Genre: Poetry

The ninth annual Iota Short Forms Conference was held from October 20 to October 23 at the Cobscook Institute in Trescott, Maine, and its surrounding fifty acres of forest and former farmland. The conference featured writing classes, readings, workshops, an open mic, and craft talks oriented toward forms of short prose writing, including essays, prose poems, short stories, flash fiction and nonfiction, micro essays, and more. The faculty included fiction and nonfiction writer Ann Hood and nonfiction writer Penny Guisinger.

Sarasvati Creative Space offers residencies of one week to four months year-round to poets, fiction writers, nonfiction writers, and translators at the 17-acre Camp Wonder Wander in the rural hills of Lewis County, Tennessee, near the Buffalo River. Residents are provided with lodging in private bedrooms, some with en suite bathrooms, as well as access to shared kitchen, dining, porch, and laundry spaces. Studios are also available based on the writer’s needs.

The 22nd annual James River Writers Conference was held online and in person from October 4 to October 6 at the Greater Richmond Convention Center in Richmond. The conference started with online master classes on October 4; the following two days of programming included in-person pitch sessions with literary agents, first page and query letter critiques, workshops, panels, networking opportunities, and a poetry showcase for poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers. Participating writers included poets Courtney LeBlanc, Joanna S. Lee, and Junious “Jay” Ward; fiction writers Cheryl A.

The tenth annual Inkubator Writing Conference, sponsored by Literary Cleveland, was held on September 20 and September 21 at the Cleveland Public Library in downtown Cleveland. The conference featured workshops, craft talks, panel discussions, and readings for poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers to help “empower writers, celebrate literary excellence, and amplify diverse voices.” The 2024 theme was “Create Dangerously.” Participating writers included poet Yalie Saweda Kamara, fiction writers Peter Ho Davies and Madeline ffitch, and nonfiction writer Loung Ung.