Reader Friday: Which Conferences Are You Attending This Year?

Have you made your plans for attending  writing conferences or retreats this year?Which ones will you be going to (or already completed)? What are you most looking forward to about them this year?

20 thoughts on “Reader Friday: Which Conferences Are You Attending This Year?

  1. I’m booked for the Hunt County Retreat in Virginia next month and I’m so darned excited. Details on my blog, ajcapper.com. A few days ago I received an email from WD about their conference in New York in August. Oh how I want to go there as well.
    Harlan Coben will be there. Two totally different gatherings, both exciting because of their differences.

    My poor credit card.

  2. I went to a local “Superstars Writing Seminars” which is business oriented. I went to SleuthFest. I’ll be going to NINC (Novelists, Inc., a larger conference for the business side of things), and the Writer’s Police Academy, which is a hands-on learning experience for anyone who writes anything relating to any variety of first-responder. Last year I did more of the mystery reader type conferences–Bouchercon and ThrillerFest. Probably won’t repeat those, though, although the CraftFest that preceded ThrillerFest was awesome.

  3. I am booked for Killer Nashville in August and want to do one other I’ve never been to. I am hoping for Bouchercon, I’ll have to see on that one. Thrillerfest will be my reward when I am repped or happily self-pubbed.

  4. I went to Sleuthfest in February and was a presenter at the Lake County Bookfest in Central Florida. Very well-run conference. I’ll be going to Malice Domestic, which is more like a family reunion than a conference. My book CATNAPPED! debuts there. Signing at the American Library Assn.in Las Vegas and then Bouchercon and finally the Las Vegas Valley Book Festival. A busy year.

  5. Boucheron in Long Beach CA and Creature, Crimes, and Creativity in Hunt Valley MD for sure. I also hope to make at least part of NoirCon in Philadephia, work schedule permitting.

  6. Alaska Writer’s Conference in Septemeber, which, as I understand, will also be attended by our very own Jordan Dane.

    Had hoped to hit Bouchercon or Thrillerfest this year, but alas both will have to wait until I no longer have teens with busy, and expensive, extracurricular activities.

    • I’d love to see you and Jordan down there, Basil, but my wife is getting her knees replaced about the same time. I will be at the Kachemak Bay Writer’s Conference in Homer in June.

  7. I am going to a crime writers and readers festival at the end of April, at the Cromarty Arts Trust in Scotland. I’m so looking forward to it

  8. I attended Robert McKee’s Story Seminar in LA last month. It was intense, but well worth it. He is a remarkable analyst of how to make a story an artistic vehicle — not a hackneyed formula like most of the stuff that passes for ‘popular’ in today’s market. I agree with McKee when he says TV and the internet are more innovative, fresh, experimental than film. That’s the future for writers. I hope to be one.

  9. I’m currently at the University of Wisconsin (Madison) Writers’ Institute. My 3rd year. Stellar presenters, energetic attendees who all seem to be eager to learn and improve, good networking.

    Didn’t pitch anything this year but that’s a big part of the conference now. Usually a good panel of agents and editors. Writers can sign up for 8-minute pitch sessions with agents or 15-minute practice pitches with instructors.

    I’m here this year mainly to recharge my writing battery, get inspired, and hopefully do some networking and meet some new colleagues.

    Chris

  10. This summer I will attend a conference in each of these months—June, July, August. I had thought that I would only attend ThrillerFest once in my life, last year during my debut year. The event was so stellar, however, that I’m re-upping this year. Yes, it’s more expensive than most, but heck, it is worth every penny.
    In June I will attend Bloody Words in Toronto. I’m a member of Crime Writers of Canada because I have dual US-Canadian citizenship. I want to connect with Canadian writers and readers since my first two mysteries are set in Canada in the sixties. Then in August I will attend my first Killer Nashville. I’m very excited about all three of these events. Can’t wait! I’m waiting to hear if I get panels gigs on them. Fingers crossed.

  11. I’ve been to SleuthFest. At the end of this month, I’ll be attending Malice. Then there’s the Mystery Writers Key West Fest in June and Novelists Inc. in October at St. Pete Beach.

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