Mary Nobles Conrad
(1935-2023)
Our tribute
Written by Joan Tapper | Photographs courtesy of Kendall Conrad
For roughly three decades the aspiring authors and famous literary lights of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference knew her as the power behind the scenes. Barnaby Conrad Jr may have held center stage of the annual series of weeklong workshops, panels, and presentations, but Mary Nobles Conrad—who died on November 1 at age 88 at her home at Rincon Point, Carpinteria—was organizer, hostess, and the person who made it all happen.
“Dad brought the writers, but she was the producer...She made the conference happen.”
Her connections to Santa Barbara reached back decades. She was born in 1935 and grew up in Pasadena, but her prominent family spent entire summers at San Ysidro Ranch, where she enjoyed horseback riding in the hills. “She always loved coming here,” remembers her daughter, Kendall Conrad. “This was her holiday place.”
Mary went to school in Baltimore but returned to California to attend the Montecito School for Girls (now Casa Dorinda) and play tennis, a sport she excelled in. It was in Montecito that she met her first husband, William Slater, whose parents lived on Buena Vista Drive. The couple married in 1953, when Mary was 18, and the family, which soon included two sons—William Slater III and Michael Slater—eventually settled in Belvedere. After an amicable divorce in 1962, she married Conrad, an author, artist, bullfighter, and nightclub owner. A successful interior designer, Mary was also a lively hostess, and the Conrad home in San Francisco frequently welcomed actors, writers, and other celebrities.
But Santa Barbara beckoned. The family would come down every summer and spent Christmas here as well. “I think she got more and more attached to it,” says Kendall. “She said, ‘Let’s sell San Francisco, and move to Santa Barbara and start a writer’s conference.’ That was the intention.”
She and Barnaby built a house at the beach next to land her sister Annabel owned, and they moved in 1973, the same year the conference began. The roster of speakers that first June were Ray Bradbury (who became a regular), Ross Macdonald, Budd Shulberg, and Jessica Mitford. They set the tone for the decades that followed, with Barnaby calling on well-known writers who lectured and socialized with conference attendees. The literati ranged from Cristopher Isherwood, James Michener, Gore Vidal, and Alex Haley to Peanuts creator Charles Schulz, Elmore Leonard, Eudora Welty, Amy Tan, and Fannie Flagg, who famously began as an attendee and went on to become a best-selling novelist. “Dad brought the writers, but she was the producer,” says Kendall.” “She made the conference happen.”
After one year at Cate School, the conference moved to the Miramar Hotel, where the informal, slightly bohemian atmosphere encouraged interaction and gave rise to late-night “pirate” sessions that the event was famous for. After 32 years the Conrads sold the conference to Monte Schulz, the cartoonist’s son, who has kept it going, celebrating the 50th anniversary last summer.
Barnaby Conrad passed away in 2013, but Mary reached into her memories and memorabilia to produce the Santa Barbara Writers Conference Scrapbook with Armando Nieto and Matthew J. Pallamary. Published in 2017, it gave rise to a documentary movie for which she was executive producer. “I had pictures and press—everything, including the parties,” said Mary in an interview when the book came out. “I wanted to have people know that this happened in Santa Barbara.” Both the book and the film pay tribute to the people who led and attended the conference and to its inspiring, accessible vibe. “There was a wonderful rubbing of elbows,” she added.
Over the years Mary lent her support to other organizations and causes, from animal welfare, the local fire department, veteran organizations, and cancer research, and she remained an enthusiastic hostess. “Christmas was always a big party,” says Kendall.
And her legacy lives on at the writer’s conference, notes its director, Grace Rachow, who points to Mary’s wisdom and foresight as a core reason for its success even after five decades. “Although Barnaby Conrad was known for being a raconteur,” adds Rachow, “Mary was an excellent storyteller in her own right. Her work on the SBWC Scrapbook brought forth many luminary tales we had not heard before, and her vision had a real impact on the careers of several generations of writers.”
Mary is survived by her sons, William and Michael Slater; her daughter Kendall Conrad; her stepchildren, Barnaby Conrad III, Cayetana Conrad, and Winston Conrad; her grandchildren Will and Adam Slater, Morgan, Conrad, and Sammy Slater, and Luisa and Femanda Cameron; and great-grandson Kai Slater.
To read more about Mary Conrad’s leadership with the Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference, click here:
The Conrad family have been contributors to Santa Barbara Magazine for decades, including designer Kendall Conrad on the cover a record three times:
