Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) will stage its annual Writer’s Symposium by the Sea from Feb. 2-6 at its cliffside campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Political satirist Christopher Buckley, Pulitzer Prize finalist Luis Alberto Urrea and rock ’n’ roll singer and writer Richie Furay will headline the conference. Surgeon/author Pauline W. Chen, Bridge to Terbithia screenwriter David Paterson, pastor and author Brian D. McLaren, science and religion scholar Karl Giberson and alternative singer/songwriter Greg Laswell — a PLNU alum — round out the list of featured speakers at the symposium. Unlike most other writing conferences which bring editors and agents together to meet with aspiring authors, PLNU brings in only writers and musician/writers as speakers. Organizers continue to use the interview format requested by local crime writer Joseph Wam-baugh, the first symposium speaker 14 years ago, who agreed to participate if he were interviewed in a one-on-one setting. The format proved a resoun-ding success. “We started the symposium as we were trying to find ways to encourage, instill and inspire good writing in our students,” said Dr. Dean Nelson, dir-ector of PLNU’s journalism program. “We started out thinking it would be for the students but it also resonated so well with the public. It (draws) an interesting mix of students and members of the San Diego community,” he said. Each year, the conference brings in nationally and internationally known authors. Among past participants are writers Anne Lamott, Bill Moyers, Ray Bradbury, James Fallows, Otis Chandler and George Plimpton. This year the symposium will kick off Mon., Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m. with liver transplant and cancer surgeon Chen, author of Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflections on Mortality. It will culminate on Fri., Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m. with Buckley, novelist and author of Thank You for Smoking and other satirical novels. Founder and editor-in-chief of Forbes Life magazine, speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush and past contributor to The Atlantic, The New Yorker and other publications, Buckley gained recent notoriety when he was fired from The National Review, the conservative magazine his father founded, for endorsing Barack Obama for president. Tijuana-born Urrea, author of the recent The Hummingbird’s Daughter, will speak on Tues., Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. His previous book, The Devil’s Highway, named the best book of the year by The Los Angeles Times and a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize, began as a series for The Reader of San Diego. The book tracks the odyssey of a group of border crossers through the desert. Most ultimately died. Urrea will share his unique insight into Tijuana and border issues. Buffalo Springfield and Poco alumnus Furay, a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, will be interviewed Wed., Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m. along with local alternative singer/songwriter Greg Laswell, former lead singer of the alternative rock band Shillglen. Furay is bringing his band to perform live following the interview. McLaren, named by Time magazine as one of the 25 most influential evangelists in the U.S., has written or co-written over a dozen books. His recent books, Everything Must Change and A New Kind of Christian, have shown him to be an innovative thinker with an unconventional worldview. He will speak on Fri., Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. Screenwriter, actor and playwright Paterson adapted his mother’s Newbery Award-winning novel, Bridge to Terabithia, for film. He will discuss screenwriting and producing in a workshop on Thurs., Feb. 5 at 1 p.m. and will be interviewed that evening at 7:30 p.m. Giberson, author of Saving Darwin: How to be a Christian and Believe in Evolution, is known for his innovative approach to reconciling Christian theology with Darwinism, evolution and science. He will meet with PLNU students Tues., Feb. 3, at 12:30. Each event is ticketed separately. Individual event tickets ranging from $10 to $15 may be purchased online at www.pointloma.edu/writers, which offers full details of the symposium, as well as a map and directions to the PLNU campus, located at 3900 Lomaland Drive off Catalina Boulevard. Tickets may also be purchased by calling (619) 849-2297.