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Summer is in full swing, and so are writing conferences. This July there are conferences, intensive workshops, retreats and book fairs from coast to coast. You will also have a chance to pitch your work to agents, meet editors, and get to know your fellow writers. Conferences provide great opportunities to network, so make the most of your experience!
I strongly recommend that you plan ahead for next year if you miss your perfect conference or workshop. Many of these conferences offer scholarships, but you have to apply early.
For a month-by-month list of conferences throughout the year see:
Writing Conferences. (You will also find links to resources that can help you find conferences in your area on that page.)
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Fine Arts Work Center Summer Workshops (poetry, fiction, art, and creative nonfiction). June 16 - August 23, 2019, Provincetown, Massachusetts. The faculty includes David Baker, Samiya Bashir, Jill Bialosky, Sophie Cabot Black, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Martha Collins, Kate Daniels, Nick Flynn, Vievee Francis, Gabriel Fried, Jorie Graham, Marie Howe, Major Jackson, Fred Marchant, Gail Mazur, Jane Mead, John Murillo, Eileen Myles, Matthew Olzmann, Gregory Pardlo, Carl Phillips, Rowan Ricardo Phillips, Victoria Redel, Martha Rhodes, Brenda Shaughnessy, Nicole Sealey, Alan Shapiro, Carmen Giménez Smith, Craig Morgan Teicher and many more. Tuition ranges from $600 to $725. (See individual workshops for dates.)
Idyllwild Arts Summer Program Writers Week. July 1 - 5, 2019, Idyllwild, California. Workshops, craft talks, readings, and one-on-one consultations in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The faculty includes poets Samiya Bashir, Victoria Chang, Katie Ford, and Ed Skoog; fiction writer Vu Tran; and nonfiction writers Wendy C. Ortiz and David Ulin. Participants include poets Brendan Constantine, Katie Marie Darling, and Javier Zamora; fiction writers Janet Fitch, Ben Loory, and Marie Mutsuki Mockett; and editor Halimah Marcus (Electric Literature). Tuition is $775, which includes daily lunches. Full meal plans are available for an additional $100. Campus dormitory housing for the week, which includes all meals, is $545 for a double room or $760 for a single room. Six scholarships covering tuition, lodging, and meals are available; submit up to 10 pages of poetry or prose with a $25 entry fee by April 16. General registration is first come, first served.
New York State Summer Writers Institute at Skidmore College. July 2 - 27, 2019: Saratoga Springs, NY. Workshops on Mon, Wed, Fri. Q & As with visiting writers on Tues and Thurs. Readings & presentations by visiting and staff writers. Symposia and student readings on weekends. Extra Manuscript Tutorials in fiction novels, and book-length non-fiction and poetry. The faculty includes poets Peg Boyers, Henri Cole, Campbell McGrath, Carol Muske-Dukes, Vijay Seshadri, and Rosanna Warren; fiction writers Elizabeth Benedict, Adam Braver, Jonathan Dee, Farth Greenwell, Adam Haslett, Amy Hempel, Claire Messud, Rick Moody, Howard Norman, Victoria Redel, Joanna Scott, and Danzy Senna; and creative nonfiction writers Phillip Lopate and James Miller. Tuition is $3,260 for four weeks, and $1,630 for two weeks. Lodging and meals are included. Submit two to three poems or 5 to 20 pages of prose with a $60 application fee. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Wake Up and Write Writer's Retreat Workshop. July 1 - 10, 2019: Boise, Idaho. Workshops, marketing sessions, and one-on-one with agent Lisa Abellera. This is a craft-oriented workshop with the focus squarely on your work-in-progress. The workshop will be limited to 25 students in order to provide each student an opportunity for several one-on-one consultations with our staff. In addition, there are classes for all students, optional informal sessions on a variety of topics, and diagnostic sessions in small groups, plus plenty of writing time.
Peripatetic Writing Workshop and Retreat. July 5 - 15, 2019: Deal, Kent, England. The first week of the conference features daily workshops, discussions, readings, and time to write. The second week of the conference features writing time, discussions, readings, and individual manuscript tutorials. The workshop will be led by NYU teachers and authors Maureen Brady and Martha Hughes.
Frost Place Conference on Poetry. July 6 - 12, 2019: Franconia, NH. Spend a week at “intensive poetry camp” with writers who are deeply committed to learning more about the craft of writing poetry. The Frost Place Poetry Conference offers daily workshops, classes, lectures, writing and revising time in a supportive and dynamic environment.
