16 Notable Writing Workshops and Conferences in November 2023

This November there are more than a dozen writing conferences. Many conferences and workshops will be held online, but some will be held in person or use a hybrid format.

These writing events 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. If you miss an application deadline, put it on your calendar for next year. Quite a few conferences offer scholarships, so apply early. Plan ahead!

Be sure to check out Highlights list of workshops. They offer many throughout the year.

(Image: Lily Tang: Kauai)

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Clearwater Writers Women's Writing Retreat. November 2 - 12, 2023: Clearwater, Idaho. Retreats are facilitated by the Inn’s writer-in-residence, Paula Coomer, poet and author of such books as Jagged Edge of the Sky, Dove Creek, Nurses Who Love English, and Blue Moon Vegetarian. With more than 20 years of experience as a teacher of creative writing, Ms. Coomer offers creative inspiration and support for writers at all levels of achievement and ability.

Creative Hybrid Online Writing Workshop With Sarah Giragosian. November 2 - December 7, 2023. Creative Writing in the Anthropocene. "Creative writing within the framework of the Anthropocene is relatively undertheorized, yet critical in a time when our current geological era is being shaped by humans. In this hybrid course, we will demystify approaches to poetry and creative non-fiction that address the sixth mass extinction, climate change, and the ecological crisis, as well as explore how to narrate and represent the Anthropocene. Since climate change is a byproduct of human interventions in the natural world, we will consider the nuanced entanglements of nature and culture, as well as how the environmental crisis is in many ways a crisis of language and literacy, exploring how writers can develop readers’ ecological literacy and help them to develop a more sustainable relationship to the creatures and world around them. Integral to our study will be an engagement with writing that reckons with the more-than-human-world, with the systems and creatures that help us to think beyond an anthropocentric frame. Of value to the creative writer seeking new ways to address the Anthropocene in their writing, we will read work by such authors as Lia Purpura, Rebecca Giggs, Rebecca Solnit, Daisy Hildyard, Elizabeth Bishop, Patricia Smith, Camille Dungy, Anne Haven McDonnell, and Charlotte Pence, among others. We will be reading and writing each week with the goal of generating new work in a supportive environment. This is a virtual course to be held on Zoom." Apply by September 15. 

Wright Women Writers Conference. November 3- 4, 2023: University of Central Arkansas. "The C.D. Wright Women Writers Conference focuses on women-identifying writers from all genres and all experience levels, from journalism to mass market books to literary endeavors, and beyond. Our goal is to provide a space for camaraderie, connection-making, and inspiration, and while women-identifying writers are the only presenters at the conference, we welcome all of our male and male-identifying colleagues to attend. We believe that much of what we have to offer, including the specific, female perspective, is valuable for all audiences, and that male allies are necessary to changing the current gender imbalance in publishing."

Sanibel Island Writers Conference. November 3 - 4, 2023: Sanibel Island, Florida. Participants at all stages of development — from notebook scribblers to published novelists — are invited to view a variety of discussions and panels on fiction, poetry, songwriting, YA literature, screenwriting, creative nonfiction, and publishing and editing. 

Atlanta Writers Conference. November 3 - 4, 2023: Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE: You must be an Atlanta Writers Club (AWC) member to participate in the conference. The conference features pitch sessions, a workshop on emotional survival skills for writers, a bookfair, and manuscript and query letter critiques for poets, fiction writers, nonfiction writers, and graphic novelists. Virtual meetings and preconference editing consultations via e-mail will also be offered. Participating publishing professionals include editors Kurt Brackob (Histria Books), Cindy Bryan (Literary Wanderlust), Sydney Collins (Ballantine/Bantam), Elizabeth Ford (Blackwater Press), Kate Gale (Red Hen Press), Georgia Hughes (New World Library), Melissa McArthur (Falstaff Books), Ariana Sinclair (HarperCollins), and Melissa Valentine (Lake Union Publishing); and agents Lori Colvin (Birch Literary), Dawn Dowdle (Blue Ridge Literary Agency), La Sheera Lee (SBR Media Literary Agency), Taj McCoy (Rees Literary Agency), Gina Panettieri (Talcott Notch Literary Services), Sarah Phair (Sanford J. Greenburger Associates), Jonathan Rosen (Seymour Agency), Laura Usselman (Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency), and Jade Wong-Baxter (Frances Goldin Literary Agency). The cost of a single session or event ranges from $50 to $180; the cost of the All-Activities Package, which includes two manuscript critiques, one query letter critique, two pitch sessions, one workshop, two Q&A panels, and an optional preconference manuscript edit, is $670. Writers who are not members of the Atlanta Writers Club must purchase a yearlong membership for an additional $60 in order to register. The deadline to register for a manuscript critique is October 2. Space is limited; registration is first come, first served. The general registration deadline is November 3. Lodging is available at the conference hotel for a discounted rate of $159 per night until October 12. Visit the website for more information. 

