Finding the Right Writers Conference

Writers attend conferences for a variety of reasons. Prepublication, they attend to make contacts such as agents, editors, and other writers. After publication, they attend to share their knowledge, meet other authors, and promote and sell their books. Regardless of the reason for attending, writers need to know where to find the right conference for their needs. There are several resources available to aid authors in matching a conference to their needs.

Shaw Guides is one of the most well-known conference listing guides. It is also one of the most comprehensive guides covering all categories of writing conferences, every month of the year, and locations around the world. The website allows writers to use all this criteria to narrow down the possibilities that will best fit their needs. Each conference listing provides a description of the program, conference size, cost of the conference, conference length, and so on. Also provided is a link to each conference's website as well as contact information.

The Writer provides a list of conferences on its website. Writers can search for conferences based on category, a specific time period, or location. Conference listings provide a description of the conference, admission fees, and parking information among other things. Websites links are provided as is contact information for each conference. Each year, The Writer provides a least one print issue of the magazine with conference listings and articles on making the best use of conference attendance.

Writer's Digest has the Conference Scene on its website. The conference directory lists conferences alphabetically, so visitors click on the letter of the first word of a conference's name provided they are searching for a specific conference or choose to view all. The listings provide a list of instructors, description of the conference, writer level to which the conference caters, and price. Also included are a website link and contact information for each conference. Writer's Digest prints the Conference Scene in the magazine. Sisters in Crime provides a list of crime fiction conferences on their website. While aspects of the conferences listed may appeal to all writers, the main focus of the conference will be crime fiction. The listings include descriptions and links to the conferences' websites.

Sisters in Crime participation in events will also be listed. The conferences presented by Sisters in Crime chapters make up the majority of the listings. This directory is directed toward a specific market, but is a great resource for anyone interested in conferences related to crime fiction.

All of these directories are dependent on the conference planners to provide the information in the listings.

Other resources for finding conferences to attend include writers groups, writers listservs, and writer friends. Groups and listservs will often provide announcements of conferences as well as discussion about upcoming conferences. People attending conferences often discuss the other conferences they attend. The advice former attendees provide about a conference can prove invaluable though it's important to always do one's own research. Writers searching for a conference should be able to find one that meets their needs using the directories listed and to find more information from other writers they know.