The thirteenth annual Writer's Symposium by the Sea took place February 4-8, 2008, at the main campus in San Diego, Point Loma. Noted below are the names and biographies of our guests. As you can see, each of our guests represents a voice that is willing to explore the harder questions we all ask--those ideas that represent our inner struggles. So read on, prepared to be inspired and challenged. And mark your calendar for the 2009 event which will be held February 4-6. You won't want to miss it!

Luncheon with Bishop William Willimon
The Reverend Dr. William H. Willimon was elected in July 2004 as Bishop of the United Methodist Church, leading the 157, 00 Methodists and 792 pastors in North Alabama. He also served as Dean of the Chapel and Professor of Christian Ministry at Duke University , Durham, North Carolina. He is the author of nearly 60 books and had been named as one of the Twelve Most Effective Preachers in the English-speaking world in an international survey conducted by Baylor University. Bishop Willimon is the second most widely read author by mainline Protestant pastors. Recent titles include: United Methodist’s Beliefs: A Brief Introduction (2007), Thank God It’s Friday: Encountering the Seven Last Words From the Cross (2006), Conversations with Barth on Preaching (2006), Sinning Like a Christian: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins (2005), Calling and Character: Virtues of the Ordained Life (2000)

An Evening with Susan Vreeland
Local author Susan Vreeland taught high school English in San Diego for 30 years before retiring to pursue her other loves of travel, art and writing. Her first venture into fiction was in 1988 with What Love Sees , a biographical novel of a woman's unwavering determination to lead a full life despite blindness. From there, Susan’s curiosity turned to the life of artists, leading to Girl in Hyacinth Blue ( Vermeer ), The Passion of Artemisia ( Artemisia Gentileschi), The Forest Lover ( Emily Carr ), and her most recent work, Luncheon of the Boating Party (Renoir). Susan will be sharing the journeys she took while researching for her novels, including a presentation of the works of art that inspired her writing.

An Interview with Anchee Min
As a girl, Anchee Min learned to write “Long live Chairman Mao,” before she learned to write her own name. She was devoted to Mao and to communism and was selected to star in a propaganda film for having the ideal “proletarian” look. Mao died before the film was completed. Min was labeled a political outcast by association. In 1984, with the help from friends in the United States, Min left China and came to America. Within six months she had taught herself English. Her bestselling memoir, Red Azalea , the story of her childhood in communist China, has been compared to The Diary of Anne Frank. Min credits English with giving her the voice and vocabulary to write about growing up during China’s Cultural Revolution. Called a “wild, passionate and fearless American writer” by The New York Times, Min has written four other works of historical fiction: Katherine, Becoming Madame Mao, Wild Ginger and Empress Orchid.

Richie Furay Unplugged (to be rescheduled)
Richie Furay is a pioneer of folk-rock and country rock music. He was a founder of Buffalo Springfield and Poco, bands whose recordings continue to influence both rock and country music today. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Furay is coauthor of For What It’s Worth: The Story of Buffalo Springfield . Today, he pastors a Calvary Chapel church in Colorado and continues to record and perform music. Married since 1967, he and his wife, Nancy, have four daughters and four grandchildren.

Susan Vreeland Writing Historical Fiction Workshop
Where do we begin when writing about an historical personage? How do we research and write to capture an historical life for a contemporary audience? Local writer Susan Vreeland will share her own stories of the hunt for clues and the process of bringing history to life. Susan's passionate interest in the life of artists has lead to her works Girl in Hyacinth Blue (Vermeer), The Passion of Artemisia (Artemisia Gentileschi), The Forest Lover (Emily Carr), and her most recent work , Luncheon of the Boating Party (Renoir).

Ken Kuhlken Memoir Writing Workshop
How do we honestly capture our life and experiences? How do we preserve our memories for the generations to follow? Ken, a local mystery writer of private-eye novels, with roots in the noir tradition, is an artist at blending cultural history, social dynamics and hard-bitten melodrama…something most of us have in our real life, This workshop will provide suggestions and guidelines for these creative challenges and more. Ken's books include: The Angel Gang: A Hickey Family Mystery, The Do-Re-Mi The Loud Adios, and No Cats, No Chocolate

An Interview with American icon Gay Talese
Gay Talese is the bestselling author of eleven books. He was a reporter for the New York Times from 1956 to 1965, and since then he has written for the Times , Esquire , The New Yorker , Harper's Magazine , and other national publications. His groundbreaking article "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" was named the "best story Esquire ever published," and he was credited by Tom Wolfe with the creation of an inventive form of nonfiction writing called "The New Journalism." His most recent book, A Writer's Life , was published by Knopf in 2006 and was reissued in trade paperback by The Random House Publishing Group in July 2007.

An Interview with Philip Yancey
Yancey's only window to the real world as a young man was reading. So, he devoured books—books that opened his mind, challenged his upbringing, and went against everything he had been taught, like 1984, Animal Farm, and To Kill a Mockingbird . As Yancey researched, pondered, and explored deep questions about faith, he wrote—taking millions of readers with him as he passionately crafted best-selling books, such as Disappointment with God and Where is God When it Hurts? (He currently has more than 13 million books in print.) More recently, he has felt the freedom to explore central issues of the Christian faith, penning award-winning titles, such as The Jesus I Never Knew and What's So Amazing About Grace? His latest book, Prayer: Does it Make Any Difference? probes the very heartbeat—the most fundamental, challenging, perplexing, and deeply rewarding aspect—of our relationship with God: prayer. What is prayer? How does it work?
And more importantly, does it work?

Next year's Symposium is scheduled for February 4-6, 2009. If you would like to be put on the mailing list, please send your mailing address to Edie Chapman, event coordinator, at echapman@pointloma.edu

Co-sponsored by the Department of Literature, Journalism and Modern Languages and the Wesleyan Center for 21st Century Studies, Cultural Events, The Society of Professional Journalists, and The City Club of San Diego .