The Bookshop Podcast
The Bookshop Podcast
San Miguel Writers' Conference: Where Global Voices Unite on Mexican Soil
Hi, and welcome to this episode of The Bookshop Podcast!
Step into the vibrant literary heart of Mexico with the San Miguel Writers Conference, where cultural exchange and creative inspiration meet in one of the world's most beautiful cities. Susan Page, founder and president, alongside executive director Jodi Pincus, unveil the magic behind this extraordinary gathering that transforms writers and readers alike.
This unique tricultural and bilingual event bridges the literary communities of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, creating rich connections across borders. Set against the backdrop of San Miguel de Allende—consistently voted the world's #1 city by Conde Nast Traveler—participants immerse themselves in perfectly preserved 18th-century Spanish colonial architecture while engaging with world-class authors and honing their craft.
The 2026 conference boasts an exceptional lineup of global voices: Ethiopian-American physician-author Abraham Verghese, Canadian novelist Emily St. John Mandel, Nigerian literary star Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Indigenous Mexican intellectual Yesnaya Elena Aguilar-Hill, Argentinian author Andrés Neuman, and Chinese-American writer R.F. Kuang. Beyond the keynotes, the conference offers 80 workshops across multiple genres, opportunities to pitch literary agents, discussion circles on timely topics like AI and cultural appropriation, and a dedicated "Pleasures of Reading" track for literary enthusiasts.
What truly distinguishes this gathering is its holistic approach to the literary experience—combining rigorous craft development with cultural immersion and community building. Workshops unfold in beautiful gardens, open mics create space for emerging voices, and wellness activities provide balance. Meanwhile, the conference maintains deep connections to local communities through teen writing programs and literary outreach to underserved rural areas.
Whether you're a serious writer seeking to refine your craft, a reader hungry for literary inspiration, or someone drawn to the magical energy of San Miguel, the conference offers flexible registration options to create your perfect experience. Mark your calendar for February 11-15, 2026, and join a global community of literary minds in one of the world's most enchanting destinations.
Hi, my name is Mandy Jackson-Beverly and I'm a bibliophile. Welcome to the Bookshop Podcast. Each week, I present interviews with authors, independent bookshop owners and booksellers from around the globe and publishing professionals. To help the show reach more people, please share episodes with friends and family and on social media, and remember to subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to this podcast. You're listening to episode 303.
Speaker 1:In January of this year, my family and I spent a week in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, to celebrate my eldest son's wedding. The city of San Miguel de Allende has been on my bucket list since about 1985. And to be able to get there and experience the beauty, the culture, the incredible people, the food was an experience I shall never forget and I can't wait to get back there. While in the city, I met friend and author Danielle Trussoni, who is also the English program director at the San Miguel Writers Conference. A few months before this trip, I had interviewed author Jennifer Clement. A few months before this trip, I had interviewed author Jennifer Clement, president Emerita of PEN International, the global human rights and freedom of expression organization, and the only woman to hold that office since its founding in 1921. Jennifer is also a faculty member of the Writers' Conference.
Speaker 1:The San Miguel Writers' Conference is a premier intellectual literary event set in the vibrant cultural heart of Mexico. The vision of the conference is to inspire and enrich the lives of writers and readers of all ages and backgrounds, while fostering new personal and professional connections. It's my pleasure today to introduce Susan Page, founder and president of the San Miguel Writers Conference, and executive director, jodi Pincus. Hi, susan and Jodi, and welcome to the show. It's lovely to have you both here.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for the invitation. It's a pleasure to be here, Mandy.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thank you. Wonderful to be here.
Speaker 1:Well, we have a lot to talk about, but I'd like to begin with learning about you both. Susan, you are a graduate of Oberlin College and have a Master of Divinity degree from San Francisco Theological Seminary. You were a campus minister at Washington University in St Louis and at Columbia University in New York. Later you served as Director of Women's Programs at the University of California, berkeley, where you hoped found the nation's first university-based sexuality program. Was there a defining moment when you decided to conduct workshops on relationships, become an author and relocate to San Miguel de Allende? What's actually?
