Join us for our monthly programs.
In-person meetings are normally held on the first Saturday of every month from 10:00 am to noon and the third Tuesday from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the Albuquerque Center for Spiritual Living located on the northwest corner of Louisiana and Claremont — two blocks north of Menaul — at 2801 Louisiana Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110. Go to the map on the bottom of this page for directions. If you’d like to check out one of our in-person meetings but you’re not a member yet, please read our visitor policy.
Until it’s safe to meet in person again, we’ll schedule meetings using the Zoom platform. See a schedule of all our events, and visit our YouTube Videos page for a listing of the recorded speakers from 2016 to the present.
2021 Zoom Meetings
♦ Our January 2nd meeting took place via Zoom.
♦ Tuesday, January 19, 6:30 pm: Marcia Rosen: Podcast Marketing for Authors
♦ Saturday, February 6, 10:00 am: David Morrell: Thoughts and lessons from 48 years as a published novelist
♦ Tuesday, February 16, 6:30 pm: Natalie Goldberg: The Way of Haiku
♦ Saturday, March 6, 10:00 am: Susan Elizabeth Phillips: The Writing Life: Craft, Characters, Creativity, and Career
♦ Tuesday, March 16, 6:30 pm: Darynda Jones: Humor and Heat: How to Write Funny Without Sacrificing Sexual Tension
♦ Saturday, April 3, 10:00 am: David L. Robbins: The Art and Craft of the Narrative
♦ Tuesday, April 20, 6:30 pm: Raffi Andonian: Are Your City’s Monuments Worthy?
♦ Saturday, May 1, 10:00 am: Debra Englander: Do You Need a Book Coach?
♦ Tuesday, May 18, 6:30 pm: Dean Wesley Smith: Writing Into The Dark: Writing Clean, One-draft Stories Without an Outline
ATTEND a ZOOM MEETING in 2021!
Tuesday, January 19
6:30 – 8:30 pm
Speaker: Marcia Rosen
PODCAST MARKETING for AUTHORS
Millions of people are listening to podcasts. Online surveys have revealed over 70 million Americans listen to podcasts each month on tablets, smartphones, home computers, and other listening devices. Online statistics assert, “beyond any doubt, podcasts are a potential goldmine for promoting your book(s).” During this presentation Marcia will review details of booking an appearance as a podcast guest, being a successful guest, a list of best podcasts for authors, and a great article about the value of podcasts.
For nearly twenty years, Marcia Rosen has facilitated numerous writing programs and workshops at college continuing education classes, libraries, bookstores, community and senior centers, and organization meetings. Also for twenty-five years, she was an owner of a successful national marketing agency. Rosen is an author of ten books including two mystery series (Senior Sleuths and Dying To Be Beautiful) and The Gourmet Gangster, Mysteries and Menus (with her son Jory Rosen), published by Level Best Books. She is also the author of The Woman’s Business Therapist: Eliminate the MindBlocks and Roadblocks to Success and the award-winning My Memoir Workbook. Visit her website TheSeniorSleuths.com
Zoom Meeting Information:
Topic: SWW Tuesday Evening Meeting – January 2021
Time: Jan 19, 2021, at 6:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join the Zoom Meeting
Click here to join the meeting. (Meeting ID: 446 372 3340, no password required.) For all sign-in options, go to the Zoom Meeting Sign In page.
Saturday, February 6
10:00 am – noon
Speaker: David Morrell
A CONVERSATION with DAVID MORRELL:
Thoughts and lessons from 48 years as a published novelist
David Morrell is the author of more than 30 books including his 1972 debut novel, First Blood, in which Rambo was created. Morrell is an Edgar, Anthony, Thriller, and Arthur Ellis finalist, a Nero and Macavity winner, and a three-time recipient of the Bram Stoker Award. He received the Thriller Master Award from The International Thriller Writers, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Bouchercon, as well as an RT Book Reviews “Thriller Pioneer” award and Comic-Con’s Inkpot award for “outstanding achievement in action/adventure.” Visit his website DavidMorrell.net. Please email your questions for Mr. Morrell to info@swwriters.com.
Zoom Meeting Information:
Topic: SWW Saturday Meeting – February 2021
Time: Feb 6, 2021, at 10:00 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join the Zoom Meeting
Click here to join the meeting. (Meeting ID: 446 372 3340, no password required.) For all sign-in options, go to the Zoom Meeting Sign In page.
Tuesday, February 16
6:30 – 8:30 pm
Speaker: Natalie Goldberg
THE WAY of HAIKU
Natalie Goldberg is the author of fifteen books including Writing Down the Bones, which has sold over one million copies, has been translated into fourteen languages, and started a revolution in the way we practice writing in this country. Natalie’s new release is Three Simple Lines: A Writer’s Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku. She recently co-edited a collection of talks by revered Zen teacher Katherine Thanas, The Truth of This Life. Her other books include The Great Spring: Writing, Zen, and This Zig Zag Life and the Long Quiet Highway: Waking Up in America (a memoir about her Zen teacher Katagiri Roshi). Natalie is also a prolific painter. Her book Living Color: Painting, Writing, and the Bones of Seeing describes painting as her second art form. Visit her website at NatalieGoldberg.com.
