This April there are more than two dozen writing conferences and workshops. Some conferences and workshops will be held online, but some will be held in person as pandemic restrictions ease. Virtual events still offer everything a writer might want: intensive workshops, pitch sessions with agents, to how to market yourself and your books, discussions - there is something for everyone.
For a full list of conferences held throughout the year see Writing Conferences. Quite a few offer scholarships, so apply early.
(Image: Piqsels)
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Rananim online classes Courses run for eight weeks from April through May. "Participants receive personalized feedback on assignments from their instructor, as well as responses from classmates on discussion board forums. All instructors are university professors and/or working professional writers, who have experience teaching at the Taos Summer Writers’ Conference. Classes are limited to 15 students who will engage in conversation with you and your work. Firm deadlines and feedback help keep you writing and improving your work throughout the class." International students accepted. Cost: $400 per class.
WonderCon. April 1 - 3, 2022 Anaheim, CA. HUGE comic book convention.
West Chester University Poetry Conference. April 6 - 10, 2022: West Chester, PA. The conference offers poetry workshops and features a keynote speaker, critical seminars, panel discussions, faculty readings, and an opportunity for participants to have conferences with workshop leaders and resident poets. Will be held online and in person.
Las Vegas Writer’s Conference April 7 – 9, 2022: Las Vegas, Nevada. Join writing professionals, agents publishers and marketing experts for a weekend of workshops and enlightening discussions about the publishing industry. A chance to pitch your manuscript and ideas to agents. Will be held online and in person.
Tennessee Mountain Writers Annual Conference. April 7 – 9, 2022: Oak Ridge, TN. Speakers and session leaders include Lisa Coffman, Pamela Duncan, Shawna Kay Rodenberg, and more!
Chanticleer Authors Conference. April 7 - 10, 2022: Bellingham, Wash. Sessions with a special focus on the business of being a working writer on topics such as marketing, publicity, platform, sales tools & strategies, publishing, production, distribution, organization, storycraft, editing, and more. Will be held online and in person.
Creating Picture Books with Humor and Heart: A Working Retreat. April 7 - 10, 2022: Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Sponsored by Highlights Foundation. "Join two award-winning, bestselling authors, Emily Jenkins and Elise Broach, and writer and editor Sunita Apte (Reycraft Books/Benchmark) for this writing-intensive weekend focused on creating funny and emotionally satisfying picture books that connect with young readers." Before the workshop, you’ll be asked to submit two complete picture book manuscripts, up to 1,000 words each. These will be due by March 16, 2022.
Colrain Poetry Manuscript Conference. April 8 - 11, 2022. The Colrain Manuscript Classic is a highly focused, 3-day conference designed for poets with manuscripts in progress–book-length or chapbook-length. The Classic features in-depth pre-conference work and candid, realistic evaluation and feedback from nationally-known poets, editors and publishers. In preparation, participants work at home on the pre-conference assignments and then, in the workshop, review, arrange, and winnow their work based on the pre-conference work. In addition to the manuscript preparation workshop and editor sessions, there will be an editorial Q&A, and an after-conference strategy session. Will be held virtually.
"Writing in Proximity to History" April 8, 15, 22, 29, 3:00-5:00 PM EST. "This workshop will introduce participants to the creative practice of memory work and is designed for those who are just beginning a family or community history project. During our time together, we will journey to sites of our respective pasts, gather fragments and traces we find there, revisit family myths and origin stories, and write into the gaps between memory and history. Each two-hour session will introduce you to the work of other next generation writers and artists, offer creative research exercises and guided writing prompts, and provide a space to write together and workshop your writing with others." NOTE: This is a live online workshop. Registered participants will receive a Zoom link one week in advance of the workshop. Registration closes at noon on April 1, 2022.
Rally of Writers Conference. April 9, 2022: Lansing, Michigan. Michigan authors and educators in 15 breakout sessions and workshops on all aspects of writing, including poetry, fiction, nonfiction, screenwriting, the Nuts & Bolts of manuscript submissions, and more.
VORTEXT Ancestors Known and Unknown with Anne Liu Kellor. Saturday, April 9th, 2022. "Some of us can trace our family tree many generations back. Others, due to migration, war, slavery, secrets, adoption, or other forces, might only know a hint of our ancestors’ stories. Regardless, our connection to our lineage lives inside our bodies. In this workshop, we will interrogate all that we know—or don’t know—about the stories and silences we’ve inherited." Closed.
