Index
Free Pre-Conference Critiques
Critique Team
Meal Service
CD's & MP3's Available
Conference Binder
Book Sales
What to Bring
Travel
Directions
Departure
Extra Night Option
Two Hour FREE Evening Workshop Available to Early Arrivers
The Pre-Conference Buddy System for First Timers
Six Annual Awards
2010 Fiction Contest Sponsored by B&H Publishing Group
Free Pre-Conference Critiques
(available only for fully paid registrants): Any registrant may send the first 20 pages of two manuscripts or two articles, 2 children's books or 5 poems or 3 devotionals ahead of the conference for either critiquing or editorial review. Editorial review is by an editor of your choosing to see if your project is something he/she might be interested in for their company. It does not necessarily include critiquing. Critiquing is done by published freelance writers, with years of expertise in your area of writing, who assess your work, offering concrete observations and advice. (If you have never been published, you should choose critiquing instead of editorial review.) All submissions must be in hard copy and must be postmarked by Saturday, March 20, 2010, and/or received at Mount Hermon at the latest Tuesday, March 23rd. Check Guidelines under FORMS for the explanation of proper formatting. The form for choosing the faculty members you want to look at your manuscripts will be up under “Forms” by February 1, 2010. NOTE: Bring along several copies of your manuscripts in case there is a second opportunity for submitting mid-conference.
Critique Team
This year's critique team consists of Gayle Roper (Chairman), Jim Scott Bell, Joseph Bentz, Brandilyn Collins, Ethel Herr, Joy Gage, Marcus Goodyear, Mona Hodgson, Kathy Ide, Randy Ingermanson, Karen O'Connor, Christine Tangvald. The team will be available throughout the conference, Saturday-Monday afternoons, in the Hospitality Room from 4:00 pm until 6:00 pm for walk-in critiques, first-come, first-served.
Meal Service
All meals are served buffet style at set times in Mount Hermon’s Dining Hall. Registrants eat at faculty hosted tables at noon and dinner. PLEASE NOTE: WE CANNOT PROVIDE SPECIAL DIETS OF ANY KIND, but our director of food service will work with those who have food allergies by advance arrangement only. Please inquire of Terra Gray in Registration (Terra.Gray@mounthermon.org) if you have a special need. Complimentary refreshments each morning and afternoon between sessions. Our Fountain (Snack Shop) is open afternoons and evenings.
CD's & MP3's Available
All general sessions and most workshops are professionally recorded and available for purchase at the conference through O.T. Studios of Whittier, California. Most are available for purchase to non-registrants by mail after the conference, beginning May 2010. Check the website for the icon after that time.
Conference Web Binder
In an effort to be good stewards, there will be no binder handed out at the conference. Instead, on March 15th, there will be an icon at the bottom of the Writers conference website where the entire binder will be available for download for those fully paid registrants. It is recommended that you read through the information, and if you want to have hard copy, print off only those pages that are of importance to your chosen workshops and tracks and make yourself a small binder to bring along. And keep the resource material on your computer for future use. There will be a few complete sample binders in Hospitality for reference during the conference. If you are bringing a laptop, why not download the entire binder (or those pages you want) and bring your laptop to the conference. You can actually type into the workshop outlines anything you want out of the instruction in class on your battery charged computer. (Humorous aside, we lovingly call this BYOB . . . Bring Your Own Binder!) :>)
Book Sales
Conferees who are published authors may bring their own books to place on consignment (20% fee) at our writers conference bookstore. All books must be pre-priced. Click the "forms" button on the menu above for an Excel consignment form. You may give your book information to us in two ways:
- download consignment form, fill it out and e-mail it as an attachment to Bookstore Chairman, Joy Harrison, JHarrison54@msn.com, OR
- print it off, fill it out and bring it with you and make sure to give it to Joy when you deliver your books to the writers conference bookstore in Ivy Dining before the conference.
What to Bring
- Casual clothes are the rule for the conference
- comfortable walking shoes (it’s hilly at Mount Hermon)
- Weather this time of year is erratic. Dress for warm, wet, cold, or beautifully sunny! Layering is the operative way to go.
- Laptops are not necessary but useful as we have Wi-Fi in various locations around campus.
- Flashlights helpful.
- Camera for photos of our majestic Redwoods, Beni Hoshi Cherries and Rhododendron!
Travel
Arrival Shuttles (Three Options)
- Head Start Mentoring Clinic shuttles run 1:30-5:00 PM, Wednesday, March 24th. Dinner marks the beginning of the mentoring clinic.
- Early arrival shuttles run 1:30-5:00 PM, Thursday, March 25th. Dinner available, and breakfast on Friday. See below for info.
- Writers Conference shuttles run between 8:00 and 11:30 AM on Friday, March 26th from San Jose International (SJC). No SFO shuttles available. The conference begins at lunch that day.
Arrival shuttle service is available from the San Jose International Airport only by advance arrangement through Mount Hermon. You must fill out the shuttle form to receive this service and return it by March 23rd at the latest. See FORMS section. Cost is $75.00 per person, round-trip from San Jose. We are unable to provide shuttle service from San Francisco airport. If you must arrive after 11:30am on March 26th, please think about renting a car for the week.
