In 1975 the Santa Barbara Writers Conference established itself at the Miramar Hotel in Montecito, a posh community of coastal Santa Barbara. Picture an array of blue-roofed cottages along the Pacific Ocean.
The Miramar days, for those who attended during that 25-year period, are remembered as a “Camelot” era of SBWC. The dates of the 1975 conference were June 13-20, and the cost was $200.
The old Miramar offered tennis courts, two swimming pools, and a railroad car converted into a lunch spot next to tracks where the train ran daily through the hotel grounds. There was a spacious dining room overlooking green lawns and a dimly lit bar, where some conference goers congregated until closing time. The piano in the bar provided an opportunity for the more talented SBWC attendees to show off.
This was the first year our beloved Charles (Sparky) Schulz came to the conference, and not only decided to stay the entire week, but he also became a mainstay of the conference for years to come, giving generously of his time and comic characters without compensation.
Few writing conferences could boast the likes of workshop leaders like Barnaby Conrad, John Leggett, Kenneth Rexroth, and Sid Stebel. Fresh from his success as a script consultant for the Australian-based movie Picnic at Hanging Rock, Sid became a workshop leader legendary for open and laser-like critiques of the writing of everyone who attended his class. His moniker “Samurai Sid” was well-deserved. He referred to his students as “Sid's Snowflakes” to emphasize the fact that each was unique in his or her own way. Sid also became a mainstay of the conference, teaching every year after until his death in 2020.
Sid was best friends with Ray Bradbury, giving Ray a great excuse to open the SBWC for all the coming years until his health no longer allowed.
SBWC attendees came from all over the county and the world. One secret to the success of this new conference was Mary and Barnaby Conrad’s extensive network of friends, family and business associates that resulted from Barnaby’s diverse careers of State Department Vice Consul, artist, sculptor, author, and bullfighter, all of which drew an increasingly eclectic cadre of personalities who came…and often stayed.
SBWC’s future looked bright.
Quoted and adapted with appreciation to Armando Nieto, Mary Conrad, and Matt Pallamary: The Santa Barbara Writers Conference Scrapbook — Words of Wisdom from Thirty Years of Literary Excellence 1973 – 2004.
“The Old Miramar.” This image of the blue-roofed cottages is based on a painting by plein air artist S. L. Campbell.
