Tag Archives: writers conferences


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Fall Writer Conferences

5 AUTUMN CONFERENCES

WritersMarket.com lists hundreds of writing conferences for writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, writing for children, journalism, and more. Here are five coming up in autumn:

 

Austin Film Festival & Conference will be happening in Austin, Texas, October 20-27. The conference portion of it will last October 20-23.

 

The James River Writers Conference will be taking place in Richmond, Virginia, from October 6-8 at the Library of Virginia.

 

From October 21-23, the South Carolina Writers Workshop will be hosted at the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort.

 

On November 12, Towson University will host the Baltimore Writers’ Conference from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Steve Almond is slated as the keynote speaker.

 

Flathead River Writers Conference takes place October 1-2 at Flathead Valley Community College in Montana.


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Why go to a Writer’s Conference?

Writing is a solitary act. Most of us write because we can’t keep the words bottled up and need to express ourselves. To learn the skills and the publishing business we need to rely on each other and professionals to mentor and teach us. Our writing skills don’t necessarily grow in a vacuum. Some authors are a natural and write a bestseller first time out. However, even those writers have agents, editors, and publishers.

If you’ve never attended a writers’ conference, then I’d recommend selecting one. Some of my previous posts include information about conferences around the country (U.S.)  What are the benefits?

Get to know other writers

Meet agents and editors in the business

Become part of a network of people who know how to get from draft to publication and learn from them

Take advantage of 10 – 15 minute pitching sessions with agents or editors. It helps by-pass the slush pile.

Realize that others are going through the same experience you are

Receive information and handouts that can be career changing. Put them in a notebook and refer to them.

Find inspiration and encouragement

You’ll return home fired up and excited about your writing. I encourage you to find a conference or retreat in your area and put it on your calendar. Put the money aside for the event over the coming months. Research the editors and agents who will be attending and taking appointments. Enter contests in conjunction with the writers’ conference for prizes and great feedback on your work. Wear your comfortable shoes and enjoy yourself.


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Summer Writing Conferences

These are from the Writer’s Digest newsletter:

5 SUMMER WRITING CONFERENCES

WritersMarket.com lists hundreds of writing conferences for writers. Here are five scheduled for the summer months (which begins on June 21):

 

Harriette Austin Writers Conference takes place July 22-23. In addition to WD’s Chuck Sambuchino, this conference will feature agents, editors and writers in Athens, Georgia.

 

July 26-August 7, The University of the South will hold the Sewanee Writers’ Conference in Sewanee, Tennessee. Many agents, editors, and writers will be present at this event as well.

 

The Taos Summer Writers Conference will be in Taos, New Mexico, July 10-17. This week-long conference offers workshops, classes and publishing consultations.

 

Green Mountain Writers Conference will be in Tinmouth, Vermont, August 1-5. This week-long event is more of a writers conference for writers by writers—focusing especially on craft.

 

Willamette Writers Conference, August 5-7, will be in Portland, Oregon (near the airport). This conference includes a dizzying number of panels throughout the conference.

 


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North Texas Christian Writers Conference

Attention all writers, aspiring authors, closet novelists and hopeful Pulitzer prize winners. This September 16-17, the Keller Campus of Cross Timbers Community Church hosts the 8th annual North Texas Christian Writers Conference.

This is a two-day, intensive teaching conference that focuses on the improvement of writing skills. All sessions are 75 minutes long, with a 15-minute break in between.

“We get the best Christian speakers in the arena of writing that are available in the country,” said Frank Ball, director of the conference since its inception in 2004. This year, the conference includes 35-elective workshops, private consultations, writing contests, networking opportunities, and special classes on Friday designed specifically for high school students.

The conference is for everyone. Unpublished writers, published writers, aspirating writers…there’s a lot of people who want to write a book, or even just write their personal memoirs for their family.

For registration, the schedule and all the scoop go to NTCW Conference.


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Kindle and E-books

Anyone involved in writing or the publishing industry is well aware of the rise in E-books sold. If you don’t get the Publishers Weekly free newsletters, then I’d recommend them to you. Over 13 million iPads were sold in the last half of 2010 and E-book sales are up 158% according to some sources I’ve read recently.

If we’re not on board, then the train is going to pass us by. One of my goals for this year is to become a part of that change to a greater extent. My publisher, Buoy Up Press, editor Dan Case put Rebekah Redeemed and The Fisherman’s Wife on Kindle and Nook for the Christmas shopping season.

Joan and Steve Neubauer of WordWright.biz, Inc. Publishing, are getting my women’s fiction book, Shelter from the Storm, ready for re-release in the early Spring on Kindle.

Amazon has directions available for authors who want to go directly to publishing their works on Kindle. Read discussions in online writing groups for experiences of others and their tips. I know that Amazon converts your document from html to their formating software much better than if you try sending it in MSWord or PDF.

Check our the upcoming free online conference for free and upgraded members of savvywriters.com . In February, they’re offering this online conference focused on E-books, publishing them successfully, and changes in the publishing world. Even if you don’t write romance, I think the information about changing from only print books to a combination of both electronic readers and print books is valuable to any writer. (Note: This site is for 18 years and older because some of the books have adult content.) Watch for other conferences or webinars that can help us with the transitioning to electronic books. I’ll pass on links as I come across them. I’d love to hear about conferences or webinars from you. Feel free to post them in a comment.

I’m also reading and learning as much as I can about preparing manuscripts for E-books so they can be on Kindle, Nook, and other readers or downloaded from my own website Dianne G Sagan – Author . Right now, I’m working toward’s having Free downloadable discussions for book clubs or groups to use for Rebekah Redeemed and The Fisherman’s Wife.