You don’t need me to tell you that conferences are invaluable. Knowing that, take this conference boost as a gentle reminder.

Whenever I attend a conference, I’m energized, inspired, rife with new ideas, and overflowing with amazing connections. Conferences are not just about learning the craft or having a favorite book signed by the author. While those are valuable takeaways, there are lots of other reasons why you should attend conferences focused on writing and books.

Here are a few of mine: 

• Finding your “peeps”—those who “get you!”
• Meeting new writing buddies and accountability peers
• Honing your craft through learning from the experts
• Building your knowledge of the publishing industry
• Finding critique partners who can help you polish your work
• Getting to pitch to agents and publishers
• Gaining some serious momentum and inspiration

Now that you’re pumped to attend a conference, which one should you invest in? Good question. Some are certainly highbrow literary, where others are a romping good time. If I could attend all the ones that I’d like to, I would be traveling around the world every week. Since that isn’t possible, especially if I want to get any work done, I’ve selected a few that I’ve attended.

I’ve also added a few that I’d like to attend to the list below. 

• Atlanta Writers Conference – https://atlantawritersconference.com/
• Bread Loaf – https://www.middlebury.edu/writers-conferences/writers-conference
• Killer Nashville, Aug. 22-25, 2019 – https://killernashville.com/
• Napa Valley – http://www.napawritersconference.org
• New England Crime Bake – https://crimebake.org
• Olympia Valley Community of Writers Conference – https://communityofwriters.org/workshops/writers-workshops/
• Pacific Northwest – https://www.pnwa.org/
• Pennwriters Conference – https://pennwriters.org/33rd-annual-conference/
• Philadelphia Writers Workshop – https://philadelphiawritingworkshop.com/
• Quills Conference, Utah – https://quillsconference.com
• WriteAngles – https://writeanglesconference.com/
• Writers’ League of Texas Conference – https://writersleague.org/programs/a-e-conference/
• Writers’ Union, San Francisco – https://www.sfwriters.org/

It doesn’t stop here. Let me know what conferences you love and why. Let’s make this page a resource of sharing, learning, and uplifting each other through books!