This June there are more than four 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: Squam Lake, NH: Chuck Taylor, Flickr)
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Sundress Academy: Summer Poetry Writing Retreat. June 1 - 2, 2024: Via Zoom. All SAFTA retreats focus on generative writing, and this year’s retreat will also include the following craft talk sessions: “Let’s Talk About Prose Poems” and “Third Space Grief: The (Written) Performance of Intersectional Mourning.” The event will be open to poets 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 Amorak Huey, Sarah A. Chavez, and keynote speaker Barbara Fant. The total cost of attendance is $75.
Yale Writers' Conference. June 1 - 8, 2024, on campus, June 9 - 15, virtual: New Haven, CT. The Yale Writers’ Workshop brings together the experience and expertise of leading teachers, authors, editors, agents and publishers in a series of panels and workshops, for the benefit of writers the world over. We are offering three sessions (one on campus and two remote) that will enhance the writing skills of any serious writer. Our faculty provides unique, tailored, and transformative experiences to all participants. Will be conducted online and in person.
Lit Camp. June 2 - 7, 2024: Bell Valley Retreat Center and the Boonville Hotel in Mendocino County, California. The conference features workshops, panels, and craft talks for fiction writers and creative nonfiction writers. Part writing retreat, part MFA-style intensive, our spring conference focuses on the craft of writing. Over the course of the five days, you will have plenty of uninterrupted time to write...because one of the best ways to get better at writing is to sit down and write. There will also be prompted free writing sessions to motivate and inspire you, as well as daily afternoon master classes taught by some of the most accomplished writers and instructors in publishing. Registration is limited to 23 participants. Application Deadline: March 15, 2024.
Odyssey Writing Workshop. June 5 and August 14, 2024. (6 weeks and 12 weeks, respectively) 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. Deadline March 27.
Clarksville Writers Conference. June 5 - 7, 2024: Clarksville, TN. Two days of writing workshops and presentations, a keynote banquet with the authors, and manuscript consultations.
The Creativity Workshop in New York. June 6 - 9, 2024: 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."
Nebula Conference. June 6 - 9, 2024: Pasadena, CA. SFWA members and other individuals who are interested in the field of science fiction and fantasy are welcome to attend SFWA’s Nebula Conference. Attendees may participate in workshops, programming and special events throughout the weekend. You do not need to be a member of SFWA to attend.
Squam Writes Retreat. June 6 - 9, 2024: Squam Lake, New Hampshire. The Squam Writes Retreat is a small group retreat for experienced fiction writers. We focus on craft with an eye toward publication. We offer opportunities for feedback and plenty of time to write, make new friends, and recharge creative batteries in a beautiful New Hampshire lakeside setting. Every participant receives a one-on-one critique with an agent or editor.
The 2024 Writers' Police Academy. June 6 – 9, 2024: Green Bay, WI. "Killer Con offers a unique opportunity for attendees to participate in many of the same hands-on training classes---basic and advanced---taught to homicide and crime scene investigators. This special event takes attendees on a detective’s journey, from the discovery of a body and subsequent 911 call, collection and processing of evidence, and the various stages of the investigation, to the apprehension and arrest of a murderer. These incredibly exciting cutting-edge sessions have been typically reserved for investigators and forensics professionals ... until now."
Indiana University Writers’ Conference. June 6 - 9, 2024, Indiana University in Bloomington. Each summer, the conference invites gifted writers of fiction, poetry and nonfiction to teach workshops and craft classes over the course of four days. The workshops consist of three-hour sessions held each morning in which students exchange manuscripts and offer feedback on the work of their peers under the guidance of their instructor. At the end of each day’s workshop, students are invited to lunch talks where the faculty discuss their publishing experiences and answer questions from attendees. The afternoons are comprised of three, one-hour classes led by additional faculty on topics ranging from story structure and the ethics of writing nonfiction to crafting compelling images in poems. Each evening is capped off by a reading and from conference faculty.
Sundress Academy: Trans/Nonbinary Writing Retreat. June 7th- 8th, 2024: Via Zoom. All SAFTA retreats focus on generative writing, and this year’s retreat will also include the following craft talk sessions: “Elegies for Past Selves” and “Writing Together: On the Poetics of Citation.” 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 Evelyn Berry and Aerik Francis, and keynote speaker Ching-In Chen. Cost $75.
West Virginia Writers Conference. June 7 - 9, 2024: Cedar Lakes, West Virginia. Author readings, contests and sharing your love of writing with others.
Tinker Mountain Writers’ Workshop. June 9 - 13, 2024: Roanoke, Virginia. "In our manuscript workshops, capped at 10, you will distribute manuscripts in advance, prepare comments for your colleague’s submissions, and gather each morning to share insights and gain inspiration on the best path to advance your writing. You’ll receive critical feedback from peers and your faculty mentor and learn what other writers are working on as well. Our write-now workshops, capped at 12, allow you to immerse yourself in the craft of writing without the pressure of preparing or reading manuscripts. Through daily reading, writing exercises, and prompts, you’ll write both in class and during the afternoon to generate new work over the course of each day, dedicating as much time as possible to your own new writing. In our tutorial (a new offering this year!), you will submit work in advance to your faculty mentor, and then meet one-on-one three times during the week in 30-minute sessions. You will get an individualized reading list and extensive writing prompts to help you continue your work throughout the week."