Tin House Summer Workshop. July 7 - 14, 2019, Portland, Oregon. Workshops with afternoon craft seminars and career panels. Evenings are reserved for author readings and revelry. Tin House editors and guest agents are available to meet individually with students throughout the week. Participating writers include poets Kaveh Akbar, Natalie Diaz, Maureen N. McLane, D. A. Powell, and Patricia Smith; fiction writers Jamel Brinkley, Lan Samantha Chang, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Danielle Evans, Kaitlyn Greenidge, Garth Greenwell, Kelly Link, Rebecca Makkai, Jim Shepard, Karen Shepard, Justin Torres, and Laura van den Berg; creative nonfiction writers Mitchell S. Jackson, Terese Marie Mailhot, and Michelle Tea; and graphic narrative writer Kristen Radtke. Tuition is $1,600; the fee for lodging and meals is $300. Workshops may be audited for $400. Scholarships are available; the deadline for scholarship applications is March 10. Submit a writing sample of up to four poems, 5,000 words of prose, or up to 15 pages of graphic narrative with a $30 application fee by April 7.
Young Writers Workshop. July 7 - 27, 2019, Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Restrictions: For students completing grades 9, 10, 11. Three 90-minute workshop sessions daily, including imaginative writing activities and discussion of readings. Weekly individual meetings with workshop instructor. Focus is on using various forms of creative writing to develop language and thinking skills.
Summer Fishtrap Gathering of Writers. July 8 - 14, 2019: Wallowa Lake, Oregon. Workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as panel discussions, readings, and open mics. "Held each July at Wallowa Lake in northeast Oregon, Summer Fishtrap gathers writers for a week of inspired writing workshops and culminates with a weekend of passionate discussion on a key issue facing the West."
ThrillerFest XIII. July 9–13, 2019, New York City. This is the annual conference of the International Thriller Writers. The ThrillerFest conference has four main components: Master CraftFest, CraftFest, PitchFest, and ThrillerFest. Master CraftFest was designed as an educational tool for aspiring writers as well as debut and midlist authors to gain advanced training from the masters of the craft in an intimate, day-long training session. CraftFest was designed for all writers to learn from bestselling authors and subject experts who kindly offer their advice and assistance to advance attendees’ writing techniques and further their careers. PitchFest was designed to match writers with agents, editors, publishers, and producers. ThrillerFest, the final two days of the conference, is intended to offer readers a chance to meet the best authors in the industry and be introduced to debut and midlist authors. Expect innovative panels, spotlight interviews, and workshops to educate and inspire.
Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing Summer Seminar. June 9 - 15 and 16 - 22, 2019, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Workshops in poetry and fiction, one-on-one manuscript consultations, panel discussions, and readings. Offers fellowships.
Southampton Writers Conference. July 10–21, 2019, Long Island, NY. The conference features workshops in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and publishing, as well as readings, lectures, and a master class series. Creative writing workshops are the heart and soul of the summer experience, meeting four afternoons or mornings throughout the session. Enrollment is limited to 13 lucky writers who have applied with writing samples. Those accepted have the privilege of sharing their work in an intimate, rigorous and friendly setting.
Green River Writers Workshops:Turning Memory into Story: Memoir Writing Workshop. July 11 - 14, 2018, Las Vegas, New Mexico. Using memory as a starting point, Green River Writers Workshops focus on the craft of storytelling through memoir, fiction, historical writing, and poetry. Both experienced and beginning writers are welcome.
IWWG Summer Writers Conference. July 12 - 19, 2019: Allentown, PA. The International Women's Writing Guild sponsors this residential writing program for women. Features: Over two dozen workshops ranging from three to six days in length and spanning fiction, poetry, memoir, creative nonfiction, screenwriting, playwriting, writing as performance, social justice, multi-genre, and mixed media; Critique sessions in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and playwriting; A multimedia open studio and Two book fairs.
The Summer Writers Institute. July 12 - 26, 2019, St. Louis, Missouri. The Washington University Summer Writers Institute is an intensive, two-week program featuring workshops in fiction, micro fiction, modern humor, personal narrative, playwriting, and poetry, as well as reading and individual conferences with instructors. Adult writers of all levels of experience work together with published authors and exceptional teachers in a supportive, non-competitive format that allows for personalized attention and constructive feedback.
