As I do several times a year, I've compiled a list of writers' conferences and book festivals in North America, this one for all of 2014. I'll continue to update it with new conferences and dates as I find out about them, so check back regularly. Please let me know if I’ve missed any and I’ll add them to the list. Be sure to give me the name of the conference, the date(s), location, and website URL. Thanks!
CLICK HERE FOR AN UPDATED LIST OF WRITERS' CONFERENCES & BOOK FESTIVALS FROM SEPT. 2014 TO AUG. 2015.
JANUARY 2014:
Jan. 10-11, 2014 – FWA's Mid-Winter Conference West and Reading Festival, Bradenton, Florida. http://floridawriters.net/Home_Page.html
Jan. 18, 2014 - The New England Book Festival, Boston, Mass., http://www.newenglandbookfestival.com/
Jan. 18-24, 2014: Writers in Paradise conference, St. Petersburg, Florida. http://writersinparadise.eckerd.edu/
Jan. 24-26, 2014 – San Diego State University Writers’ Conference, Doubletree Hotel, San Diego’s Mission Valley. http://www.ces.sdsu.edu/writers/ (Jodie is presenting 2 workshops at this one.)
FEBRUARY 2014:
Feb. 1, 2014 - Cape Fear Crime Festival, Wilmington, NC. http://www.capefearcrimefestival2.com/
Feb. 7-9, 2014 - Love Is Murder Mystery Conference, Chicago, IL. http://www.loveismurder.net/
Feb. 8-9, 2014 – Genre-la writers’ conference, Los Angeles Valley College, Van Nuys, CA. http://www.wcwriters.com/genrela/index.html
Feb. 13-16, 2014 – San Francisco Writers’ Conference, San Francisco. http://www.sfwriters.org/
Feb. 12-17, 2014 – San Miguel Writers Conference, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
http://www.sanmiguelwritersconference.org/
Feb. 13-16, 2014 – Savannah Book Festival, Savannah, GA. Free and open to the public. http://www.savannahbookfestival.org/
Feb. 13-16, 2014 – Writing For the Soul, Colorado Springs, Colo. www.christianwritersguild.com/conference
Feb. 14-17, 2014 – The Southern California Writers Conference (SCWC) – San Diego http://www.writersconference.com/
Feb. 21-22, 2014 – WANACon International – virtual (online) worldwide writing conference http://wanaintl.com/wanacon-feb2014/
Feb. 26- March 1, 2014 – AWP Writers’ Conference in Seattle, Wash., Assoc. of Writers and Writing Programs: http://awpwriter.org/conference/
Feb. 27-Mar. 2, 2014 – SleuthFest annual mystery writers' conference, by the Florida chapter of MWA, Orlando, FL. http://www.mwa-fl.org/sleuthfest.htm
MARCH 2014:
March 7-9, 2014 –The Dahlonega Book Festival, Dahlonega Georgia
http://dahlonegaliteraryfestival.wordpress.com/
March 7-9, 2014 – Wordcrafters in Eugene inaugural Writers’ Conference, Eugene, Oregon. “The focus is on fiction.” http://wordcraftersineugene.org/
March 8, 2014 – Florida Authors & Publishers Association’s 2014 Spring Fling: "Effectively Navigating the Self-Publishing Process," Orlando, FL http://www.floridapublishersassociation.com/fpa-spring-event
March 15-16, 2014 – The Tucson Festival of Books, University of Arizona campus, Tucson, AZ. Free and excellent! http://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/
March 20-22, 2014 – The Write Stuff, Allentown, PA. Keynote: Hank Phillipi Ryan. http://www.glvwg.org/conference/index.html
March 22, 2014- Unicorn Writers’ Conference, Portland, CT. http://www.unicornwritersconference.com/
March 19-23, 2014 – Virginia Festival of the Book, Charlottesville, Virginia, http://www.vabook.org/index.html/
March 20-23, 2014 - Left Coast Crime annual mystery convention. This year it’s at Monterey, California. http://www.leftcoastcrime.org
March 20-23, 2014 - Romfest. Knoxville Airport Hilton, Alcoa, Tn. Keynote speaker is Brenda Novak. www.romfest.com.
