These writing events offer everything a writer might want: intensive workshops, pitch sessions with agents, how to market your books, discussions - there is something for everyone.
I have included conferences with deadlines that have already passed on this list to give you advance notice. 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!
For a full list of conferences held throughout the year see Writing Conferences.
Be sure to check out Highlights list of workshops. They offer many throughout the year.
[Image: St. Augustine, FL: Public Domain Pictures]
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The Stowe Vermont Winter Writing Adventure. February 1 - 6, 2026: Stowe, VT. The Stowe Vermont Winter Writing Adventure is a week-long workshop with Pam Houston and Leigh Newman where writers will work with both faculty members to generate new work while snowshoeing, XC skiing, and exploring the beauty of New England in the wintertime. The workshop is limited to 20 participants to ensure an intimate setting, plus plenty of time to write and explore all the outdoor wonders Stowe has to offer.
Savannah Book Festival. February 5 - 8, 2026: 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 6 - 7, 2026: Online. "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."
African-American Children's Book Fair. February 7, 2026: Philadelphia, PA. Meet over a dozen African-American children's book writers.
San Francisco Writers Conference. February 12 - 15, 2026: 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."
The Colrain Crucible. February 15, 2026: Online. A one-day, high-intensity manuscript-shaping session focused on selection, sequencing, and structural clarity. In this rigorous, generative environment, 4-6 poets with an in-progress manuscript (full-length or chapbook) bring pre-conference exercises into the crucible of close editorial scrutiny and real-time evaluation. Under the pressure of focused attention on these exercises, manuscripts reveal their strengths, weaknesses, and true organizing principles. You will leave with a newly clarified sense of your book’s core, what belongs, what doesn’t, and how your poems work — or fail to work — in sequence.
Nonfiction Picture Books: Exploring Forms and Creative Approaches. February 17 - 19, 2026: Online. Explore the exciting world of nonfiction picture books! This course guides you through formats, styles, and strategies for bringing real-world topics to life for young readers.
Reflection and Refraction in Personal Narratives. February 17 – March 17, 2026: Online. How do our individual experiences reflect the systems within which we exist? In this generative workshop, we will learn the art of imitation, refraction and distortion in memoir and personal essays. Using Foucault’s Las Meninas as a foundation, we will read work from writers like Elizabeth Gilbert, Seo-Young Chu, Hilton Als and Paisley Rekdal, exploring topics from private investigation, to travel, trauma and the love of animals. The methods these writers use for sharing insights about our world will inspire us to write personal narratives from fresh perspectives. Writers of all levels are welcome. Come empty-handed or bring works-in-progress to revise. Limited to 12 participants.
What's Form Got to Do With It?: A Poetry Workshop. February 18 - March 18, 2026: Online. Even those who avoid it must admit: form gives our poems structure, tension, counterpoint and deeper meaning. In this supportive workshop, we will explore five traditional and contemporary forms, focusing on how a poem’s content is enhanced, challenged or complicated by its structure. Each week, we will explore poems by writers like Terrance Hayes, William Carlos Williams and Terisa Siagatonu, paying close attention to form and content. Generative prompts will provide the option to write a new poem in that week’s form or revise a previously-written poem into that form. Writers will leave this workshop with a deeper appreciation for formal potential, and with polished work any publisher would be excited to read. Beginning and experienced writers are welcome. Limited to 12 participants.
Wild Seeds Writers Retreat. February 19 - 22, 2026: Brooklyn, NY. 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 9, 2026.
Big Sur Children's Writing Workshop. February 20-22, 2026: 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 20 - 22, 2026: 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.
SCBWI: NOT YOUR GRANDMA'S NONFICTION! February 21, 2026: Online. Today's nonfiction is bold, engaging, and innovative! Attendees will take an in-depth look at what books are (and aren't) being published. We will explore how books cover the "What?" "So What?" and/or the "Now What?" of a topic. For the sake of time, the exemplars will be picture books, but the principles explored apply to all informational books. Registration closes February 18th.
SCBWI San Diego: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Writing Children's Books with Irene Vázquez, Associate Editor. February 21, 2026: Online. As an Editor at Levine Querido - whose publishing house has long been a champion of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Children's books - Irene Vázquez will speak on how to maintain authenticity in writing and illustrating books with diverse characters and themes for Children and young adults. In addition, they will give a window into what gains have been made in the publishing industry and where the publishing world is headed in this area, as well as best steps to capture the attention of an Editor or Agent for your book and/or illustrations for Children. The 2026 San Diego Region DEI Grant recipients will be announced.
St. Augustine Author-Mentor Novel Workshop. February 24 - 27, 2026: 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."
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."
Amelia Island Book Festival. February 28, 2026: Fernandina Beach, FL. During the Festival, Authors have opportunities to engage with over 1300 Readers in an up-close and personal way to showcase and sell their books. Readers will be able to engage with more than 100 exhibiting authors in a personal way about their work and what inspires them. There are numerous Author breakout presentations, including several led by New York Times best-selling authors, book signing session, food trucks, and a variety of activities designed to keep both Authors and Readers engaged, educated, and entertained through activities throughout the day.
SCBWI San Diego: Craft a Compelling First Chapter and Insightful Synopsis. February 28, 2026: Online. Agent Hillary Fazzari will be sharing hands-on editing strategies to polish First Chapters that hook agents, editors and readers, using examples of projects she personally represented and First Page submissions from attendees. You will also get an agents overview of the parameters and importance of a well-written synopsis when submitting novels – which more agent and editor submission guidelines are now requesting.
EVENTS WITH APPLICATION DEADLINES IN FEBRUARY
Ossabaw Writer’s Retreat. March 13 - 18, 2026: Ossabaw Island, GA. Work with one of our critically acclaimed writers in a workshop limited to five qualified participants. Each day, participants will bring manuscripts of their work-in-progress to their assigned workshop group where they will read, discuss and receive feedback about their projects from fellow participants and the assigned group leader. Workshop manuscripts should be limited to 12 pages poetry/16-20 pages fiction or non-fiction. Application deadline: February 15.
Some Trees: A Generative Multi-Genre Writing Workshop with Rob Schlegel. March 26 - May 14, 2026: Online. In this generative writing course you will write prose and poetry that emerges out of field observations, classroom discussion, and close readings of texts that explore ecology and the imagination, plants and consciousness, poetry and justice, gender and ash trees. The workshop is designed to help you become more aware of the choices you make as a writer. Application window: February 1-15.
In This Poem Something Grows: A poetry workshop with Asa Drake. May 5, June 9, 2026: Online. This workshop title is, of course, aspirational. More likely, something grows, and then it fails. Or something thrives for a given set of conditions. In this generative workshop we’ll hone our observation skills while also risking accountability for our role as an observer in the human and natural world. Application deadline: February 15, 2026.
Hedgebrook’s Writer-in-Residence Program supports writers from all over the world for residencies of two to four weeks. The cottage, all meals, and the entire residency experience at Hedgebrook is free to selected writers. Travel is not included and is the responsibility of the writer to arrange and pay for. Up to 6 writers can be in residence at a time, each housed in their own handcrafted cottage. They spend their days in solitude – writing, reading, taking walks in the woods on the property or on nearby Double Bluff beach. In the evenings, “The Gathering” is a social time for residents to connect and share over their freshly prepared meals. Writers must be women, which is inclusive of transgender women and female-identified individuals. Because gender inequity still occurs in all spaces including literary ones, it is part of our explicit mission to support and promote women’s voices. Applications open February 17 - April 17 for 2027 Residency.