The Gathering. July 12 - 14, 2019, La Plume, Pennsylvania. Workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as lectures and performances. "Each year The Gathering is structured around a theme that relates everyday experiences to broader issues. The purpose of The Gathering is to promote understanding and empathy to bridge cultural, social, and economic gaps. Lecturers include authors, poets, scientists, philosophers, musicians, performers, and artists who help shape contemporary thought in their field. A reading list gets us thinking ahead of time about the issues we’ll be immersed in at The Gathering. Our presenters have included Salman Rushdie, Gregory Maguire, Billy Collins, Ted Kooser, Diane Ackerman, Chris Abani, Susan Jacoby, Katherine Paterson, Peter Bohlin, Nancy Willard, Victor Navasky, Sandy Tolan, and many others. Their availability for conversation during meals and breaks and at social gatherings offers important opportunities for participants to gain new insights into the speakers’ work."
Port Townsend Writers’ Conference. July 14 - 21, 2019, Port Townsend, Washington. workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as craft lectures, readings, open mics, and time to write. "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."
Sewanee Writers’ Conference. July 16- 28, 2019: Sewanee, TN. Faculty will give readings and provide instruction and criticism through workshops and craft lectures, as well as meet individually with participants to discuss their manuscripts. The Conference will offer five fiction workshops, four poetry workshops, and a playwriting workshop supported by two professional actors. In addition, a substantial number of literary agents will attend.
North Carolina Writers' Network Squire Summer Writing Residency. July 18 - 19, 2019: Greenville, North Carolina. An intensive course in a chosen genre (fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry), with ten hour-and-a-half sessions over the four days of the program. Registrants work in-depth on their own manuscript samples, as well as their colleagues’, while also studying the principles of the genre with their instructor. Other features include faculty readings, panel discussions, and open mic sessions for residents. The cost of the residency ranges from $425 - $675, depending on membership and housing preferences.
Saskatchewan Festival of Words. July 18 - 21, 2019, Moose Jaw, Canada. Workshops for all ages, reading sessions, concerts, film, panel discussions, interviews, music, theatre, a slam poetry competition as well as workshops and author readings.
Cascade Three-day Writing Workshop. July 19 –21, 2019: Bremerton, WA. "Current speakers for the 2019 workshop include editor Diana M. Pho,agent Jennie Goloboy (of the Donald Maass Agency), editor Carl Engle-Laird, author Cat Rambo, author Wendy Wagner, author David Levine, author Curtis Chen, editor and author Jaym Gates, author John Pitts, and author Randy Henderson!"
Gemini Ink Writers Conference. July 19 - 21, 2019: San Antonio, Texas."For we all know that the idea of ‘place’ and the conversations that surround it continue to evolve and present new challenges as we search for our location. It can mean the chair we sit in to do our writing, the various settings that our words seek to evoke, or the way we engage with our perception of this beautiful, turbulent world. As we explore the internal and external landscapes that shape our stories on the page, we sometimes need a guide to help us find our way."
Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference. July 19 - 21, 2019, Grapevine, Texas. The Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference is a forum for journalists, writers, readers, students, educators and the general public to listen to, be inspired by and practice their craft at the highest possible level. Every year, the Mayborn Conference gathers some of the most talented storytellers in the country to share their stories, life-changing experiences and expertise with aspiring writers through three days of lectures, panels, one-on-one sessions, and student classes. In addition, the conference includes a variety of writing contests for anyone from high school students to Pulitzer prize winning professionals, who receive hand-made trophies, more than $26,000 in cash awards and have their work published in Mayborn's journal, Ten Spurs, or anthology, Best American Newspaper Narratives.
The Cleveland Writing Workshop. July 20, 2019, Cleveland, OH. A full-day “How to Get Published” writers conference. "One day full of classes and advice designed to give you the best instruction concerning how to get your writing & books published. We’ll discuss your publishing opportunities today, how to write queries & pitches, how to market yourself and your books, what makes an agent/editor stop reading your manuscript, and more. No matter what you’re writing — fiction or nonfiction — the day’s classes will help point you in the right direction. Writers of all genres are welcome."
Where to Begin: A Memoir Workshop. July 21 -26: Cape Cod, MA. "One of the hardest aspects of writing memoir is knowing where your story begins. Some memoirs begin with the meeting of the writers’ parents. Others start at the end of the story. And others begin with a central question posed by a traumatic event. Of course, with a first draft, it’s more important to actually get started than to find the perfect beginning. With that in mind, this workshop will focus on helping students locate the different doorways into their stories and how where they begin is an opportunity to define that story’s voice, setting, characters and scope. We’ll read and discuss the beginnings of various published works and experiment with different approaches through daily writing exercises. This class is suitable for generating new material, or for revising the beginning of an existing work. Class discussions will assume a fundamental understanding of craft including scene, summary, detail and description, but no prior workshop experience is necessary."
