Mendocino Coast Writer's Conference

Scholarship applications for the 2026 Mendocino Coast Writers' Conference (MCWC) are now open! Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. PT on Friday, February 27, 2026. Learn more and apply at mcwc.org.

The Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference intentionally supports the voices of under-represented individuals and groups. All of our constituents join an organization whose staff and Board, as part of ongoing anti-oppression, pro-inclusion work, are committed to challenging the ways that manifestations of whiteness, able-bodiedness, and privilege have historically and unfairly dominated the world of writing and publishing. MCWC stands in solidarity with our immigrant neighbors, friends, colleagues, and family, documented or undocumented, and against the violence and cruelty inflicted upon them, especially in recent events. From MCWC Board of Directors and Staff

MCWC stands in solidarity with our immigrant neighbors, friends, colleagues, and family, documented or undocumented, and against the violence and cruelty inflicted upon them, especially in recent events.

The Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference is seeking new volunteer board members! Contact president@mcwc.org to learn more about the position and apply.

There’s always a place for you here in our workshop.

Thanks for the share! What’s one favorite thing about working with @pegalfordpursell.bsky.social? ☺️

Give us a snippet, please! What was one awesome thing an editor made you see about your own writing?

We're one of the only writing workshops that offer a first come, first serve registration to attend a variety of workshops--10 of them! From Young Adult, Speculative Fiction, Hybrid, to traditional genres like Short Fiction, Novel, and Memoir. Registration closes June 30. mcwc.org/morning-work...

Afternoon Seminar Pass Registration — MCWC

All events are held at Mendocino K-8 School. Our Thursday and Friday evening readings, held at Crown Hall in Mendocino, are free and open to the public. 🌏
👏 mcwc.org/afternoonpass

Katya Apekina, author of The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish, named a Best Book of 2018 by Kirkus @buzzfeed.com LitHub+ & Mother Doll, named Vogue's Best Book of 2024, will lead us through meditation to find visual approaches to narrative techniques in writing.

@bombmag.bsky.social's Sarah Gerard, author of @twodollarradio.bsky.social's Binary Star, Sunshine State, @harpercollins.bsky.social's True Love & Carrie Carolyn Coco: My Friend, Her Murder, and an Obsession with the Unthinkable, will share research tips on how to build scaffolding in our stories.

@kitvincentbooks.bsky.social author of queer Science Fiction and Fantasy, including US, ET CETERA and OF FEATHERS AND THORNS, is going to drop knowledge on effective world building--avoid info dumping, plot holes, and build engaging, inhabitable fantastical worlds.

Born to be Public's @gregmania.bsky.social, whose tender, hilarious + authentic voice has been featured in @nytimes.com @thenewyorker.bsky.social @thetimes.com @mcsweeneys.net @vanityfair.com @huffpost.com, will offer generative exercises on how to layer levity, comedic storytelling in nonfiction.

National Book Award-nominee Kimberly King Parsons, the bestselling author of We Were the Universe, a Dakota Johnson Book Club pick ranked #2 on TIME Magazine's Best Books of 2024, will share this pep talk of reframing rejection as connections and how to effectively use this as fuel to write more.

How to Hang a Witch's Adriana Mather will talk about suspense, tension & plotplotplot. Cliff hangers? Through lines? Drawing out tension? Character development? Leave with exercises to draft and revise plot.

James Bird, author of The Brave (NYPL, SLJ, Bookriot Best Book of 2020), The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls (NYPL, SLJ Best book of 2022), and No PLace Like Home, will share tips on how to tackle adult emotions, in Middle Grade books, while still fusing hope and adventure into each story.

@pegpurcell.bsky.social will demystify the writer-editor relationship, what a writer needs to engage in all that editors can offer & worry less about "gatekeepers" & more on how to navigate publishing and presses. We welcome locals in the business, looking to make new literary besties.

Afternoon Seminar Pass Registration — MCWC

Can't make our morning workshops? You can STILL experience the Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference with an Afternoon Seminar Pass that grants you access to all afternoon events for $75 a day or $175 for all three days. 👏 mcwc.org/afternoonpass

As part of our fundraising efforts this year, our board has been hosting online Zoom webinars across various writing topics such as how to apply to conferences, poetry of care, writing with gratitude, and this Saturday 5/10 at 10am - 12pm, we have nonfiction with Miah Jeffra. 📝
mcwc.org/seminars

You don’t need to go to a writing conference to be a writer, but it sure is more fun and a lot less lonelier to go to one. Join us this 2025 summer 7/31-8/2 for workshops in a wide array of genres, afternoon craft talks & complementary readings from our acclaimed faculty.

mcwc.org/2025-general...

Perfect backdrop for our writers to wind down and stay inspired during our summer writing conference.

In Adriana Mather's Traditional Publishing Workshop, "we will learn all these first steps along with polishing your first pages so that your hook shines and your voice sings." Look no further for personalized professional tips and advice in a supportive and collaborative space.

Much of #publishing has changed, which is why in Kit Vincent's Self-Publishing Crash Course, "In this workshop, you will learn the steps to self-publishing: from preparing your manuscript for various retailers to building your author platform and positioning your work in the marketplace."

In Rosiee Thor's Middle Grade/Young Adult Workshop, "we will dive into the elements of voice--the style choices and unique facets of your writing that make it yours." One of the few #youngadult #MGYA workshops offered in the country!

In Sarah Gerard's Nonfiction Workshop, "we will practice finding unique forms for our expressions by focusing on the critical elements of material, shape, and voice. "

In Greg Mania's Memoir Workshop, he'll "help you mine your reflection for the things you might not have noticed before or hadn't thought to consider in one way or another—all of the things that make up the fabric of your being, the things that should be radically honored both on and off the page."

In Tomas Moniz's Hybrid Genre Workshop, we'll "focus on two often overlooked elements of our writing process: setting development and revising the sentence." If your work is undefinable, truly a combination of multiple genres and you don't know where you might fit in--there is a place for you here.

In our Speculative Fiction Workshop with Allison Saft, participants will be offered "a character-first approach to plotting and worldbuilding--one where story choices and speculative elements inform and are informed by the protagonist."

In our Novel Workshop with Katya Apekina, "we will go deep into the characters in your novel—understanding their pasts, their psychology, wants and desires, and worldview," letting them guide the plot.

In our Short Fiction workshop with Kimberly King Parsons, "we'll focus on compression and precision as essential tools for amplifying a story's power," and take a look at beginnings.

In our second Poetry Workshop (that's right! We have two!) with Linda Ravenswood, "participants will receive a poetry packet, special writing paper, and writing / design instruments," to write together and talk story.