North Carolina Writers’ Network Fall Conference. November 3 - 5, 2023: Charlotte, NC. The WSOC will feature classes and conversations on the craft and business of writing, as well as a keynote address by Jason Mott, a Pre-Conference Tailgate and a Prompt Party to get creative juices flowing, online Open Mic readings and Happy Hour virtual gatherings, and an Agents & Editors panel discussion. 

The Fall 2023 Online San Diego Writing Workshop. November 10 - 11, 2023. "This is a special two-day “How to Get Published” online writing workshop on November 10-11, 2023. In other words, it’s two days 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. And even though this is the Online Fall “San Diego” Writing Workshop, make no mistake — writers from everywhere are welcome to attend virtually. Our WDW writers conferences have helped dozens of writers find literary agent representation." 

2023 Kauai Writers Festival. November 6 – 9, 2023, Master class. November 10 - 12, 2023. Conference: Kalapaki Bay, Lihue, Kauai, HI. Join bestselling authors and agents in an intimate, oceanfront setting, with an emphasis on fiction, memoir, thrillers, and screenwriting. Includes in-depth sessions on craft, publishing, and the writing life, with opportunities for agent/editor feedback. 

American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) Conference. November 8 - 11, 2023: Tucson, AZ. Panels, workshops, readings, a book fair, and opportunities to meet with editors for translators. "The ALTA Annual Conference is a refreshingly collegial gathering of amateurs and professionals alike, both within the profession and outside it, all wholeheartedly committed to fostering, furthering, and supporting the practice of literary translation." Will be held in person.

Writing By Writers Manuscript Boot Camp. November 8 - 12, 2023: Stone Creek Village, Soquel, California. (In the event it is unsafe to meet in person due to COVID they will bring the workshop fully online at a reduced cost.) The Writing By Writers Manuscript Boot Camp is for the writer who has a full, book-length manuscript (novel, memoir, short story or essay collection) and would like to engage with a small group for a serious and productive response. The extended weekend will include an intimate manuscript workshop, craft panels, readings, and individual meetings – the perfect pre-publication boot camp for any manuscript. Classes are limited to 5 participants.

Futurescapes. November 9 - 12, 2023. Futurescapes is an intensive, exclusive workshop, offering writers an unparalleled chance to work with top authors and agents in speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, horror, paranormal). It has been almost five years since we last held a 200-page (50,000 word) workshop and we’re excited to do it once more. APPLY EARLY.

TLA Power of Words Conference. November 11, 2023: Online. "We welcome you to our 18th Power of Words conference, a special celebration of how we can build and sustain community, forge enduring individual and social change, and discover pathways to greater healing, meaning, and joy through writing, storytelling, theater, music, spoken word, and other word arts. Come connect with over two dozen musicians, storytellers, spoken word artists, teachers, community leaders, educators, and health professionals to celebrate and investigate how the arts can promote justice, healing, community-building, and social change." Online.

Travel & Words: Northwest Travel Writers Conference. November 12 - 14, 2023: Missoula, Montana. Workshops, panels, networking and Writer Matchmaking: Writers attending Travel & Words are looking for story ideas and possibly press trips. These “speed dating” sessions connect destination marketers with freelance writers and bloggers on the “Experienced” track. 

Red Clay Writers Conference. November 15 - 16, 2023: Kennesaw GA. Red Clay Writers Conference is the annual conference of Georgia Writers Association. Red Clay has been hosted since 2009 to encourage and inspire writers through literary events that focus on the art and craft of writing. Will be held online and in person.

Gotham Writers Conference. November 18 - 19, 2023: NY, NY. A writing conference built by agents, for writers, with a faculty of some of the top agents in New York City. Receive focused attention within your genre from some of the best in the business. Will be held on Zoom.

All Write, Columbia – Writers Conference. November 2023: Spencertown, NY. A five day intensive writing conference focused fiction. The conference is open to all levels of writers, from beginners to more advanced writers with a manuscript or publications. Open to writers who are at least 18 years old. Just 20 writers will be accepted.