Writing Around the Edges (And Going Down the Rabbit Holes) Saturdays on Zoom, April 9–May 7, 2022. Five-Week Workshop, Jennifer Fawcett, Instructor. "Sometimes the best way to develop your story is to write around the edges of it, to discover the world around the plot, the history of characters, the provenance of an object. In other words, sometimes you have to explore ideas that won't go directly on the page but will flavor everything else that does. The map of the old house, the contents of the bedside table, the one missing from the family photograph—none of these are focused directly on the plot, and yet they often hold the key to that elusive plot point or reveal the subconscious drives behind your character's actions. Why? Because in a well-written story, everything is connected. If writing is weaving, then every character, every event, every object is a thread. Where they cross, energy is created." Fee: $550.
The Personal Essay: A Generative Class for Beginners (Five-Week Workshop) Tuesdays on Zoom, April 12–May 10, 2022. Robert Anthony Siegel, Instructor. "This five-week course is for writers interested in exploring the personal essay. It introduces students to the basics of narrative nonfiction, including scene, structure, and dramatic arc. We meet once a week for two hours via Zoom. Classes combine lecture, discussion, and short exercises that we will write on the spot and share with the group, reading aloud. There will also be some very short take-home assignments, to keep you thinking between classes. And I will meet with each student for a half-hour Zoom meeting outside of class to discuss your essay in greater depth." Fee: $550.
Where The Sidewalk Bends: How Line Breaks Make Meaning in Poetry (Five-Week Workshop) Tuesdays on Zoom, April 12–May 10, 2022. Jared Joseph, Instructor. " In this generative poetry-writing workshop, students will learn the fundamentals of the fundamental element of poetry, the line. In what ways does the line stabilize, organize, and make meaning in the poem; in what ways does the line subvert, surprise, and re-make meaning? Can you write a sonnet without lines? How do you write a poem that goes really really fast? How do you slow a line down to a snail’s pace? Is this poem a foreign place, or is it a home // away from home?" Fee: $600.
Image → Meaning: An Invention Workshop. April 13th, 6:00-7:30PM EST. "The image is at the heart of what writers do. Drawing on notions of the deep image from Natalie Diaz and Arthur Sze, this workshop begins with close readings of the image in a number of poems, with two focuses: how and to what end? How does the poet render the image on the page? And what work does that image do as a metaphor; what rhetorical purpose does it serve? Then participants will be given a writing prompt and time to generate and share a starting draft (in any genre) connected to the meaningful images from their own lives and work. This workshop will invite participants to think deeply about the image on the page; to move past surface-level “show, don’t tell” advice; and to see the image as a powerful tool of the meaning-making all writers do." While there is no fee for this workshop, those who are able and appreciative can make direct donations via Venmo using @Amorak-Huey, or via PayPal with the username amorakhuey@comcast.net.
Norwescon. April 14 - 17, 2022: Sea Tac, WA. Norwescon is one of the largest regional Science Fiction and Fantasy conventions in the United States.
The Monterey Writer Retreat in California. April 14 - 18, 2022: Monterey, CA. Participants in the Monterey Writer Retreat will work one-on-one with two of the best literary "closers" in the business: Gina Panettieri and Michael Neff combine 38 years of working with aspiring authors and ushering them to publication. They will be available for multiple private consultations from 9 AM to noon and 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM each day of the retreat. Choice of sessions and focus will be up to each individual writer. Additionally, as circumstances permit, Gina and Michael will also join retreaters in their quest for superb dining and festivity opportunities in the Monterey and Carmel area.
Breakout Novel Intensive 2.0. April 18 - 24, 2022: Hood River, Oregon. "Writers of commercial fiction who wish to soar out of category, as well as literary novelists who want to learn how to make powerful story principles work for them, will find the Breakout Novel Intensive 2.0 an idea-packed and career enriching experience. 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. Breakout fundamentals are also covered: strong characters, inner conflict, personal stakes, plot layers, powerful scenes, micro-tension, practical theme techniques and much more."
Grub Street Muse and the Marketplace Conference. April 22 - May 1, 2022, Boston, Massachusetts. The Muse and the Marketplace is a three-day literary conference designed to give aspiring writers a better understanding about the craft of writing fiction and non-fiction, to prepare them for the changing world of publishing and promotion, and to create opportunities for meaningful networking. On all three days, prominent and nationally-recognized established and emerging authors lead sessions on the craft of writing—the "muse" side of things—while editors, literary agents, publicists and other industry professionals lead sessions on the business side—the "marketplace." Will be held virtually and in person.
Writeaway in New Mexico. April 23 - 30, 2022: Casa Bellisima, New Mexico. $2,100 for private room; $1,650 each for friends or couple sharing a room Includes writing consultations and daily writing workshops, all meals, wine and cocktails, plus a cooking class and excursion.