Interlochen Writer’s Retreat. June 9 - 14, 2024: Interlochen, Michigan. Nestled deep in the woods between two lakes, Interlochen College of Creative Arts' five-day Writers Retreat is a true writer's dream. Spend your days writing new material, attending presentations by award-winning faculty, and enjoying lakeside lunches and evening readings while making friends and connections in the literary world. Select your concentration from four unique courses, each grounded in different craft concepts with an emphasis on generating new work—appealing to both advanced and beginning writers alike.
The Santa Barbara Writers Conference. June 9 – 14, 2024: Santa Barbara, Calif. "Every summer, writers in many genres from around the world gather to participate in a magical week of intensive work focused on story, voice, craft, marketing, and networking with fellow writers and publishing professionals."
Juniper Summer Writing Institute. June 9 - 15, 2024: Amherst, MA. Daily workshops in poetry, fiction, & nonfiction; interactive craft sessions that include discussions & writing exercises; evening readings by faculty & writers-in-residence. Workshops and craft sessions are led by MFA candidates from the renowned University of Massachusetts MFA Program for Poets and Writers who design curricula especially for the Institute setting.
Idyllwild Arts Summer Program for Children & Teens. June 9 - 15, 2024: Idyllwild, California. The Summer Program will offer workshops for all ages and abilities on our picturesque mountain campus. The tradition of gathering an impassioned community of artists during the summer months in Idyllwild dates back over seven decades and has served generations of musicians, painters, writers and performers in a variety of disciplines including dance and theatre. Join us in discovering the magic of an Idyllwild Arts summer, and explore your creativity in an inspiring setting with an enthusiastic community of students, faculty and staff. Residential options exist for adults and students aged 10 and up.
Naropa Summer Writing Program. June 9 - 29, 2024: Boulder, CO. Summer Writing Program of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University. (See site for individual classes)
Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers. June 10 - 14, 2024: Draper, Utah. A week-long conference filled with hands-on workshops where the faculty work WITH you on your manuscript. As a participant of a five-day workshop, you get free feedback from an agent or editor on your writing, opportunities to network with like-minded writers, and five days of afternoon breakout sessions filled with dozens of craft-specific topics designed especially for kidlit authors.
Bread Loaf Environmental Writers' Conference. June 11 - 17, 2024: Ripton, VT. The Bread Loaf Orion Environmental Writers' Conference is a week-long writers’ conference designed to hone the skills of people interested in producing literary writing about the environment and the natural world. The conference is co-sponsored by the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Orion magazine, and Middlebury College’s Environmental Studies Program.
Bread Loaf Translators' Conference. June 11 - 17, 2024: Ripton, VT. The Bread Loaf Translators’ Conference includes workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as lectures, craft classes, meetings with editors and agents, and readings by faculty and guests.
Sundress Academy for the Arts: From Selfie to Poetry: Writing the Self-Portrait Poem. June 12, 2024: Online. In this generative workshop, we will explore the self-portrait poem and what it means to explicitly make the self—as messy and resistant to definition as it is—the subject of our poems. We’ll take inspiration from visual arts as well as contemporary poetry to draft new work and expand our poetic selves.
Working Retreat: Spark Inspiration with Meditation and Creative Play. June 15 -18, 2024: Boyds Mills, PA. Join Kekla Magoon and Laurie Calkhoven for a retreat built to spark creativity through meditation and creative play, and then give you time to harness that spark in your own projects.
Martha’s Vineyard Summer Writers’ Conference. June 16 - 21, 2024: Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. "The Martha’s Vineyard Summer Writers’ Conference brings together writers from around the world with the central belief that we can all learn from one another. Our program offers week-long classes on the craft of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction, evening readings, panel discussions, and individualized manuscript sessions. Attendees study with award-winning Visiting Authors & Poets and celebrate writing on the beautiful island of Martha's Vineyard. For those interested in individualized feedback, we offer Manuscript Sessions with our Visiting Authors and Poets. These one-on-one sessions allow attendees to get individualized feedback on their works-in-progress as well as advice on how to seek publication."
Orion Environmental Writers’ Workshop. June 16 - 21, 2024: The Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York. This program is for writers who want to learn how to write an Orion essay, short story, or poem; for writers who seek to become better advocates for the environment through their writing; for poets who are drawn to writing about nature and culture; for teachers and scholars who wish to write for a more general readership; and for environmental professionals who want to bring better writing skills to bear on their work. The program will feature small writing workshops dedicated to poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, as well as faculty readings and lectures, student readings, and presentations on publishing.
Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshops. June 16 – 21, 2024: Gambier, Ohio. At Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshops, talented high school students from around the world join a dynamic and supportive literary community to stretch their talents, discover new strengths, and challenge themselves in the company of peers who are also passionate about writing. Application deadline: April 15. Online.
Chesapeake Writers' Conference at St. Mary's College of Maryland. June 16 - 22, 2024: St. Mary's City, Maryland. "Join us on Maryland’s Western Shore-for the 8th Annual Chesapeake Writers’ Conference for a week of craft talks, lectures, panel discussions, and readings, as well as daily workshops in fiction, poetry, screenwriting, translation, songwriting, or creative nonfiction.
Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp & Speculative Fiction Writing Retreat. June 16 - 22, 2024: Racine, Wisconsin. The Bookcamp offers morning instruction, an afternoon editing clinic, group critique sessions, discussions on the current publishing industry, one-on-one consultations with our staff, pitch sessions with literary agents and acquisition editors, and presentations on writing or publishing topics. Separate tracks for speculative fiction, and all genres.
