The 2021 Summer Conference application deadline has been extended to 11:59pm on Sunday, April 25th, 2021.
Summer Writers Conference
July 25th - August 1st, 2021
Application Fee: $20
Price: $1,200
Member price: $1,125
This summer, One Story will offer our annual conference for fiction writers online. Twenty-four conference participants will be divided into three intimate eight-student workshop cohorts, each of which will be led by one of our workshop instructors. Over the course of eight days, conference attendees will:
- Take part in four intensive writing workshop sessions
- Participate in and attend student readings
- Meet for a half-hour, one-on-one conference with their workshop instructor
- Attend craft lectures led by established writers and editors, exploring fiction’s most important elements
- Learn the ins and outs of the publishing industry at interactive panel discussions with agents, editors, and industry professionals
- Connect with peers and have exclusive access to resources on our online learning platform
- Work toward completing a publishable manuscript, create new work, and build long-lasting ties with the literary community and with each other
Read what previous conference attendees have said about the Summer Writers Conference:
“What made this workshop special was the sense of purpose the folks running the workshop had, how much they cared about the writing life and seeing us grow in that direction.”
—Aaron Cohen, Summer Writers Conference, 2019
“The advanced lectures made it apparent that I was in a group of working writers who already possessed a foundational knowledge of craft. I left the conference knowing that the One Story editors and staff truly care about my writing career, which gives me the confidence and energy to work hard.”
—Laura Green, Summer Writers Conference, 2018
“Other than the act of writing itself, this conference was the best gift I could give myself as a writer.”
—Beth Levine, Summer Writers Conference, 2018
“I learned so much not only about craft but also about the business of writing. I loved every minute of it!”
— Diana Quiñones, Summer Writers Conference, 2017
Instructors:
Manuel Gonzales is the author of The Miniature Wife and other stories (Riverhead, 2012), winner of the Sue Kaufmann Prize for First Fiction and the John Gardner Prize for Fiction, and the novel, The Regional Office is Under Attack! (Riverhead, 2016), winner of an Alex Award from the YALSA. He currently teaches creative writing and literature at Bennington College and is a core faculty member of the Bennington Writing Seminars.
Matthew Salesses is the author of the bestsellers The Hundred-Year Flood and Craft in the Real World and the PEN/Faulkner finalist Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear, among other books. His stories and essays have appeared in The Best American Essays, Glimmer Train, American Short Fiction, NPR Code Switch, The Guardian, and many other venues. He was adopted from Korea and currently lives in Iowa.
Hannah Tinti is co-founder and executive editor of One Story. She is also the author of the bestselling novel The Good Thief, which won The Center for Fiction’s first novel prize, and the story collection Animal Crackers, a runner-up for the PEN/Hemingway Award. Her novel The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley is a national bestseller and has been optioned for television. She teaches creative writing at New York University’s MFA program and co-founded the Sirenland Writers Conference.
2021 Craft Lecturers: Karen Friedman, Don Lee, Nat Mesnard, Dantiel W. Moniz, Irina Reyn, Rakesh Satyal, and Lena Valencia
2021 Author Talks: Megan Cummins and Ruth Ozeki
Application Guidelines:
The One Story Summer Writers Conference is open to fiction writers 21 years of age and older.
The deadline to apply for the conference is 11:59pm ET Sunday, April 25th, 2021. There is a $20 nonrefundable application fee. All applications must be sent through Submittable. All applicants will be notified of acceptance by late May 2021.
We are seeking applicants who are excited about a career in fiction writing and ready for a fun and productive conference. Applicants will be chosen based on the strength of their writing sample and their personal statement.
Complete application guidelines are available on the application. Please note that you will need to create a Submittable account in order to complete the application.
Fees:
Application Fee: $20 (non-refundable)
Conference Fee: $1,200 (Member Price: $1,125)
The cost of the conference includes:
- Workshops (no more than 8 people) where you’ll receive focused feedback on your work
- Craft lectures by visiting authors and instructors to improve your skills
- Panels of publishing professionals to connect you with the business side of writing
- A thirty-minute private conference with your workshop instructor
- Exclusive access to recordings of craft lectures and panels for a year after the conference concludes
- Opportunities to connect with peers, share work, and access resources on One Story’s online learning platform
Sample Conference Schedule:
(All times are in ET. Times are tentative.)
Get your creative juices flowing with a guided generative writing session.
Manuel Gonzales, Matthew Salesses, and Hannah Tinti will each lead an eight-person workshop focused on constructive feedback and teaching students how to make good writing great.
Student readings are a chance for conference attendees in different workshop groups to connect and hear each other’s work in a low-pressure, supportive environment.
Craft lectures will be given by guest authors and editors. Past craft lecturers have included Rakesh Satyal, Myla Goldberg, Victor LaValle, and Julie Buntin.
Please note that upon acceptance, a nonrefundable $500 deposit will be due on June 8th, and is required to confirm your place in the workshop. The final payment is due on July 1st. We are unable to provide scholarships or financial aid at this time.
Member Discount: In order to qualify for our member discount, you must be a member at the time of registration. Please note that the discount is for our members only. Members commit to annual donations and receive benefits that allow them to participate in the organization in more meaningful ways. Not all One Story subscribers are members. If you’d like to find out more about becoming a member, you can do so here.
Refund Policy: One Story class payment is non-refundable after the class’s start date. For questions about the refund policy, or if you are unable to take the class after you have registered, please contact maribeth.
If you have any questions, please contact lena.