Whole Novel Historical: A Virtual Course for Historical Novelists. April 24 - June 16, 2022. The Highlights Foundation Whole Novel Workshop offers writers the rare opportunity to have the entire draft (up to 80,000 words) of a novel read by faculty, with detailed written feedback and two private consultations provided. This online program in particular is for writers of Historical Fiction novels. Multi-Month Online Course, $1799. This program is full, but will be offered again next year. If you would like to be notified when it is available, please add your name to the waitlist.
IBPA Publishing University. April 20 - 21, 2022 online, April 29- 30, 2022, Orlando, Florida. The Independent Book Publishers Association offers 30+ educational sessions including experiential learning labs, insightful keynotes, a gala book award ceremony, networking events, and more! Cost: $195-$475.
Nebraska Writers Guild Annual Conference and Writing Retreat. April 21 - 23, 2022: Omaha, NE. Workshops, pitch sessions with an agent and writing sessions followed by evening keynote speakers.
Ozarks Writers League Conference. April 22 - 23, 2022: Branson, MO. The Ozarks Writers League is a group of like-minded individuals dedicated to promoting writing, literacy, photography, and art. Since 1983, OWL has welcomed individuals at all stages of their development.
North Carolina Writers’ Network Spring Conference. April 23, 2022: University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina. Features intensive workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as publisher exhibits, on-site "lunch with an author" readings, and an open mic. Will be held online.
Poetry at Round Top Festival. April 23 - 24, 2022: Round Top, Texas. Past faculty includes Mark Doty, Allison Joseph, Alicia Ostriker, ire’ne lara silva, Mary Szybist, Edward Vidaurre, and Jenny Xie. The cost of the conference is $150 ($50 for students) or $75 for Saturday only. Workshops are an additional $40. Private manuscript consultations are available for an additional $70.
Writing on the Door: "Memoir," with Paul Lisicky. April 25 - 29, 2022: Fish Creek, WI. "What does it mean to write creative nonfiction and memoir in 2022? How to write out of our personal urgency while also asking questions about community, survival, isolation, and power—all that is wrong with the world and all we’d like to make better? How does it feel to be alive right now? We’ll think about those questions, and more. alongside all the matters of craft: voice, structure, focus, aboutness, sonics, description, polarity, openings, closings. We’ll look at some excerpts of outside work, but your writing will be our primary text. There will be time for exercises. Along the way we’ll work hard, take care of each other, and make sure that joy and seriousness share the same space." Deadline: February 15.
Northern Colorado Writers Conference. April 28 - April 30, 2022: Fort Collins, CO. Workshops, seminars, speakers, entertainment, agent roundtables, pitch sessions, networking with authors and industry professionals. Will be held online and in person.
Chicago-North RWA's Spring Fling. April 28 - 30, 2022: Oak Brook, IL. Three day Biennial writer's conference geared towards both aspiring and established writers of any genre but focused on romantic fiction. Bookseller/Blogger/Librarian event, Masterclass in Craft and Marketing, Closing Gala.
The Pikes Peak Writers Conference. April 29 - May 3, 2022: Colorado Springs, Colorado. "The three-day conference is full of topical, in-depth workshops, dynamic keynote speakers, opportunities for one-on-one time with agents and editors, the chance to read your work aloud for constructive critique, plus time to socialize with fellow writers. Will be held online and in person.
Write Now! April 30, 2022, Raleigh, NC. One day writing conference hosted by Triangle Association of Freelancers. Sessions include screenwriting, financial tips for writers, pillars of freelance success, copyediting, trade pubs, column writing, publishing tips and more. Cost: $89; $75 for students with ID, seniors 65+ and retired/active duty military; $109 at the door.
Northeast Texas Writers Organization. April 30, 2022, Jefferson, TX. One-day bootcamp.
Austin SCBWI 2020 Writers & Illustrators Working Conference. April 30 - May 1, 2022: Austin, TX. Conference on children's books with keynotes; general sessions; breakout sessions for writing, professional development and illustration; intensives for novels, picture books and illustration; critiques; pitches and more. Will be held online.
Columbus State Community College Writers Conference. April 30, 2022: Columbus, Ohio. Workshops to explore audiobooks, crafting kids’ books, comedy, fan fiction and more. This one-day conference is free of charge.
Writing in the Pines. April 30 - May 7, 2022, Stockton University, Galloway, NJ. Choose from workshops in memoir, poetry and revision. Each workshop will meet for 6 hours and will offer craft discussion, writing prompts, writing time, sharing and inspiration.
APPLICATION DEADLINES IN APRIL
PJ Library Retreat: Picture Book Summer Camp for Emerging Writers. August 7 - 11, 2022: Honesdale, PA. "If you’re a pre-published author with a Jewish picture book in progress (or no more than one published book) we invite you to apply for five-days of inspiration, mentorship, fun, and creativity on the beautiful campus of the Highlights Foundation." Application Deadline: on or before April 28, 2022.
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