By: Catherine Dilts When I began my writing journey, I listened closely to advice. One universal bit of guidance was to attend writers’ conferences. The Pikes Peak Writers Conference didn’t exist when I became serious about writing fiction. I didn’t have a clue about conferences, or their benefits. Three Bits of Universal Writing Advice: Attend […]

Hello Fellow Writers! I’m Jenny Kate, this year’s PPW Conference Director, and have I got a conference update for you!  Our planning team is busy, busy, busy.  We are in person, April 29 – May 1, and we are providing a virtual option. Programming With more than 90 workshops planned and ready to go, we […]

Hi PPWC Enthusiasts! Hold on to your hats, I’ve got a lot of exclamation points coming your way! We are well into planning for 2022 and super excited to be back in person! We can’t wait to introduce you to our new venue – the Colorado Springs Doubletree Hilton Hotel! We’re thrilled to offer some incredible […]

1- Will there be a virtual option for PPWC?  We are offering 24 workshops plus keynote speeches as our virtual option. This option can be purchased as a stand alone option or as an in-person attendee add-on. Both options will have access to the content for 45 days following the end of conference. We reserve the right to […]

If you’ve got a workshop on craft, publishing, marketing –   Submit it now! The proposal portal is open now to October 1, 2021.  Workshops will be selected in October 2021. Go to https://pikespeakwriters.submittable.com/submit/119316/ppw-proposal-portal to enter your workshop ideas.  We prefer a minimum of three workshops per person. If you have questions, contact Karen Fox at programming@pikespeakwriters.com.

Dates: April 29-May 1, 2022 with an add-on date of April 28 Keynotes: Jane Friedman, Robert Crais, Barbara O’Neal (Samuel) Location: Colorado Springs DoubleTree Registration: Begins in the fall! Sign up for the Pikes Peak Writers newsletter for updates.

Esteemed past, present, and potential 2021 PPW Conference Attendees – As you know, we regretfully had to cancel our 2020 in-person conference due to COVID concerns. Unfortunately, as we approach the end of 2020 there are still safety concerns over large public gatherings. While our 2021 conference is ~5 months away–scheduled for late April 2021–it […]

Although PPWC2019 fell into the history books almost a month ago, the buzz is still electrifying. Here are just a few things people had to say: “There’s a reason PPWC is one of the longest-standing and productive writing conferences in the country. The level of talent, professionalism, access to both industry leaders and Mother Nature […]

The conference comes but once a year, but we also put on four free events EVERY MONTH! Would love to get some input and some help with scheduling, brainstorming, and hosting events. Lend us your big, beautiful, brilliant brains while helping Pikes Peak Writers reach even more of the local writing community! If you’d like […]

The writer’s conference you just attended was AMAZING, but now what do you do? Here are a few tips to make the most of your experience. After You Get Home Give yourself a day off, at least from writing-related tasks. Your brain will process your experience even if you’re not consciously chasing after it. Unpack, […]

You’ve made the decision to up the ante and forward your writing career by attending a conference – good for you! You’ve got your spot reserved, your travel and lodging are booked, and your first writers’ conference is just around the corner. How can you get the most out of the time and money you’ve […]

The Pikes Peak Writers Conference 2019 handouts are available from here. The current schedule is here as well.

Thanks to our members who have stepped up. At this time, all of the large and medium volunteer positions have been filled for 2019. But we’re always looking for people who want to shadow our chairs, learn the ropes and position themselves for expanded responsibilities in the future.  In an organization run completely by volunteers, […]

The new Proposal Portal is now open for business! If you’d like to propose workshops for the annual Pikes Peak Writers Conference or for our non-conference events, please go here. Please note: we are now using Submittable for this process, so you will need to set up a Submittable account to get started. It’s free […]

Who wants to help us gear up for the 2019 Pikes Peak Writers Conference? We need volunteers at all levels, with jobs large and small. Some require a high comfort level for interacting with the public, and some are well out of the limelight. Two of the more substantial jobs are Conference Admin and Registrar. […]

The open session with Sourcebooks editor, Deb Werksman, entitled Stitch, Pitch and Color will still be held on Thursday evening in the Ascent Library.  However, the time has changed to 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.  Bring your knitting, coloring books and questions and join Deb for an informal, friendly session of crafts and answers.