Speaker 2:more relevant than my earlier career that you mentioned is that for the last 20 years, before I moved to San Miguel, I had turned to conducting relationship workshops, first for singles and then for couples, and I did that for more than 20 years and I wrote five books during that time. The first one has become a classic. It's called If I'm so Wonderful, why Am I Still Single? Gosh, I love that title. It's wonderful, thank you. And one of my couple's books is called why Talking Is Not Enough.
Speaker 2:So I was very much involved in the publishing world and San Miguel appealed to me because I knew there was a rich literary history here. So I was very surprised when I arrived here to find no literary activities. There was no bookstore, no place for us to sell our books. So I just started. I put a little notice in the paper that I was having a gathering of writers interested in community and visibility, and 28 people showed up. Everybody was wildly enthusiastic. And 28 people showed up. Everybody was wildly enthusiastic and that was the origin of the San Miguel Literary Sala, which turned very shortly into the annual conference of the Sala Writers Conference and Literary Festival.
Speaker 1:So there wasn't really a major turning point. It sounds like more of a natural progression, where you moved down to San Miguel de Allende. Is that correct?
Speaker 2:We traveled in. My husband and I traveled in San Miguel and found a piece of property that knocked ourselves off and that gave us the idea that we could change our lives and move down here and start a new life. And that was 22 years ago, and that's so it was. Really, finding the piece of property that was straw, that sort of broke us back or whatever that pushed us over the edge. And then when I came, I started these literary activities.
Speaker 1:I'm always in awe of how we fit into certain areas around the globe. You know, sometimes we can step off a plane or step out of your car and you immediately feel a draw to a certain piece of land. That's how I feel about Ojai in California. With the mountains it's kind of like a cradle in the valley. It's just everything my soul needs for now. I imagine that the culture and community of San Miguel de Allende matches your personal and work values.
Speaker 2:We found that out right away. It's a magical. It's a very special community where we value community. It's almost like a campus where if there's a play or a big musical event, everybody goes and you're going to see your friends there and we all run into a town. It's a spectacular town too, because it's all restored 18th century buildings. Spain came over here and built New Spain in the 1700s. All of in San Miguel. We've preserved all of those old, beautiful buildings, mansions. So it's a gorgeous town and it has been a Mecca for the arts ever since the 1930s when they started an art institute here, and writers and artists have flocked to the area ever since then. So yeah, it's quite, a very special town.
Speaker 1:And it's a global community too. So you have this wonderful mix of the local Mexican people and people from all over the world. So the food is great. The people are just absolutely wonderful.
Speaker 2:Well, you're speaking about both the Mexicans, who are our hosts here and whom Mexicans are friendly and warm and welcoming and very family oriented. And then there is a substantial foreign community here, americans and Canadians mostly, and Europeans, and we all mingle and work very well together and enjoy each other, and both of those communities are warm and welcoming, just as you said.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it really is a special place. Jodi, you have a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Presidio Graduate School with a focus in sustainable management. Your past work includes Executive Director at Rising Sun Centre for Opportunity, director of Economic Inclusion Services at Inclusion Economics and Founder and Principal of Nomada Coaching and Consulting. What drew you to San Miguel and the San Miguel Writers Conference?
Speaker 3:Oh, wow, yeah, great question. You know, and I love what you guys were saying about these kind of special places in the world. For me, san Miguel is one of those magical places that I think draws people that have this openness to creativity, to community, to connection, and so it's a soft landing when you come because people are so warm and welcoming. But for us, what led me and my family to San Miguel is that my husband is from the state of Guanajuato, where San Miguel is. He grew up there his whole life. We actually met in Berkeley salsa dancing 28 years ago, but we had always come back to visit his family and every time we came back we'd sneak away to the city of Guanajuato and San Miguel and fell in love and always thought when we retire, we want a house in San Miguel, but we have two children, and we had two young children, and we really wanted them to be bilingual and learn more about their Mexican culture, be closer to their family.