Christopher McKitterick Speculative Fiction Writing Workshop. June 16 - 28, 2024: Lawrence, Kansas. Learn how to write SF that sells. Using the short-story form, we help you master the elements that create great stories. Since 1985. This annual two-week residential writing workshop helps established writers grow their skills while helping those who have just begun to publish or who need the final bit of insight or skill to master the elements that create great stories readers love and editors want to buy. Become part of a writing community: Award-winning author, SF scholar, long-time director of James Gunn's original SF research center, and Ad Astra SF Institute Director Christopher McKitterick has led this workshop since 2010, and served as guest author in James Gunn's SF Writers Workshop starting in 1995.
Clarion West Summer Writers Workshop. June 16 - July 27, 2024: Seattle, Washington. "The six-week workshop can give you time away from everyday distractions and encourage you to experiment and take artistic risks. The critique sessions are the heart of the workshop: you learn not only by receiving critiques, but by reading others’ work and constructing your own critiques. Instructors work directly with attendees to present group critiques of newly written stories, participate in discussions about writing techniques or professional concerns, and hold individual or small-group conferences. Throughout the entire experience, the Clarion West Workshop staff is present to help guide participants and facilitate an inclusive environment." Closed.
Fine Arts Work Center Summer Workshops (poetry, fiction, visual art, and creative nonfiction). June 16 - August 16, 2024: Provincetown, Massachusetts. "This year, we have lined up 65 extraordinary workshops in visual arts and creative writing over the course of nine weeks. We’ve brought together an outstanding group of instructors that includes many esteemed faculty members, along with many faces who are new to FAWC. We are confident that this dynamic combination of new and familiar faces will help create an inspiring atmosphere at FAWC that will invite students to take creative leaps." Housing is available at nearby guesthouses and inns; limited campus housing is available on a first-come, first-served basis. See individual workshops for dates.
Community of Writers at Squaw Valley: Poetry Workshop. June 17 - June 23, 2024: Olympic Valley, California. "We work together to create an atmosphere in which everyone might feel free to try anything. In the mornings we meet in workshops to read to each other the work of the previous twenty-four hours; each participant also has an opportunity to work with each staff poet. In the late afternoons we gather for a conversation about some aspect of craft. On several afternoons staff poets hold brief individual conferences." Registration deadline: March 10.
Kwame Alexander Writers’ Lab & Conference. June 18 - 21, 2024: Chautauqua, New York. In addition to opportunities to take two Master Classes with well-renown faculty writers in a selected genre track, attendees can also experience an opening and closing keynote address, featured speaker events, mix and mingle events with publishers and agents, and panel conversations. All these features are included in the cost of Standard Registration.
Western Writers of America Convention. June 19 - 22, 2024: Tulsa, OK. Children's, Fiction, Marketing, Non-fiction, Publishing, Young Adult. History presentations at the convention include Cats in the Old West, Border Wars/Law and Order, Mark Twain Literary Contributions, and more. Other sessions will take place related to the craft of writing, book marketing, and research sources and techniques.
Working Retreat: Writing for the Educational Market. June 20 -23, 2024: Boyds Mills, PA. Are you currently writing for the educational market, or would you like to learn how to produce content for educational publishers? Join us to discuss the opportunities welcoming writers into this kid-centered market.
Mountain Heritage Literary Festival. June 21 - 22, 2024: Cumberland Gap, TN. "Every year writers gather at the ancient and beloved Cumberland Gap to celebrate writing, music, and Appalachian heritage. Events include workshops, panels, readings, concerts, lectures, open mic, and more."
Orion Online Poetry Workshop. June 21 - August 2, 2024. Online. "The Storytelling Animal: Nature, Language, and Self . This will be a gathering of people who want to build trust: in one another, in the process of writing, and in the greater-than-human world. Together we will read and discuss ecopoems/ecopoetry, write poems (with optional prompts), and dedicate attention to one another’s work through writing workshop. Our workshop will be attentive—oriented toward quality and depth of discussion—in order to build the kind of trust and community that make for honesty and risk-taking in poems. Each participant will have the opportunity to sit down with the instructor one-on-one in the second half of the course to discuss their poems and/or topics of the class. Throughout the course, we will frame and question the roles of language in relationship to the greater-than-human world, and will attempt to reach through the poems to that world. The duration: This course meets over six Fridays from 1-4 pm ET, June 21-August 2 (skipping the week of July 12). Application period: April 1-20.
New York Pitch Conference. June 20 - 23, 2024: NY, NY. The New York Pitch Conference and writers workshop is held four times a year and features publishing house editors from major houses such as Penguin, Random House, St. Martins, Harper Collins, Tor and Del Rey, Kensington Books and many more who are looking for new novels in a variety of genres, as well as narrative non-fiction. The event focuses on the art of the novel pitch as the best method not only for communicating your work, but for having you and your work taken seriously by industry professionals.
Bookstock Literary Festival. June 21 - 23, 2024: Woodstock, Vermont. Expect 50+ speakers, author signings, live music, workshops, exhibits, special events and a huge tent sale of 10,000-12,000 used & rare books. All events and workshops are free and open to the public.
Writers' League of Texas. June 21-23, 2024: Austin, Texas. "The WLT’s Agents & Editors Conference is one of the nation’s premier conferences for writers. Every year, we bring together nationally-known literary agents and book editors and other industry professionals with writers at all stages of the writing process for a weekend of conversation and community around the craft of writing and the practical steps toward publication. For writers with finished manuscripts, the conference’s one-on-one consultations with agents and editors offer a unique opportunity to pitch their work directly to publishing professionals. For writers working toward a completed manuscript, the conference’s genre meet-ups, panels, presentations, and general sessions offer an abundance of useful information and a friendly, relaxed atmosphere for informal chats with agents, published authors, and fellow writers from all genres and backgrounds."
