| | |  News from Around Banderas Bay | December 2009 
Vallarta Writers' Group to Present Stellar Lineup at February Conference
 Barbara Sands - PVNN
December 17, 2009
| | Marcos McPeek Villatoro | 
| | Elizabeth Kadetsky | 
| | Dave Lieber | |
Theme: "Creative Nonfiction: The Literature of Reality" to be addressed by award-winning writers.
The fifth annual Puerto Vallarta Writers Group conference will be held in concert with Biblioteca los Mangos at the library's facility at 1001 Francisco Villa from Friday evening 26 February through Sunday 28 February 2010.
Building on the success of 2009's event, conference planners are working to improve presentation, seminar and workshop logistics to benefit paying attendees. The cost of the weekend - that will also include morning heart-starting coffee and pastries and a number of social events - is $100 USD; $120 after Jan. 15 (see details below). As now planned, the event will be launched at the library on Friday with registration at 5 pm.
Following introductory remarks by Writers' Group members, New York born and raised award-winning author, Elizabeth Kadetsky, will deliver the keynote address centering on creative nonfiction and her current focus, personal and family histories. Elizabeth is at present at Penn State University serving a two-year professorial appointment in its Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Program.
Her fiction and journalism have appeared in Best New American Voices, the Pushcart Prizes, Gettysburg Review, Self, the Village Voice, LA Weekly and The Nation. Her fiction has been selected in contests that include (as first pick) the AWP Grace Paley manuscript award for 2004. She has been a fellow at MacDowell Foundation, Camargo Foundation, Albee Foundation, the St. James Centre for Creativity in Valletta, Malta and elsewhere.
A reception will close the evening with wine, cheese, dessert and cash bar. There will be ample time for guests to mix and mingle with the invited authors and fellow attendees.
Saturday, at the end of activities at 4:30 pm, second featured speaker Marcos McPeek Villatoro will take the stage. The Southern California Emmy-award winning author, mystery writer and broadcaster (PBS and Los Angeles' KCET) and his wife, Michelle have four kids all of whom shared a recent adventure, a quest for Marcos's grandmother's tamale recipe in the mountains of Salvador. The resulting book and video, available at bookstores, is titled Tamale Road. His two seminars will address "Finding Your Own Voice to Tell Your Story."
On Sunday, following "early bird" seminars, guests will be treated to words of wisdom and wry observations from Dave Lieber, journalist and personality of Ft. Worth, Texas aka "the Yankee Cowboy." Lieber, of the Fort Worth Star Telegram believes nothing motivates people more than stories about positive change to help them change positively. He is leader of Watchdog Nation, a growing national consumer rights movement. His wrap-up will be an up-beat humorous presentation, "If a New Yorker Can Make it in Texas, Imagine What You Can Do!" He will also be giving two seminars on how new journalism techniques can make you a better writer.
After closing remarks at noon, the assemblage will move to Los Muertos Beach in front of Daiquiri Dick's restaurant in Old Town. Under a large tent, book signings by conference authors and local writers will be featured at a beach party that, with luck, will culminate in a blazing sunset. A variety of Vallarta's best restaurants are nearby along Calle Basilio Badillo and surrounding streets.
Completing the roster of authors, workshop and seminar leaders are actors Mark and Dana Zeller who promise to "put more drama into your readings;" poet and prolific writer James Tipton down from his perch in Chapala and Karen Hursh Graber, senior food editor of online publication MexConnect. A special video presentation on writing will feature Kathryn Blair, long time Mexico resident and celebrated author of "In the Shadow of the Angel."
To register for the conference, and for additional information, contact Ginger Carpenter at gingercarp(at)yahoo.com (322) 222-2537 or visit puerto-vallarta-writers-group.com. Presently, there are many excellent values on good hotels in Vallarta that continue through the conference date, so it's wise to check travel connections for hotel and flight information.
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