Speaker 3:I wanted, you know, a break from the rat race after being an executive director for 13 years in economic development, racial equity, climate change not the lightest of topics to be involved in for 13 years and so we said why are we waiting till later in life? Let's just go to San Miguel, let's bring our kids, let's try it for a year and see what happens. And so, six years later, we're there and I really was interested in opening my heart to this, my creative spirit, I think you know I'm good at running stuff, but I have this big creative part of me, and San Miguel was where I wanted to explore that. So, you know, I did ceramics and painting, but one of the first people I met was Susan, and we just connected right away, and Susan has this wonderful way of getting people involved in things. And so I started volunteering for the Writers Conference and after that, susan and I became friends and we learned a lot about each other and one another's background.
Speaker 3:And so a year ago, when Susan said, hey, you know, would you consider being part of the team and executive director, she had learned about my past work experiences.
Speaker 3:For me, it was this perfect fit between my creative aspirations and endeavors, as well as my organizational development and leadership skills. And so, you know, san Miguel is one of those places where you can manifest your dreams. And I had been thinking, you know, consulting was great, but what I really missed, what I loved about being an executive director was being part of a team and driving towards a vision and mission with a group of people, and I was really putting it out there like what is my next career move? What's there for me? I love the flexibility of consulting, love the spirit of San Miguel, but I want something more and I want to be part of something more and I want to be part of something bigger and I want to help grow something into its next phase. And then, you know, susan appeared the next day, as does happen in San Miguel with hey, would you consider this? And so it was the serendipity of everything, and it's so much fun. Let me just tell you, working on our team and working with Susan, we have such a wonderful time together.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean, you have Jennifer Clement, who's wonderful, and also Danielle Trussoni on your team. They're both friends of mine and just wonderful, wonderful women. When I hear the two of you talking about the San Miguel Writers Conference, what I'm getting is that it's truly about community, which right now, is more important than ever, and, from firsthand experience, it's a wonderful feeling when you gather a group of people together who share joy in both reading and writing.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, and I mean that's what I think is one of the biggest things with our conference is how, in this world that's not always joyous right now and actually very challenging how do we create this place for joy and retreat, reflection and inspiration in a time where it's heavy out there and we need these. We need connection and community.
Speaker 1:Susan, do you have anything to add?
Speaker 2:Oh, the conference is a perfect place for that all to occur. One of the things that's very special about several things that are novel and special about our conference is that we are tricultural and bilingual. We bring together the literary communities of Canada, the US and Mexico and that's very meaningful. We are exposed to readers and authors and writers from all these three different cultures and styles that we ordinarily wouldn't run into in normal life. But because we bring these cultures together, it's very, very rich. It's also bilingual.
Speaker 2:So we take this in Mexico and we have a very big mission involving all three cultures, including the Mexicans. So everything we do is simultaneously translated into Spanish or into English if it's presented in Spanish, and we have workshops and we're very special in that way and it adds a great richness to the community that gathers for that week. Another thing that's unusual about our conference is that we are both a writers' conference and a literary festival, so we have a workshop for readers at the same time, a series called Pleasures of Reading for people who came who aren't writers but who are readers, who want to hear a presentation about some aspect of literature, who want to hear a presentation about some aspect of literature. And then we have these world-class speakers who draw people from all over.
Speaker 1:Last year, 11 countries were represented at the conference. When I was researching about the San Miguel Writers Conference and the Literary Sala, I noticed that you also conduct a lot of workshops and work within the schools in San Miguel and the outer areas. That's probably under the bigger umbrella of the Literary Sala. Are these programs ongoing?
Speaker 2:One of the programs we're very proud of and excited about is our teen creative writing workshops that take place during the conference. Teens from all of these workshops that take place during the conference, teens from all of these mostly from rural communities that are underserved and poor. There are no books or magazines in these rural homes and we helped to create a program called Libros para Todos, which has now gone off on its own, it's not under our umbrella anymore, but we distribute 800 copies of the same book to youth in these rural communities. They read the book and then the author comes to those villages and meets and signs their books. So we help. So that's one of the very exciting I mean it's life changing for these youth and we provide scholarships for Mexican youth to attend the conference itself.
