Conferences

Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall, city or country, national or international, find the writing conference you desire. Our selective, searchable list of conferences features many of our published authors.


Location:
Degree:
Season (Northern):
Duration:
Algonkian Writer Retreat and Novel Workshop

Algonkian Writer Retreat and Novel Workshop

MARCH 22—26, 2023
ALGONKIAN PARK, VA
Our ultimate goal is to realistically increase your odds of becoming a published author by showing you how to inhabit that upper percentile of writers who will have their work taken seriously by professionals in the business.
Faculty: Herta Feely, Michael Neff, Alan Orloff, Christine Stewart, Richard Washer, Emily Williamson
Genres Offered: Fiction
Contact: @email
Alice Munro Festival of the Short Story

Alice Munro Festival of the Short Story

JUNE 2—4, 2023
WINGHAM, CANADA
The Alice Munro Festival of the Short Story (AMFSS) stages an annual literary festival that honors Alice Munro and nurtures emerging writers through workshops and onstage presentations that celebrate the short story.
Faculty (previous): Danielle Daniel, Cherie Dimaline, Marni Jackson, Falen Johnson, Kyo Maclear, Alexander MacLeod, Lee Maracle, Heather Marshall, Alix Ohlin, Michael Ondaatje, Jane Urquhart, M.G. Vassanji, Chelsea Vowel
Genres Offered: Fiction
Contact: @email
Angelo State University Writers’ Conference

Angelo State University Writers’ Conference

MARCH 2—3, 2023
SAN ANGELO, TX
The 24th annual ASU Writers Conference featuring Laila Lalami will bring together old friends and new for a celebration highlighting the achievements of San Angelo’s own Elmer Kelton.
Genres Offered: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry
Contact: Chris Ellery @email
Association of Writers & Writing Programs

Association of Writers & Writing Programs

MARCH 8—11, 2023
SEATTLE, WA (ONLINE & IN PERSON)
The AWP Conference & Bookfair is an essential annual destination for writers, teachers, students, editors, and publishers. Each year more than 12,000 attendees join our community for four days of insightful dialogue, networking, and unrivaled access to the organizations and opinion makers that matter most in contemporary literature.
Faculty: Ellen Bass, Paul Hlava Ceballos, Janine Joseph, Eugenia Leigh, Nathan McClain, Paisley Rekdal, Vanessa Angelica Villarreal, Michael Wiegers
Genres Offered: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry
Contact: @email
Bay Area Book Festival

Bay Area Book Festival

MAY 6—7, 2023
BERKELEY, CA (IN PERSON & ONLINE)
The Bay Area Book Festival is a two-day event complete with literary sessions presenting top authors from this region, the nation, and the world, along with an outdoor fair with hundreds of literary exhibitors. The Festival kicked off in 2015 with the mission to create a free, inclusive, world-class literary event in the Bay Area. Since then, the Festival has welcomed more than 800 authors and is approaching 100,000 attendees.
Faculty (previous): Michael Eric Dyson, Carol Edgarian, Kazuo Ishiguro, Nnedi Okorafor, Nathaniel Rich, Orville Schell, Jeff VanderMeer, Vendela Vida, Charles Yu
Genres Offered: Fiction, Poetry, Science Fiction, Memoir, History
Contact: @email
Book Passage Mystery Writers’ Conference

Book Passage Mystery Writers’ Conference

JULY 30—AUGUST 2, 2020
CORTE MADERA, CA
The four-day Book Passage Mystery Writers’ Conference has a strong tradition of great authors and teachers. It covers everything mystery writers need—from developing ideas and writing skills to finding a publisher.
Faculty (previous): Cara Black, David Corbett, Hallie Ephron, Elizabeth George, Rachel Howzell Hall, Tim Maleeny, Amy Rennert
Genres Offered: Fiction, Mystery
Contact: @email.
Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference

Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference

AUGUST 16—26, 2023
RIPTON, VT
Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, founded in 1926 and boasting a rich literary and intellectual tradition, gathers together emerging writers to work closely with a diverse and talented faculty. For ten days in August, conference attendees experience the intensity—and challenge—of working under the guidance of notable writers.
Faculty: Elizabeth Ash, Dean Bakopoulos, Erin Belieu, Laura van den Berg, Jennifer Finney Boylan, Christopher Castellani, Victoria Chang, Alice Elliott Dark, Elisa Gabbert, Tania James, Tomás Q. Morín, Matthew Olzmann, Carl Phillips, Patrick Phillips, Emily Raboteau, Jess Row, David Treuer, Luis Alberto Urrea, Vievee Francis, Tiphanie Yanique, Paul Yoon
Genres Offered: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry
Contact: @email
Free Expressions Seminars: Breakout Novel Intensive

