few weeks ago, Leslie Dinaberg wrote a wonderful preview on the SBWC, highlighting the conference’s impressive 50-year history. Like many of you (probably), it was the first I’d ever heard of it, and my interest was immediately piqued. And so, I made plans to attend my very first SBWC, courtesy of the conference’s generosity.