Speaker 1:Jodi. Is there anything you'd like to add?
Speaker 3:Yeah, we have a lot of year-round programming and we're growing it more. We have a book, a very own bookstore called Aurora Books, and they'll be launching actually book clubs for the first time.
Speaker 1:And is that a brick and mortar indie bookshop?
Speaker 3:Yes, it's a brick and mortar, very charming little, cute bookstore in San Miguel. So if you come to San Miguel, visit it, and it's great because we get to feature all our keynote speaker books there as well as literary. Solemn member.
Speaker 3:If you're a literary solemn member, you get to have your books in our bookstores and also the library bookstore, so it features that, and then the bookstore along with us. We produce events throughout the year, whether it's our prose and poetry cafe, where local authors read their work, or we have special speaking engagements throughout the year, and we're also starting our virtual workshop series as well. So for faculty that are beloved at our conference and people want more, they'll be able to have a five-week series, whether it's on poetry or fiction or memoir, our creativity will be offering much more robust activities throughout the year as well.
Speaker 1:I saw you're advertising some of Jennifer Clement's online classes.
Speaker 3:That's a different. She's doing her series and we're helping to promote it. Yeah, jennifer is a faculty of ours as well, as was a keynote, and is an incredible author. If you haven't read her books, read Jennifer Clement.
Speaker 1:Jennifer Clement has been my guest at my Lunch with an Author literary series in Ojai in Los Angeles, and she's been on this show. She is an extremely, extremely talented author and poet. So, yeah, having her on your faculty must be wonderful. Susan, you've spoken quite a bit about the San Miguel Writers Conference, but I'd love to know more about the history of the San Miguel Literary Sala and how you ended up morphing into the Writers Conference.
Speaker 2:Well, it grew from a small conference. We started with local programming and then one of the women who was working with us in the first year had come from Aspen, where they have a Writers' Conference, and she turned to me one day and said this historic comment you know, this is a world class destination. We should have a Writers' Conference. So we set about doing it. Our first one had 26 people for a weekend but we were able to.
Speaker 2:I have a friend who was good friends with John Barrett, who wrote Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, played him to come to keynote. Well, that gave us the idea that we could be a draw for significant, distinguished and famous and beloved authors and we set about doing that and that is part of what has set our reputation, that's what got us going to be able to grow quickly by having these very big name authors coming down, and we've been consistent with that. I mean we had mentioned earlier, when we were talking about Barbara Kingsolver, the year that she came. We went from something like 98 registrations to 198 registrations. It was a wonderful, wonderful year. She gave a really beloved, much beloved and memorable keynote address about her book, the Lacuna. We've had Gloria Steinem, Scott Turow, Isabel Allende. During our COVID years online, we featured Tom Hanks and Matthew McConaughey, Billy Collins, the famous poet, it goes on and on. We've had many mentors over the years.
Speaker 1:One of the things that I really appreciate about the San Miguel Writers Conference is that you have these top tier authors represented, but you're also introducing readers to new authors, authors from other countries, and to me that's really important because that's what I love to do. I like to introduce people to new authors, authors from other countries, and to backlists to new authors, authors from other countries and to backlists. I enjoy reading translated books because I love the cadence of the writing. So this is something that I think gets overlooked sometimes, and I really appreciate that you have a variety of authors in different stages of their careers, and this is really exciting for the readers who come to the festival.
Speaker 3:I mean I think our conference, as you mentioned, has something at every level and for everyone. We have 80 workshops, 50 faculty, and our faculty are incredible authors in their own right and so they get to have their books at our bookstore. So oftentimes people will take somebody's workshop and then be very curious and buy their books or hear them. At our every day we feature whether it's Canada Reads or Mexico Reads or America's Read America Reads. Our faculty will get to read their work at these events and so it really does expose, as you said, mandy people to you know more authors, different styles, things like that. And our workshops we have 80 workshops so you can imagine from you know, memoir to nonfiction, to poetry, to screenwriting, to travel writing. We have teen workshops, bilingual teen workshops, marketing and publishing yeah, we really have something. And then the Pleasures of Reading series that Susan mentioned if you're a reader. So we have something for everybody to really figure out. What do they want to learn, where do they want to grow, what's piquing their curiosity? And they can get that at our conference.