Waitlisted
Juniper Institute for Young Writers. July 21 - 28, 2019: Amherst, MA.
For high school students. Daily workshops in poetry, fiction, & nonfiction; interactive craft sessions that include discussions & writing exercises; evening readings by faculty & writers-in-residence. Workshops and craft sessions are led by MFA candidates from the renowned University of Massachusetts MFA Program for Poets and Writers who design curricula especially for the Institute setting.
Romance Writers of America. July 24 - 27, 2019, NY, NY. The RWA Conference is the place where career-focused romance writers meet, mingle, and get down to the business of being an author. Conference highlights include the “Readers for Life” Literacy Autographing; the Keynote speech; hearing from great speakers; book signings; and the Awards Ceremony. At the conference, career-focused romance writers can anticipate: education and information, networking with fellow writers, interaction with editors, agents, publishers, booksellers, and other romance publishing industry professionals.
Midwest Writers Workshop. July 25 - 27, 2019, Muncie, Indiana. Craft and business sessions, agent pitches, manuscript evaluations. MWW includes quality instruction by a faculty of authors, agents, editors, and specialists.
Mississippi Writers Guild 2019 Conference. July 26 - 27, 2019: Meridian, Mississippi. Speakers: Fred Cannon, Rose Drake, Michael Farris Smith, Tricia Walker, Michael Hicks Thompson, Diane Williams.
Confluence-SFF. July 26 - 28, 2019: Pittsburgh, PA. Located at the birthplace of the Ohio River, Confluence is Pittsburgh’s longest-running literary conference with a strong focus on science fiction, fantasy and horror. Award-winning authors, editors, artists and song-writers gather for three full days.
Bookstock Literary Festival. July 26 - July 28, 2019: Woodstock, Vermont.
From Poets & Writers: "The festival features workshops, readings, discussions, and a book fair for poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. Participating writers have included poets Benjamin Aleshire, Laura Foley, Pamela Harrison, April Ossmann, and Elizabeth Powell; fiction writers Jean Hanff Korenlitz and Roland Merullo; and nonfiction writers Jabari Asim, Bruce Coffin, and Sarah Prager. All events and workshops are free and open to the public."
The 2019 Colorado Writing Workshop. July 27, 2019: Denver Colorado. A full-day “How to Get Published” event. "This writing event is a wonderful opportunity to get intense instruction over the course of one day, pitch a literary agent or editor (optional), get your questions answered, and more."
Napa Valley Writers’ Conference. July 28 - August 2, 2019, St. Helena, California. The faculty includes poets Eavan Boland, Forrest Gander, Jane Hirshfield, and Major Jackson; fiction writers Lan Samantha Chang, Ryan Harty, Mitchell S. Jackson, and Julie Orringer; and translator Howard Norman. The cost of the conference is $1,025, which includes tuition, daily breakfast and lunch, two dinners, and wine tastings. Lodging is available at nearby hotels for discounted rates. Limited financial aid is available. Submit five poems, 10 to 15 pages of fiction, or a translation of up to three poems or 1,500 words of prose; a brief personal statement; and a $25
application fee by April 15.
Green Mountain Writers Conference. July 29 - August 2, 2019: Chittenden, Vermont. The program features workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as one-on-one consultations, lectures, publishing discussions, and readings. The faculty includes poets Justen Ahren, Dede Cummings, Gary Margolis, Elle Aviv Newton, and Verandah Porche; fiction writers Jensen Beach, Ann Braden, and Elizabeth Inness-Brown; and creative nonfiction writers Chuck Clarino and Yvonne Daley. Tuition is $600 before May 1, $650 until June 1, and $700 thereafter. The registration deadline is July 15. Lodging is available at the Mountain Top Inn for $800, which includes breakfast, lunch, and a discounted dinner rate.
Revision Retreat. July 31 – August 4, 2019: Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Sponsored by Highlights Foundation. In this working retreat, Harold Underdown and editor Eileen Robinson will teach proven techniques for self-editing and revising and help writers try them out on their manuscripts. Mornings will be dedicated to revision techniques and afternoons to model critique groups, individual meetings, and writing time.