Breakout Novel Intensive

APRIL 24—30, 2021, MAY 15—21, 2023
HOOD RIVER, OR (IN PERSON & ONLINE)
This workshop is as ideal for those just beginning a new project as it is for those embarking on a revision of a completed work. While writers at all level of craft are welcome, we assume a basic understanding of fiction craft.
Faculty: Donald Maas, Lorin Oberweger, Brenda Windberg
Genres Offered: Fiction
Contact: Lorin Oberweger @email
Cambridge Writers’ Workshop

Cambridge Writers’ Workshop

MARCH 19—22, 2020
NEW OREANS, LA
Known for its Spanish and French architecture, live jazz, Cajun food, and street festivals, New Orleans offers an inspirational and one-of-a-kind experience for writers. Our retreat features multi-genre workshops, as well as craft seminars and time to write.
Faculty: Stephen Aubrey, Rita Banerjee, Diana Norma Szokolyai
Genres Offered: Fiction, Poetry
Contact: @email
The Colrain Classic

The Colrain Classic

JANUARY 27—30, 2023
ONLINE
A select group of poets will bring their completed or in-progress manuscripts to the The Arlington Inn in Arlington, Vermont, a village estate built in 1847 that was later turned into a summer hotel. In this beautiful setting, poets will work closely with conference faculty.
Faculty: Peter Covino, Joan Houlihan
Genres Offered: Poetry
Contact: Joan Houlihan @email
Community of Writers at Squaw Valley

Community of Writers

JUNE 19—25, 2023, JULY 10—17, 2023
OLYMPIC VALLEY, CA
These workshops assist serious writers by exploring the art and craft as well as the business of writing. The week offers daily morning workshops, craft lectures, panel discussions on editing and publishing, staff readings, and brief individual conferences. In addition to their workshop manuscripts, participants may have a second manuscript read by a staff member who meets with them in individual conferences.
Faculty: Kazim Ali, Chris Feliciano Arnold, Victoria Chang, Alex Espinoza, Lynn Freed, Molly Giles, Carmen Giménez, Robert Hass, Brenda Hillman, Vanessa Hua, Dana Johnson, Michelle Latiolais, Maceo Montoya, Keenan Norris, Sharon Olds, Peter Orner, Kirstin Valdez Quade, Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, Evie Shockley, Amy Tan
Genres Offered: Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Poetry
Contact: https://communityofwriters.org/contact/
Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference

Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference

FEBRUARY 18—20, 2021
TEMPE, AZ
Featuring over 25 award-winning writers, editors, agents, educators, and other internationally recognized creative writing professionals, our faculty are here to do more than expand your skill set or open new ways of thinking about your work. They're here to share their experiences, answer questions, and spend time connecting with conference attendees.
Faculty: Sally Ball, Matt Bell, Sherwin Bitsui, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Vanessa Hua, Alberto Álvaro Ríos, Solmaz Sharif
Genres Offered: Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction
Contact: @email
Eckerd College Writers’ Conference: Writers in Paradise

Eckerd College Writers’ Conference:
Writers in Paradise

JANUARY 14—21, 2023
ST. PETERSBURG, FL
Located on the beautiful waterfront campus of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, this writers’ conference features professional writers at the top of their form spending quality time with motivated and talented participants seeking an intimate, unhurried climate for learning . . . in paradise.
Faculty: Anjanette Delgado, Ann Hood, Andre Dubus III, Major Jackson, Michael Koryta, Laura Lippman, Stewart O’Nan, Les Standiford, Sterling Watson
Genres Offered: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Contact: Marina Pruna @email
Flathead River Writers’ Conference

Flathead River Writers’ Conference

SEPTEMBER 19—20, 2020
KALISPELL, MT
The Annual Flathead River Writers’ Conference is a nationally acclaimed two-day event giving members and guests the opportunity to learn from and mingle with published authors, agents, editors, and publishers from all over the country.
Faculty (previous): Susan Adrian, Christine Carbo, Kathy Dunnehoff, Larry Martin, Jess Owen, Kate Testerman, Cindy Uh
Genres Offered: Fiction, Nonfiction, Screenwriting
Contact: http://www.authorsoftheflathead.org
Haiku North America

