Kimberley Troutte

SBWC Orientation, FREE
Sunday June 9, 2:00- 3:30 PM, Pacific Ballroom

At 2 PM we'll open with an inspiring writing journey from bestselling author Kimberley Troutte. She attended SBWC in 2008 as a scholarship winner and became an SBWC success story with 20 published books.

We'll also introduce the lineup of SBWC presenters you will see this week and explain how to navigate the many possibilities available to you during the conference.

Kimberley Troutte is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She has been a Top 100 Amazon author and a Top 10 Romantic Suspense bestselling author for Amazon. Kimberley was a finalist in both the Vivian® and the RITA®–the highest awards for excellence in romance. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two sons, a wild cat, a large iguana, an old snake, and all the other creatures that hubby and boys rescue.

To learn more about her novels, please visit her at www.kimberleytroutte.com

Zohreh Ghahremani

Sunday June 9, 7:00-7:30 PM, Pacific Ballroom

Zohreh Ghahremani is an author, speaker, and painter whose work is heavily influenced by her experiences as a Middle Eastern immigrant and her background as a poet. Zoe published her first novel, Sky of Red Poppies, in 2010. It was selected for KPBS’ One Book, One San Diego, the annual city-wide reading selection. Her sophomore novel, The Moon Daughter won Writer’s Digest Book Awards for Best Literary Fiction. She’s also the author of The Commiserator (in Persian) and has contributed to numerous other literary volumes. She now writes for both adults and children. Her debut picture book, Memory Garden, illustrated by her daughter Susie, was published by Godwin Books/Macmillan in 2024, with another picture book about Norooz/Persian New Year to follow in 2026.

Antoine Wilson

Sunday June 9, 7:30 PM, Pacific Ballroom

Antoine Wilson’s most recent novel Mouth to Mouth was featured on Barack Obama's Summer Reading List, and was a finalist for The Scotiabank Giller Prize, the CALIBA Golden Poppy Award, and the Prix Fitzgerald. Antoine is also the author of the novels Panorama City and The Interloper, and he is a contributing editor of the literary magazine A Public Space. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and recipient of a Carol Houck Smith Fiction Fellowship from the University of Wisconsin, he lives in Los Angeles.

Photo credit: Noah Stone

Mary Otis

Monday June 10, 7:00 PM, Pacific Ballroom

Poetry opening: 7:00-7:30

Emma Trelles & David Starkey

7:30: Keynote

Mary Otis is the author of Burst, which is longlisted for the 2024 Joyce Carol Oates Prize and won the 2023 Silver Medal in Literary Fiction from the Independent Book Publisher Awards. The deeply moving debut novel explores the relationship complexities between mothers and daughters, the desire to escape and the longing to connect. She’s also the author of Yes, Yes Cherries, a collection of short stories author Lorrie Moore called “funny, brave and amazing.” Quirky and hilarious, yet deeply human, they contain an affection for human strangeness while exploring the idea that truth tends more often to lie in the extremes and along the outer edges than it does at the center of things. A founding fiction professor in the UC Riverside MFA Program, Otis has also taught creative writing in the UCLA Writers’ Program.

W. Bruce Cameron

Tuesday June 11, 7:00 PM, Pacific Ballroom

Poetry opening: 7:00-7:30

Enid Osborn & Melinda Palacio

7:30: Keynote

W. Bruce Cameron is the creator of the most beloved brand of family dog entertainment in the world. The #1 New York Times, USA Today International bestselling novel A Dog’s Purpose has been translated into over 50 languages and continues to top bestseller lists worldwide. The Amblin/Universal film of the book (he was a screenwriter along with his wife, Cathryn Michon) is the most successful international live-action dog movie of all time. A hilarious guest, Cameron has appeared on some of the most popular shows on television: Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning and Entertainment Tonight among others. His latest novel, Love, Clancy: Diary of a Good Dog is a deeply moving story with a brand-new cast of characters, including one very good dog. Told in Cameron’s signature style, a tremendous cast of wonderful characters find themselves jointly and separately navigating the challenges of life, love and other pets, including Clancy’s “worst enemy,” one very disdainful cat.

Lorissa Rinehart &
Paul Levine

Wednesday June 12, 7:00 PM, Pacific Ballroom

Poetry opening: 7:00-7:30

Perie Longo & Laure-Anne Bosselaar

7:30: Keynote

Lorissa Rinehart is an author, cultural producer, and public speaker. Her writing explores women’s history, politics, war, and their points of intersection. Her debut book, First to the Front: The Untold Story of Dickey Chapelle, Trailblazing Female War Correspondent (St. Martin’s Press) has received rave reviews from The Wall Street Journal, The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and Publishers Weekly. She’s a TEDx speaker who’s appeared at the National Press Club, Friends of the National World War II Memorial, the Women's National Press Club, and the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation among other prestigious organizations. She’s been featured on numerous podcasts.

Paul Levine is the author of the "Jake Lassiter" and "Solomon vs. Lord" bestselling mystery/thriller novels. He has won the John D. MacDonald Fiction Award and the PenCraft Book of the Year Award and has been nominated for the Edgar, Macavity, International Thriller, Shamus, and James Thurber prizes. A former trial lawyer, he also wrote 20 episodes of the CBS military drama "JAG" and co-created the Supreme Court drama "First Monday" starring James Garner and Joe Mantegna. His "Solomon vs. Lord" novel series is currently being developed for television.
(paul-levine.com)

Caitlin Rother

Thursday June 13, 7:00 PM, Pacific Ballroom

Poetry opening: 7:00-7:30

Paul Willis & Perie Longo

7:30: Keynote

Caitlin Rother has authored 14 books. Her latest, Death on Ocean Boulevard: Inside the Coronado Mansion Case, which is in development for a TV limited series with Rother as executive producer, explores the mysterious death of 32-year-old Rebecca Zahau, who was found hanging from a second-floor balcony of her multimillionaire boyfriend’s San Diego mansion in 2011. The award-winning investigative journalist weaves stunning new details into a personal yet objective examination of the sensational case, exploring its many layers. An investigative newspaper reporter for 19 years, Rother has had her stories published in Cosmopolitan, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The San Diego Union‑Tribune and The Daily Beast. Her more than 250 media appearances include 20/20, People Magazine Investigates, Crime Watch Daily and numerous shows on Netflix, Investigation Discovery and Lifetime.