October 2013 Writers Conferences

Looking for some great ways to hone your writing skills? These October events will help you take your writing to the next level:

Women Writing the West Conference
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Dates: October 11-13
Cost: $320 for non-members, $260 for members
Description: Women Writing the West draws writers of all genres whose works are set in the Trans-Mississippi west. This year’s conference offers group and breakout sessions to inspire and inform your writing, publishing and marketing, opportunities to meet our guests, agents and editors, and celebrate the gathering of fellow writers. The conference kicks off with Friday morning’s tour of the Steamboat Arabia Museum; sessions begin Friday afternoon. Sessions include:

• Fiction: How Fiction Works, Brian Shawver, author of The Language of Fiction
• Nonfiction: Moderated panel with archivists from the National Archives and the National Frontier Trails Museum, among others
• Short Story: Putting a Lot into a Little, Catherine Browder, author and university instructor
• Memoir: More than Memories: Writing a Readable, Publishable Memoir, Jo McDougall, poet and memoirist
• Children’s Lit: The ABCs of Writing for Children & Young Adults, panel moderated by member and former WWW President Sheila Wood Foard
• Professional sessions: “State of the Industry” panel with attending publishers; “Pick Me, Pick Me” panel with attending agents and publishers; Self-publishing, with Doris Baker of Filter Press; Social Media Marketing with WWW Marketing VP Susan Tweit

Auburn Writers Conference
Location: Auburn University, Alabama
Dates: October 18-19
Cost: $250 for full weekend or $150 per day
Description: You come to a crossroads. You make a choice. Left, right, forward, back. That’s how it usually goes. But what if you don’t choose? What if, instead, you embrace all directions? What if you stay in the crossroads, in the intersection, in the place where all possibilities present themselves? Join us this fall for the 4^th Annual Auburn Writers Conference’s Artful Crossroads: Where the Arts Intersect, on October 18 & 19^th in Auburn, Alabama.  We will come together and talk not only about craft and publishing, but about the ways in which our words reflect other forms of art. For some, it will be in the creation of characters who happen to be artists, for others, it might be the fusing of literature with another kind of artistic expression such as music, or visual art, or performance.

James River Writers Conference
Location: Richmond Virginia
Dates: October 19-20
Cost: $240 for full conference; or $170 per day
Description:  Join us in Richmond for the 2013 James River Writers Conference to pitch your project, improve your craft, and meet fellow writers. Speakers include award-winning book designer and author Chip Kidd, National Book Award-winner Kathryn Erskine, best-selling and award-winning author Christopher McDougall, award-winning authors Cece Bell, Lydia Netzer, Megan Mayhew Bergman, and Philippa Ballantine, Book Doctors Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry, founders of Pitchapalooza, and agents April Eberhardt, Deborah Grosvenor, Victoria Skurnick, and Paige Wheeler. Since 2003, the James River Writers Conference has been our organization’s signature event, and our most meaningful contribution to the literary community in central Virginia. Well-respected within the publishing industry, we have attracted prize-winning authors and highly regarded editors and agents from around the country to share their wisdom about writing and publishing. More than 300 people attend this two-day event, known for its inspiring, collegial atmosphere.

F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Festival
Location: Montgomery College, Rockville, Maryland
Date: October 26
Cost: $40 (includes one workshop)
Description: The 2013 F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Festival will feature “The Lost Trip of Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald, Or, How to Build a Novel from ‘Hole in History,’” a talk by R. Clifton Spargo, author of the recently published novel, Beautiful Fools: The Last Affair of Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald, which the Washington Post praised as “the one version of the story that resists the temptation to glamorize Scott and Zelda out of their humanity.”  Other events at the Festival include screenings of the 1949 and 1974 films of The Great Gatsby, followed by a panel discussion, “Which is the Greater Gatsby?” comparing the 1949 and 1974 versions with the 2013 Baz Luhrmann film, moderated by Michael Dirda and featuring prominent area cinema experts Murray Horwitz, Bob Mondello, and Jane Horwitz. Also in the day’s offerings will be writing workshops taught by E. Ethelbert Miller (memoir), James Grady (mystery/thriller), Merrill Leffler (poetry), and Alan Cheuse (fiction); a writing workshop taught by Robert Olen Butler; the announcement of the winners of the annual F. Scott Fitzgerald  Short Story Contest; and a reading by Robert Olen Butler.

Whidbey Island Writers Conference
Location: Whidbey Island, Washington
Dates: October 25-27
Cost: $280 (early bird until 9/16); $300 (regular)
Description: Gather with your fellow writers for the 15th annual Whidbey Island Writers Conference where, surrounded by mountains, forests and water, experienced professional writers, agents and editors will share their knowledge, technique, practical experience and joy of writing. Cross the lovely waters of Puget Sound and immerse yourself in the written word, hone your craft and sharpen your marketing and publicity skills. When you leave you’ll be a stronger and a better writer. Check out the detailed conference schedule here. Highlights include workshops, agent pitches, manuscript critiques, a poetry slam and musical performances by Mary Lambert and Ian Moore.

 

For more options, just try a search for "October Writers Conferences". HAPPY WRITING!