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 Boyds Mills list of workshops. They offer many throughout the year.
[Image: Hyannis, Massachusetts: Flickr]
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First Friday Book Talk & Reading with Patricia Henley July 3, 2026: via Zoom. Patricia Henley’s fifth collection of short stories, Apple & Palm, was published by Cornerstone Press in 2026.
The Dis-Form: Disability and the Embodied Mode. July 8th, 2026: Online. In this workshop, we will take the inabilities of our languages and our bodies and use these as dis-modes to generate new, original work. By emphasizing what the body cannot do, we will attempt to complicate a poetics of embodiment.
Summer Camp for Writers and Illustrators: Session One! July 8 - 12, 2026: Boyds Mills, PA. Our Summer Camp is a not-to-be-missed experience with 1:1 mentorship, educational and inspirational keynotes, breakout sessions in your chosen track, a community of fellow creatives, time to create, and lots of fun!
Community of Writers Workshop in Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, and Memoir. July 10 - 17, 2026: Olympic Valley, California. These workshops assist serious writers by exploring the art and craft as well as the business of writing. The week offers daily morning workshops, craft lectures, panel discussions on editing and publishing, staff readings, as well as brief individual conferences. The morning workshops are led by staff writer-teachers, editors, or agents. There are separate morning workshops for Fiction and Narrative Nonfiction/ Memoir. In addition to their workshop manuscript, participants may have a second manuscript read by a staff member who meets with them in an individual conference. During the week, a portion of our workshops is devoted exclusively to nonfiction. Memoir, narrative nonfiction, and essays are invited. Literary criticism and scholarly work will not be considered. Nonfiction applicants can use the same general form for submission. Application deadline March 10.
Summer Camp for Writers and Illustrators: Session Two! July 12 - 16, 2026: Boyds Mills, PA. Our Summer Camp is a not-to-be-missed experience with 1:1 mentorship, educational and inspirational keynotes, breakout sessions in your chosen track, a community of fellow creatives, time to create, and lots of fun!
Port Townsend Writers’ Conference. July 12 - 19, 2026: Port Townsend, Washington. workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as craft lectures, readings, open mics, and time to write. "The Port Townsend Writers’ Conference has been since 1974 at the wild heart of the thriving Pacific Northwest literary scene. With a focus on community and rigorous attention to craft, the Conference offers morning workshops, afternoon workshops, residencies, guided freewrites, and a vibrant readings and lectures series presented by vital, contemporary writers."
Sewanee Writers’ Conference. July 14 - 26, 2026: Sewanee, TN. Faculty will give readings and provide instruction and criticism through workshops and craft lectures, as well as meet individually with participants to discuss their manuscripts. The Conference will offer five fiction workshops, four poetry workshops, and a playwriting workshop supported by two professional actors. In addition, a substantial number of literary agents will attend. Application deadline March 1.
Romance Writers of America. July 15 - 18, 2026: Albuquerque, NM. Whether you're new to romance writing, an established author, or anywhere in between, there’s something for everyone—dynamic workshops, exciting community activities, and much more to elevate your career and connect with fellow writers.
Southampton Writers Conference. July 15 - 19, 2026: Long Island, NY. The conference features workshops in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and publishing, as well as readings, lectures, and a master class series. Creative writing workshops are the heart and soul of the summer experience, meeting four afternoons or mornings throughout the session. Enrollment is limited to 13 lucky writers who have applied with writing samples. Those accepted have the privilege of sharing their work in an intimate, rigorous and friendly setting.
Writercon Retreat. July 15 - 19, 2026: Wagoner, OK. Join us for a five-day, small-group writing retreat at the 300-acre Canebrake Resort in Wagoner, OK, on Ft. Gibson lake. Our retreat group will have the resort to ourselves with paths to hike, a pool to enjoy, bikes to ride and much more!
Midwest Writers Workshop. July 16 - 18, 2026: Muncie, Indiana. Craft and business sessions, agent pitches, manuscript evaluations. MWW includes quality instruction by a faculty of authors, agents, editors, and specialists. Will be held online and in person.
North Carolina Writers' Network Squire Summer Writing Workshops. July 16 - 19, 2026: Boone, North Carolina. The Squire Summer Writing Workshops offer an intensive course in a chosen genre (creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry) over the four days of the program. Space in each workshop is limited, so that registrants can work in-depth on their own manuscript samples, as well as their colleagues’, while also studying the principles of the genre with their instructor.