Speaker 3:When I came, I got inspired to write my memoir. I always wrote poetry, but I wasn't. I was a literature lover. And what I loved about the conference when I volunteered was just how much I learned to be with all these interesting people, thinking, reflecting, discussing. You know we have these beautiful gardens, that our conference, our workshops are in these gardens and then we have our open mics are outside and we have happy hours in a market and a pop-up bookstore and you can just lie on the lawn also in the afternoon and just talk to people or reflect on what you've learned and you offer yoga classes.
Speaker 3:We introduced last year a wellness component because we wanted it to feel like, even though it's pretty big, we wanted it to feel like a retreat for people.
Speaker 1:How wonderful that you've brought in that wellness component because, let's face it, most writers are in a room on their own writing all day and often tend to forget about their mental and physical health 100% yes. Susan, the conference is run under the San Miguel Literary Sala, which is a nonprofit organization founded in 2005. How does this benefit the Literary Sala and sponsors who want to donate, and is it similar to opening a nonprofit in Mexico as it is in the US?
Speaker 2:I think it's similar. We became a nonprofit because we are concerned about serving all these lower economic and underserved communities all around San Miguel. Those programs were as important to us as the conference. The conference was just one component of what we're getting, and still that's true. We could not operate our programs or our conference without the loyal support of our patrons. And we have a very strong patron program patrons, grand patrons, angel patrons at different levels and of course the nonprofit status allows them to take their donations as a tax-deductible donation. So that's critical for us and that's part of the reason that we set up as a nonprofit. How did we ever consider running it as a business? It was a community service.
Speaker 1:Jodi, what are the benefits of becoming a member of the San Miguel Literary Sala?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so the Literary Sala is this membership program. It's designed for local authors to participate as a member and have their books advertised on our website, have their books sold at the local biblioteca library as well as the store. They also get 10% off on coming to the conference and then they can participate in a lot of the local events that we have. So anybody can become a Literary Sala member, even if you're not in San Miguel, but you know it's designed to really promote and support our local community.
Speaker 1:And I know you're bursting to tell us this can you share with us the wonderful list of authors you have and the keynote speakers coming to the 2026 San Miguel Writers Conference?
Speaker 3:Yeah, we have such an exciting lineup because one of the authors is my favorite author, so Abraham Verghese. I think Cutting for Stone was one of my favorite books. I mean he's so epic in how he weaves these stories. And I think one thing that's so wonderful about our conference this year, as Susan mentioned, you know we are tri-cultural and tri-national, which is so critical in this time of division amongst you know the Americas, but also we have a bigger global reach 11 countries, as Susan mentioned, came to our conference and I really think our keynotes this year represent this global diversity and voices and I think it's pretty exceptional the lineup we have. So we have Abraham Righizi, who's Ethiopian American, he's a medical doctor and you can see all that through his books. We have Emily St John Mandel, who wrote Station Eleven and the Glass Hotel and Sea of Tranquility and is Canadian and her work has become these Peabody Awards winning series. We have a really interesting keynote this year Yesnaya Elena Aguilar-Hill, and she is a Oaxacan Indigenous woman intellectual activist and she writes a lot about language rights and Indigenous rights and is one of the biggest intellectual thinkers in Mexico today. So we're very excited about her. Andres Newman he's Argentinian. He's really prolific in the Latin American world and he was a prize winning author of Traveler of the Century. We're thrilled to have him.
Speaker 3:Rf Kwan, who's Chinese American, who who wrote yellow face I just finished it. So, um, which is it really stimulates a lot of thinking. You know she's. She writes a lot of with satire and a fearless critique on race in the united states and and also just just super relevant to today's times, I think, and grappling with all the nuances, whether it's social media and the publishing industry and all the pressures that writers really face in today's world. And then we're closing with Chimamanda Ngozi, Adichie, Nigerian-American, who's also prolific and wrote Americana, Purple Hibiscus. She just came out with Dream Count, and also a very relevant, interesting voice. And I just also finished Americana. That's the great thing of having this job. I have like a huge reading list, incredible keynote.
