PHOENIX-WHITE DEATH, part of the NUMA Files series with Paul Kemprecos, will be released June 20th. In between working on three new novels this year, the international television show THE SEA HUNTERS and the movie of his best seller SAHARA, author Clive Cussler will take a break to speak to aspiring writers at the 31st Annual Santa Barbara Writers' Conference June 22nd. Other luminaries joining Cussler include Joseph Wambaugh, Ray Bradbury, Fannie Flagg, Sander Vanocur, Shelley Berman, and Tom Brokaw. The Conference, which is limited to 350 beginning and experienced writers, will be held at Westmont College in Montecito, CA from June 20th to 27th. The weeklong event includes workshops, lectures, personal conferences and daily interaction with writers of fiction and non-fiction, journalists, poets, screenwriters, agents, editors and publishers. For additional information on the Conference please contact, Mary Conrad, SBWC, 805 684-2250. Cussler will only do one book signing for WHITE DEATH. That will be at Border's Books in Santa Barbara, 7 p.m. June 23rd.

"I am truly looking forward to the opportunity to meet with young writers who will fill my role in the action adventure genre," Cussler stated. "I have been very blessed in my career and it is a good feeling to be able to impart a bit of whatever insights I have picked up along the way to the next generation of writers. The new Dirk Pitt (r) novel should be published in December."

Cussler, author of 19 best selling fiction and two best selling non-fiction books, describes himself as an entertainer from his days in advertising. Cussler's Dirk Pitt (r) novels - including VALHALLA RISING, INCA GOLD and RAISE THE TITANIC! - have made him the undisputed Grand Master of the action-adventure novel. Like his fictional hero, Cussler is fascinated by the sea and the secrets it holds. That's why Cussler founded the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) in 1979. This 501C3 non-profit is dedicated to preserving maritime history. Cussler and his team of NUMA marine experts and volunteers have discovered more than 60 historically significant underwater wreck sites. After verifying their finds, they turn the rights to the artifacts over to non-profits, universities or government entities throughout the world.

"Because of my schedule for expeditions this summer, I will not have time for a book tour for WHITE DEATH. I hate to disappoint my fans but hope that if I am successful with this quest everyone will agree it was worth while," Cussler continued.

Cussler will be doing a book signing at Barnes & Noble in Mt. Pleasant, SC, on September 20th in conjunction with a NUMA event.

SAHARA is slated to be Paramount's Fourth of July blockbuster release for 2004; it will star Matthew McConaughey as Dirk Pitt® and be directed by Breck Eisner.

THE GOLDEN BUDDHA, the first in the new OREGON Files series, will be released October 7th in paperback.

TROJAN ODYSSEY, the next Dirk Pitt® adventure, will be released in December.