W is for Writer’s Conferences
If I had the money and the freedom, I would be a writer’s conference junkie. I barely leave the house all year long but I love a conference with like-minded writers and fabulous authors.
Going to a conference is like going back to school–but without the scheduling issues, roommate drama or meal plan. Plus I feel it is more educational.
Calvin’s Festival of Faith and Writing
The first conference I attended remains my favorite. Hosted by Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they bring a diverse group of writers, authors and agents. This is not a Christian conference, per se. Everyone from Yann Martel, Joshilyn Jackson, Haven Kimmel, Mary Karr, Rob Bell, Donald Miller, Elizabeth Berg, Salman Rushdie and Lauren Winner have attended.
The keynote speakers are stunning, the community is engaged and the classes are top notch. Held every two years, the next conference is April 19-21, 2012. I’ll be there.
Erma Bombeck’s Writer’s Workshop
Also held every two years, this conference is in my back yard (Dayton, Ohio) and sadly, it frequently conflicts with the Calvin conference. In 2008, they were on back to back weekends and I was able to attend both.
Erma’s conference is aimed at humorists and human interest writers. As a non-funny person, I enjoyed the ribald conversations, the classes on humor formulas and laugh-until-you-hurt keynotes. The food and the community was absolutely amazing. But it looks like I have to wait another two years for the chance to attend this one.
Antioch Writer’s Workshop
I bet you didn’t know Dayton had so many stellar writer’s conferences. Antioch Writer’s Workshop is a week-long professional workshop in Yellow Springs, Ohio–north east of Dayton. They bring in some excellent writers such as Nancy Pickard and Katrina Kittle.
I have only attended the Saturday session in the past but hope to attend the full conference someday. The 2011 conference is held July 9-15th.
Midwest Writer’s Workshop
I remember hearing about this workshop back in my college Creative Writing classes. But this is the first year I’ll attend, along with my outstanding critique partner, Jeanne Estridge. Held at Ball State in Muncie, Indiana, I am having a hard time choosing just one class for each session. Manuscript critiques and agent pitch sessions are both available. The dates are July 28-30th.
Robert McKee’s Story Seminar
This seminar is on my bucket list. My friend, Jeanne, attended and shared all the notes she took but nothing can compare to taking his class in person. Most writers in Hollywood have taken his Story Seminar and have benefited from it.
John Truby’s Anatomy of Story Class
This is another one on my wish list. Truby is another master of story with a prolific amount of study options–classes, audio files, books, downloads, etc. His site is worth several days worth of browsing.
I mostly stay local (Colorado), but I’d love to attend conferences in other areas if money were no object. There are some excellent writing conference here–Pike’s Peak, Colorado Gold, and Northern Colorado Writers.