March 27-29, 2014 - The Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers Annual Conference, Faulkner State College, Fairhope AL. http://www.gcacwt.com/
March 28-29, 2014 - Northern Colorado Writers Conference, Fort Collins, CO. http://www.northerncoloradowriters.com/
April 4-6, 2014 - UW-Madison Writers' Institute’s 25th Annual Conference, Madison, Wisconsin. http://continuingstudies.wisc.edu/lsa/writing/awi/index.html
April 4-6, 2014 – Mad Anthony Writers Conference, Hamilton, Ohio. http://writelikemad.com/
April 11-13, 2014 - Houston Writers Guild Conference, Houston, Texas. http://houstonwritersguild.org/
April 11-13, 2014 - Missouri Writers Guild conference, Ramada, downtown St Louis. www.missouriwritersguild.org.
April 10-15, 2014 - The Mount Hermon Christian Writer's Conference, http://www.mounthermon.org/event/212
April 19, 2014 – Alabama Book Festival, Montgomery. Free. http://www.alabamabookfestival.org/
April 24-26, 2014 – Las Vegas Writers’ Conference, Sam's Town Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada. http://www.lasvegaswritersconference.com/
April 24-26, 2014 - Arkansas Literary Festival. Little Rock, AR http://www.arkansasliteraryfestival.org/
April 25, 2014 – Southern Kentucky Bookfest. – Free. http://www.sokybookfest.org/KYWritersConf
April 25-26, 2014 - Chicago Spring Fling Writers Conference, http://chicagospringfling.com/
April 25-26, 2014 - North East Texas Writers' 28th Annual Writers' Round-up in Mt. Pleasant, Texas. http://www.netwo.org
April 25-27, 2014 - Pikes Peak Writers Conference, Colorado Springs, Colorado. http://www.pikespeakwriters.com/ppwc/
MAY 2014:
May 1-3, 2014 - The Oklahoma Writers Federation Story Weavers Conference, Oklahoma City. http://www.owfi.org/conference.php
May 2-4, 2014 - Malice Domestic, annual traditional mystery fan convention, in Bethesda, MD. www.malicedomestic.org
May 3-4, 2014 - Dallas - Fort WorthWriters Conference, Hurst Conference Center, DFW Metroplex, Texas. http://www.dfwcon.org. Twitter: @dfwcon.
May 3-4, 2014 - Ontario Writers Conference, Ajax, Ontario, Canada.
http://thewritersconference.com/
May 7-9, 2014 – Nonfiction Writers Conference, virtual. http://nonfictionwritersconference.com/2014-nonfiction-writers-conference/
May 14-18, 2014– Romantic Times Book Lovers’ Convention, New Orleans, LA http://www.rtconvention.com
May 15-18, 2014 – Pennwriters, Lancaster, PA. Keynote: Kami Garcia. http://www.pennwriters.org
May 15-18, 2014 - CCWWP 2014 – Canada’s Writing Conference, UBC campus, Vancouver, BC. http://www.ccwwp.ca/category/conference/
May 16-17, 2014 - Tallahassee Book Festival and Writers Conference, Tallahassee, Florida. http://www.twaonline.org/ (Jodie is presenting 2 workshops at this one.)
May 16-18, 2014 - SC Book Festival, Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center in Columbia, South Carolina. http://www.scbookfestival.org/
May 17, 2014 - Detroit Working Writers - DWW 2014 Writers Conference Clinton-Macomb Public Library, Clinton Twp, MI http://dww-writers-conference.org/
JUNE 2014:
June 5-8, 2014 - Crested Butte Writers Conference, West Elk Mountains, Colorado. http://www.crestedbuttewriters.org/conf.php
June 6-8, 2014: Philadelphia Writers' Conference, Holiday Inn Historic District, Philadelphia, PA. www.pwcwriters.org
June 6-8, 2014 - Bloody Words mystery writers’ conference, Toronto, Ont., Canada, http://2014.bloodywords.com
June 7-14, 2014 - Santa Barbara Writers Conference, Santa Barbara, CA. http://www.sbwriters.com/
June 13-14, 2014 - Mystery Writers Key West Fest, Key West, Florida. www.mysterywriterskeywestfest.com.