The 2024 Writing Workshop of Chicago. June 22, 2024: Chicago, IL. This is a special one-day “How to Get Published” writing workshop on Saturday, June 24, 2023, at the Congress Plaza Hotel. In other words, it’s one day 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.
Hedgebrook: Virtual Radical Craft Retreat with Claire Dederer. June 22 - 26, 2024: Whidbey Island, WA. "Radical Craft Retreats combine Hedgebrook's retreat experience with the unique opportunity to study with an experienced and celebrated instructor. Participation in each class is limited, to ensure individual attention, and create an intimate, supportive writing community."
Working Retreat: Poetry and Poetry Anthologies. June 23 - 26, 2024: Boyds Mills,PA. Join us for this Working Retreat if you are a poet looking for inspiration and time to work; have a poetry collection in progress and want to get it submission-ready; would like to place your work in poetry anthologies; or want to learn more about opportunities in writing poetry for children.
Aspen Summer Words. June 23 - 28, 2024: Snowmass Village, Colorado. Workshops, panels, and readings in fiction and creative nonfiction, as well as opportunities to meet with agents and editors. "Aspen Summer Words is the Rocky Mountain gateway to the literary world. Recognized as one of the country’s pre-eminent literary conferences, Summer Words welcomes visitors and locals alike to celebrate writing and writers in Aspen for a week each June. The exceptional faculty and awe-inspiring mountain scenery combine to make this a writing retreat like no other."
New York State Summer Writers Institute at Skidmore College. June 23 - July 20, 2024: Saratoga Springs, NY. Since 1987, the Institute has been offering students the opportunity to learn from an extraordinary faculty of distinguished writers led by director Robert Boyers. The program is an offshoot of the New York State Writers Institute created by Albany native and Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy. The curriculum is designed for college-aged students and adults, and the new virtual format will retain many of the Institute’s hallmark features:
Kenyon Review Writers Workshops. June 24 - 29, 2024: Gambier, Ohio. Workshops in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction led by an accomplished faculty. Genre workshops (Fiction, Literary Nonfiction, and Poetry) are held for three hours each morning. Online. Applications close April 12, 2024.
Stonecoast Writers’ Conference. June 24 - 29, 2024, Portland, ME. "Your conference experience centers around the workshop. In these classes, your work (and the work of your peers) serves as the primary text. Faculty focus on providing constructive criticism that can help you unlock your writing. Class discussions provide opportunities to discuss theories and practical application of writing craft. Each instructor adapts their class to reflect the interest and abilities of the students. Generative writing exercises ensure that you’ll have threads of new work to follow after the conference ends. This summer we are offering two distinct workshop classes: Fiction and CNF/Memoir. Each workshop is limited to ten students.
Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference. June 24 - 29, 2024: Bemidji, Minnesota. The Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference is thrilled to announce our 2024 teaching writers: Kazim Ali (Hybrid Poetry & Prose), Nicky Beer (Poetry), Valerie Miner (Fiction), Lia Purpura (Creative Nonfiction), and Sun Yung Shin is offering a speculative nature writing workshop (Multi-genre). They will each offer an intensive four-day writing class beside the lake at Bemidji State. Danez Smith will be our Northwoods Visiting Writer.
Fordham University Retreat. June 26 - 30, 2024: New York City. "In order to help mentor the next generation of Asian American writers, Kundiman sponsors an annual Retreat in partnership with Fordham University. During the Retreat, nationally renowned Asian American poets and writers conduct Master Classes and manuscript consultations with fellows. Readings, writing circles and informal social gatherings are also scheduled. Through this Retreat, Kundiman hopes to provide a safe and instructive environment that identifies and addresses the unique challenges faced by emerging Asian American writers."
David R Collins Conference Faculty & Workshops. June 27 - 29, 2024: Rock Island, IL. Daily workshops, critiques, pitches, evening events, keynote.
In Your Write Mind Workshop. June 27 - 30, 2024: Greensburg, Pennsylvania. This is an annual, alumni-run writers workshop. It features writing-related classes, agent pitch sessions, a book signing, and other special events. Open to the public.
Chuckanut Writers Conference. June 28 - 29, 2024: Bellingham, Washington. Writers conference that includes speakers, panels, breakout sessions, authors' readings, reception with authors, pitch sessions with literary agents, book signings, open mic for attendees. Autobiography/Memoir, Children's, Fiction, Nature, Non-fiction, Poetry, Publishing.
Colrain Classic. June 28 - July 1, 2024. "The Colrain Manuscript Classic is a highly focused, 3-day conference designed for poets with manuscripts in progress. The Classic features in-depth pre-conference work and candid, realistic evaluation and feedback from nationally-known poets, editors and publishers. In preparation, participants work at home on pre-conference assignments and then, in the workshop, review, arrange, and winnow their work based on the pre-conference work. In addition to the manuscript preparation workshop, manuscript workshop and editorial sessions, there will be an editorial Q&A, and an after-conference strategy session." On Zoom.
