In 1983 Santa Barbara Mayor Sheila Lodge issued a proclamation making June 17th - 25th Santa Barbara Writers Conference Week because of the international prestige and success that the conference brought to the city. From its simple beginnings at the Cate School in 1972, the Santa Barbara Writers Conference quickly established itself under the landmark blue roofs of the Miramar Hotel in Montecito. During the magical week of the conference, the classy, old fashioned, Miramar resort became a world unto itself where on any given day you might find Ray Bradbury, Charles (Sparky) Schulz, Jonathan Winters, Robert Mitchum, Elmore Leonard, Eudora Welty, Alex Haley, Gore Vidal, William F. Buckley, William Styron, Fannie Flagg, and many other literary lights who defined the last half of the twentieth century. Couple those stellar talents with beach front cottages, tennis courts, and railroad tracks that went through the middle of the property at all hours of the day and night, and a stationary railroad club car restaurant by the tracks, and you had the perfect setting for a gathering of creative talent dedicated to nurturing and celebrating their shared love of writing. The Miramar was the home of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference for the last quarter of the twentieth century until it closed in 2000, ending an enchanted era in the history of American literature.
About the Author: Mary Conrad founded the Santa Barbara Writers Conference with her late husband, Barnaby Conrad, a veritable renaissance man as author, painter, sculptor, bull fighter and former State Department Vice Consul and saloonkeeper of the famous El Matador. However, it was her business sense that developed the foundation for what became a unique literary endeavor as well as successful business venture-the SBWC. Y. Armando Nieto is a seasoned C.E.O. and development professional, with experience in administration and management, membership development, annual giving, foundation prospecting and grant writing, and special events. Successful capital campaigns include the Environmental Defense Center Cordero Adobe Campaign and Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center. He was Associate Producer of the Kenny Loggins Christmas Unity Telethon for ten years. Armando was C.E.O. at Redefining Progress, Managing Director with the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment, and Executive Director at Eagle Eye Institute in Somerville, Massachusetts, Earth Share of California and the Environmental Defense Center. In addition to his service as Mary Conrad's right-hand-man at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference for nearly twenty years, he has mentored young people to better develop their writing and communication skills. Matthew J. Pallamary's novel of first contact between shamans and Jesuits in 18th century South America, titled, Land Without Evil, received rave reviews along with a San Diego Book Award and was adapted into a full-length stage and sky show performed by an Austin Texas aerial group. The making of the show was the subject of a PBS series, Arts in Context episode, which garnered an EMMY nomination. His memoir Spirit Matters detailing his journeys to Peru, working with shamanic plant medicines took 1st place in the San Diego Book Awards Spiritual Book Category, and was an Award-Winning Finalist in the autobiography/memoir category of the National Best Book Awards. He has fifteen books in print in a number of genres and his works have been translated into Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, Norwegian, and German. Matt has been teaching at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, the Southern California Writers Conference, and many other venues for over twenty five years. He frequently visits the mountains, deserts, and jungles of North, Central, and South America pursuing his studies of shamanism.