June 13-17, 2014 – Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference, Lands End Resort, Homer, Alaska. http://writersconference.homer.alaska.edu/
June 13-17, 2014 - Southeastern Writers Workshop, St. Simons Island, Georgia.
http://southeasternwriters.org/Writers_Workshop.html
June 14-16, 2014 – Greater Los Angeles Writers Conference, Los Angeles Valley College, L.A., CA. http://www.wcwriters.com/glawc/http://southeasternwriters.org/Writers_Workshop.html
June 18-22, 2014 - CanWrite! Canadian Authors' Association Writers' Conference, Orillia, Ontario. http://canadianauthors.org/conference/
June 20-22, 2014 – RomCon Romance Convention, Denver, Colorado http://www.romcon.com (Jodie is presenting 2 workshops at this one.)
(June 22-23, 2013 – California Crime Writers Conference, Pasadena, Cal. http://www.ccwconference.org/ Seems to be every 2 years.)
June 24-28, 2014 - Western Writers of America convention, Sacramento, Calif. http://www.westernwriters.org/
June 26-28, 2014 - Jackson Hole Writers Conference, Jackson Hole, Wyoming. http://www.jacksonholewritersconference.com/
June 27-29, 2014 - Annual Greater Los Angeles Writers Conference, Van Nuys, California. www.wcwriters.com/aglawc
JULY 2014:
July 8-12, 2014 – Thrillerfest and Craftfest – International Thriller Writers annual conference, New York, NY. http://www.thrillerfest.com/
July 12-18, 2014 – Antioch Writers’ Workshop, Yellow Springs, Ohio. http://www.antiochwritersworkshop.com/
July 10-13, 2014 – Public Safety Writers Conference, Las Vegas NV. Conference speakers include a coroner, fire fighters, police officers, and others in the writing field. http://www.policewriter.com/
July 13-19, 2014 - The Frost Place Conference on Poetry, Frost Place, Franconia, NH. www.frostplace.org.
July 17-20, 2014 – Pacific Northwest Writers Conference, Seattle, Washington. http://www.pnwa.org/
July 17-20, 2014 – West Virginia Writers' Workshop, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia. http://english.wvu.edu/centers-projects/west-virginia-writers-workshop
July 17-20, 2014 – Cascade Writers Workshop, Kent, Washington. www.CascadeWriters.com.
July 23-26, 2014 – Romance Writers of America Annual Conference, San Antonio, Texas.http://www.rwa.org/conference; http://www.rwa.org/p/cm/ld/fid=538
July 24-26, 2014 – 41st Midwest Writers Workshop, Muncie, Indiana. http://www.midwestwriters.org/
July 24-27, 2014 – Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference, Corte Madera, CA. http://bookpassage.com/mystery-writers-conference
July 27-Aug. 1, 2014 – Napa Valley Writers’ Conference - http://www.napawritersconf.org
July 31 - Aug. 2, 2014 - Mendocino Coast Writers Conference, Fort Bragg, California. www.mcwc.org
AUGUST 2014:
Aug. 1-3, 2014 - Writer's Digest Conference, New York City. http://www.writersdigestconference.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=61986
Aug 4-7, 2014 – Oregon Christian Writers (OCW) summer conference, Portland, Oregon. www.OregonChristianWriters.org
Aug. 7-10, 2014 – Cape Cod Writers Center Conference, Hyannis, Mass. Cost varies depending on number of courses you register for. www.capecodwriterscenter.org
Aug. 8-9, 2014 - Florida Authors & Publishers Conference, Pompano Beach, Florida - http://www.floridapublishersassociation.com/fall-conference
Aug. 8-10, 2014 - When Words Collide, A Festival for Readers and Writers, Calgary, Alberta. http://www.whenwordscollide.org/
Aug. 8-10, 2014 - Nora Roberts Writing Institute, Hagerstown, Maryland. www.nrwi.org.
