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:
San Miguel Writers’ Conference

San Miguel Writers’ Conference

FEBRUARY 13—MARCH 17, 2023
SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, MEXICO (IN PERSON & ONLINE)
As the largest and most prestigious cocultural, bilingual literary gathering in the Americas, each February the San Miguel Writers’ Conference & Literary Festival attracts distinguished authors, established and emerging writers, industry experts, teaching professionals, and avid readers from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe.
Faculty: Merridith Allen, Meg Eden, Anna Knutson Geller, Anna Knutson Geller, Amy Gottlieb, Laurie Gough, Judyth Hill, Elizabeth Kracht, Elizabeth Kracht, Kathrin Lake, David Robbins, Mark Saunders, Diana Spechler, Danielle Trussoni, Audrey Wick, Laura Juliet Wood
Genres Offered: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, Live Storytelling
Contact: www.sanmiguelwritersconference.org/contact/
Sewanee Writers' Conference

Sewanee Writers' Conference

JULY 19—31, 2022
SEWANEE, TN
Workshop sessions combine lectures and informal exchanges in a group meeting with the aim of encouraging members to discuss their work and the craft of writing. Each participant is assigned to a workshop led by two faculty members. Workshops meet five times, on alternating days, to form the core of the 12-day program.
Faculty (previous): Chris Bachelder, Jamel Brinkley, Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, Alexander Chee, Tarfia Faizullah, Adrianne Harun, Vanessa Hua, Mark Jarman, Katie Kitamura, Amitava Kumar, Nate Marshall, Jill McCorkle, Claire Messud, Elena Passarello, Carl Phillips, Aisha Sabatini Sloan, A.E. Stallings, Jess Walter, Stephanie Powell Watts, Monica Youn
Genres Offered: Fiction, Poetry, Playwriting
Contact: @email
Sirenland Writers Conference

Sirenland Writers Conference

MARCH 26—APRIL 1, 2023
POSITANO, ITALY
Each day features intensive, small-group workshops with writers Dani Shapiro, Jess Walter, and Jim Shepard, private writing time, and talks about living the writer’s life. Evenings will include student and instructor readings, visits from guest writers, and fantastic meals overlooking the beauty of the Tirreno Sea.
Faculty: Susan Choi, Michael Maren, Dani Shapiro, Jim Shepard, Karen Shepard
Genres Offered: Fiction, Memoir
Contact: http://sirenland.net/contact/
Southampton Writers’ Conference

Southampton Writers’ Conference

JULY 6—10, 2022
SOUTHAMPTON, NY
Since 1976, writers have gathered every July in Southampton to take workshops with some of the country’s most distinguished authors of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. The Southampton Writers Conference, as it has long been known, began with just a few offerings but has gradually grown to include dozens of creative writing workshops and hundreds of participants.
Faculty: Melissa Bank, Melissa Bank, Melissa Bank, Lesa Cline-Ransome, Billy Collins, Dawn Lundy Martin, Dawn Lundy Martin, Beth Nguyen, Azareen Van Der Vliet Oloomi, Frederic Tuten, Padma Venkatraman
Genres Offered: Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction, Memoir, Generative, Children's Literature
Contact: @email
Southern California Writers’ Conference

Southern California Writers’ Conference

FEBRUARY 17—19, 2023
SAN DIEGO, CA
Founded and run by professional writers, the SCWC provides veteran and emerging talent with authoritative guidance to help distinguish those manuscripts that are ready for market consideration, having facilitated some $4 million worth of first-time authors’ book and screen deals.
Faculty: Amy Fisher, Scott McGaugh, Jeff Pollak, Barbara Pronin, Janis Thomas
Genres Offered: Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction
Contact: Michael Steven Gregory @email
Surrey International Writers’ Conference

Surrey International Writers’ Conference

OCTOBER 20—22, 2023
SURREY, CANADA
The Surrey International Writers’ Conference is a workshop-based conference with a focus on development of skills and industry-based knowledge. Whether you are a beginning writer or widely published, this is the place to hone your skills, learn more about markets, and network future sales. SiWC runs annually the third weekend in October, Friday through Sunday.
Faculty (previous): Cathy Ace, Carleigh Baker, Nicole Blades, Elizabeth Boyle, Jason Brick, Dani Collins, Eileen Cook, Delilah S Dawson, Sonali Dev, Piper J. Drake, kc dyer, Hallie Ephron, Debbi Michiko Florence, Lee Edward Födi, Diana Gabaldon, Kevin Hearne, C.C Humphreys, Crystal Hunt, Susanna Kearsley, Rukhsana Khan, Mary Robinette Kowal, Doretta Lau, Owen Laukkanen, John Mavin, Denise Mina, Liza Palmer, Anne Perry, Cat Rambo, Renée Saklikar, Michael Slade, Monique Gray Smith, Sam Wiebe, Ian Williams, Jan Wong
Genres Offered: Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction
Contact: @email
The International Dublin Writers’ Festival

The International Dublin Writers’ Festival

SEPTEMBER 15—17, 2023
DUBLIN, IRELAND
This conference will help you to improve your writing craft, self-publish successfully, and plan the marketing necessary for any author to achieve success, whether traditionally published or self-published.
Faculty (previous): Christina M. Abt, Lauren Arrington, June Considine, Diarmuid Fitzgerald, Gerald M. Kilby, Dr. Nita Mishra, Alison Morton, Laurence O'Bryan, David Pearson, Heather Richardson, Tanja Slijepčević
Genres Offered: Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction
Contact: @email
The Port Townsend Writers Conference

