By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
Writers Love to Help Fellow Writers – What Better Way to Meet Them Than Writers’ Conferences?
There are several good reasons why writers should invest the time and effort required to attend writers’ conferences.
Attending a writers’ conference only takes a few hours or days at the most, a few bucks, and a little effort to register and arrange travel and lodging, but the payoff can be big.
If the book you are working on is almost finished, attending a writers’ conference gives you a great chance to network with other authors, pitch your book, learn about the major publishing houses, meet book editors and book marketing specialists. If your book is six months or a year from being finished, you can meet people who will give you ideas on shaping your book and give other advice to help you wrap up when you return home.
Or maybe you have been working on your book for a few months and are feeling unsure about whether you really can be a published author. Attending a conference is a good way to get a reality check from book editors or literary agents who can give you a professional opinion on your plot and characters and help you determine whether you are on the right track.
Most important, attending a writers’ conference provides you with a great opportunity to learn about the publishing business by purposeful interaction with insiders. Some conferences offer an opportunity to get honest and helpful professional assessments from book editors that will be more than worth the cost and effort of attending the conference.
Of course, you will want to prepare for any writers’ conference you attend by having a plan of what you want to find out and what you will do while there. You will want to develop an elevator speech pitch of your book that you can deliver in one minute. Have handouts available such as promotional bookmarks or book covers, or a one-page written pitch with website URL, email, and one paragraph book summary.
Now that you are ready, here are some writers’ conferences in the coming weeks and months you should consider attending:
Here are some upcoming writers’ conferences in 2024 for your consideration:
March 8, 2024: North Carolina Writers Workshop (Friday, March 8, 2024 — at Charlotte Marriott SouthPark, 2200 Rexford Road, Charlotte, NC, 28211.)
March 10-12, 2024: The Muse & the Marketplace Writers Conference (Hilton Boston Park Plaza, 50 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116. 617-426-2000)
March 15, 2024: The Alabama Writers Conference (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Friday, March 15, 2024: Embassy Suites Birmingham, 2300 Woodcrest Place, Birmingham, AL 35206. 205-879-7400.)
March 16, 2024: Atlanta Writing Workshop (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, March 16, 2024 — at the Le Meridien Atlanta Perimeter by Marriott (north central suburbs), 111 Perimeter Center W, Atlanta, GA 30346.)
March 16, 2024: Kansas City Writing Workshop (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, March 16, 2024 — at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Kansas City Plaza, 220 W 43rd St, Kansas City, MO 64111.)
April 6, 2024: Writers Conference of Minnesota (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, April 6, 2024 — at the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront, an IHG Hotel, 11 E Kellogg Blvd, St Paul, MN 55101. (651)292-1900.)
April 19, 2024: Get Published in Kentucky Conference (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Friday, April 19, 2024 — at the Kentucky International Convention Center, 221 S 4th St, Louisville, KY 40202.)
April 20, 2024: Tennessee Writers Workshop (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, April 20, 2024 — at Music City Center, 201 Rep. John Lewis Way South, Nashville, TN 37203.)
April 27, 2024: Philadelphia Writing Workshop (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, April 27, 2024 — at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Philadelphia West, 640 Fountain Rd, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462.)
April 27, 2024: Kentucky Conference of Writers (Apr 27, 2024, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM – Frankfort Country Club, 101 Duntreath St, Frankfort, KY 40601)
May 3-4, 2024: The 2024 Washington Writers Conference (May 3-4, 2024, Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, Rockville, MD)
May 4, 2024: Michigan Writers Conference (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, May 4, 2024 — at the Embassy Suites Detroit – Livonia/Novi, 19525 Victor Parkway, Livonia, MI 48152.)
May 11, 2024: Seattle Writers Conference (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, May 11, 2024 — at the Seattle Marriott Bellevue, 200 110th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98004.)
May 16-19, 2024: 37th Annual Pennwriters Conference (DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Lancaster, Doubletree Resort, 2400 Willow Street Pike, Lancaster, PA 17602, (717) 464-2711)
June 9-14, 2024: Santa Barbara Writers Conference (PO Box 30895, Santa Barbara, California 93130, (805) 568-1516)
June 22, 2024: The Writing Workshop of Chicago (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, June 22, 2024 — at the Congress Plaza Hotel, 520 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60605.)
July 19-20, 2024: Beyond Craft 2024 Writing Heights Conference (July 19-20, 2024, 415 N. Cleveland Ave., Loveland, CO 80537)
July 21-26, 2024: Napa Valley Writers Conference (Sunday, July 21 to Friday, July 26, 2024, Napa Valley College, Napa, CA)
August 1-3, 2024: Mendocino Coast Writers Conference (Daytime events will take place at the K8 School – 44261 Little Lake Road. Evening events will take place at Crown Hall – 45285 Ukiah Street, Mendocino, CA)
August 22-25, 2024: Killer Nashville Writers Conference (c/o American Blackguard, Inc., 314 Watercress Drive, Franklin, TN 37064-3234)
October 4-6, 2024: 22nd Annual James River Writers Conference (Greater Richmond Convention Center, 403 N 3rd St, Richmond, VA 23219, 804-783-7300)
October 17-20, 2024: Writer’s Digest Conference (Renaissance Cincinnati, 36 East Fourth Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202)
Select a writers’ conference of interest to you and be prepared to enjoy the benefits of meeting other writers, acquiring knowledge you can use immediately, learn about different genres, find a new market for your book, elevate your professional effectiveness, meet editors, agents and publishers, become inspired and return home energized.
The Bottom Line: Make a commitment to attend at least one writers’ conference this year. You’ll be glad you did!
Make a commitment to attend at least one writers’ #conference this year. You’ll be glad you did! #writersconference #authors #writingcommunity #writerscommunity Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers! 𝕏About Book Publicist Scott Lorenz
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
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I’ve been looking for information on fall writing conferences – thanks so much for providing this info!