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: Squam Lake, NH: Chuck Taylor, Flickr)
______________________
Sundress Academy: Summer Poetry Writing Retreat. June 1 - 2, 2024: Via Zoom. All SAFTA retreats focus on generative writing, and this year’s retreat will also include the following craft talk sessions: “Let’s Talk About Prose Poems” and “Third Space Grief: The (Written) Performance of Intersectional Mourning.” The event will be open to poets 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 Amorak Huey, Sarah A. Chavez, and keynote speaker Barbara Fant. The total cost of attendance is $75.
Yale Writers' Conference. June 1 - 8, 2024, on campus, June 9 - 15, virtual: New Haven, CT. The Yale Writers’ Workshop brings together the experience and expertise of leading teachers, authors, editors, agents and publishers in a series of panels and workshops, for the benefit of writers the world over. We are offering three sessions (one on campus and two remote) that will enhance the writing skills of any serious writer. Our faculty provides unique, tailored, and transformative experiences to all participants. Will be conducted online and in person.
Lit Camp. June 2 - 7, 2024: Bell Valley Retreat Center and the Boonville Hotel in Mendocino County, California. The conference features workshops, panels, and craft talks for fiction writers and creative nonfiction writers. Part writing retreat, part MFA-style intensive, our spring conference focuses on the craft of writing. Over the course of the five days, you will have plenty of uninterrupted time to write...because one of the best ways to get better at writing is to sit down and write. There will also be prompted free writing sessions to motivate and inspire you, as well as daily afternoon master classes taught by some of the most accomplished writers and instructors in publishing. Registration is limited to 23 participants. Application Deadline: March 15, 2024.
Odyssey Writing Workshop. June 5 and August 14, 2024. (6 weeks and 12 weeks, respectively) 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. Deadline March 27.
Clarksville Writers Conference. June 5 - 7, 2024: Clarksville, TN. Two days of writing workshops and presentations, a keynote banquet with the authors, and manuscript consultations.
The Creativity Workshop in New York. June 6 - 9, 2024: 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."
Nebula Conference. June 6 - 9, 2024: Pasadena, CA. SFWA members and other individuals who are interested in the field of science fiction and fantasy are welcome to attend SFWA’s Nebula Conference. Attendees may participate in workshops, programming and special events throughout the weekend. You do not need to be a member of SFWA to attend.
Squam Writes Retreat. June 6 - 9, 2024: Squam Lake, New Hampshire. The Squam Writes Retreat is a small group retreat for experienced fiction writers. We focus on craft with an eye toward publication. We offer opportunities for feedback and plenty of time to write, make new friends, and recharge creative batteries in a beautiful New Hampshire lakeside setting. Every participant receives a one-on-one critique with an agent or editor.
The 2024 Writers' Police Academy. June 6 – 9, 2024: Green Bay, WI. "Killer Con offers a unique opportunity for attendees to participate in many of the same hands-on training classes---basic and advanced---taught to homicide and crime scene investigators. This special event takes attendees on a detective’s journey, from the discovery of a body and subsequent 911 call, collection and processing of evidence, and the various stages of the investigation, to the apprehension and arrest of a murderer. These incredibly exciting cutting-edge sessions have been typically reserved for investigators and forensics professionals ... until now."
Indiana University Writers’ Conference. June 6 - 9, 2024, Indiana University in Bloomington. Each summer, the conference invites gifted writers of fiction, poetry and nonfiction to teach workshops and craft classes over the course of four days. The workshops consist of three-hour sessions held each morning in which students exchange manuscripts and offer feedback on the work of their peers under the guidance of their instructor. At the end of each day’s workshop, students are invited to lunch talks where the faculty discuss their publishing experiences and answer questions from attendees. The afternoons are comprised of three, one-hour classes led by additional faculty on topics ranging from story structure and the ethics of writing nonfiction to crafting compelling images in poems. Each evening is capped off by a reading and from conference faculty.
Sundress Academy: Trans/Nonbinary Writing Retreat. June 7th- 8th, 2024: Via Zoom. All SAFTA retreats focus on generative writing, and this year’s retreat will also include the following craft talk sessions: “Elegies for Past Selves” and “Writing Together: On the Poetics of Citation.” 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 Evelyn Berry and Aerik Francis, and keynote speaker Ching-In Chen. Cost $75.
West Virginia Writers Conference. June 7 - 9, 2024: Cedar Lakes, West Virginia. Author readings, contests and sharing your love of writing with others.
Tinker Mountain Writers’ Workshop. June 9 - 13, 2024: Roanoke, Virginia. "In our manuscript workshops, capped at 10, you will distribute manuscripts in advance, prepare comments for your colleague’s submissions, and gather each morning to share insights and gain inspiration on the best path to advance your writing. You’ll receive critical feedback from peers and your faculty mentor and learn what other writers are working on as well. Our write-now workshops, capped at 12, allow you to immerse yourself in the craft of writing without the pressure of preparing or reading manuscripts. Through daily reading, writing exercises, and prompts, you’ll write both in class and during the afternoon to generate new work over the course of each day, dedicating as much time as possible to your own new writing. In our tutorial (a new offering this year!), you will submit work in advance to your faculty mentor, and then meet one-on-one three times during the week in 30-minute sessions. You will get an individualized reading list and extensive writing prompts to help you continue your work throughout the week."
Interlochen Writer’s Retreat. June 9 - 14, 2024: Interlochen, Michigan. Nestled deep in the woods between two lakes, Interlochen College of Creative Arts' five-day Writers Retreat is a true writer's dream. Spend your days writing new material, attending presentations by award-winning faculty, and enjoying lakeside lunches and evening readings while making friends and connections in the literary world. Select your concentration from four unique courses, each grounded in different craft concepts with an emphasis on generating new work—appealing to both advanced and beginning writers alike.
