Kealoha

KAPALUA – The Aloha Writers Conference will be held from Jan. 18-21 at the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua. Designed to motivate, educate and elevate, the first annual conference will feature world-renowned writers, best-selling authors, poets and scriptwriters.

Writers of all ages and genres, avid readers and imaginative minds are welcome to experience this event.

All presenters have been specially selected as outstanding members in their field and for their great teaching abilities. Authors presenting at the conference include New York Times best-selling author Kaui Hart Hemmings, who wrote “The Descendants,” a novel set in Hawaii and made into the popular movie starring George Clooney.

Conference faculty will include award-winning Hawaii author Rebecca Walker and Hawai’i’s first poet laureate, Kealoha.

The conference will also feature Jacquelyn Mitchard, whose blockbuster novel, “The Deep End of the Ocean,” was the first book in the Oprah Winfrey Book Club; master of courtroom drama William Bernhardt; and popular thriller writer John Lescroart.

William Martin, whose recently released historical novel “The Lincoln Letter” is receiving excellent reviews, will teach, as will crime writer Thomas Cook, winner of two Edgar Allen Poe Awards.

Television and screenplay writer Diane Lake, famous for “Frida,” winner of two Academy Awards, will also be a presenter.

“Hawaiian Voices” on Saturday night from 6:30 to 9 p.m. will feature Hawaiian authors and those who have made Hawaii their home. This event is free to the public.

Mitchard, Lake, Bernhardt, Martin and Cook will be the workshop facilitators at the Aloha Writers Retreat.

Through a donation, the Aloha Writers Conference will offer a limited number of partial scholarships to promising writers and those with interesting and worthwhile projects. Recipients include a female Post Traumatic Stress Disorder survivor from the war in Afghanistan, a bilingual speech pathologist writing for parents, a former New York City police officer now living in Hawaii and a woman writing about surviving domestic abuse.

Financial need is a consideration, but the writer’s passion and project are the most import factors in qualifying for the scholarship. Scholarships are available for both the conference and the Aloha Writers Retreat, which will be held Jan. 22-27 at the Pioneer Inn in Lahaina.

Day passes for the conference are also available. For a complete schedule of events, or to register, visit www.alohawritersconference.com or call Conference Coordinator Vicki Draeger at (808) 218-5396.

The Aloha Writers Conference is hosted by Keiki O Ka Aina Family Learning Centers, a Native Hawaiian nonprofit with a focus on literacy.