Zoom Meeting Information:
Topic: SWW Tuesday Meeting – February 2021
Time: Feb 16, 2021, at 6:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join the Zoom Meeting
Click here to join the meeting. (Meeting ID: 446 372 3340, no password required.) For all sign-in options, go to the Zoom Meeting Sign In page.
Saturday, March 6
10:00 am – noon
Speaker: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
THE WRITING LIFE:
Craft, Characters, Creativity, and Career
Practical tips for finding your voice, crafting books readers will want to read, and managing a career.
Susan Elizabeth Phillips is a #1 New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, and USA Today bestselling author, whose books are published in over 30 languages. She is best known for her 15 novels in the Chicago Stars and Wynette, Texas, series as well as her many standalone novels. Ms. Phillips is the creator of the sports romance and the recipient of Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She lives in the Chicago suburbs and Carlsbad, California. Visit her website at SusanElizabethPhillips.com.
Zoom Meeting Information:
Topic: SWW Saturday Meeting – March 2021
Time: Mar 6, 2021, at 10:00 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join the Zoom Meeting
Click here to join the meeting. (Meeting ID: 446 372 3340, no password required.) For all sign-in options, go to the Zoom Meeting Sign In page.
Tuesday, March 16
6:30 – 8:30 pm
Speaker: Darynda Jones
HUMOR and HEAT:
How to Write Funny Without Sacrificing Sexual Tension
NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Darynda Jones has won numerous awards for her work, including a prestigious RITA, and her books have been translated into 17 languages. Darynda penned the international bestselling Charley Davidson series and is currently working on several projects, most notably the Sunshine Vicram Mystery Series with St. Martin’s Press and the Betwixt and Between Series of paranormal women’s fiction. She lives in the Land of Enchantment with her husband and two sons. Visit her website at DaryndaJones.com.
Zoom Meeting Information:
Topic: SWW Tuesday Meeting – March 2021
Time: Mar 16, 2021, at 6:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join the Zoom Meeting
Click here to join the meeting. (Meeting ID: 446 372 3340, no password required.) For all sign-in options, go to the Zoom Meeting Sign In page.
Saturday, April 3
10:00 am – noon
Speaker: David L. Robbins
THE ART and CRAFT of the NARRATIVE:
A Survey of the Elements of Powerful Writing
Storytelling in any written format can be daunting. A large quotient of every well-told tale relies on technique: reliable, repeatable skills which can be learned and, with practice, mastered. This talk will survey the pillars of powerful writing, those elements of every good story which are ever-present, so writers can better apply their individuality in more artistic and effective ways.
David L. Robbins is a bestselling novelist, an educator, a playwright, an essayist, and a philanthropist. His 14 novels include historical fiction, alternate history, and thrillers. He has also written and had produced four plays, is a regular contributor to Boomer Magazine, and is the co-founder of the James River Writers and of the Podium Foundation to provide city youth with writing and communication skills. In 2014, he started the Mighty Pen Project to help veterans share their stories. Mr. Robbins was named by the Virginia Commission for the Arts one of the two most inspiring writers in the state of Virginia for the last 50 years. Visit his website at DavidLRobbinsAuthor.com.
Zoom Meeting Information:
Topic: SWW Saturday Meeting – April 2021
Time: Apr 3, 2021, at 10:00 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join the Zoom Meeting
Click here to join the meeting. (Meeting ID: 446 372 3340, no password required.) For all sign-in options, go to the Zoom Meeting Sign In page.
Tuesday, April 20
6:30 – 8:30 pm
Speaker: Raffi Andonian
ARE YOUR CITY’S MONUMENTS WORTHY?
Statues are falling around the world. Monuments that have long honored historic figures are being boxed up, spray-painted, or beheaded. All over the world, as protests against racism and police violence have renewed attention on legacies of injustices. So people have been asking: Does this monument still need to be here in my town? Public Cultural Sites expert Raffi Andonian says there are four simple key questions every community must answer when it comes to public historic sites today:
1. Why remember?
2. What is the history to be remembered?
3. What does it mean to remember?
4. How to remember?
Raffi Andonian is the #1 bestselling author of Creating Space for Conflicted Histories, and a frequent speaker on the topic of Public Cultural Sites. He has worked as a Historical Guide at the Gettysburg battlefield, at Civil War sites around Richmond, Virginia, at the birthplace of the atomic bomb at Los Alamos, New Mexico, and at the childhood home of Martin Luther King, Jr. Raffi holds a master’s degree in history and another master’s degree in historic preservation. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Atomic Museum Foundation (Smithsonian affiliate). Visit his website at RaffiAndonian.com.