Aug. 9-13, 2014 – RNC’s First annual Romance Novel Convention, Las Vegas, Nevada. http://romancenovelconvention.com/
Aug. 14-17 - IOTA: The Conference of Short Prose, Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada. www.cdc.me/iota
Aug. 14-17, 2014 - Writer's Digest Novel Writing Intensive, Los Angeles, Cal. www.WritersDigestConference.com
Aug. 14-17, 2014 - Writing Yoga Retreat, Long Island. www.writingandyogaretreat.com
Aug. 14-17, 2014 - Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts, Sechelt, B.C., Canada. http://www.writersfestival.ca/
Aug. 14-23, 2014 - Breadloaf Writer’s Conference. Middlebury, VT.
http://www.middlebury.edu/blwc
Aug. 21-24, 2014 – Killer Nashville mystery and thriller writers’ conference, Nashville, Tennessee. www.KillerNashville.com
Aug. 30 - Sept. 1, 2014 – Decatur Book Festival, Decatur (Atlanta), Georgia. http://www.decaturbookfestival.com
CLICK HERE FOR AN UPDATED LIST OF WRITERS' CONFERENCES & BOOK FESTIVALS, SEPT. 2014 TO AUG. 2015
SEPTEMBER 2014:
Sept. 5-7, 2014 Colorado Gold Writers Conference, hosted by Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. http://www.rmfw.org/conference/
Sept. 4-7, 2014 – Writers’ Police Academy, Jamestown, North Carolina. http://www.writerspoliceacademy.com/
Sept 13-14, 2014 – Alaska Writer’s Guild Conference, Anchorage Alaska. http://www.alaskawritersguild.com/
September 19-21, 2014, Imaginarinum Writing & Film Festival, Louisville, KY http://www.entertheimaginarium.com/
Sept. 20, 2014 - ORAcon2014 - Fiction Writers Conference in Springfield, Missouri.
https://www.facebook.com/events/604825859555575/
Sept. 19-21, 2014: Southern California Writers' Conference Newport Beach, Calif. http://www.writersconference.com/la
Sept. 24-28, 2014 - WORD Vancouver: Inspiring Words, Vancouver, BC, Canada. www.wordvancouver.ca
Sept. 25-27, 2014 – Florida Heritage Book Festival and Writers’ Conference, St. Augustine, Florida. www.fhbookfest.com Sept. 25-27, 2014 - The American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) annual conference, St. Louis. http://www.acfw.com/conference
Sept. 26-28, 2014 – The Midwestern Book Lovers Unite Convention for Readers and Authors, Minneapolis, MN. http://midwesternbookloversunite.wordpress.com/
OCTOBER 2014:
Oct. 3-5, 2014 – Write on the Sound Writers’ Conference, Edmonds, Washington. www.writeonthesound.com.
Oct. 9-12, 2014 - Moonlight and Magnolias romance writers' conference in Norcross, Georgia; http://www.georgiaromancewriters.org/mm-conference/
October 10-12, 2014 - The Southern Festival of Books, Nashville TN.
http://www.humanitiestennessee.org/programs/southern-festival-books-celebration-written-word
Oct. 16-19, 2014 – Women Writing the West Conference, Golden, Colorado. http://www.womenwritingthewest.org/currentWWWConference.html
Oct. 17-19, 2014 – Digital Authors 2.0 and Self-Publishing Conference, sponsored by West Coast Writers Conferences. Los Angeles Valley College, Van Nuys, California. www.wcwriters.com/da http://www.humanitiestennessee.org/programs/southern-festival-books-celebration-written-word
Oct. 16-19, 2014 – Women Writing the West Conference, Golden, Colorado. http://www.womenwritingthewest.org/currentWWWConference.html
Oct. 17-18, 2014 – Put Your Heart in a Book, New Jersey Romance Writers Conference, Iselin, N.J. http://www.njromancewriters.org/conference.html
Oct. 17-19, 2014 – Emerald City Writers’ Conference (Romance Writers of America), Bellevue, Washington. http://www.gsrwa.org/conference.php
Oct. 17-19, 2014 – Whistler Readers and Writers Festival, Whistler, BC. http://www.whistler.com/whistler_readers_writers_festival/
Oct. 19-24, 2014 – Salt Cay Writers’ Retreat, Salt Cay, Bahamas. www.saltcaywritersretreat.com
Oct. 25, 2014 – Boston Book Festival – free and excellent! http://www.bostonbookfest.org/
Oct. 21-26, 2014 - The Vancouver Writers Fest, Vancouver, BC, Canada. http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/
