Event Location: Online Only
Application Deadline: April 30, 2020
Applications are now open for the “Editors & Writers: The Path to Publication” seminar. This is offered entirely online. The “Editors & Writers: The Path to Publication” seminar is perfect for short fiction writers who are submitting to magazines; come see the process and the craft from an editor’s point of view. Deadline to join the class is April 30th, and all students will be admitted on a first come, first served basis.
NewPages Blog :: Events
News from writing conferences and literary events from the United States, Canada, and beyond including centers and virtual offerings.
2020 Writing & Literary Event Updates
With the uncertainty around the world and each country doing their best to respond to COVID-19 and stop the spread of the virus, many events are being postponed or cancelled. I have compiled a list of events that have updated their sites or social media with this information. I will update this post along with our Guide to Writing Conferences & Events when I find new ones. Know of any that need to be added to the list? Please contact us.
Arizona
Tucson Festival of Books – Cancelled, 2021 dates TBA
University of Arizona Poetry Center – Cancelling events through May 15
The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing – Events postponed or cancelled through April 8
Arkansas
Six Bridges Book Festival – Postponed until fall, dates TBA Continue reading “2020 Writing & Literary Event Updates”
The Writer’s Hotel Postpones June All-Fiction Writers Conference
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, The Writer’s Hotel has decided to postpone its annual summer NYC All-Fiction Writers Conference. The event was originally going to take place June 3-9, but is now slated for October 14-20. The application deadline is now August 9. Follow The Writer’s Hotel on social media for updates on their events.
Driftwood Press 2020 Seminar Series
In 2020 Driftwood Press will offer two courses in its Seminar Series. The first is an Erasure Poetry Seminar instructed by Jerrod Schwarz. He is an instructor of creative writing at the University of Tampa and his own erasure poetry has appeared in PANK, Entropy, Poets Reading the News, and the Plath Project. Applications open through April 30. This course will run five weeks from June 1 through July 3. The course is entirely online.
The next course is the Editors & Writers Seminar. This is a five week online class designed for writers submitting to magazines, for writers who want to be editors of short fiction or literary magazines, and writers who want to become better editors of their own work and others’. The course will be limited to 20 students. Applications are open through April 30. Managing fiction editor of Driftwood Press, James McNulty is the instructor. The course will run from June 1 through July 3.
Alongkian Writer Conferences June 2020 New York Pitch Conference
Algonkian Writer Conferences hosts the New York Pitch Conference and writers workshop four times a year. The next event is taking place June 18 through 21. Their goal is to help set writers on a realistic path to publication.
This 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.”
The registration fee will go up after June 13. Learn more…
AWP: Money for nothin’ and the drinks aren’t free
The Problem of Money and Access at AWP. By Alison Stine, Lit Hub.
Is it possible to attend AWP if you’re poor? If you’re not going to be reimbursed by a university, should you even bother? The short answer is: I did it, and many others do too—but it can be a lonely and difficult experience.
…Though AWP was funded to serve writers teaching at the college level, more and more writers just can’t get those jobs, especially not writers of color, women writers, or writers who are disabled. There just aren’t that many jobs anymore to get. More and more, it’s writers outside of academia who participate in AWP—not just to attend, but to present and give readings—and who shoulder expenses themselves.
…It’s not illegal to discriminate against the poor. But when 60 percent of college students face food insecurity every month; when academia runs on the exploitation of adjuncts’ labor; when tenure track professors give lectures to hordes of students, only a fraction of whom will ever obtain jobs in the profession in which they trained (and often paid dearly for), it seems glaringly insensitive not to directly address the deep and systematic income inequalities of the field.
Killer Nashville 2020 Registration Deadlines
Killer Nashville is the premier forum for all genres incorporating elements of mystery, thriller, or suspense. It brings together forensic experts, writers, and fans of the genre for a weekend in August in Franklin, Tennessee.
The 2020 conference takes place August 20-23. The early registration deadline is March 31 with August 19 being the regular deadline.
They also offer writing contests for both published and unpublished works with winners receiving discounted registration. Learn more…
9th Annual Chesapeake Writers’ Conference
Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis for the 9th annual Chesapeake Writers’ Conference. The event takes place June 21 through 27. This year’s faculty includes Liz Arnold, Matt Burgess, Patricia Henley, Crystal Brandt, Angela Pelster, and Matthew Henry Hall.
This year they will be offering workshops in songwriting along with workshops in fiction, poetry, screenwriting, translation, and creative nonfiction. They also offer craft talks, lectures, readings, and panel discussions, plus a youth workshop.
