I'd like to know what would entice you (or has enticed you) to attend writing festivals/conferences, near or far. Here's the situation: I'm on the board of a writing festival. We hope to grow our festival, but we're not sure how to make it more appealing to writers outside our community (or even within our community, since as I figure it, fewer than 2% of the writers in the area attend our spring or fall festivals).
So--What would you be interested in hearing presentations about? What kinds of speakers would you want/expect? What would make a trip to the coast of BC worthwhile? And what would make you turn tail and never revisit the idea of attending?
This is our festival's website, if you want to make specific suggestions. (Please do!)
9 comments:
I would love to attend a writer's festival but I have no money for travel or expenses so unless it is within a few hours of me, it is a no go.
I have to agree with Rebecca. Even worse, my city in in the middle of Nowhere, Canada. Traveling from here is hugely expensive. For something really good and exciting - big authors, publishers, excellent workshops - I might drive as far as six hours.
I would also love to attend a your writer's festival (any excuse to visit beautiful BC). But the expense is a factor as I live in Manitoba.
Could it be combined with any other event(s) in the area? That way maybe you and the organisers of the other event(s)might be able to negotiate some better deals on hotel rooms etc. for attendees and attract more sponsors to keep registration costs down. Every little helps.
Angela Lovell
Cost has a great deal with why I choose to attend certain conferences/festivals over others. Like the cost of the one-day conference in D.C. is $55, and it is all morning, afternoon, and evening, until after 5pm. It includes panels, craft lectures, a featured speaker, a book fair, and offers a free book and subscription to attendees.
I think the best parts of conferences for me are workshops about writer's block and crafting certain types of scenes or dialogue, etc.
i have yet to go to a festival because i'm new to the book blogging world. i've taken classes at the university of iowa and at gotham writer's workshops in nyc and will travel for writing and books. interesting panels, prominent authors and speakers, discussion groups--those are things that interest me. sadly, BC is a tad far for me. this summer our trip is taking us to eastern canada. maybe next year!
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Scholarships, some well known writers, agents who'd read new writers work.
I realize this is very pie in the sky.
I went to Middlebury's Breadloaf Writers' Conference because I could afford it then and there were great writers there.
Thanks, everyone.
Susan--I'm jealous that you went to Breadloaf! Some of my Writing Project friends did Breadloaf, and they raved. I considered it while I was a teacher, but then I quit that and did grad school, and then I moved to Canada...
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