October 22-26, 2014 – The Author’s World, the Novelist, Inc. (NINC) writers conference, St. Petersburg, Florida. http://ninc.com/conference_center
October 24 - 26, 2014 - 13th Annual Florida Writers Conference, Lake Mary, FL. http://floridawriters.net/2014_FWA_Conferences.html
October 24-26, 2014, Magna cum Murder in association with Crimefest, Indianapolis IN http://cms.bsu.edu/Academics/CentersandInstitutes/EBBall/MagnaCumMurder.aspx
Oct. 24-26, 2014 – Surrey International Writers Conference, Surrey, BC, Canada. http://www.siwc.ca/
Oct. 24-26, 2014 - Chicago Writers Conference, University Center, Chicago, Ill. www.chicagowritersconference.org
Oct. 24-26, 2014 - Stars of Florida Writers, 13th Annual Florida Writers Conference, Orlando Marriott Lake Mary. www.floridawriters.net
Oct. 24-26, 2014 – The La Jolla Writers Conference, Paradise Point Resort and Spa, San Diego, CA http://www.lajollawritersconference.com/
NOVEMBER 2014:
November 1, 2014 - Louisiana Book Festival, Baton Rouge, LA
http://www.louisianabookfestival.org/
Nov. 6-8, 2014 - Tony Hillerman Writers Conference, Santa Fe, NM. www.wordharvest.com/registration.php
Nov. 6-9, 2014 – Sanibel Island Writers Conference, Sanibel Island, Florida. http://www.fgcu.edu/siwc/
Nov. 7-9, 2014 – The New England Crime Bake Conference, Dedham, Mass. http://www.crimebake.org/
Nov. 8, 2014 - Murder and Mayhem in Muskego, http://murdermayhemmuskego.com/
Nov. 13-16, 2014 - Writing Across Boundaries, Windsor International Writers Conference, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. www.WI-WC.org
Nov. 15, 2014 - Baltimore Writers' Conference, Towson, Md. www.baltimorewritersconference.org.
Nov. 16-23, 2013 - Miami Book Fair International, Miami, Florida. http://www.miamibookfair.com/
DECEMBER 2014:
(Not usually any conferences in December)
2015:
CLICK HERE FOR AN UPDATED LIST OF WRITERS' CONFERENCES & BOOK FESTIVALS, SEPT. 2014 TO AUG. 2015
JANUARY:
Jan. 16-19, 2015 - 22nd Annual Winter Poetry and Prose Getaway, Seaview Resort, New Jersey Shore. www.wintergetaway.com
Jan. 23-25, 2015 – San Diego State University Writers’ Conference, San Diego Marriott, Mission Valley. http://www.ces.sdsu.edu/wc
January 26-31, 2015 - 2015 Todos Santos Writers Workshop, Todos Santos, Baja Mexico. www.todossantoswritersworkshop.com
FEBRUARY:
Feb. 5-9, 2015 – Florida Romance Writers cruise conference. http://www.frwriters.org/fun-in-the-sun-conference/
Feb. 11-15, 2015 - San Miguel Writers' Conference & Literary Festival. www.sanmiguelwritersconference.org.
Feb. 12-15, 2015 - San Francisco Writers Conference, San Francisco. www.SFWriters.org
Feb. 26 - Mar. 1, 2015 - Sleuthfest - an annual conference for mystery, suspense, and thriller writers, Deerfield Beach, Florida. http://sleuthfest.com/
MARCH:
March 14, 2015 - Unicorn Writer's Conference, Purchase, NY. www.unicornwritersconference.com
Mar. 27-28, 2015 - Northern Colorado Writers Conference, Fort Collins, CO. http://www.northerncoloradowriters.com/
April 23-25, 2015 - Las Vegas Writers Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada. www.lasvegaswritersconference.com
APRIL:
April 24 - 26, 2015, Tallahassee Writers Conference, Tallahassee, Florida.
July 22 - 25, 2015, Romance Writers Conference, New York Marriott Marquis. www.rwa.org.
Jodie Renner is a sought-after freelance fiction editor and award-winning author of the multi-award-winning Fire up Your Fiction and Writing a Killer Thriller (and the upcoming Captivate Your Readers), as well as her handy, clickable e-resources, Quick Clicks: Spelling List – Commonly Misspelled Words at Your Fingertipsand Quick Clicks: Word Usage – Style and Usage Tips for Busy Writers and Editors. Her blog posts appear alternate Mondays on the award-winning blog, The Kill Zone. Find Jodie on Facebook and Twitter.
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