Saskatchewan Festival of Words. July 16 - 19, 2026: Moose Jaw, Canada. Workshops for all ages, reading sessions, concerts, film, panel discussions, interviews, music, theatre, a slam poetry competition as well as workshops and author readings.
Mystery Writers Conference. July 17 - 19, 2026: Corte Madera, CA. In this conference, mystery writers learn the clues to a successful writing career. Editors, agents, and publishers tell participants what they need to know to get published. Authors offer classes on setting, dialogue, suspense, point of view, and openings. They tell how to write about private eyes, amateur sleuths, and police protagonists, and how to create thrillers and historical mysteries. Panels of detectives, forensic experts, police, and other crime-fighting professionals provide information that allows crime fiction writers to put realism in their work.
Imaginarium. July 17 - 19, 2026: Louisville KY. A three day annual event held in Louisville, Kentucky centered entirely around creative writing, including the worlds of books, movies, gaming, music, and comics/graphic novels. Imaginarium Convention features extensive programming content, with panels and workshops presented by over 150 professional guests covering everything from the craft of writing to various genres, industry-specific topics, publishing, and social media/publicity. The convention features a film festival with a full array of awards, a masquerade/costume contest, live music, gaming, an expo open to the general public, an awards banquet, a series of literary awards called the Imadjinns, and many more activities, creating a welcoming, inclusive atmosphere that is content-rich and ideal for networking, promotion and personal development.
Sundress Academy: Trans/Nonbinary Writing Retreat. July 18 - 19, 2026: Via Zoom. The Sundress Academy for the Arts is thrilled to announce its Trans/Nonbinary Writers Retreat, which runs from Saturday, July 18th, 2026, through Sunday July 19th, 2026. This event will be entirely virtual held via Zoom. All SAFTA retreats focus on generative writing, and this year’s retreat will also include the following craft talk sessions: “The Volta As A Survival Strategy” and “Ekphrastic Identities: Exploring Gender and the Body Through Art.” The event will be open to trans and nonbinary writers of all backgrounds and experience levels and provide an opportunity to work with many talented authors and poets from around the country, including workshop leaders Dr. Kelsey L. Smoot and Kay E. Bancroft. Sold out.
Taylor's Professional Writers Conference. July 23 - 25, 2026: Upland, Indiana. Sponsored by Taylor University's nationally recognized Professional Writing major, this conference stresses tools and tips for getting your writing into print. You'll learn from professional writers and network with agents and editors who can take you to the next level in your writing.
Writer's Digest Annual Conference. July 23 - 25, 2026: New Brunswick, New Jersey. Writer's Digest Annual Conference offers everything you need to advance your writing career creatively and professionally. Gain invaluable tips to improve your craft, explore publishing options and learn how to establish a sustainable career—all while being inspired by successful authors and your fellow attendees. It’s all brought to you by Writer’s Digest, the experts at nurturing and developing writers at every stage of their career for over 100 years.
Cascade Three-day Critique Workshop. July 23 – 26, 2026: Bremerton, WA. "Our Three-Day Critique Workshop is an opportunity for you to submit the first 4000 words of your novel, short story, or whatever project you are working on, for critique in a group of up to 8 peers led by an industry professional. This is a great way to polish up those first pages and first chapter. Submissions are due six weeks before the event via our Discord Channel. Registrants will receive login information a few weeks before submissions are due. There will also be one-hour workshops and panel presentations on craft, querying, the publishing industry, and more. Optional casual gatherings provide opportunities to get to know other writers as well as authors, editors, and agents."
The 2026 New England Writing Workshop. July 24 - 25, 2026: Online. This writing event is a wonderful opportunity to get intense instruction over the course of one day, pitch a literary agent or editor (optional), get your questions answered, and more. Note that there are limited online “seats” at the event (200 total).
Confluence-SFF. July 24 - 26, 2026: Coraopolis, PA. Located at the birthplace of the Ohio River, Confluence is Pittsburgh’s longest-running literary conference with a strong focus on science fiction, fantasy and horror. Award-winning authors, editors, artists and song-writers gather for three full days.
Napa Valley Writers’ Conference. July 26 - 31, 2026: Napa, California. While conference lectures and readings are open to the public, the heart of the experience — the daily workshop, with the opportunity to give and receive feedback on work in progress — is available only to participants. It’s through this intense process that new and established writers interact most meaningfully and forge the bonds that give the conference community life beyond the annual conference week. Application deadline April 20.