Scholarships, course credit, and continuing professional development are also available. There is no fee to apply. Learn more…
The Writer’s Hotel 2020 Application Deadlines
The Writer’s Hotel’s All-Fiction Conference will take place June 3 through 9 in NYC. The deadline for writers to apply is March 22 at midnight. There is a $30 application fee.
Faculty this year includes Rick Moody, Jeffrey Ford, Robyn Schneider, Michael Thomas, Ernesto Quiñonez, James Patrick Kelly, Elizabeth Hand, Francine Prose, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, Sapphire, Elyssa East, Kevin Larimer, Steven Salpeter, Jennie Dunham, Shanna McNair, and Scott Wolven.
New in 2020: The Writer’s Hotel is now offering NYC Weekends which are shorter conferences in the genres of poetry and nonfiction.
The deadline to apply to the Poetry Weekend is listed as March 15. This conference will take place May 21 through 25. Faculty for this event includes Mark Doty, Marie Howe, Terrance Hayes, Nick Flynn, Deborah Landau, Alexandra Oliver, Kevin Larimer, Jenny Xie, Shanna McNair, and Scott Wolven.
The Poetry Weekend is capped at 40 participants. There is a $30 fee to apply. If they reach 40 participants before the deadline, the application form will close early.
The Nonfiction Weekend will take place October 1-5. Faculty this year includes Mark Doty, Meghan Daum, Hisham Matar, Honor Moore, Elyssa East, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, Shanna McNair, and Scott Wolven.
The Nonfiction Weekend is capped at 40 participants. There is a $30 fee to apply.
Event :: Elk River Writers Workshop 2020
Deadline: Rolling (July 1 final deadline)
Elk River Arts and Lectures is now accepting applications to our summer writers workshop, August 16–21, at historic Chico Hot Springs Resort, 30 miles from Yellowstone National Park. We host some of the most celebrated nature writers in the United States to work with students in an area of Montana that has inspired the work of conservationists and writers for decades. Workshop classes are limited to 10 students in each genre. This year, Rick Bass, Linda Hogan, and J. Drew Lanham, William Pitt Root, and Pamela Uschuk will serve as our core faculty. Apply via Submittable or visit: elkriverwriters.org.
Event :: Willow Writers’ Retreat 2020
The retreat will take place March 27-30 in Americus, Georgia. The award-winning Susan Isaak Lolis will facilitate. Final registration deadline is February 24. Guest speaker will be Margaret Harrington. Learn more…
Call & Event :: Columbus State University Creative Writers Conference 2020
Columbus State University is accepting panel and workshop proposals for its 2020 Creative Writers Conference through February 15. Consider attending the event taking place October 24 in Columbus, GA. Learn more…
Event :: Los Angeles Review of Books Publishing Workshop 2020
Event Dates: July 5–24, 2020; Los Angeles
Applications are open for the Summer 2020 Los Angeles Review of Books Publishing Workshop: July 5–24, 2020 at Emerson College’s L.A. campus. Scholarship deadline is extended to March 30; all applications now due by April 13. For more information and to apply, visit thepublishingworkshop.com.
Event :: Odyssey Writing Workshop 2020
The Odyssey Workshop for fantasy, science fiction, and horror writers is accepting applications. Deadline to apply for the 2020 workshop is April 1. The event will run June 1 to July 10 in Manchester, NH. Learn more…
Residency: Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts
Applications can now be submitted by visual artists, writers, and composers from across the country and around the world to be considered for a residency at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts. Apply online by annual deadlines of March 1 for residencies between July-December and September 1 for residencies in January-June Residencies are available for 2 to 8 weeks stays. Each resident receives a $175 stipend per week, free housing, and a separate studio.
2009 Mission Creek Festival
The Mission Creek Festival returns to Iowa City, Iowa for its fourth year. Taking place from April 1st – 4th, this four-day annual celebration takes over the venues and art spaces in downtown Iowa City, providing an easily navigated nexus of music, literature, and visual art. The festival remains dedicated to inspiring and building our artistic community through the exposure of both underground and renowned artists.
Confirmed bands include: GZA/Genius (of Wu-Tang Clan) performing Liquid Swordz, The Mountain Goats, John Vanderslice, Fruit Bats, Headlights, Bowerbirds, The Tallest, Man on Earth, Simon Joyner, El Paso Hot Button, Caleb Engstrom, Fulton Lights, Golden Birds, and Pieta Brown
Confirmed readers include: Edmund White, Charlie D’Ambrosio, Steven Kuusisto, Forklift: Ohio, Andrew Milward, Mark Leidner, Steve Hanson, with more to come!
Confirmed film: Copyright Criminals – a documentary by Benjamin Franzen and Kembrew McLeod