After a one-year absence, AAN West is returning to the Bay Area this winter. The conference will be held on Jan. 29 and 30 in Berkeley immediately after the Web Publishing Conference in San Francisco.

Conference programming is scheduled to take place at two hotels — the Bancroft and Hotel Durant — which are located within a block of each other, with a Friday night welcome reception within walking distance at the famous Blake’s on Telegraph.

The programming at AAN west focuses on line-level staff in sales, editorial, design/production and business. The four streams were developed by a planning committee representative of all alt-weekly departments at seven California AAN members. Featuring a mix of roundtable discussions, networking and guest-speaker presentations, the sessions will largely be grounded in the industry’s continued move towards the web and the tough economic times. For full programming details, click here.

Conference attendees can enjoy a reduced rate of $114 per night at the Hotel Durant; the special rate will be held until Jan. 8, 2010. To obtain the attendee code and make reservations, click here.

Early registration rates for the conference are $75 per person for AAN members and $150 per person for non-members. After Dec. 31, both rates will rise by $25. Registration fees include Friday’s reception and a lunch on Saturday. To register, click here.

Like the most recent AAN West conference in 2008, this one is being organized by a planning committee of California-based AAN members — Deborah Redmond, Tim Redmond (no relation), Mike Naar, Bradley Zeve, Jody Colley, Judy Hodgson and Robby Robbins — with modest logistical and on-site assistance from the AAN staff.