Santa Barbara Writers Conference

Here is an inspiring talk at the 1985 Santa Barbara Writers Conference by Nicholas Meyer, known for his best-selling novel The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, and for directing the films Time After Time, two of the Star Trek feature films, the 1983 television film The Day After, and the 1999 HBO original film Vendetta.
Meyer was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976), where he adapted his own novel into a screenplay. He has also been nominated for a Satellite Award, three Emmy Awards, and has won four Saturn Awards. He appeared as himself during the 2017 On Cinema spinoff series The Trial, during which he testified about Star Trek and San Francisco.

Mystic Ink Publishing Voices of the Masters Series - Nicholas Meyer - Santa Barbara Writers Conference 1985 - Mystic Ink, Publisher of Spiritual, Shamanic, Transcendent Works, and Phantastic Fiction Mystic Ink Publishing Voices of the Masters Series - Nicholas Meyer - Santa Barbara Writers Conference 1985

The beloved Santa Barbara Writers Conference which is responsible for fostering many best selling writers will celebrate its 52ND birthday in June of 2026 and it would not exist at all if not for the inimitable Barnaby Conrad, artist, best selling author, nightclub proprietor, bullfighter, boxer, and American Vice Consul to Seville, Málaga, and Barcelona from 1943-46.

Hail to the Chief! Barnaby Conrad discusses THE DEATH OF MANOLETE at the 1986 SBWC - Mystic Ink, Publisher of Spiritual, Shamanic, Transcendent Works, and Phantastic Fiction Santa Barbara Writers Conference founder Barnaby Conrad discusses "The Death of Manolete" at the 1986 SBWC.

A regular at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, Santa Barbara resident Sue Grafton was the author of the "alphabet series" ("A" Is for Alibi, etc.) featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fictional city of Santa Teresa, California which was modeled after Santa Barbara. The daughter of detective novelist C. W. Grafton, she said the strongest influence on her crime novels was author Ross Macdonald. Before her success with this series, she wrote screenplays for television movies.

Sue Grafton - Mystic Ink, Publisher of Spiritual, Shamanic, Transcendent Works, and Phantastic Fiction Sue Grafton was the author of the "alphabet series" ("A" Is for Alibi, etc.) featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone.

Ashleigh Brilliant is an author and syndicated cartoonist born in London, UK, and living in Santa Barbara, California. He is best known for his Pot-Shots, single-panel illustrations with one-line humorous remarks, which began syndication in the United States of America in 1975. Brilliant became a naturalized American citizen in 1969.

During the "Summer of Love" in San Francisco in 1967, Brilliant gave daily lectures near the Haight Street entrance of Golden Gate Park. He released a live album recorded in Golden Gate Park in 1967 on a small Hollywood, California record label, Dorash Enterprises. The album, Ashleigh Brilliant in the Haight-Ashbury, is rare and the material uses familiar public domain tunes and melodies and incorporates clever poetic lyrics about ma*****na, the Diggers, San Francisco neighborhoods, and his personal experiences, all the while displaying a banter which ebbs and flows with his audience, who respond warmly to the performance and also participate in the songs. He states in the recording that he had been performing in this setting for approximately two hours each day the prior four weeks. He laughs throughout his performance, while the audience joins him in singing along and banging on percussive items. The album ends with a "Haight-Ashbury Farewell".

The Wall Street Journal described him in a 1992 profile as "history's only full time, professional published epigrammatist."

Ashleigh Brilliant speaks at the 1984 Santa Barbara Writers Conference - Mystic Ink, Publisher of Spiritual, Shamanic, Transcendent Works, and Phantastic Fiction Author and syndicated cartoonist Ashleigh Brilliant is best known for his Pot-Shots, single-panel illustrations with one-line humorous remarks.

To celebrate Fannie's return to the Santa Barbara Writers Conference here is her talk from the 2018 Conference.

Thank you to Lisa Angle of Ninety Degrees Media for recording and sharing this one.

Fannie Flagg: Santa Barbara Writers Conference - Mystic Ink Publishing Voices of the Masters Series - 2018 - Mystic Ink, Publisher of Spiritual, Shamanic, Transcendent Works, and Phantastic Fiction Fannie Flagg, is an American actress, comedian and author. She is best known as a semi-regular panelist on the 1973–1982 versions ...

We are stoked to announce that Fannie Flagg will be kicking off this year's Santa Barbara Writers Conference!

In celebration of her return here is a talk by Fannie and the ever hysterical Jonathan Winters from the 1997 Santa Barbara Writers Conference.

Fannie came to the Santa Barbara Writers Conference to hear Eudora Welty speak and ended up sticking around and entering the fiction contest under the name of Edna Furber. Not only did she take first place, but that story became Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, and the rest as they say is history!

Fannie Flagg Humor Panel with Jonathan Winters: Santa Barbara Writers Conference - Mystic Ink Publishing Voices of the Masters Series - 1997 - Mystic Ink, Publisher of Spiritual, Shamanic, Transcendent Works, and Phantastic Fiction Fannie Flagg Humor Panel with Jonathan Winters: Santa Barbara Writers Conference - 1997

Harlan Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was remembered for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction, and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of Psycho, described Ellison as "the only living organism I know whose natural habitat is hot water".

His published works include more than 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, comic book scripts, teleplays, essays, and a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media. Some of his best-known works include the 1967 Star Trek episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" (he subsequently wrote a book about the experience that includes his original screenplay), his A Boy and His Dog cycle, and his short stories "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" and "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman". He was also editor and anthologist for Dangerous Visions (1967) and Again, Dangerous Visions (1972). Ellison won numerous awards, including multiple Hugos, Nebulas, and Edgars.

Harlan Ellison speaks to the Santa Barbara Writers Conference - 1985 - Mystic Ink, Publisher of Spiritual, Shamanic, Transcendent Works, and Phantastic Fiction Harlan spoke at the SBWC on more than one occasion. Irascible and always seeming angry, Harlan had a big heart and tirelessly championed writers.

In this keynote talk from the 1984 Santa Barbara Writers Conference, workshop leader Cork Millner interviews legendary actress Anne Francis who was known for her role in the science fiction film Forbidden Planet and for starring in the television series Honey West from 1965–1966, which was the first TV series with a female detective character's name in the title. Anne won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role in the series.

Anne Francis interviewed by Cork Millner - SBWC 1984 - Mystic Ink, Publisher of Spiritual, Shamanic, Transcendent Works, and Phantastic Fiction From 1984 - SBWC workshop leader Cork Millner interviews actress Anne Francis, known for her roles in Forbidden Planet and for Honey West on television.

Elmore (Dutch) Leonard was a talented novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were Westerns, but he went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which were adapted into motion pictures.

Among his best-known works are Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Swag, Hombre, Mr. Majestyk, and Rum Punch (adapted as the film Jackie Brown). Leonard's writings include short stories that became the films 3:10 to Yuma and The Tall T, as well as the FX television series Justified.

Dutch came to the Santa Barbara Writers Conference for a day and loved it so much he stayed for the week and returned the following year as well as for many years after that.

Elmore Leonard - Mystic Ink, Publisher of Spiritual, Shamanic, Transcendent Works, and Phantastic Fiction Elmore (Dutch) Leonard was a talented novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter famous for "Get Shorty" as well as many other movies and novels.

The 52nd Santa Barbara Writers Conference is on this year from June 21st - June 26th!

Register — Santa Barbara Writers Conference Panels and Evening Speakers are $15 per event, to the public. Included with a conference registration. Pay in the Fireside at the bookstore.