Haiku North America

JUNE 28—JULY 2, 2023
CINCINNATI, OH
Haiku North America (HNA) is a biennial conference in celebration of haiku poetry. Every two years we offer five stimulating days of papers, panels, workshops, readings, performances, book sales, cultural outings, and much socialization with fellow poets, translators, scholars, editors, and publishers. Everyone is welcome to attend HNA, the largest and oldest gathering of haiku poets in the United States and Canada.
Faculty (previous): Garry Gay, Deborah P. Kolodji, Paul Miller, Michael Dylan Welch
Genres Offered: Poetry
Contact: http://www.haikunorthamerica.com/contact-us.html
Iceland Writers Retreat

Iceland Writers Retreat

APRIL 26—30, 2023
REYKJAVIK, ICELAND
Join us for a series of workshops and panels led by an esteemed team of international writers. Between intimate workshops and lectures, we’ll offer the chance to tour the spectacular Golden Circle, sit in the cozy cafés of Reykjavík, soak in geothermal hot springs, listen to new Icelandic music, meet contemporary Icelandic writers, and learn about the country’s rich literary tradition.
Faculty: Chloe Aridjis, Oyinkan Braithwaite, Carol Leonnig, Claire Messud, Omar Mouallem, Helen Oyeyemi, Danny Ramadan, Kiley Reid, Amanda Smyth, Rúnar Helgi Vignisson, James Wood
Genres Offered: Fiction, Nonfiction
Contact: @email
Jackson Hole Writers Conference

Jackson Hole Writers Conference

JUNE 22—24, 2023
JACKSON HOLE, WY
Jackson Hole Writers Conference’s intimate size means writers meet each other and the faculty, share ideas along with a glass of beer or wine, and make new contacts in a workshop.
Faculty: Deborah Atkinson, Broughton Coburn, Matt Daly, Dave Eggers, Jonathan Evison, Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Candace Fleming, Kevin Grange, Shawn Klomparens, Laurie Kutchins, Lise McClendon, Kate Northrop, Robert Righter, Eric Rohmann, Amy Kathleen Ryan, Jeremy Schmidt, Scott Schumaker, Patti Sherlock, Nanci Turner Steveson, Chris La Tray, Eugene Yelchin
Genres Offered: Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction
Contact: Anne Marie Wells @email
James River Writers

James River Writers

OCTOBER 10—11, 2020
RICHMOND, VA
Since 2003, the James River Writers Conference has attracted award-winning authors and highly regarded editors and agents from around the country to share their wisdom about the craft and business of writing and publishing.
Faculty (previous): Cherise Fisher, Amy Gary, Sadeqa Johnson, Beth Macy, Booker T. Mattison, Margot Lee Shetterly
Genres Offered: Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction
Contact: https://jamesriverwriters.org/contact/
Kauai Writers Conference

Kauai Writers Conference

NOVEMBER 12—14, 2021
LIHUE, HI
The Kauai Writers Conference offers keynote talks by distinguished authors, one-on-one workshops led by literary agents, editors, and other publishing experts, and intensive master classes to inspire writers of fiction, narrative nonfiction, memoir, screenplays, and poetry, and help all conference participants find their path to publication.
Faculty: Adrienne Brodeur, Nicholas Delbanco, Lauren Groff, Charles Johnson, Christina Baker Kline, Joshua Mohr, Téa Obreht, Richard Russo, Helen Simonson, Scott Turow, Luis Alberto Urrea, Meg Wolitzer
Genres Offered: Fiction, Nonfiction, Memoir, Screenwriting, Poetry
Contact: @email
Kentucky Women Writers Conference

Kentucky Women Writers Conference

SEPTEMBER 9—12, 2021
LEXINGTON, KY
The Kentucky Women Writers Conference is the longest-running literary festival of women in the nation. An annual event launched by the University of Kentucky in 1979, it has become a premier destination for the celebration of women’s arts and letters.
Faculty (previous): Chantel Acevedo, Jane Alison, Ifa Bayeza, Franny Choi, DaMaris Hill, Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman, Barbara Hurd, Dorianne Laux, Lydia Millet, Ellen Birkett Morris, Antonya Nelson, Savannah Sipple, Alice Speilburg, Ashlee Clark Thompson, Margaret Verble
Genres Offered: Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction, Playwriting
Contact: Julie Wrinn @email