Zoom Meeting Information:
Topic: SWW Tuesday Meeting – April 2021
Time: Apr 20, 2021, at 6:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join the Zoom Meeting
Click here to join the meeting. (Meeting ID: 446 372 3340, no password required.) For all sign-in options, go to the Zoom Meeting Sign In page.
Saturday, May 1
10:00 am – noon
Speaker: Debra Englander
DO YOU NEED a BOOK COACH?
Information forthcoming.
Tuesday, May 18
6:30 – 8:30 pm
Speaker: Dean Wesley Smith
WRITING into the DARK:
Writing Clean, One-draft Stories Without an Outline
Considered one of the most prolific writers working in modern fiction, USA Today bestselling writer Dean Wesley Smith has published two hundred novels and countless short stories in forty years across many genres. His series include the time travel Thunder Mountain set in the old west, the galaxy spanning Seeders Universe, the urban fantasy Ghost of a Chance, and the superhero series starring Poker Boy. Visit his website at DeanWesleySmith.com.
Zoom Meeting Information:
Topic: SWW Tuesday Meeting – May 2021
Time: May 18, 2021, at 6:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join the Zoom Meeting
Click here to join the meeting. (Meeting ID: 446 372 3340, no password required.) For all sign-in options, go to the Zoom Meeting Sign In page.
Previous Speakers and Topics for 2021:
♦ Jonathan Miller, A Novel for the New Year
Previous Speakers and Topics for 2020:
♦ Melody Groves, 10 Dialogue Tricks to Make Your Characters “Talk Good”
♦ Jacqueline Murray Loring, International Publication Opportunities (or My Magical Tour of Ireland)
♦ Sherri Burr, Synchronicity and Perseverance: Two Elements to Finishing a Project
♦ Chris Allen, Brenda Cole, Charlene Dietz, Mary Therese Ellingwood, Evelyn Neil, Jim Tritten, Readings from the 2019 SWW Winners Anthology
♦ David Morrell, Getting Through It: How To Create A Storyline
♦ Chris Eboch, Myths about Writing for Children (watch on Youtube)
♦ Rose Marie Kern, Niche Markets: A Pathway to Multiple Streams of Income
♦ Bennett R. Coles, Inside the Mind of a Publisher
♦ Sarah Baker, Jacqueline Loring, Kathy Schuit, Writing Through Lock Down: Importance of Literature in the Face of Fear and Uncertainty
♦ Kathy Louise Schuit, Illustrative Ideas For Standout Memoir, Poetry, and Prose
♦ Dan Wetmore, The Skinny on the Short-line Stuff
♦ Hakim Bellamy, “Flash” Fiction: Pictures and Poems
♦ John Rember, Writing, Teaching Writing, and Worrying about Happy Endings at Three in the Morning
♦ Corrales Writing Group, Building and Sustaining an Effective Writing Group
♦ Steve Brewer, Using Humor to Hook Readers
♦ Kathy Kitts, NaNoWriMo: How and Why You Might Want to Participate
♦ Geoff Habiger, What Do Publishers Really Want?
♦ Elizabeth S. Layton & Jacqueline Murray Loring, Screenplay Writing as Creative Magic
♦ Panel: Loretta Hall, Carolyn Carlson, Robert Kidera, Writing Contests from the Judges’ Perspective
Speakers and Topics for 2019:
♦ Steve Brewer, I’ve Looked at Books from Both Sides Now
♦ Kirt Hickman, Write Realistic Dialogue
♦ Jacqueline M. Loring, Creating the KiMo Book
♦ Sarah H. Baker, Critique Groups: How and Why
♦ Dan Wetmore, The Pros and Cons of Non-Prose
♦ Jeanne Shannon & Rob Spiegel, Great Poets of New Mexico
♦ Don Bullis, Adventures in Research
♦ Rose Marie Kern, How to Copyright Your Book
♦ Johnny D. Boggs, The Modern World of Publishing
♦ Judith Avila & Patricia Conoway, Memoir Panel
♦ Brian Stinar, WordPress for Writers
♦ Betsy James, Evoking and Organizing the Fiction Draft
♦ Jonathan Miller, Planning Your Own Epic Series
♦ Robert Vardeman & Melody Groves, Writing Authentic Historical Fiction
♦ Jeffe Kennedy & Robin Perini, Romantic Elements and Tropes
♦ Bob Kidera, Margaret Tessler, & Patricia Smith Wood, What Makes a Mystery Writer?
♦ Gail Rubin, How to Market Your Expertise
♦ Loretta Hall & Susan C. Cooper, Writing Nonfiction
♦ Elise McHugh & Bryce Emley, UNM Press Panel