Directions
We are off Route 17 between San Jose and Santa Cruz, the ocean side of the coastal mountains. Exit at Mount Hermon Road toward Scotts Valley. Mount Hermon Road dead ends at Graham Hill Road (3.5 miles). Turn left on Graham Hill, and just past the small shopping mall on the left is Mount Hermon's "little sign." Turn left up the hill (Conference Dr.) which takes you into campus. (If getting directions to Mount Hermon on Google Maps or any other direction service on the web, input Felton, CA for best results.)
Departure
The conference ends after lunch Tuesday, March 30th, with airport shuttle service beginning at 1:15 PM. Please plan any flight departure for 3:00 PM or later to allow for shuttle travel and necessary time in the airport before your flight. You’ll need to verify departure with our Transportation personnel in Hospitality a day before departure.
Extra Night Option
Want to come a night early on March 25th to enjoy the beautiful Santa Cruz area and our McAfee Fieldhouse before the conference? Or maybe you live across the country and can't get in on Friday before noon. Consider this great way to be rested and ready for the conference. Dinner, overnight housing, and breakfast on March 26th are available for only $90. A cozy fire, wireless availability, and a pleasant gathering spot await early arrivals in Central Lounge. Enjoy the historic Roaring Camp Railroad as well as virgin redwoods at Henry Cowell State Park within walking distance, and the Pacific Ocean beaches, Boardwalk, and fabulous bakeries and restaurants of Santa Cruz, just six miles away. Carmel-by-the-Sea and Point Lobos State Reserve are 60 minutes south, and San Francisco is 90 minutes to the north. Our McAfee Fieldhouse gym and exercise room are open for use as well. There is no program planned on Thursday, except a free two-hour optional "Mastering the Pitch" workshop Thursday evening after the evening meal…see below. Check the box on your registration form if you want the early night option. We cannot provide transportation once you’re at Mount Hermon so why not consider a rental car or carpooling with other early arrivers to enjoy the area opportunities?
Two Hour FREE Evening Workshop Available to Early Arrivers
If you're coming in on Thursday, why not bring your pitch info and the basics of your project for the free two-hour optional evening class, "Mastering The Pitch," taught by seasoned author, Austin Boyd. Gain valuable information that will help you come away with an actual query letter to use in pitching a story or article to an editor during the conference. What a great way to get started on the right foot!
The Pre-Conference Buddy System for First Timers
For the past four years Mount Hermon has offered the “Buddy System” designed to help first-timers arrive better prepared to enjoy and make the most of this wonderful conference. We’ve seen great things come of it and are excited to offer it again for 2010. Unlike the Buddy System that you remember from your elementary school field trips, you are not required to hold hands, wear matching T-shirts or stick together at all times! This is a program in which interested first-time registrants are matched with conference veterans who can answer questions or concerns that come up in the weeks leading up to the conference. If you are a first-timer and would like to be assigned a buddy, please contact Jeanette Hanscome: jeanettehanscome@sbcglobal.net. Deadline: March 1. After this date first-timers can request a First-Timer’s Information Packet but cannot be guaranteed a buddy. Conference veterans PLEASE consider serving in this great program, even if you’ve only attended one time. Your main duty will be answering pre-conference questions via e-mail. For questions on how it works or to sign up, contact Jeanette Hanscome: jeanettehanscome@sbcglobal.net.
Annual Awards
Each year Mount Hermon gives out awards for Writer of the Year, Pacesetter, Poetry, and Most Promising New Writer. NEW for 2010: This year we also feature two new awards: Most Promising Teen Writer AND The Lauren Beyenhof True Grit Award. All awards are chosen and sponsored by the faculty and carry cash prizes and a news release for newspaper publication and are decided from the pre-conference manuscripts sent in. Winners will be announced at the Monday evening general session of Mount Hermon Writers Conference.
2010 Fiction Contest: Sponsored by B&H Publishing Group
This year B&H Publishing Group is sponsoring a Fiction Contest. To win, entrants must purchase and read Leanna Ellis’s Once in a Blue Moon (available in bookstores mid-February 2010) and write an extended ending—“What might be the next scene were you writing the book?” The submission must be no more than 3,500 words in length. Entries should be sent via e-mail to BlueMoon@BHPublishingGroup.com by March 10, 2010, though earlier would be better. (NOTE: All contestants must be registrants at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, March 26-30, 2010.)
First place
- one-on-one manuscript consultation with Fiction Executive Editor, Karen Ball (entrants must have a personal manuscript of at least 3 chapters of their own written work, along with a two-page synopsis);
- 8 hours of marketing consultation and plan from Fiction Marketing Manager, Julie Gwinn;
- 8 hours of web, digital and social networking consultation with Digital Guru, Aaron Linne;
- an invitation to submit a fully tweaked proposal to B&H Fiction.
Second place
Third Place
- $150 Amazon gift certificate.
All three winning entries will be featured on the B&H Pure Enjoyment website, B&H Twitter and B&H Fiction Facebook Group. Winners will be announced at the end of Mount Hermon Writers Conference. (Mount Hermon Writers Conference fiction contest winners are eligible to win contests twice before becoming ineligible to enter future contests).