Speaker 1:Gosh, they all sound terrific. And when you talk about the keynote speakers, are they in conversation with interviewers or are they speaking on their own?
Speaker 3:There's different formats. We have some just speak alone. They're introduced and they have a presentation that they want to present on a topic, and some are interview style. So it really depends on what the author prefers what they, what they would like.
Speaker 3:So it's nice because there's a diversity. We also have two panels. We have a keynote speaker panel where the audience throughout the week gets to develop questions and put them in a box for us. So we get to ask and the keynotes get to play off each other. And then we have an industry panel of agents and publishers and people who can give you the inside intel into the industry and what's happening right now.
Speaker 2:We also have agents present who hear pitches from potential authors. So that's a big feature that many people are very excited about and sign up for way early. Big feature that many people are very excited about and sign up for way early.
Speaker 1:We have several agents who spend the afternoon listening to pitches from the authors oh, that's always a popular part of a writer's conference. This question is for both of you what do you think makes the San Miguel Writers Conference a standout literary event? We've touched on a lot of this previously, but I would like to kind of nail it down even more and see if there's anything we've missed. For example, how does the beauty of the city and her people and cultural exposure add to every attendee's overall San Miguel experience?
Speaker 2:We've touched on many of those many parts of the answer. We are tricultural, which is very unusual, and bilingual, which is unusual and adds, as I say, a richness to the whole experience. The town of San Miguel is an experience in itself. It is a huge draw for people. It has consistently been voted the number one city in the world by Conde Nast Traveler Survey, imagine. But it's the extraordinary preserved 18th century architecture, so it's utterly charming. They started an art institute here in the 1930s. That has grown and grown and grown and established the reputation of San Miguel as an arts community. There are many, many painters and ceramic artists, the plastic arts, and we have five opera organizations here and a lot of theater and dance and writing.
Speaker 2:The literary arts are very rich here, san Miguel itself is a discovery and the conference combines, being a literary festival where we bring very world-class writers together with a writers' conference, which is skill-building workshops for writers, and then we have a lot of extras. Jodi, we haven't mentioned some of the other extras that are part of the open mic, which Jodi did mention is very popular. Where works in progress, people can come and share what they're working on.
Speaker 3:I mean, I think what's wonderful about the conference is also our teams evolved and we have this amazing team. You mentioned some of the folks on our team, mandy, but we are a very bilingual, bicultural team as well, and I think there's a very age diverse team, you know from folks who've been involved in the conference for 20 years and new folks. And so we really are thinking about who are we today and where do we want to go as a conference, and so we've introduced things like discussion circles where that's open to the public. We have a lot of free events where people can come and discuss things around. You know the topic of AI, which is super relevant to all creatives today. What does this mean for us? Where it's not so much somebody lecturing but it's all of us kind of thinking and putting our heads together. Or the topic around you know cultural appropriation, or how do we represent different cultures Just lots of different relevant topics.
Speaker 3:So our afternoons are designed to sort of create your own experience, whether you want to have a sound bath on the lawn or just write and reflect, or you want to go to our market that features local authors, or you want to partake in a discussion circle or the open mic or the American Reads, and so our programming. And then it's free, a lot of that to the public and people can come and just really experience. And then San Miguel everything that Susan said, but it's a great destination If you're looking for a meaningful way to vacation, where you want culture, you want to do like some thinking and work, but you also want to go horseback riding in the country or down a zip line or to the hot springs. There's so much it has to offer and so many people come to our conference and end up, you know, buying a home in San Miguel. It's a very common story.
