Conferences come in many shapes and sizes. Most straddle the line between education and networking. The Colorado Gold Conference is one of these and has a flourishing list of regulars. Other events focus exclusively on advanced (and often generative) workshops, promising a weekend full of lectures, creative prompts, and a brain filled to bursting with partially digested information by the end. Even more conventions tailor to genre.
Though having the freedom to attend every conference that excites you is ideal, it’s not realistic if you have a demanding day job, a family, or other time-consuming obligations. Many cons are located out of state or are too far from home to make a daily commute viable, meaning you’ll need to budget for hotel rooms, meals, gas, and flights. So, how do you refine the list of conferences into a personalized few?
Determine your why. Why are you seeking a writing conference? Is it for the workshops, the networking opportunities, or the ability to pitch to agents and editors?
Determine your goals. Do you attend conferences to consume as much content as possible? Are you looking for a group of writers with the same target audience? Is a broad writing conference that appeals to writers of all genres and skill sets more appealing than a genre-centric event?
Determine your time, energy, and monetary budgets. How much time can you reasonably reserve for writing events? Are you someone who thrives in a social environment, or is more than one conference per year going to exhaust you? How much are you able to invest in your writing career? Most conferences average over $850 for registration and hotel alone. Keep these three budgets in mind. Time is finite, your social battery should be protected, and you don’t want to break the bank on what’s essentially a business trip.
Once you have the answers to these questions, you’ll have a solid foundation to work from. I’ve created a limited list of upcoming writing conferences for 2026 and 2027 based on location and genre to ease your search along. Each name is clickable and will direct you to the event’s website.
Colorado
Mesa Verde Writers Conference: September 2-4, 2026; Mancos
Aspen Literary Festival: September 25-27. 2026; Aspen
Colorado Gold Conference: October 1-4, 2026; Denver
Fort Collins Book Fest: April 9-11, 2027; Fort Collins
Pikes Peak Writers Conference: April 23-25, 2027; Colorado Springs
Lighthouse Writers’ Lit Fest: June 11-18, 2027; location TBD
C.S. Lewis Writer’s Conference: 2027 dates TBD, Colorado Springs
Colorado Writing Workshop: 2027 dates and location TBD
Naropa University’s Summer Writing Program: 2027 dates TBD
Genre-Centric
COSine Con: for SFF writers; January 22-24, 2027; Colorado Springs
SleuthFest: for mystery writers; March 18-21, 2027; Orlando
SoCo Women in Horror Fest: horror writers; March 19-21, 2027; Colorado Springs
SFWA’s Nebula Conference: for sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and spec-fic writers; June 3-6, 2027; Seattle
StokerCon: for horror and dark fantasy writers; June 10-13, 2027; Pittsburgh
Killer Nashville: for all crime writers; August 19-22, 2027
Bouchercon: for mystery writers; September 1-5, 2027; Washington D.C.
Worldcon: for SFF writers; September 2-6, 2027; Montreal
Creepaway Camp: for horror writers and slasher lovers; 2027 dates and location TBD
Romance Writers of America: 2027 dates and location TBD
Note: Many conferences provide a virtual option at a fraction of the cost. Places like WriteHive and TBRCon also offer free tickets to virtual-only events.
There’s a writing conference for everyone. I hope you find yours.
[Photo by John-Mark Smith on Pexels]
Amber Herbert is a (mostly) speculative fiction writer living in Colorado Springs, CO with her husband and their two gremlins. Lipstick Covered Magnet was her first novel. With a BA in English literature and a decade of experience as an editor, she’s a sucker for poignant, evocative prose and phenomenal character arcs. Her favorite genres are high fantasy with complex worlds and magic systems, heady sci-fi, and atmospheric or psychological horror. When she’s not writing or critiquing literature, TV, and film, she enjoys baking, finding new midwest emo/pop punk bands, playing tabletop games, learning a new song on the drums, and snapping photos. You can find her at https://amberherbert.com.