I just returned from teaching at the 2012 Chicago Writers Conference. This was the event’s first year, and I have to say the conference was excellent. I had the privilege of giving two speeches and meeting with several writers one on one. There were keynote speeches, nights of open readings, and more. Chicago definitely has it going on in terms of a large and supportive writing community. As far as writers conferences go, I would definitely recommend this event. A special thanks to coordinator Mare Swallow for inviting me, and for her husband, Kevin, for providing most of the images you see below. Many more images exist on the event’s Flickr’s page.
(Check out this page if you’re looking for a list of writers conferences.)
Me teaching a session on getting a literary agent.
I got to meet with several writers and critique their queries.
I got to do some query letter editing for attendees. It was nice to sit down and talk with people.
YAYYY. All my writing books were available for purchase. A few even sold out.
Me and conference organizer Mare Swallow.
The main conference room of the Tribune Building where the event was held.
I Will Speak At These Great Writing Events in 2012-2013:
- June 7-8: Clarksville Writers Conference (Clarksville, TN)
- June 22-24: Crested Butte Writers Conference (Crested Butte, CO)
- July 26-28: Midwest Writers Workshop (Muncie, IN)
- Aug. 2-8: Homeric Writers Retreat & Workshop (Isle of Ithaca, Greece)
- Sept. 13-14: Chicago Writers Conference (Chicago, IL)
- Feb. 14-17, 2013: San Francisco Writers Conference (San Francisco, CA)
- April 5-7. 2013: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
- April 19-20, 2013: Kentucky Writers Conference (Bowling Green, KY)
- May 17-19, 2013: PennWriters Conference (Pittsburgh, PA)
- May 23-26, 2013: Writers Guild of Alberta Event (Edmonton, Canada)
- June 7-8, 2013: Carnegie Literary Center “Books-in-Progress Conference” (Lexington, KY)
- June 21-23, 2013: Agents & Editors Conference / Writers League of Texas (Austin, TX)
- July 25-28, 2013: Pacific Northwest Writers Conference (Seattle/Bellevue, WA)
After the Friday sessions, there were readings at Open Books in downtown Chicago.
Open Books seems like a great bookstore. They spend a lot of time helping with literacy programs in the city.
The 2012 event was held at the Tribune Tower in downtown Chicago. What an amazing building!
The Sears Tower!
Other writing/publishing articles & links for you:
- What Are the BEST Writers’ Conferences to Attend?
- How to Get the Most Out of a Writers’ Conference.
- How to Make a Positive Impression at a Writers’ Conference.
- Using Writers’ Conferences to Your Querying Advantage.
- Sell More Books by Building Your Writer Platform.
- Follow Chuck Sambuchino on Twitter or find him on Facebook. Learn all about his writing guides on how to get published, how to find a literary agent, and how to write a query letter.
This looks excellent. I am looking forward to going to Writer’s Digest East again in April — January’s conference was brilliant, and your help with my pitch was indispensable.
Looking forward to another great year!
So glad you had a good time! It was a pleasure to meet you (that’s me reading at Open Books), and your freelancing talk added so much value to the weekend.
Was very nice to meet you, Rachel!
Great post, Chuck! Small quibble from this Chicagoan, however…that’s actually the John Hancock Tower, not the Sears. Same architect, but it’s much shorter! Glad you had a great experience in this city.
HA. Sorry. My fault.