19 Awesome Writing Conferences and Workshops in August 2026

This August 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, 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: Derry, NH: Wikimedia]

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Frost Place Poetry Seminar. August 2 - 6, 2026: Online. The Seminar schedule features a daily presentation/discussion exploring aspects of craft and technique, an afternoon workshop of participants’ poems or individual, virtual meetings with faculty, and an evening reading, some by faculty poets and others featuring participants. Will be held online.

First Friday Book Talk & Reading Series. August 7, 2025: Zoom. First Friday Book Talk & Reading with Lisa Knopp, Author of Ravelings: Essays on Love, Loss, and Wonder

Into the Springs Writers Workshop. August 7 - 9, 2026: Yellow Springs, OH. Into the Springs is a full weekend of shared sessions, events and lunch, making your interaction with featured guest instructors and writer participants easily accessible.

Travel Writers & Photographers Conference. August 7 – 9, 2026: Corte Madera, Calif. Writing and photography workshops in the morning, a full afternoon of panels and discussions, and evening faculty presentations. There are optional, working field trips to explore the resources of the Bay Area. The faculty includes publishers, magazine editors, photographers, travel essayists, food writers, restaurateurs, guidebook writers, and more. 

VCFA Writers' Conference. August 8 - 14, 2026: Valencia, CA. At the heart of the conference is its distinctive workshop model—intimate groups of six writers led by a member of our acclaimed faculty. This structure allows for sustained, in-depth engagement with each participant's manuscript. In addition to daily workshops, every writer receives an individual, hour-long consultation with their instructor, ensuring focused, one-on-one attention. The conference includes workshops in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, romance, young adult, and writing for the screen, guided by four pillars: Community (building lasting creative relationships), Inspiration (renewing artistic energy and vision), Craft (deep, rigorous engagement with the work itself), and Industry (practical insight into publishing and professional pathways).

The Writing Shorter Retreat: Why (and How) Less Can Be More. August 9 - 12, 2026: Boyds Mills Campus, PA. Discover how “writing short” might be exactly what your story needs. Join this retreat to learn practical tools to build a shorter narrative while staying true to your voice.

Get Away to Write - Vermont. August 9 - 14, 2026: Grafton, VT. Combine an extended writing retreat with a relaxing summer vacation in the picturesque mountains of Vermont. This getaway blends our trademark challenging and supportive workshop experience with plenty of free time for you to write and bask in the refreshing New England summer. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced writer, you will return home energized by the tranquil setting and excited to continue writing.

Odyssey Writing Workshop. August 10, 2026 (12 weeks): Online. Since its inception in 1996, Odyssey has become one of the most highly respected workshops for writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Will be held online. Application deadline April 10.

Picture Book Essentials: A Two-Night Mini for Picture Book Writers. August 11 - August 13, 2026: Online. Picture books may be short, but writing them is no small task! Join award-winning author Darcy Pattison and author/illustrator Leslie Helakoski for a two-session deep dive into the essential elements that turn your ideas into engaging picture books!

Graphic Novel Storytelling: Where Words Meet Pictures Meet Readers. August 11 - August 13, 2026: Online. Your entry point into graphic novels. Two nights of expert craft, hands-on exercises, and a clear path forward for your story ideas.

Sundress Academy: Giving Shape: Retrospection & Projection in Personal Essays. August 12, 2026: Online. We’ll use four essay excerpts to study how authors have used retrospection and projection in their work, then we’ll practice those same moves through guided prompts. Students will come away with a new or renewed understanding of specific craft mechanics and new angles to approach their own ideas.

Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. August 12 - 22, 2026: Ripton, VT. Workshops in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction are at the core of the conference. Each faculty member conducts a workshop that meets for five two-hour sessions over the course of the 10 days. Groups are kept small to facilitate discussion, and all participants meet individually with their faculty leaders to elaborate on workshop comments. Faculty members also offer lectures on issues around literary writing and one-hour classes on specific aspects of the craft. Readings by the faculty, conference participants, and guests take place throughout the day and into the night. Participants meet with visiting editors, literary agents, and publishers who provide information and answer questions, individually or in small groups. Application deadline March 15.

3rd Annual Idlewild Writers Conference. August 14 - 15, 2026: Idlewild, MI. Returning for its third year, the Idlewild Writers Conference brings together poets and writers from across the country for a relaxing and inspiring experience in the beautiful historic resort community of Idlewild, MI.

Poetry at the Frost Farm. August 14 - 16, 2026:  Derry, New Hampshire. The retreat offers workshops, readings, and one-on-one consultations for formalist poets. "Join a small community of people at the historic Robert Frost Farm learning, reading and writing formal poetry with contemporary award-winning poets. Choose your focus from a series of offerings designed to provide tools for beginning poets as well as perfect the mastery of published poets." 

Whole Novel Workshop: An In-Person Retreat for Novelists. August 15 - 20, 2026: Boyds Mills, PA. This intensive, transformative Whole Novel Workshop offers writers the rare opportunity to have the entire draft (up to 85,000 words) of a novel read by faculty, with detailed written feedback and two private consultations provided.

Building Your Plot: Structures and Strategies. August 18 - 20, 2026. Online. Stop guessing what happens next and start building the architecture of your story with this two-night workshop on plotting techniques.

Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference. August 20 - 23, 2026: Nashville, TN. The Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference was created in 2006 by author/filmmaker Clay Stafford in an effort to bring together forensic experts, writers, and fans of crime and thriller literature. "At the conference, we try diligently to ensure that the weekend has something for every writer and lover of literature, and our sessions are structured to assist writers on multiple career levels. Our learning tracks tackle the craft of writing, business of writing, marketing, and forensics. Killer Nashville features nine breakout sessions for intense smaller group interaction, an authors’ bar (free for hotel guests), a moonshine and wine tasting, free agent/editor roundtable pitch sessions, a mock crime scene designed by special agents and other law enforcement professionals, cocktail receptions, the Guest of Honor Dinner and Awards Banquet, film previews, live music performances and—of course—all the great activities one can enjoy in downtown Nashville."

Community Retreat with Grace Lin and Debbi Michiko Florence: Celebrating Asian and Asian American Stories. August 27 -  August 30, 2026: Boyds Mills, PA. Work alongside community members and spend time creating, dreaming, and discovering the many beautiful contributions made by Asian and Asian American voices in the children’s book field.

Bookgardan: A Year's Sustenance for Women Writers. August 2026 to August 2027. "Bring your book project and your literary practice to full fruition in Bookgardan, a year-long program of sustained, one-on-one mentorship and advanced craft curriculum created by an acclaimed writer, seasoned editor, and devoted & inspiring literary mentor, shared with an intimate cohort of like-minded literary artists. Hone your work-in-progress, develop your technical expertise, and refine your inimitable artistic process over twelve months bookended by two full retreat weeks as fall writers-in-residence at Craigardan, an interdisciplinary mountainside residency program for artists in the majestic Adirondacks of upstate New York. Now enrolling its fifth cohort, Bookgardan is unlike any other writing program, book incubator, or literary mentorship. Designed for women writers with book-length, literary fiction and creative nonfiction projects, created in partnership with a residential artists’ program that fosters collaboration and cross-fertilization among artists, and intentional in its goal of building a lasting, mutually. supportive community of women writers, at Bookgardan’s heart is Kate Moses’ passionate dedication to helping other women writers realize their vision for their work, made manifest in the unstinting one-on-one mentorships she forges with each writer and their book."