The Santa Barbara Writers Conference. June 9 – 14, 2024: Santa Barbara, Calif. "Every summer, writers in many genres from around the world gather to participate in a magical week of intensive work focused on story, voice, craft, marketing, and networking with fellow writers and publishing professionals."
Juniper Summer Writing Institute. June 9 - 15, 2024: Amherst, MA. Daily workshops in poetry, fiction, & nonfiction; interactive craft sessions that include discussions & writing exercises; evening readings by faculty & writers-in-residence. Workshops and craft sessions are led by MFA candidates from the renowned University of Massachusetts MFA Program for Poets and Writers who design curricula especially for the Institute setting.
Idyllwild Arts Summer Program for Children & Teens. June 9 - 15, 2024: Idyllwild, California. The Summer Program will offer workshops for all ages and abilities on our picturesque mountain campus. The tradition of gathering an impassioned community of artists during the summer months in Idyllwild dates back over seven decades and has served generations of musicians, painters, writers and performers in a variety of disciplines including dance and theatre. Join us in discovering the magic of an Idyllwild Arts summer, and explore your creativity in an inspiring setting with an enthusiastic community of students, faculty and staff. Residential options exist for adults and students aged 10 and up.
Naropa Summer Writing Program. June 9 - 29, 2024: Boulder, CO. Summer Writing Program of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University. (See site for individual classes)
Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers. June 10 - 14, 2024: Draper, Utah. A week-long conference filled with hands-on workshops where the faculty work WITH you on your manuscript. As a participant of a five-day workshop, you get free feedback from an agent or editor on your writing, opportunities to network with like-minded writers, and five days of afternoon breakout sessions filled with dozens of craft-specific topics designed especially for kidlit authors.
Bread Loaf Environmental Writers' Conference. June 11 - 17, 2024: Ripton, VT. The Bread Loaf Orion Environmental Writers' Conference is a week-long writers’ conference designed to hone the skills of people interested in producing literary writing about the environment and the natural world. The conference is co-sponsored by the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Orion magazine, and Middlebury College’s Environmental Studies Program.
Bread Loaf Translators' Conference. June 11 - 17, 2024: Ripton, VT. The Bread Loaf Translators’ Conference includes workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as lectures, craft classes, meetings with editors and agents, and readings by faculty and guests.
Sundress Academy for the Arts: From Selfie to Poetry: Writing the Self-Portrait Poem. June 12, 2024: Online. In this generative workshop, we will explore the self-portrait poem and what it means to explicitly make the self—as messy and resistant to definition as it is—the subject of our poems. We’ll take inspiration from visual arts as well as contemporary poetry to draft new work and expand our poetic selves.
Working Retreat: Spark Inspiration with Meditation and Creative Play. June 15 -18, 2024: Boyds Mills, PA. Join Kekla Magoon and Laurie Calkhoven for a retreat built to spark creativity through meditation and creative play, and then give you time to harness that spark in your own projects.
Martha’s Vineyard Summer Writers’ Conference. June 16 - 21, 2024: Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. "The Martha’s Vineyard Summer Writers’ Conference brings together writers from around the world with the central belief that we can all learn from one another. Our program offers week-long classes on the craft of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction, evening readings, panel discussions, and individualized manuscript sessions. Attendees study with award-winning Visiting Authors & Poets and celebrate writing on the beautiful island of Martha's Vineyard. For those interested in individualized feedback, we offer Manuscript Sessions with our Visiting Authors and Poets. These one-on-one sessions allow attendees to get individualized feedback on their works-in-progress as well as advice on how to seek publication."
Orion Environmental Writers’ Workshop. June 16 - 21, 2024: The Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York. This program is for writers who want to learn how to write an Orion essay, short story, or poem; for writers who seek to become better advocates for the environment through their writing; for poets who are drawn to writing about nature and culture; for teachers and scholars who wish to write for a more general readership; and for environmental professionals who want to bring better writing skills to bear on their work. The program will feature small writing workshops dedicated to poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, as well as faculty readings and lectures, student readings, and presentations on publishing.
Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshops. June 16 – 21, 2024: Gambier, Ohio. At Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshops, talented high school students from around the world join a dynamic and supportive literary community to stretch their talents, discover new strengths, and challenge themselves in the company of peers who are also passionate about writing. Application deadline: April 15. Online.
Chesapeake Writers' Conference at St. Mary's College of Maryland. June 16 - 22, 2024: St. Mary's City, Maryland. "Join us on Maryland’s Western Shore-for the 8th Annual Chesapeake Writers’ Conference for a week of craft talks, lectures, panel discussions, and readings, as well as daily workshops in fiction, poetry, screenwriting, translation, songwriting, or creative nonfiction.
Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp & Speculative Fiction Writing Retreat. June 16 - 22, 2024: Racine, Wisconsin. The Bookcamp offers morning instruction, an afternoon editing clinic, group critique sessions, discussions on the current publishing industry, one-on-one consultations with our staff, pitch sessions with literary agents and acquisition editors, and presentations on writing or publishing topics. Separate tracks for speculative fiction, and all genres.
