12 Fabulous Writing Conferences and Workshops in February 2025

This February there are 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: Picryl)

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African-American Children's Book Fair. February 1, 2025: Philadelphia, PA. Meet over a dozen African-American children's book writers.

San Francisco Writers Conference. February 6 - 9, 2025: San Francisco, CA. Attendees will join with 100+ presenters and fellow writers from across the country and around the world at this year’s event. The SFWC events are consistently rated among the top writer’s conferences anywhere. "Our goal is to help writers become published authors as we help them become better at the craft and business of writing. The SFWC is also one of the friendliest conferences. Presenters this year will include bestselling authors, literary agents, editors, and publishers from major publishing houses. There will be experts on self-publishing, book promotion, platform building, social media, and author websites. The San Francisco Writers Conference has one of the largest faculties of any writer’s conference to ensure the best networking with the people who can help you get published." 

Savannah Book Festival. February 6 - 9, 2025: Savannah, Georgia. Our four-day Festival takes place in Savannah’s Historic District against a backdrop of stunning historic buildings, cascading Spanish moss, and blooming Azaleas. Each year, over 9,000 people join us for three ticketed Headliner Address events and for our free Festival Saturday. Festival Saturday presentations take place in museums, churches, and theaters in and around the historic Telfair and Chippewa Squares in the heart of Downtown Savannah. Our lineup of nationally-recognized authors from wide-ranging genres give 30-minute solo presentations on their creative process, followed by a Q&A and book signing.

Online San Diego Writing Workshop. February 7 -8, 2025. "This is a special two-day “How to Get Published” online writing workshop. 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 “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."

Southern California Writers’ Conference (and Retreat). February 14 - 16, 2025: San Diego, CA. Faculty: 60+ working, professional authors of fiction, nonfiction & screen, editors & agents. "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." Limited to 150 conferees.

The Poet's Myth. Wednesday, February 19 – Wednesday, March 19, 2025: Online. In this generative poetry workshop, we’ll take a closer look at the origin of classical poetry: the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. We’ll examine texts from classical mythology to contemporary poetry, uncovering the power of poetic inspiration. Each week, we’ll read and respond to poems and artworks that engage with the myth in various forms. Works by Rainer Maria Rilke, Jack Spicer, Walt Whitman and Ovid will serve as touchstones for exploring the nature of artistic creation, while contemporary poems and other expressions of myth in popular culture will bring the forces of love, death and desire into our conversation. By the end of the workshop, you will have generated a portfolio of original poems. This workshop is for writers at all levels interested in exploring myth, artistry and the dynamic relationship between poet and muse. Limited to 12 participants.

Finding the Narrative Arc in Memoir. Wednesday, February 19 – Wednesday, March 19, 2025: Online. With you as the central character in your memoir, how would you develop a powerful narrative arc that both unfolds and reflects on the story? How can themes, details and timelines propel your story forward from beginning to end? In this workshop, we will discuss the structure and shape of your memoir’s narrative arc, as well as how linear and nonlinear structures give your story the energy to keep flowing. We will read inspiring excerpts, do generative exercises and give and receive constructive feedback on each other’s writing samples. Come empty-handed, or with excerpts of a work in progress. Limited to 12 participants.

Wild Seeds Writers Retreat. February 20 - 23, 2025. The Wild Seeds Writers Retreat (formerly the North Country Institute & Retreat for Writers of Color), a collaboration with the Center for Black Literature, the English Department at SUNY, Plattsburgh, and the Paden Institute and Retreat for Writers, provides a writing community where established and newly discovered writers of color can focus on the craft of writing and create cross-cultural conversations around the literature created by writers of the African diaspora. Deadline: January 10, 2025.

Big Sur Children's Writing Workshop. February 21-23, 2025: Monterey, CA. The Andrea Brown Literary Agency runs the Big Sur Children's Writing Workshop every winter with occasional offshoot conference locations. "Since 1997, we have brought in outstanding editors from the top publishing houses, both large and small, and successful authors to make up our experienced and giving faculty. We pride ourselves on an excellent faculty-to-attendee ratio and a weekend with ample opportunities for faculty/attendee interactions, both formal and informal. This workshop has been the source of many successful author/agent relationships and many publishing deals, including one for more than half a million dollars."

Tinker Mountain Winter Recharge. February 21 - 23, 2025: Online. The weekend begins with a social session on Friday evening and continues with workshops Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 to 4 p.m.  Just the right amount of time to affirm your writing and to reset for the balance of winter and spring. Manuscript workshops, limited to 8 participants, give you an opportunity to receive feedback on your work from peers and your faculty mentor and learn what other writers are working on. Write now workshops, limited to 10 participants, allow you to immerse yourself in the craft of writing and generate new work without the pressure of preparing or reading manuscripts.

The 2025 Las Vegas Writing Workshop. February 22, 2025:  Las Vegas, NV. The 2025 Las Vegas Writing Workshop is a full-day in-person “How to Get Published” writing event in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday, February 22, 2025.

St. Augustine Author-Mentor Novel Workshop. February 28 - March 3, 2025: St. Augustine, Florida. "The St. Augustine Author-Mentor Novel Workshop creates an intimate and professional environment that combines private meetings with small-group workshops, thus enabling aspiring authors to wisely approach the writing and publication of their novel. At the St. Augustine event, aspiring authors will:
1) Work one-on-one with top authors and savvy market professionals.
2) Apply advanced story and narrative technique to their novel-in-progress.
3) Hone and improve their writer voice and style.
4) Learn the necessary inside mechanics of the publishing business.
5) Leave the workshop with a detailed plan to work towards publication of their novel.
Group workshop sessions will be interspersed with agent and author consultations, workshop assignments, as well as consults with workshop leaders."