The Port Townsend Writers Conference

JULY 16—22, 2023
PORT TOWNSEND, WA
The Port Townsend Writers’ Conference has been since 1974 at the wild heart of the thriving Pacific Northwest literary scene. With a focus on community and rigorous attention to craft, the conference offers morning workshops, afternoon workshops, residencies, guided freewrites, and a vibrant readings and lectures series presented by vital, contemporary writers.
Faculty: Kim Addonizio, Quenton Baker, Elizabeth Colen, Alice Derry, ​Melissa Febos, CMarie Fuhrman, Tess Gallagher, Jennifer Givhan, Derrick Harriell, Arna Bontemps Hemenway, Brandon Hobson, Ravi Howard, Sasha LaPointe, ​Sam Ligon, Sebastian Matthews, Rena Priest, Laura Read, Anastacia Reneé, Shawn Vestal, Kristen Millares Young
Genres Offered: Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction
Contact: Jordan Hartt @email
Tin House Workshops

Tin House Summer & Winter Workshops

JULY 8—16, 2023, FEBRUARY 21—24, 2020
PORTLAND, OR (IN PERSON & ONLINE)
These weekend workshops combine the rugged beauty of the Oregon Coast with a weekend immersed in all things literary. The program consists of morning workshops with no more than six writers per class, one-on-one meetings with faculty, afternoon craft discussions, and/or generative exercises. Evenings are reserved for conversations by the fire and coastal revelry.
Faculty (previous): Kristen Arnett, Gabrielle Bates, Elaine Castillo, Vanessa Chan, Sonali Chanchani, Cyrus Dunham, Jaquira Díaz, Melissa Febos, Megan Fernandes, Kelli Jo Ford, Hafizah Geter, Manuel Gonzales, Raquel Gutiérrez, Raquel Gutiérrez, Serene Hakim, Jamil Jan Kochai, E.J. Koh, Talia Lakshmi Kolluri, Sasha LaPointe, Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, Dantiel W. Moniz, A.E. Osworth, Nadia Owusu, Deesha Philyaw, Khadijah Queen, Matthew Salesses, Solmaz Sharif, Jake Skeets, Meredith Talusan, Morgan Thomas, Morgan Thomas, Jeanne Thornton, Paul Tran, Paul Tran, Alejandro Varela, Vanessa Angélica Villarreal, Dawnie Walton, Laura Warrell, Kent D. Wolf
Genres Offered: Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction
Contact: @email
Tinker Mountain Writers - Hollins University

Tinker Mountain Writers

JUNE 11—15, 2023
ROANOKE, VA
Since 2005, Tinker Mountain Writers has been nurturing and empowering a wide range of writers through workshops in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. We gather some of the best teachers of writing, who work alongside you to hone your craft and take your work to the next level.
Faculty: Rachel Beanland, Amanda Cockrell, Dorothy Hassan, Fred Leebron, Rebecca Lindenberg, James McKean, Dan Mueller, The Middle Place, Laura Ruby
Genres Offered: Fiction, Poetry, Memoir
Contact: @email
University of North Dakota Writers' Conference

University of North Dakota Writers Conference

MARCH 23—25, 2023
GRAND FORKS, ND (IN PERSON & ONLINE)
Founded in 1970, the UND Writers Conference is free and open to the public. Past participants have included William H. Gass, Salman Rushdie, Truman Capote, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, N. Scott Momaday, and many, many others.
Faculty: Alejandro Varela, Morgan Talty
Genres Offered: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry
Contact: Crystal Alberts @email
The Vancouver Writers Fest

The Vancouver Writers Fest

OCTOBER 17—23, 2022
VANCOUVER, CANADA
Our activities to achieve this include both year-round programming and our flagship, annual literary festival: one of the largest, and most prestigious, in North America, which brings tens of thousands of audience members to see events with local and international authors during one week in October.
Faculty (previous): Elif Batuman, Emma Donoghue, Adam Gopnik, Aleksandar Hemon, Deborah Landau, Lauren Markham, Chigozie Obioma
Genres Offered: Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction
Contact: Zoe Grams @email
Writer’s Digest Conference

Writer’s Digest Conference

JULY 28—31, 2022
NEW YORK, NY
The Writer’s Digest Annual Conference offers everything you need to advance creatively and professionally as a writer—no matter what stage of your career you are at. And it’s all brought to you by Writer’s Digest, the experts at nurturing and developing new writers for more than ninety years.
Faculty: David Corbett, Tiffany D. Jackson, Marlon James, Beverly Jenkins, Sadeqa Johnson, Robert Jones Jr., Michael La Ronn, Susan Shapiro, Jeff Somers, Ralph Walker, Heather Webb
Genres Offered: Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction
Contact: @email
The Writer’s Hotel

The Writer’s Hotel

MAY 24—30, 2023
NEW YORK, NY
The Writer’s Hotel “Mini MFA” is a one-of-a-kind conference. The Writer’s Hotel editors read and consult on each writer’s full length manuscript pre-conference, followed by a week-long conference in June. Workshops, lectures, and agent pitch sessions take place at three hotels in Midtown, NYC.
Faculty: Elyssa East, Jeff Ford, Elizabeth Hand, James Patrick Kelly, Shanna McNair, Lewis Robinson, Debra Spark, Scott Wolven
Genres Offered: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry
Contact: @email