18 Notable Writing Conferences and Workshops in November 2024

This November there are more than a dozen writing conferences and workshops. Some conferences and workshops will be held online, but most 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: Sanibel Island: Flickr)

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Eckerd College Writers in Paradise Conference. Application deadline: November 1, 2024. January 18 -25, 2025: St. Petersburg, FL. Workshops, roundtables, panel discussions, manuscript consultation, Q&As, readings book signings, and receptions. 

The 2024 Online Seattle Writing Workshop. November 1-2, 2024: Online. This is a special two-day “How to Get Published” writing workshop, November 1-2, 2024. 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 “Seattle” 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.

Jackson Hole Writers Conference. November 1 -3, 2024: Jackson Hole, WY. You will have ample opportunity to share your work with a distinguished faculty as well as writers from Massachusetts to Florida, from Texas to Washington. Serious writers pour into Jackson Hole each June looking for a fresh, but critical eye on their work. This event usually has at least 4 agents to pitch. 

North Carolina Writers’ Network Fall Conference. November 1 - 3, 2024: Asheville, 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 gatherings, and an Agents & Editors panel discussion. 

Monterey Writer Retreat. November 6 - 10, 2024: Pacific Grove, CA. "Join us on the wondrously scenic Monterey Peninsula for a writer retreat like no other. Know that writers of every kind have journeyed for over a century to this same location on the California west coast. They've come in search of inspiration, individuality, purpose and vision, but more importantly, to share an understanding that art has preceded their arrival in the form of a brutally beautiful sea and windswept shore."

All Write, Columbia – Writers Conference. November 7 - 10, 2024: Spencertown, NY. A five day intensive writing conference focused on nonfiction and memoir. 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.

Chapter by Chapter: An Online Program for Chapter Book Writers. November 7 - December 5: Online. Chapter books engage young minds like no other stories can. Readers start a journey with your character in Chapter One, and then yearn for more with each page turn until they finish your entire book! (And maybe even your entire series!) Join Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen to build your knowledge about the beloved genre of chapter books and make progress on your story in this hands-on course that covers everything from character and plot to submission packets.

Sanibel Island Writers Conference. November 8 - 9, 2024: 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. 

Working Retreat: Picture Book Authors and Illustrators. November 10 - 13, 2024: Boyds Mills, PA. Picture book writers and illustrators: set aside time to focus on your picture book project! Here is a special retreat just for you. Join fiction and nonfiction author Darcy Pattison, author/illustrator Leslie Helakoski, and their guest Sara Gomez Woolley to immerse yourself in all things picture books.

2024 Kauai Writers Festival. November 11 – 17, 2024, Master Classes: November 11th-14th, 2024. Conference: November 15th-17th, 2024. 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. 

Stuck in the Middle: A Two-Night Mini for Picture Book Writers. November 12 - November 14, 2024: Online. Picture books can follow a plot that depends heavily on the emotional shift from the beginning to the end of the story.  That leaves writers with a lot of work to do on the middle!  Join award-winning author Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow to unpack ways to develop the middle of your picture book so that it serves the perfect emotional bridge between the beginning and the end.

Marketing Opportunities for Storytellers: A Two Night Mini. November 12 - November 14, 2024: Online. The story is at the heart of all we do, even when we switch from crafting the story to getting the story to readers.  Join award-winning writers Valerie Bolling and Janae Marks to engage and build your knowledge of marketing and promotional opportunities that you can do as a book creator in order to get your book to kids.

Space Adventure: Playing with the Page. November 13th, 2024: Online. In this generative workshop, we will challenge the term “blank page” through play and prompts. We will explore the possibilities of the page, whether paper, digital, etc. We will discuss examples and draw wisdom from writers such as Tyehimba Jess, Alicia Mountain, M. NourbeSePhilip, and more.

Working Retreat: Revision. November 14 - 17, 2024: Boyds Mills, PA. Join celebrated editors Harold Underdown, Eileen Robinson, and Emma Dryden for time to revise and connect during this "Working Retreat" for writers looking to reimagine, enliven, and rebuild their picture books, novels, or nonfiction. Waitlisted.

Colrain Classic. November 15 - 18, 2024: Online. "The Colrain Manuscript Classic is a highly focused, 3.5 day conference designed for poets with manuscripts in progress. 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 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 conducted online.

Clearwater Writers Women's Writing Retreat. November 18 - 23, 2024: Clottonwood, Idaho. Retreats are facilitated by 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. The 2024 Fall Women’s Retreat: Balancing Writing with Yoga, will be hosted by the magnificent Monastery of St. Gertrude outside Cottonwood, Idaho, on the rolling hills of the Camas Prairie to the south, in their Spirit Center, a contemporary facility with private suites, several kitchens, and meeting rooms large enough to accommodate our daily yoga classes.

Cleveland Writing Workshop. November 23, 2024: Cleveland, Ohio. This is a special one-day in-person “How to Get Published” writing workshop on Saturday, November 23, 2024, at the Wyndham Cleveland Airport. In other words, it’s 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.

Writers Conference of Dallas. November 23, 2024: Dallas, Texas. This is a special one-day in-person “How to Get Published” writing workshop on Saturday, November 23, 2024, at the Wyndham Cleveland Airport. In other words, it’s 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.