WV Writers, Inc. will hold its 2026 Fall Writers Conference on October 31, 2026.
This will be an in-person conference. Online registration closes October 28, 2026 - we will accept walk-ins afterwards.
Location: The Kanawha County Library, 123 Capitol St., Charleston, Kanawha County, WV..
Time: 9:00 am until 4:00 pm.
Cost: $100 for members, $130 for nonmembers. Walk-in registrations (October 29 and later) will be assessed an additional $20 fee.
College students: $50 for members, $75 for nonmembers before October 29; $60 for members, $90 for nonmembers afterwards. Please present your college ID when you arrive.
To attend, register at https://wvwriters.org/attend. We will not accept mailed forms.
Presenters
Three workshop leaders will offer six workshops between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.—three in the morning and three in the afternoon.
Workshop leader, Dr. Joel Peckham, is an award winning author and educator. He teaches at Marshall University. He will offer attendees two workshops: “Getting the Reader in the Car: Opening Paragraphs” and “Fictive Nonfiction”—the Line Between What’s True and Real”;
Workshop leader Dr. Sara Henning is an award winning poet and teaches at Marshall University. She will offer “The Shimmer: The Transformative Power of Metaphor” and “The Moments That Make Us: Writing Grief, Joy, and Healing Through Poetry”;
Workshop leader Kandi Workman holds an MFA in Creative nonfiction and will offer “Exploring Violence and Vulnerability: Ways Writers Approach the Topic of Violence and Discuss the Vulnerability It Requires” and “Examining Grief | Inciting Joy.”
In addition to the workshops, Marie Manilla, celebrated West Virginia author, will begin the conference with a keynote titled “Writing as an Act of Compassion.” After the workshops, later in the afternoon, there will be a Publishing Panel comprising Joel Peckham, Sara Henning, Cat Pleska, and David Mould. This will be followed by a Q & A.
For biographies of the presenters and an in-depth look at the workshops they are presenting, please refer to the Biographies and Workshop Descriptions document.