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Event Details

2026 Bay to Ocean Writers Conference

  • 14 Mar 2026
  • 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
  • Chesapeake College
  • 0

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The 29th annual Bay to Ocean Writers Conference takes place LIVE in-person at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, Maryland on Saturday, March 14, 2025, featuring Keynote Speaker:

New York Times Best-Selling Author, S.A. COSBY is an award-winning author of five novels, as well as the co-author of two middle grades novels (with QuestLove) published by Flatiron Press, a division of Macmillan. His work has been awarded the Macavity, the Barry, the Anthony, the ITW Award (International Thriller Writers), the (Dashiell) Hammett Prize, the ALA award, and had been long listed for both the Andrew Carnegie and Steel Dagger awards. His books have landed on former President Barack Obama's Summer Reading List three times, with his last four optioned for movie or TV adaptation—including the most recent, King of Ashes, by the Obamas' own production company, for Netflix. He lives and writes in Southeastern Virginia.

(Photo Credit: Consociate Media) 

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Tickets SOLD OUT

Early Bird Rates
(Before January 16th) 

Members $135* | Non-members: $170

Regular Rates
(January 16th – March 14th) 

Members $145* | Non-members: $180

* ESWA members must be logged in to the website to receive the member discount.


THIRTY-ONE SESSIONS TO CHOOSE FROM!

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SPECIAL EARLY MORNING SESSION
•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

Yoga for Writers: Mind-Body Practices to Free the Muse – Marina Pellicciotto

FICTION
•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

Conflict & Suspense in Fiction – Austin S. Camacho

Create Your Character's Arc – Susan Reiss

The Power and Potential of Writing Small Town and Rural LGBTQ+ Romance – TJ West

The Novella: A "Novel" Approach to Point of View – Pat Valdata

Stage Directions or Story Work? Making Your Scenes Count – Kris Faatz


POETRY

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

Location, Location, Location – Deidra Greenleaf Allan & Meredith Davies Hadaway

"Not in Ideas, but in Things": Tethering the Abstract to the Concrete in Poetry – Nancy Mitchell

Not Islands: Poetry as Remedy for Isolation – Traci Currie, Kim Roberts, & Dan Vera

Message in a Bottle: Writing the Short Personal Lyric Secular Prayer, Elegy, Recipe for Life, Ars Poetica – Donna Hilbert

Honoring Your Literary Lineage: From Beloved Work to New Poems – Lesley Younge


NON
FICTION
•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

How to Create and Publish a Nonfiction Anthology – Amy Roost

Speculative Nonfiction 101: Memory & Meaning – Hannah Grieco

Tiny Truths: Writing Micro Memoir – Laura J. Oliver

Collaborate to Create: Coauthoring Nonfiction – Matty Dalrymple

Finding a Voice: Reporting on My Homeland and Seeking an Audience in the United States – Tsisnami "Sissy" Sakvarlishvili

CRAFT
•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

Sense and Sensibility - without Sentimentality – Randon Billings Noble

Not Just a Backdrop: Writing Place as a Lived Experience – Aurora Bonner

Giving Your Poetry a Voice: Tips for Readings – Jennifer Keith

Never Walk Alone: On Maintaining a Writing Partnership – Anne Colwell & Maribeth Fischer

Revision: Uncovering the Power of Your Story – Karen Outen


PUBLISHING & MARKETING
•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

Command the Room: Mastering Your Personal Appearances as an Author – Bruce Rule

Pulling Back the Curtain (or What is Happening to Your Submission?) – Linda Blaskey

The Power of Doing it Yourself: Why Authors Choose Self-Publishing: A Panel Discussion – Atlas Creed, David Healy, James Irwin, & Nancy Wilkie

Secrets of Selling Your Children's Book – Cindy Freland

Creating An Author Brand (Before Logos & Colors): What Is It and How Can It Work For You – Jean Burgess


SPECIALTY
•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

Hundreds of Stories from a Single Premise – Barbara Westwood Diehl

Improv Games That Help With Your Storytelling – Lynne Streeter Childress

Shapeshifting: A Mythical Writing Workshop – Hannah Custis

Adapt a Book into a Movie Script – Zorina Exie Frey, MFA

Finding the Abstract in Ekphrastic Poetry – Michael Salcman, M.D.

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