Speaker 1:I'm going to add a couple of things. I would say the visual art is exceptional in San Miguel. You can see the art in galleries, in restaurants, but one of the things that I love to do while I was down there is actually walk through the parks and see the artists there, and some of them are actually at work, which is kind of fun. The food from the markets the farmer's markets is great, and the restaurants, oh my goodness, the food is exceptional. And because I was in fashion for so many years, I was surprised to see some of the most unique and beautifully made clothing in San Miguel and little boutiques. That's pretty exciting. I thought that was wonderful. And while San Miguel itself has a lot of history, there's actually ancient archaeological sites that you can go and explore with a tour guide just outside of the city. And with all of this to experience, my question is what can attendees expect from the weather during the conference in San Miguel?
Speaker 2:Oh, that's one of the big wonderful features. We have sunny, beautiful, warm weather in February. We're at 6,400 feet, so we have a temperate climate all year long. Our summers are not super, super hot. They're very, very pleasant. Right now it's in the 70s and gorgeous, and in the winter we encourage people to come down from all those snowy venues up in New York and Minnesota, come down to sunny San Miguel in February. In February, I think in 22 years of running our conference 21 years I guess we have had rain in February one time. It's not supposed to rain in the winter and it doesn't, except for one time. It's sunny, warm, beautiful weather in February, but not too hot.
Speaker 3:Not too hot, not too cold.
Speaker 1:And how do people get there? Let's start off with how you would get to San Miguel de Allende from LAX airport in Los Angeles.
Speaker 2:Well, since you picked LAX, from LAX and from the Bay Area there is a short direct flight to our airport. Our airport is an hour and a half away, or less than that, an hour and 20 minutes by a door-to-door shuttle. That's a very good, efficient service. So from the Bay Area in LAX there's a short, three-hour flight, and from most other destinations you would fly into either Dallas or Houston and from there get a three-hour flight down to our airport.
Speaker 1:And how long does the drive from either the airport at Lyon or Querétaro take to get to San Miguel de Allende?
Speaker 2:Lyon and Querétaro are equidistant, they're both about an hour and a half away by shuttle, and they're both very convenient.
Speaker 1:I feel like there's another airport you can fly into, so you've got Leon Queretaro, and which is the other one?
Speaker 3:Mostly Leon and Queretaro. You could fly into Mexico City and it's a three and a half hour bus ride to San Miguel.
Speaker 1:Okay, say, I'm a listener and I've decided right now I want to sign up for the San Miguel Writers Conference 2026. Where do I go to do this and maybe give us a rundown of registration accommodation? All of the above, that would be great.
Speaker 3:Okay, wonderful. So the dates are February 11th through the 15th. Put that on your calendar and you go to our website at sanmiguelwritersconferenceorg and click into registration. You'll see a button there and we really have three different ways that I think are the most common for people to choose their experience at our conference. If you're a writer and you want it all, you choose the works package. You'll have seven workshops, six hours of intensives, all the main stage events with the keynotes and the panels and all the parties. So it's really the full-on experience and it's wonderful. If you're mostly a reader and you really are excited about the keynotes, just do the core package. Come do the core package, you get all those main stage events with the keynotes and the panels and the parties, and then you could add on the seven series pleasures of reading series to the experience and you get to also experience all the free conference things that I've mentioned throughout this.
Speaker 3:If you're a person that likes to choose your own adventure and really wants to hear two keynotes and maybe do three workshops and do two agent pitches, something like that, we have an individual ticket button that you can click through and you can sign up and really create your own conference experience. You want to spend two days on excursions and two days, three days, at the conference. You know you can do that too. So there's many different ways. We have different discounts. Right now is our early bird special.
Speaker 3:That ends September 1st, so I encourage people for our packages. That works for our packages, not individual tickets, so I encourage people to do that. Also, our workshops fill up fast. So if you are really serious about writing and honing your skills, sign up for that works package or the workshops of your choosing. If you know, we have great customer service, so any help that you need, contact us and we'll get right back to you. When you go through our registration platform, you can also go into the schedule. It says schedule and if you filter, you can filter by faculty, by genre, by experience and sort of, because we offer a lot. It can be overwhelming to navigate our website.
Speaker 1:But I will say this your website is really clear, which is very helpful, and I think it would be great if you spoke a little about accommodations helpful and I think it would be great if you spoke a little about accommodations.
