All major writer associations have regional and national conferences. So, if you're not a member of RWA or SCBWI (for example), consider paying the annual membership fee as it will get you a discount. Conferences can cost anywhere from $100 and up depending on the workshops and faculty in attendance. Some conferences are one-day intensives, others can be a month-long. Every author should go to at least one writer conference (I'm still working on that, myself).
The following list is just a sampling of what's available. Hopefully, this list will give you the impetus to search for conferences that fit your schedule, budget and genre. And please, if you know of an awesome writer conference, mention it in the comments section, particularly if you are aware of small, cost-effective regional conferences. Share!
And as a reward for sharing your knowledge, I'm giving away an ARC of one of the most highly anticipated YA novels of 2014 -- Andrew Smith's Grasshopper Jungle! Oh yeah, baby. You must comment to win (leave some way for me to contact you in your comment)! We love hearing from our readers.
SCBWI (February 21-23 in New York) Registration is open. Cost: $435 for members; $535 for non-members
SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) Plenty of networking and learning opportunities for writers of children's literature (PB to YA) are available here. Faculty include: Jack Gantos, Elizabeth Wein, Tomie dePaola, and Sharon Draper, just to name a few. If you seriously write children's literature and can afford to attend, consider signing up. If not now, definitely next year.
Atlanta Writers Conference (May 9-10 in Atlanta, GA) Registration is open. Cost: a la carte pricing starting at $30; $500 for everything
The conference consists of several parts, everything from one-on-one critique sessions to pitch sessions to workshops and query letter critiques. The a la carte pricing means you need only pay for what you need.
Southampton Writers Conference (July 9-20; Children's Literature July 16-20 in Southampton, NY) Registration is open. Cost: $700+
This is an intensive, writers conference. Applicants are admitted based on the promise of a writing sample. However, applicants who are accepted get to take workshops with famed authors such as Libba Bray, Peter Lerangis, and Julia Glass.
Writers' Police Academy (September 4-7 in Jamestown, NC) Registration opens January 26th at noon. Cost: $290. Sisters in Crime members pay $135.
Regardless of whether you write YA or NA, if you write about crime, this conference is for you. Learn the same material taught to EMS, paramedics, detectives and law enforcement while gaining writing insight from best-sellers Michael Connelly and Lisa Gardner.
New Jersey Romance Writers Put Your Heart in a Book Conference (October 17-18 in Iselin, NJ)
Registration will open soon. Cost: $200 for members, $220 for non-members.
Attendants will have an opportunity to network with agents, authors and editors in all romance genres. There will be writer workshops and a book fair.
WriteOnCon (2014 TBD online) Registration: TBD Cost: FREE
WriteOnCon is a free, online conference for children's literature writers (everything from PB to NA). Check out the archives page to see previous conference events. Follow them on Facebook for updates on the 2014 conference dates and events.
Would I ever love to got the SCBWI conference in NY someday. Though I'm super happy to be attending my state's SCBWI conference this year(my first)! And WriteOnCon is such an amazing conference- the content they put out is so helpful and that it's free is amazing! (oh, and don't count me in for the ARC) =)
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to hear all about your SCBWI conference, Leandra. I'm dying to go to one of mine.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to win that! Thank you so much, this is fantastic. (mindyqindemars@gmail.com)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteAs for writer conferences, have you heard about the NaNoWriMo writing conferences they have in November? They're more like writing workshops, like the Night of Writing Dangerously in San Francisco. Here's their webpage that has some of the events depending on where you live: http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/helpful-links#events
(by the way, my email is jasli3698@gmail.com. Thanks again! I love Andrew Smith's books)
The book sounds awesome. I'm polish and i'd love to see how they sneak in his heritage.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good list -- thank you for sharing!
ReplyDelete(TweetyB99 at aol dot com)
I'd really love to attend the SCBWI conference, especially because it's in my neck of the woods ;) Great list!
ReplyDeleteAnd the winner is........Jason L. I used random number generator to determine the winner. Congrats! and thanks to everyone who commented.
ReplyDeleteIn an age when event budgets are being cut and broadband Internet access is rising, webinars are becoming increasingly popular. Webinars are web-based seminars, that usually include over 30 participants and are used to conduct presentations, workshops, lectures and large-scale meetings. Since webinars are held online, they allow companies to save money on travel, catering and venues, all of which are costs commonly associated with face-to-face seminars. However, due to their large attendance, webinars need careful planning in order to be successful. This is why those planning on free webinar hosting need to take their time to ensure that they properly go through all the necessary steps which will ensure the webinar’s success.
ReplyDelete