Writers and Editors

See also Mastering Multimedia (improving your writing, reporting and speaking skills; mastering multimedia; making the most of Word software; Choosing the right equipment, software, tools; and Tech tutorials for computer notices).

ASJA conference (American Society of Journalists & Authors, for freelance journalists). Typically late April, early May--Friday for members only, Saturday and Sunday open to public. Order tapes from ASJA conferences here.

American Christian Fiction Conference

The Art of the Pitch (Alan Rinzler's insider tips for preparing and delivering a winning pitch to an agent or editor at a writer's conference, The Book Deal, 3-29-10)

AWP Official Guide to Writing Programs (Association of Writers and Writing Programs)

Backspace Writers Conference (for all fiction genres), supplemented by forums, articles, Stet! a blog of articles and opinions.

*Bread Loaf Writers' Conference (August, Ripton, Vermont). A conference with a long, distinguished reputation-- as reviewed by participant Eugene Cross in What I Learned from Charlie: Inside the Bread Loaf Conference (Hayden's Ferry Review, 2009)

Calendar-type and other lists of conferences:
• Shaw Guide to Writers Conferences and Workshops
• Writers conferences, by month (Bowker's list)
• Conferences, Workshops, and Seminars (AgentQuery's list, with descriptions)
• Writers conferences, by state (Screenwriters Online)
• Writing Conferences, Workshops, Retreats, Centers, Residencies & Book & Literary Festivals (NewPages.com, by state)
• Writers' Conferences & Centers (members only, Association of Writers & Writing Programs, AWP)
• List of writers' conferences (Wikipedia)
• Major Christian Writers Conferences (Terry Whalin's list)
Residencies & Colonies (AgentQuery)

Colonies, Conferences, and Festivals (Poetry Society of America links)

Dean Wesley Smith workshops for fiction writers (with Kristine Kathryn Rusch)

Drupal BarCamp 2010. Listen to sessions in audio, including Josh Ward of Volacci on Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

Grub Street Seminars and Weekend Workshops (Boston) include a Weekend of Manuscript Consultations (March, $140, with submissions in February) followed by Muse and the Marketplace conference in May. Here's Dell Smith's review from the 2009 M&M conference.

Highlight Foundation Workshops for Children's Writers and Illustrators (seminars, small-group workshops, and one-on-one sessions with some of the most accomplished and prominent authors, illustrators, editors, critics, and publishers in the world of children’s literature)

HP Learning Center: Microsoft Office and Adobe (free online classes, available 24/​7; topics include Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint,Digital Photos, etc. Go to www.hp.com/​go/​learningcenter.

Malice Domestic (May convention saluting the traditional, especially "cozy," mystery, where fans buy books from enthusiastic, often new, writers) and The Usual Suspects (the Malice Domestic newsletter); Malice Domestic awards.

Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference (Grapevine, Texas, July). Read about as experienced and described by Sam Eifling in I Heard It While in Grapevine (Columbia Journalism Review, 7-28-09). Other stories that emerged from that conference:
http:/​/​niemanstoryboard.us/​?s=mayborn+conference

Muse and the Marketplace (two-day Boston literary conference for aspiring writers of fiction and nonfiction, sponsored by Grub Street. For an additional fee, writers can get 20 minutes of feedback on a manuscript from an agent or editor, in the Manuscript Mart.

Napa Valley Writers' Conference (July, Napa Valley, California, poetry and fiction)

New York Times Knowledge Network, online courses, including Creative Writing and Nonfiction Writing. Here's a list of all categories in which classes are taught.

Online Course in Science Journalism (WFSJ and SciDev.Net), created by the World Federation of Science Journalists in close cooperation with the Science and Development Network, for use by professional journalists, journalism students and teachers. The first eight lessons (free for use by anyone in the world):
1) Planning and structuring your work (Jan Lublinkski)
2) Finding and judging science stories (Julie Clayton)
3) The interview (Christina Scott)
4) Writing skills (Nadia El-Awady)
5) What is science? (Gervais Mbarga and Jean-Marc Fleury)
6) Reporting on controversies (KS Jayaraman)
7) Reporting on science policy (Hepeng Jia and Richard Stone)
8) How to shoot science (Šárka Speváková and Carolyn Robinson).
For each course there is an e-lecture, self-teaching questions, assignments, and PDF versions.

OpenCourseWare (Wikipedia's entry about and listing of courses created by universities and shared freely with the world on the Internet (often partly free). The OCW movement took off with launching of MIT's OpenCourseWare. Check out, for example, MIT OpenCourseWare on Writing and the Humanities (thanks for this link to Chelsea Biondolillo of Transatlantic Enchilada.

PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature (100+ writers from 40 nations convene in NYC)

The Power of Narrative: The Rebirth of Storytelling (celebrated writers discuss the art and future of narrative nonfiction at Boston University, April 29-30, 2011), cousin of the now-suspended Nieman Narrative Nonfiction conference

Publishing University Online (Independent Book Publishers Association, IBPA, formerly PMA)

Retreats for Writers with an interesting chart on relative cost of retreats, by state and a list of retreat deals (inexpensive retreat cities).

Romance Writers of America (RWA) conference (a gathering of more than 2,100 published and aspiring romance writers, editors, agents, and other industry professionals). Here's one of many stories about this major conference:
'Romance' Is Never a Dirty Word at Romance Writers of America Conference (Monica Hesse, Washington Post, 7-18-09). And here's Once Upon a Romance's list of romance writing workshops, conferences, and writing contests.

San Miguel Writers' Conference (in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico), as described by Nathan Bransford, literary agent.

Sun Valley Writers' Conference (a four-day literary house party, a once-a-year community of readers and writers who discuss fiction, nonfiction, journalism, poetry, and filmmaking -- conference pass $850)

What is the difference between a certificate and certification? (Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society--scroll down for explanation).

Willamette Writers Conference (August, Oregon)

Writers' Conferences & Centers (a searchable international directory of member conferences, for which listings are available to the public, apparently run by the Association of Writers and Writing Programs)

Writers Retreats (Retreats for Writers) with an interesting chart on relative cost of retreats, by state and a list of retreat deals (inexpensive retreat cities).