Chapter Books and Early Readers: Getting Started with Beginning Readers. July 28 - 30, 2026: Online. Explore ways to get started writing a chapter book or early reader that turns a new reader into a lifelong book lover.
Mendocino Coast Writers Conference. July 30 - August 1, 2026: Mendocino, California. The Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference is a vibrant gathering that offers Morning Workshops in a wide range of genres. Afternoons are packed with craft seminars, panels, one-on-one consultations, and open mics; and every evening offers an opportunity to enjoy the camaraderie and connection that make this conference, in the words of one participant, “life changing.” The registration deadline is June 30.
Cape Cod Writers Center Conference. July 30 - August 2, 2026: Hyannis, Massachusetts. Supporting published and aspiring writers. Featuring distinguished authors, editors and agents in workshops on fiction, nonfiction, screenwriting, poetry, mysteries and thrillers, social media, promotion and more!
Willamette Writers Conference. July 30 - August 2, 2026: Portland, Oregon. Three full days of classes, workshops, keynotes, critiques, and events. There are also Master Classes with industry professionals in which you can learn from top instructors in a small group setting and many options for one on one critique, including On the Spot Critiques and Advance Manuscript Critique. As always, they will have a roster of agents, editors and film executives ready to hear about your project.
SCBWI: Virtual Summer Conference. July 30 - August 2, 2026: Online. Ready to take your children’s book career to the next level? Wherever you are in your publishing journey, the Virtual Summer Conference provides an opportunity for growth, creativity, and connection. Dive into every aspect of the children’s book world, from writing and illustrating to translating, marketing, and self-publishing. Put your art in front of industry pros in the career-launching Portfolio Showcase and pitch your book to acquiring agents and editors. Get inspired by sessions tailored for illustrators, picture book authors, novelists, nonfiction writers, graphic novel creators, and more. Best of all? You’ll have access to all sessions through September 13th, so you can learn and grow at your own pace. Join us and invest in your passion. It’s time to bring your stories to life!
Florida Authors and Publishers Association Annual Conference. July 31 - August 1, 2026: Lake Buena Vista, Florida. "Six (6) optional small-group workshops are being scheduled, offering attendees options a more intimate setting to learn about specific topics related to the publishing industry. These focused workshops will be offered a la carte and are scheduled so that you may register for up to three (3).
The Creativity Workshop in New York. July 31 - August 3, 2026: New York, New York. "The Creativity Workshops take away the fear of writing and open the way to new ideas. They are especially helpful for writers in fiction, poetry, memoir, theatre and film to get over writing blocks. In our Creativity Workshop Retreats you will generate both new work and ideas for the work you are in the midst of creating. We use many different techniques to help you find your way through the novel, essay, poem, memoir, or script you are writing or hope to write. In The Creativity Workshop you will be doing free writing, writing from guided visualizations, collaborative writing, journaling and memoir work and even some rudimentary drawing, collage and photography."
WRITING EVENTS WITH DEADLINES IN JULY
Hold Space Retreat for Artists of Color. September 14- 20, 2026: Saugatuck, Michigan. Participants who qualify for a Hold Space Retreat can enjoy communal living, making, and opportunities to organize on Ox-Bow’s campus in Saugatuck, Michigan. Lodging, three meals per day, and access to Ox-Bow studios and spaces are provided. People of color across the creative spectrum including artists of any discipline, writers, curators, teachers, and Ox-Bow Alumni are encouraged to apply. The retreat supports individuals or groups of up to twenty for any length from one to seven nights. Application deadline: July 5, 2026.
Traveling at Home: A Writing Workshop with Erika Howsare. September 1 - October 27, 2026. Online. In this course we will ask how writing can be a tool for creating intimacy with our own places, the places where we live, even (and especially) if they lack destination status. We’ll be less focused on polishing finished pieces of writing and more concerned with using the notebook as a focusing device for our eyes, ears, intuition, and all other human sensory gifts, generating material that may later be refined into poems or essays. Weekly assignments will feel more like experiments. Application deadline: July 15, 2026
The Gift of Attention: A Poetry Workshop with Erin Coughlin Hollowell. September 5 - October 25, 2026: Online. In this eight-week course we will discuss ways to refocus our attention as poets by examining anchor texts by various contemporary poets and then trying out the techniques in our own work with some generative exercises. Poets should bring a good idea of which landscapes are often featured in their work, and they will leave with five or six new poems that re-envision those places with refreshed attention. Application deadline: July 15, 2026.
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