Speaker 3:You can book right through us to Real de Minas Hotel, which is where the conference is, so we have a link to book. You know. You can book your accommodation. You can also book the shuttle service through Angelica Tours that Susan mentioned through us, and also excursions. You can book and we'll connect you to a local place that does excursions. San Miguel also has beautiful boutique hotels very close walking distance. Yeah, gorgeous. There's so many I can't name them all. There's Airbnbs. There's something for everybody's budget. You want like high, high end. Go to the Rosewood. You want something close and cozy where you can cook for yourself? Get an Airbnb. It's a city that you know. You walk around it in 1520 minutes, so it's beautiful.
Speaker 1:Oh, I just thought of something else which sounds wonderful to do while you're in San Miguel. Oh, I just thought of something else which sounds wonderful to do while you're in San Miguel. Jennifer Clement told me about La Gruta, and I think you can just get a taxi from San Miguel to La Gruta, but why don't you explain what it is?
Speaker 3:So it's right. It's in Etotanilco, near Galleria Etotanilco, which is where you know Susan runs that. It's an incredible gallery of folk art that Susan can talk more about, but there's also natural hot springs all around that area, and the town of Atocha Nilco is incredible as well. That's a wonderful day trip, susan. Do you want to add to that?
Speaker 2:Well, one of the things that we offer on the website and after you've come here is what we call excursions, and there are many of them, from horseback riding to exploring the archaeological sites. One of them is a day trip to this charming little old, historic town called Atotonilco. There's a church there that is a World Heritage site because they call it the Sistine of Mexico, because it's completely the walls and ceilings completely painted over with 18th century paintings of Bible stories. It's a remarkable visual experience and historic experience. Right near Atonilco are these magical hot springs called La Gruta. There's also the finest collection of Mexican folk art for sale in all of Mexico. It's a collection of the finest, most authentic and beautiful Mexican folk art that's right in Totonilco as well, right near, and folk art that's right in a Totonilco as well, right near. And you know, when we were talking about ways to register, I wanted to add a couple of things. Number one we didn't mention the website, which is sanmiguelwritersconferenceorg all spelled out sanmiguelwritersconferenceorg.
Speaker 2:And there's another option for registering that I just want to run past people, which is that you can become a patron. The lowest amount you can pay to become a patron is $2,000. And it greatly enriches your experience of the conference. You get upfront VIP seating and VIP treatment during the ballroom events. It's a huge ballroom, so sitting up front is a big special deal. You get the use of the patron hospitality lounge all week, which is its own little community. There's a lavish, lavish patron dinner or this year I think it's going to be a comida in the afternoon on Saturday, a lavish dinner where you have the opportunity to be seated with a keynote speaker at a small table, and so on. There are other benefits, so anyone who can consider becoming a patron should also consider that option, and that patron is right there on the website as well.
Speaker 1:Susan and Jodi, thank you so much for coming on the Bookshop podcast and sharing the fantastic lineup you have for the San Miguel Writers Conference for 2026. Once again, the dates are February 11th through February 15th 2026. Register now so you have time to make your accommodation arrangements. Thank you so much for both being here.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for the invitation. It's a pleasure to be here, Mandy.
Speaker 3:Thank you, it's been a real pleasure. It's going to be a wonderful affair.
Speaker 1:You've been listening to my conversation with Susan Page, founder and president of the San Miguel Writers Conference, and Jodi Pincus, the executive director. To help the show reach more people, please share episodes with friends and family and on social media, and remember to subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to this podcast. To find out more about the Bookshop Podcast, go to thebookshoppodcastcom and make sure to subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to the show. You can also follow me at Mandy Jackson Beverly on Instagram and Facebook and on YouTube at the Bookshop Podcast. If you have a favorite indie bookshop that you'd like to suggest we have on the podcast, I'd love to hear from you via the contact form at thebookshoppodcastcom. The Bookshop Podcast is written and produced by me, mandy Jackson-Beverly, theme music provided by Brian Beverly, and my executive assistant and graphic designer is Adrian Ottahan. Thanks for listening and I'll see you next time. Thank you.