I would love to be able to see each and every one of you at this year's ANWA Writer's Conference on Saturday, September 18th, 2004. We are holding the conference at the Fiesta Inn in Tempe again, and they will be serving us a wonderful lunch.

Please note that it is a month earlier this year! We chose this date to avoid conflicts that were competing with our usual date in October.

We are so excited about the program we have outlined under the theme of "Passport to Creativity." I realize that for some, especially those who are out of state, the ability to travel is not a possibility. On the other hand, I am sure you will receive every penny's worth from making the effort to attend. Our conferences are as well organized as others that charge upwards from $300.00 to $500.00.

The best part of this year's conference is that we get to learn from an expert that has risen from our own ranks. Jeni Grossman has written wonderful mysteries, Beneath the Surface, and Behind the Scenes. She has spent the past couple of years with her husband in Turkey. She has some exciting unique experiences and knowledge to share with us that no one will want to miss. Her next book is tentatively entitled Underneath. It is fiction set in modern Iraq and Turkey, and stars Dulcey Martinez as an investigative reporter for CNN who is covering the excavation of a 12-foot solid-gold goddess at Zeugma. Al Qaeda is Dulcey's opponent in this book and she must go "underneath" to find out who she really is. See www.zeugma2000.com for details about this very real place in Turkey that has become Jeni's obsession.

We have three other experts that will be teaching us on September 18th. Betty Webb recently retired from the Tribune, but still writes columns there. She will be teaching "Three Deadly Writing Sins that Keep You From Getting Published." I'm sure we all want to know what those are so we can avoid them. Connie Flynn has instructed in local colleges and will be teaching Plot. And our very own Gayla Wise will be teaching "Creative Nonfiction." What a power packed day!

We will be having a book signing after lunch and after the conference. Any ANWA sisters who have published books are invited to join us there to sell and sign your books at no charge above the fee for attending conference. If you have friends who are not ANWA members but would like to participate in the book signing, they may participate—as long as their books are "family friendly"—for the nominal fee of $20.00 per spot.

Fiesta Inn has invited us to use their pool. Any of us that want to cool off and visit afterward: bring your suit and towel and plan to have a great time.

Please come, bring a friend, male or female, and get your creative juices flowing. We want to see more writing than ever from our talented sister night writers this coming year.

Sincerely,
Margaret Turley