Winkie Writers Workshop

The fiftieth annual Winkie Con, the longest-running Wizard of Oz convention, will be held at the Town and Country Hotel, in San Diego’s Mission Valley, on August 8-10, 2014. Winkie Con celebrates the Oz books by L. Frank Baum and all other aspects of Oz.

The Winkie Writers Workshop for Children’s Fantasy is planned as part of Winkie Con 50. Two separate three-hour sessions are scheduled. The first session runs 9 am to noon on Friday, August 8, 2014. The second session runs 10 am to 1 pm, Saturday, August 9. The location is at Winkie Con 50 at the Town and Country Hotel, 500 Hotel Circle North, San Diego, California 92108.

Three writing industry professionals will give personal critiques of up to five manuscript pages of a Middle-Grade or Young Adult work of fantasy or science fiction plus a one-page synopsis of the work. The work need not be an Oz or Oz-related work, but it should be within the genres of fantasy or science fiction. Each session’s submissions will be read beforehand by all session participants and critiqued in-person by the faculty during the workshop.

The registration fee for the Winkie Writers Workshop is $50. A three-day or single-day pass to Winkie Con 50 is also required for participation in the Winkie Writers Workshop.

Each session of the Winkie Writers Workshop consists of three faculty members and five students. Confirmed faculty includes:

Friday, August 8: 

Edward Einhorn, author of Paradox in Oz (Hungry Tiger Press), The Living House of Oz (Hungry Tiger Press), A Very Improbable Story (Charlesbridge Press), Fractions in Disguise (Charlesbridge), etc. 

Nancy Holder, New York Times best-selling author (with Debbie Viguie) of Wicked: Witch and Curse (Simon & Schuster Children's), Crusade (Simon Pulse), and author of television tie-ins including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Wishbone, and Teen Wolf, etc. 

James Matlack Raney, author of Jim Morgan and the King of Thieves (Dreamfarer Press) and Jim Morgan and the Pirates of the Black Skull (Dreamfarer Press).  

Saturday, August 9: 

Sherwood Smith, author of The Emerald Wand of Oz (HarperCollins), Trouble Under Oz (HarperCollins), Wren to the Rescue (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), The Spy Princess (Viking Juvenile), etc. 

Laura Preble, author of The Queen Geek Social Club and sequels (Berkley Trade), Out (CreateSpace), Lica’s Angel (iUniverse), etc. 

Thao Le, agent at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency, Del Mar, California; recent sales include Katherine Harbour’s Thorn Jack to Harper Voyager and Lisa Freeman’s Honey Girl to Sky Pony Press.

Faculty subject to change without notice.

Registrations for the Winkie Writers Workshop are being accepted on a first-come first-serve basis. After the ten openings are filled, materials will be returned. To reserve your space, send your $50 check payable to WINKIE CONVENTION to:

Winkie Writers Workshop

Attention: David Maxine

5995 Dandridge Lane, Suite 121

San Diego, CA 92115

Include your e-mail address and/or phone number so that we can confirm your reservation. You may indicate your preference for the Friday session or the Saturday session, and we will try to accommodate you. Otherwise we will make every effort to match your manuscript to the most appropriate faculty.

Once your reservation is accepted, submit seven copies of your five pages and synopsis in standard manuscript format. These materials are due by JUNE 15, 2014.

A pass to Winkie Con 50 is required for participation in the workshop.  You may make a reservation for the Winkie Writers Workshop prior to purchasing your Winkie Con 50 pass.

Winkie Con 50 will have a focus on writing and children’s fantasy. Authors of modern Oz books and other fantasy writing will speak at the convention, primarily on Friday and Saturday. Authors expected to participate include YA novelist and former YALSA president Michael Cart, picture book author J. L. Bell, novelist Walter G. Meyer, non-fiction author Aljean Harmetz, fantasy author Caroline Spector, and comic book writer Eric Shanower. Other guests at Winkie Con 50 will include Priscilla Montgomery, Munchkin actor in MGM’s The Wizard of Oz; Caren Marsh-Doll, stand-in for Judy Garland in MGM’s The Wizard of Oz; John and Bjo Trimble, the couple that saved Star Trek; Kurt Raymond, Wicked Witch of the West impersonator; and Robert Welch, grandson of MGM Wizard of Oz special effects master Buddy Gillespie.

For further details about Winkie Con 50 and to register for the convention online, see the official website here.