Melissa Hart

Tips from writers and editors for publishing your COVID-19 stories
Editors seek fresh, surprising perspectives on the pandemic.

Conference Insider: The Chanticleer Authors Conference
This five-day conference is taking Zoom by storm this spring, with live presentations, an awards ceremony, and plenty of opportunities to connect virtually with industry professionals.

Conference Insider: Romance Slam Jam Book Lovers’ Convention
This five-day virtual event connects romance writers with both industry professionals and devoted fans of the genre in a diverse and inclusive setting.

Alexandra Diaz: Writing with a heart and soul
Children’s author Alexandra Diaz illuminates the lives of young immigrants.

Conference Insider: WriteOnCon
Events all across the world may be going virtual in 2021, but this three-day kidlit conference has been fully online for more than 10 years.

The changing face of writing conferences in a pandemic
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, event staff face a difficult decision: cancel and hope for better luck next year or move online. Luckily for writers around the country, more and more conferences are choosing the latter. Here’s how conference directors are successfully adapting live events into virtual ones.

Conference Insider: Todos Santos Writers Workshop
This Baja conference may be going digital in 2021, but staff members are determined not to lose all the cultural and craft elements that make the annual event so special.

Conference Insider: Northern Colorado Writers Conference
This long-running event hopes to offer a hybrid conference in spring 2021, presenting both in-person and virtual instruction for attending writers.

Conference Insider: IBPA Publishing University
Ready to leap into the world of self-publishing? This three-day event from the Independent Book Publishers Association is here to help.



Conference Insider: Bouchercon World Mystery Convention
Authors, fans, and industry professionals flock to this four-day celebration of crime fiction.

An introvert’s guide to writing conferences
Hate crowds? Love alone time? Shudder violently at the mere thought of ‘networking?’ You, too, can succeed at a writing conference! Here’s how.

Conference Insider: Writers’ Police Academy MurderCon
Get hands-on experience in forensics and law enforcement at this immersive four-day event in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Conference Insider: Belize Writers’ Conference
Capped at just 30 attendees, this spring conference offers authors the chance to mingle with agents in an intimate and beautiful Caribbean setting.
Conference Insider: Big Sur Children’s Writing Workshop
Need a boot camp for kidlit authors? Look no further than this bicoastal conference.


Conference Insider: Chicago Spring Fling
We seldom think “beauty walk” when considering a writing conference, but just before the Chicago Spring Fling Conference – sponsored by Chicago-North’s chapter of the … Read More “Conference Insider: Chicago Spring Fling”


Conference Insider: UW-Madison Writers’ Institute
Attendees can find craft advice, camaraderie, and commercial success at this welcoming four-day event.

Conference Insider: Gotham Writers Conference
Spend two days talking craft and networking with agents at this NYC conference hosted by one of the country’s most well-known writing centers.



Conference Insider: North Words Writers Symposium
On the final day of the North Words Writers Symposium in Skagway, Alaska, attendees and staff take the train to Laughton Glacier Station and hike … Read More “Conference Insider: North Words Writers Symposium”


Conference Insider: The Muse & the Marketplace
This three-day Boston conference strives to create a welcoming and diverse space for all writers to learn and grow.

Conference Insider: Santa Barbara Writers Conference
Eager to spend more than a weekend working on your craft and career? This sunny six-day conference in California may be just the ticket.

Crafting the perfect essay collection
Once relegated to English classes and admissions offices, this form is undergoing a literary revolution.
Writing disabled protagonists in children’s and YA literature
Authors have called upon their experiences as parents of children with disabilities, and on volunteer work or extensive research, to create characters who reflect the physical, emotional, and developmental challenges that readers and their peers may face.

Conference Insider: Sanibel Island Writers Conference
Steve Almond, Julianna Baggott, and Karen Russell are just a few of the experts you’ll find at this beautiful seaside conference.

How collaboration – and a dose of humility – can improve a book
Author Melissa Hart shares how she grudgingly changed her memoir to a nonfiction book at an editor’s request – and found it ultimately worked better.

Haiku North America
Crazy about the haiku? Have we got a conference for you.

Conference Insider: San Francisco Writing for Change
How could your words help better the world? That’s the question this one-day event asks attendees.


Conference Insider: Pacific Northwest Writers Association
This Seattle-based conference effectively balances art with business – and has a long list of alumni success stories to prove it.


Conference Insider: Historical Novel Society of North America Conference
This three-day conference will inform and energize authors looking to blend historical fact with fiction.

Conference Insider: KidLitCon
If you write books for young readers, this New England conference is an event you can’t miss.

Conference Insider: Port Townsend Writers’ Conference
Craft and community combine at what event organizers call a “left-coast, Birkenstock-wearing version of Bread Loaf.”

Conference Insider: NonfictioNOW
From social justice to video essays, this fact-focused conference is deeply grounded in modern-day truthtelling.
Conference Insider: Left Coast Crime Convention
Six hundred mystery writers gather each spring to talk about craft – and murder.
Conference Insider: Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference
Writers of all genres and experience levels gather in Arizona for intense learning and vibrant conversations.
Conference Insider: SDSU Writers’ Conference
Choose from craft talks, career insights, or publishing advice – both traditional and indie – at this decades-old conference in San Diego.
Conference Insider: Literary Writers Conference
This Friday-Saturday conference in New York City offers a comprehensive primer on the publishing industry.
Conference Insider: The Cabins Collaborative Retreat
All creative disciplines come together for a harmonious weekend of learning, growth, and inspiration at this welcoming four-day conference.
Conference Insider: Write-by-the-Lake
Dive deep into craft at this intensive five-day retreat on Lake Mendota.
Problem, goal, reward: How to increase productivity and efficiency as a writer
Treat yourself – and write more, too.
Conference Insider: Chanticleer Authors Conference
Struggling with the business side of being an author? This industry-focused conference in the Pacific Northwest is here to help.
Conference Insider: Killer Nashville
This thrilling conference allows participants to learn about the industry, sharpen their crime-solving skills, and net a publishing deal all in one weekend.
Top writing conferences for writers of color and LGBTQ writers
Each year, several conferences and retreats cater to specific demographics, enabling writers to find a community that understands the challenges inherent in belonging to, and writing in, a particular culture.
Getting pitched, getting hitched: A literary marriage proposal
This proposal swept an agent off her feet.
Reading, writing, & romance: Literary power couples
Three couples share their secrets of collaborative success.
Conference Insider: ASJA (American Society of Journalists and Author) Conferences
Want mentorship, must-know trends, and freelance opportunities all in one conference? This nonfiction-based organization has events for you.

Tips for older MFA students going back to school
Older students seeking graduate degrees in creative writing prove that age really is just a number.
Conference Insider: StokerCon
This spine-tingling conference offers a one-stop shop for all things horror.

We Need Diverse Books
Half of U.S. children under age 5 are non-white. But only 10 percent of children’s books in the last
two decades featured multicultural characters. The math doesn’t add up. And one nonprofit organization is determined
to even the playing field.

Expert tips for author school visits
Connect to young readers with dynamic classroom visits.
Write free with Freewrite
This “smart typewriter” enables writers to find focus.
Using humor in environmental writing
Can writers move beyond grim when it comes to serious issues about the Earth?
Shakespeare in the house
A family of writers finds inspiration and solidarity in the bard.
Dinty W. Moore: Writer guy
Dinty W. Moore talks about his unconventional, superstitious, comic, mindful and messy approach to teaching and practicing craft.
Run with it: Organizing a writing conference 101
Organizing a conference? Think passion. Budget. Great coffee.
Head start: Magazines and literary journals for young writers
Magazines offer young writers experience and exposure.