A-Z Writing Retreat Information
October 9-10-11, 2015

A

ATTIRE
Conference attire is business casual, which includes nice jeans, pants, skirts and dresses.

B

BOOK SALE AUTHOR SIGNING
SCBWI-Iowa hosts an autograph party/book sale on Saturdayafternoon. Davenport’s Barnes & Noble sells books by conference presenters and new releases by SCBWI writers. The sale will be more limited this fall and conducted by our volunteers.

C

CANCELLATION POLICY
Cancellations are only permitted in extreme cases, such as serious illness or family emergency, at the discretion of the RA, ARA and IC. Once registration is completed, partial refunds, at most, will be made. The attendee is charged fees incurred by SCBWI-Iowa and refunds will be issued by check and mailed after the event.

CRITIQUES
Each conference attendee may pay an additional fee of $40 for a professional critique with a conference speaker or published SCBWI member. Critiques are first come, first served and lists do fill quickly. Upon conference check-in, you will receive an information sheet on who, when and where your critique will be held. We regret that we are unable to fulfill everyone’s critique request.

All work must be double-spaced, 12-point in a reader-friendly font, 1-inch margins. They must be postmarked bythe early registration deadline. You must be registered for the conference to receive an appointment.

D

DISPLAY TABLE
Published authors and all illustrators are invited to share their work on display tables set up during the conference. Space is limited. Authors may bring their books or magazines; illustrators may bring a 14 x 17 inch portfolio.

F

FOUR!
That’s the number of opportunities attendees have to focus on their own work. Idea, peer review, speaker tables with attendees and a professional manuscript critique. We encourage participants to avoid duplicating their manuscripts for this event.

H

HOTEL INFORMATION
The conference will be held The Wasserbahn Waterpark Hotel. SCBWI-Iowa has reserved a block of rooms. To request one of those rooms, please call or register online. Please make your reservations early for SCBWI-IA pricing.

The Wasserbahn Waterpark Hotel

Address:2211 U Ave, Williamsburg, IA 52361

Phone: (319) 668-1175

J

JILL ESBAUM
Jill Esbaum, winner of the Midwest Crystal Kite Award, will be featured speaker at our Crystal Kite Brunch on Sunday. Mentorships for the 2015-2016 year also will be announced.

M

MEALS

Please see the schedule for menu options. All included meals are family style or buffet, so attendees with special dietary needs may make necessary food choices. There’s an on-site restaurant and mini-fridge in the rooms. Please send an e-mail to or if you have health needs.

MENTORSHIP APPLICATIONS

Send 800 words of a manuscript for either of the Mentorships to Connie Heckert at the address below, clearly marked Mentorship Application. In a cover letter, write a paragraph describing your interests and body of work thus far, with your goals. Applications will be sorted by picture book manuscripts (Jill), or other projects (Connie).

Connie Heckert, SCBWI-IA RA
PO Box 1436
Bettendorf, Iowa 52722-0024

O

OPEN MIC NIGHT

Saturday night we’ll host an open mic at the hotel. Writers may read 3 minutes of a manuscript. It will be timed and first come, first served. Sign up upon conference arrival.

P

PAYMENT OPTIONS and ADDRESSES

1.Pay online with PayPal; the system can be set-up with debit or a credit card.

2. Pay onsite with Square. Call Connie Heckert at 563-359-0337 to use a credit card.

3. Make checks payable to: SCBWI-Iowa.

Send all materials (registrations, manuscripts, checks) to:
Connie Heckert, SCBWI-IA RA
PO Box 1436
Bettendorf, Iowa 52722-0024

Payment must be issued at the time of registration or shortly thereafter.

Q

QUESTIONS?

Contact Connie Heckert, SCBWI-Iowa’s Regional Advisor, at or Lisa Morlock, Connie’s assistant at .

R

ROOMMATE

If you need a roommate, please contact Lisa Morlock . We’ll keep a pool of names in an effort to find everyone a buddy.

W

WATER

Wasserbahn Waterpark tickets may be purchased from the hotel at the time of check-in.