Well-known alumni writers discuss their craft in May 1 symposium

UC Santa Cruz alumnus David Talbot, founder of Salon.com and best-selling author of Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, will kick off "A Writer's Life: A Celebration of Writing at UCSC" Sunday, May 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Humanities Lecture Hall at UC Santa Cruz.

The symposium is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the UCSC Humanities Division as part of the weekend Day by the Bay community celebration and alumni reunion April 29-May 1.

Talbot will be joined by other well-known UCSC alumni novelists, journalists, and screenwriters, including Susan Blackaby – children’s book author; David Ehrman – screenwriter; Charlie Haas – author and screenwriter; Claire Hoffman – freelance journalist; Robert Irion – freelance magazine writer; Laurie King – author; Dan Pulcrano – CEO and executive editor, Metro Newspapers; Matt Skenazy – freelance journalist; and Gary Young – poet laureate of Santa Cruz County.

The symposium will feature two panel discussions with the writers moderated by UCSC creative writing students, readings, and a book fair. The program will close with a reception with the writers hosted by the Dean of Humanities, Linguistics Professor Bill Ladusaw. A complete schedule is available at writerslife.ucsc.edu/agenda/.

A Writers Life is the final event of the second annual Day by the Bay community celebration and alumni reunion. Alumni, parents, students, neighbors, and community members are invited to take part in the festivities all weekend long with events ranging from an intellectual forum Saturday, April 30, to tours of the Cowell Lime Works Historic District, and a community picnic noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday with local food and microbrews, and music and dance performances on the east field overlooking the Monterey Bay.

Santa Cruz merchants are offering discounts and specials throughout the weekend.

As part of the picnic, booths hosted by colleges, academic departments, and class reunions will be located on the east field, along with activities for kids, including a climbing wall, bounce house, face painting and more. Later Saturday afternoon, an alumni wine reception will be held at the Cowell College provost's house.

A complete schedule of events — and all related details — can be found at: http://events.ucsc.edu/daybythebay/. Most events are free; registration is encouraged at the Day by the Bay web site to ensure ample food and beverages.