Christopher McKitterick Speculative Fiction Writing Workshop. June 16 - 28, 2024: Lawrence, Kansas. Learn how to write SF that sells. Using the short-story form, we help you master the elements that create great stories. Since 1985. This annual two-week residential writing workshop helps established writers grow their skills while helping those who have just begun to publish or who need the final bit of insight or skill to master the elements that create great stories readers love and editors want to buy. Become part of a writing community: Award-winning author, SF scholar, long-time director of James Gunn's original SF research center, and Ad Astra SF Institute Director Christopher McKitterick has led this workshop since 2010, and served as guest author in James Gunn's SF Writers Workshop starting in 1995.
Clarion West Summer Writers Workshop. June 16 - July 27, 2024: Seattle, Washington. "The six-week workshop can give you time away from everyday distractions and encourage you to experiment and take artistic risks. The critique sessions are the heart of the workshop: you learn not only by receiving critiques, but by reading others’ work and constructing your own critiques. Instructors work directly with attendees to present group critiques of newly written stories, participate in discussions about writing techniques or professional concerns, and hold individual or small-group conferences. Throughout the entire experience, the Clarion West Workshop staff is present to help guide participants and facilitate an inclusive environment." Closed.
Fine Arts Work Center Summer Workshops (poetry, fiction, visual art, and creative nonfiction). June 16 - August 16, 2024: Provincetown, Massachusetts. "This year, we have lined up 65 extraordinary workshops in visual arts and creative writing over the course of nine weeks. We’ve brought together an outstanding group of instructors that includes many esteemed faculty members, along with many faces who are new to FAWC. We are confident that this dynamic combination of new and familiar faces will help create an inspiring atmosphere at FAWC that will invite students to take creative leaps." Housing is available at nearby guesthouses and inns; limited campus housing is available on a first-come, first-served basis. See individual workshops for dates.
Community of Writers at Squaw Valley: Poetry Workshop. June 17 - June 23, 2024: Olympic Valley, California. "We work together to create an atmosphere in which everyone might feel free to try anything. In the mornings we meet in workshops to read to each other the work of the previous twenty-four hours; each participant also has an opportunity to work with each staff poet. In the late afternoons we gather for a conversation about some aspect of craft. On several afternoons staff poets hold brief individual conferences." Registration deadline: March 10.
Kwame Alexander Writers’ Lab & Conference. June 18 - 21, 2024: Chautauqua, New York. In addition to opportunities to take two Master Classes with well-renown faculty writers in a selected genre track, attendees can also experience an opening and closing keynote address, featured speaker events, mix and mingle events with publishers and agents, and panel conversations. All these features are included in the cost of Standard Registration.
Western Writers of America Convention. June 19 - 22, 2024: Tulsa, OK. Children's, Fiction, Marketing, Non-fiction, Publishing, Young Adult. History presentations at the convention include Cats in the Old West, Border Wars/Law and Order, Mark Twain Literary Contributions, and more. Other sessions will take place related to the craft of writing, book marketing, and research sources and techniques.
Working Retreat: Writing for the Educational Market. June 20 -23, 2024: Boyds Mills, PA. Are you currently writing for the educational market, or would you like to learn how to produce content for educational publishers? Join us to discuss the opportunities welcoming writers into this kid-centered market.
Mountain Heritage Literary Festival. June 21 - 22, 2024: Cumberland Gap, TN. "Every year writers gather at the ancient and beloved Cumberland Gap to celebrate writing, music, and Appalachian heritage. Events include workshops, panels, readings, concerts, lectures, open mic, and more."
Orion Online Poetry Workshop. June 21 - August 2, 2024. Online. "The Storytelling Animal: Nature, Language, and Self . This will be a gathering of people who want to build trust: in one another, in the process of writing, and in the greater-than-human world. Together we will read and discuss ecopoems/ecopoetry, write poems (with optional prompts), and dedicate attention to one another’s work through writing workshop. Our workshop will be attentive—oriented toward quality and depth of discussion—in order to build the kind of trust and community that make for honesty and risk-taking in poems. Each participant will have the opportunity to sit down with the instructor one-on-one in the second half of the course to discuss their poems and/or topics of the class. Throughout the course, we will frame and question the roles of language in relationship to the greater-than-human world, and will attempt to reach through the poems to that world. The duration: This course meets over six Fridays from 1-4 pm ET, June 21-August 2 (skipping the week of July 12). Application period: April 1-20.
New York Pitch Conference. June 20 - 23, 2024: NY, NY. The New York Pitch Conference and writers workshop is held four times a year and features publishing house editors from major houses such as Penguin, Random House, St. Martins, Harper Collins, Tor and Del Rey, Kensington Books and many more who are looking for new novels in a variety of genres, as well as narrative non-fiction. The event focuses on the art of the novel pitch as the best method not only for communicating your work, but for having you and your work taken seriously by industry professionals.
Bookstock Literary Festival. June 21 - 23, 2024: Woodstock, Vermont. Expect 50+ speakers, author signings, live music, workshops, exhibits, special events and a huge tent sale of 10,000-12,000 used & rare books. All events and workshops are free and open to the public.
Writers' League of Texas. June 21-23, 2024: Austin, Texas. "The WLT’s Agents & Editors Conference is one of the nation’s premier conferences for writers. Every year, we bring together nationally-known literary agents and book editors and other industry professionals with writers at all stages of the writing process for a weekend of conversation and community around the craft of writing and the practical steps toward publication. For writers with finished manuscripts, the conference’s one-on-one consultations with agents and editors offer a unique opportunity to pitch their work directly to publishing professionals. For writers working toward a completed manuscript, the conference’s genre meet-ups, panels, presentations, and general sessions offer an abundance of useful information and a friendly, relaxed atmosphere for informal chats with agents, published authors, and fellow writers from all genres and backgrounds."
