Writers conferences show the love, virtual or not

Will writers let a pandemic stand in their way? No way! Although many 2021 literary conferences are still treading water, sometimes pushing their events late into fall to allow in-person attendance, others brave the virtual waters. I’m presenting a selection of these – with emphasis on my own North Texas area – as well as tantalizing bits from further afield. Because, in the virtual world there are no boundaries. All times are in Central Time unless otherwise noted.

Now – March 13: The San Miguel Writers’ Conference continues a virtual season on Zoom. Still to come – Diana Gabaldon (Outlander series) February 13 at 6 p.m., Simon Winchester (The Professor and the Madman) March 7 at 6 p.m., and Jorge F. Hernandez and Margo Glantz on the Mexican tradition in literature March 13 at 6 p.m., more. Monthly passes $125, individual events generally $25. See the site for details and to register.

February 25: The Highland Park Literary Festival presents New York Times bestseller and multiple award-winning author Téa Obreht as keynote speaker at 7p.m. The event is free and open to the public but viewers must register. Obreht became the youngest recipient of the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2011 for her debut novel, The Tiger’s Wife. In 2019, Barack Obama named her second novel, Inland, as one of his favorite books of the year, unfolding in the drought-ridden Arizona Territory in 1893 and recreating the myth of the American West. To buy Obreht’s books and help support the HP LitFest, please visit the Interabang Books LitFest page.

March 5-6: North Texas Teen Book Festival 2021 now coming to you on YouTube! More details to come, but at this point, more than 80 middle grade and young adult authors, graphic novelists and YouTube celebrities are scheduled to appear. These include John Green (Fault in Our Stars), Taina Telgemeier (Guts), Ransom Riggs (Miss Peregrine series) and of course, more! Keynote speakers include Chelsea Clinton and Newbery Medal winner Katherine Applegate. Free. I’ll post more as information becomes available.

Image: Pixabay

June 21-27: Historical Novel Society North America’s 2021 conference will be virtual. Early-bird registration opens February 15-March, at $219 for HNS members, $249 for nonmembers. This year’s guest of honor is Lisa See (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and more), with special presenters Libbie Hawker and Jane Friedman and master classes with Hawker, Friedman, Alma Katsu, Gillian Bagwell, Melissa Danaczko and Cate Harte.

June 28-July 10:  Thrillerfest XVI. Registration for this virtual conference is open although the website is still a little wonky. Options include master class ($399), consulting ($75) and pitching ($50) sessions and more, including a free “Best First Sentence Contest.” Deadline for registration by mail as well as entries for the Best First Sentence Contest is June 15. 

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Meanwhile, some conferences normally scheduled for early summer have pushed their dates into late summer and fall in hopes of once again operating in-person. These include the DFW Writers Workshop Conference and the Writers’ League of Texas conference.

August 25-29:  Bouchercon, the world mystery conference, plans to hold its 2021 conference in-person in New Orleans. Registration is $195, with hotel registrations also available. See the site for schedules and guests of honor.

September 17-19: The Writers’ League of Texas conference in Austin is now scheduled for September 17-19. I will update as more information becomes available.

September 17-19: These are also the dates of FenCon, the Dallas-area science fiction/fantasy convention. More information to come.

October: The DFW Writers Workshop conference, as I learned at a recent meeting for members, is scheduled, probably for mid-October, although the conference website still shows the June 2021 dates originally posted with the 2020 conference was cancelled. Again, more information to come.

What’s still up in the air? Writefest in Houston, normally a week-long, late spring event, hopes to go in-person in the fall, but no dates are available as of this posting.

I don’t have any information about the fate of WORDfest, usually held in March. In 2020, this big-tent 'all-you-can-meet' literary event brought over 20 North Texas writers’ organizations and more than 300 writers together virtually last August. Still waiting to see if it will happen again.