The 2024 Writing Workshop of Chicago. June 22, 2024: Chicago, IL. This is a special one-day “How to Get Published” writing workshop on Saturday, June 24, 2023, at the Congress Plaza Hotel. In other words, it’s one day 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.
Hedgebrook: Virtual Radical Craft Retreat with Claire Dederer. June 22 - 26, 2024: Whidbey Island, WA. "Radical Craft Retreats combine Hedgebrook's retreat experience with the unique opportunity to study with an experienced and celebrated instructor. Participation in each class is limited, to ensure individual attention, and create an intimate, supportive writing community."
Working Retreat: Poetry and Poetry Anthologies. June 23 - 26, 2024: Boyds Mills,PA. Join us for this Working Retreat if you are a poet looking for inspiration and time to work; have a poetry collection in progress and want to get it submission-ready; would like to place your work in poetry anthologies; or want to learn more about opportunities in writing poetry for children.
Aspen Summer Words. June 23 - 28, 2024: Snowmass Village, Colorado. Workshops, panels, and readings in fiction and creative nonfiction, as well as opportunities to meet with agents and editors. "Aspen Summer Words is the Rocky Mountain gateway to the literary world. Recognized as one of the country’s pre-eminent literary conferences, Summer Words welcomes visitors and locals alike to celebrate writing and writers in Aspen for a week each June. The exceptional faculty and awe-inspiring mountain scenery combine to make this a writing retreat like no other."
New York State Summer Writers Institute at Skidmore College. June 23 - July 20, 2024: Saratoga Springs, NY. Since 1987, the Institute has been offering students the opportunity to learn from an extraordinary faculty of distinguished writers led by director Robert Boyers. The program is an offshoot of the New York State Writers Institute created by Albany native and Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy. The curriculum is designed for college-aged students and adults, and the new virtual format will retain many of the Institute’s hallmark features:
- Creative writing workshops in poetry, fiction and non-fiction
- Small classes that offer individualized attention and workshop student writings
- Public readings and afternoon Q & A sessions with world-renowned guest writers
- Private tutorial sessions for student fiction manuscripts, book-length poetry, or non-fiction (available for an additional fee)
- Option to enroll for one-week, two-week, or four-week sessions
- Optional undergraduate credit for eligible students enrolled in one genre for four weeks
- Merit Scholarships for tuition
Kenyon Review Writers Workshops. June 24 - 29, 2024: Gambier, Ohio. Workshops in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction led by an accomplished faculty. Genre workshops (Fiction, Literary Nonfiction, and Poetry) are held for three hours each morning. Online. Applications close April 12, 2024.
Stonecoast Writers’ Conference. June 24 - 29, 2024, Portland, ME. "Your conference experience centers around the workshop. In these classes, your work (and the work of your peers) serves as the primary text. Faculty focus on providing constructive criticism that can help you unlock your writing. Class discussions provide opportunities to discuss theories and practical application of writing craft. Each instructor adapts their class to reflect the interest and abilities of the students. Generative writing exercises ensure that you’ll have threads of new work to follow after the conference ends. This summer we are offering two distinct workshop classes: Fiction and CNF/Memoir. Each workshop is limited to ten students.
Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference. June 24 - 29, 2024: Bemidji, Minnesota. The Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference is thrilled to announce our 2024 teaching writers: Kazim Ali (Hybrid Poetry & Prose), Nicky Beer (Poetry), Valerie Miner (Fiction), Lia Purpura (Creative Nonfiction), and Sun Yung Shin is offering a speculative nature writing workshop (Multi-genre). They will each offer an intensive four-day writing class beside the lake at Bemidji State. Danez Smith will be our Northwoods Visiting Writer.
Fordham University Retreat. June 26 - 30, 2024: New York City. "In order to help mentor the next generation of Asian American writers, Kundiman sponsors an annual Retreat in partnership with Fordham University. During the Retreat, nationally renowned Asian American poets and writers conduct Master Classes and manuscript consultations with fellows. Readings, writing circles and informal social gatherings are also scheduled. Through this Retreat, Kundiman hopes to provide a safe and instructive environment that identifies and addresses the unique challenges faced by emerging Asian American writers."
David R Collins Conference Faculty & Workshops. June 27 - 29, 2024: Rock Island, IL. Daily workshops, critiques, pitches, evening events, keynote.
In Your Write Mind Workshop. June 27 - 30, 2024: Greensburg, Pennsylvania. This is an annual, alumni-run writers workshop. It features writing-related classes, agent pitch sessions, a book signing, and other special events. Open to the public.
Chuckanut Writers Conference. June 28 - 29, 2024: Bellingham, Washington. Writers conference that includes speakers, panels, breakout sessions, authors' readings, reception with authors, pitch sessions with literary agents, book signings, open mic for attendees. Autobiography/Memoir, Children's, Fiction, Nature, Non-fiction, Poetry, Publishing.
Colrain Classic. June 28 - July 1, 2024. "The Colrain Manuscript Classic is a highly focused, 3-day conference designed for poets with manuscripts in progress. The Classic features in-depth pre-conference work and candid, realistic evaluation and feedback from nationally-known poets, editors and publishers. In preparation, participants work at home on pre-conference assignments and then, in the workshop, review, arrange, and winnow their work based on the pre-conference work. In addition to the manuscript preparation workshop, manuscript workshop and editorial sessions, there will be an editorial Q&A, and an after-conference strategy session." On Zoom.
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