Bob Mayer has graciously agreed to fill in as a keynote speaker for PPWC 2018.  You’ll love this guy.  Bob Mayer is a New York Times bestselling author, a graduate of West Point, former Special Operations, and the feeder of two yellow Labs, most famously Cool Gus. He’s had over seventy books published, including the #1 […]

It is with much regret that we announce Jim Butcher has notified us that he will be unable to attend the 2018 Pikes Peak Writers Conference.  We are searching for a replacement but at this late date, that’s almost impossible. However, we still have three other fantastic keynote speakers and lots of friendly editors and […]

PPWC has always offered a full 3-days of workshops and activities.  This year we’re offering even more.  Take a peek: Thursday night, April 26 at 7 p.m. in the Marriott Library, editor Deb Werksman from Sourcebooks will be offering “Stitch, Pitch and Color” free to all conference attendees.  You can color with her, pitch your […]

Boy, do we have some fantastic keynote speakers coming in 2018!  I’m so amazed at the selection of talent, well-known authors that have agreed to share their knowledge of the writing business with you.  You don’t want to miss this conference.  Registration opens on November 11, 2017. The well-known, New York Times best-selling author Jim […]

    Writing is hard work.  And, unfortunately, there can be disappointment along the way.  But we write because we love it, because we don’t know how not to write, because we were born to write.  But there are times… Don’t Quit–DO IT! Our goal for the 2018 Pikes Peak Writers Conference is to give […]

If you’ve got a creative idea for a workshop, now is the time to submit your proposals. Deadline for consideration is Sept. 30, 2018. We want workshops on the craft and business of writing, genre-specific ideas, panels, how-to and reality track, and anything that makes the writing life a better place to be. For more […]

You can find the various PDFs for PPWC 2017 in the list below: Schedule Program Handouts Prequel Handout for the Braff/Hearne Worldbuilding session Prequel Handout for the Mandeville “Everything You Need to Know to Write a Novel” session.

Registration for the 2017 Pikes Peak Writers Conference is now open. Come join us at our Silver Jubilee! More information about PPWC and all it holds can be found in our conference section of the web site.

It’s that time again. Writers are looking at their calendars and thinking, “I wonder when Pikes Peak Writers Conference will update their website with the new info about PPWC 2017?” Well, we’ve started and over the next few weeks, you’ll see even more information. We started working on PPWC 2017 back in February. Yes, you […]

Please join us in welcoming the following editors and agents to PPWC 2017: Michael Braff is a sci fi/fantasy editor from Del Rey. Mike is also a guitar-playing, comic-reading, NY Rangers-supporting, Tolkien-reading, gaming, tattooed, Star Wars fan. Kate Brauning is a senior acquiring editor at Entangled Publishing and an author of young adult fiction (How […]

Pikes Peak Writers Conference is celebrating its Silver Jubilee in 2017, and we have an outstanding line-up of keynote faculty joining us! Internationally bestselling author Tess Gerritsen’s books have been top-3 bestsellers in the United States and number one bestsellers abroad. She has won both the Nero Wolfe Award (for Vanish) and the Rita Award […]

If you’ve got a creative idea for a workshop, now is the time to submit your proposals. Deadline for consideration is Sept. 15, 2016. We want workshops on the craft and business of writing, genre-specific ideas, panels, how-to and reality track, and anything that makes the writing life a better place to be. For more […]

Jason P. Henry 2016 Conference Director The power of a dream is immeasurable. For proof, you only need to watch a child at play. Kids have the miraculous ability to close their eyes, forget reality, and embrace the impossible. They can look beyond what is to get a glimpse of what was, and more importantly, […]

Another Pikes Peak Writers Conference is in the books. More than 350 people gathered in a newly remodeled Marriott for a spectacular weekend of learning, networking, growing and dreaming. Attendees came from near and far to grow as writers. Faculty members visited from all over the nation to help attendees with their aspirations. All in […]

Registration for PPWC 2016 has officially closed. Want to learn more about the conference? Meet our faculty? Discover our Thursday Prequel? Find out about the workshops? Explore Read & Critique and Query 1-on-1 appointments? Find more information at a glance with our 2016 Pikes Peak Writers Conference Brochure. What’s new for 2016? Query 1-on-1 appointments are now ten minutes instead of eight. That’s […]

April 15, 16 and 17, 2016 Planning for the 2016 Conference is well under way! Get connected on social media and share the excitement with #PPWC2016! Have you seen faculty or a workshop at another event that you would like to see at the 2016 conference? Tell us at Request A Workshop. Do you want to join […]

The 23rd annual Pikes Peak Writers Conference was another huge success, bringing together writers from across the country—and some international folks– for a weekend of learning, networking, talking shop, and having fun. In conjunction with the Thursday Prequel, we held ghost hunts in the Marriotton Thursday and Friday nights. Both nights were filled to capacity, […]

Although the 23rd annual  conference is nine months away, the planning committee is hard at work selecting faculty and workshops. Coming soon:  We will reveal the 2015 Keynote speakers on Sept. 15th, which coincides nicely with the opening of The Zebulon writing contest. Keep an eye on the Conference portion of the website as we […]

Are you an Author? An Agent? An Editor? Do you have special skills that aspiring writers want to learn about? If so, Pikes Peak Writers invites you to submit workshop proposals for the 23rd Annual Pikes Peak Writers Conference to be held April 24-26, 2015, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. We are looking for faculty members […]

We Made It Happen! The 22nd Pikes Peak Writers Conference ended as a dizzying success. From inspiring keynotes to encouraging editors and agents, workshops on craft to workshops on the publishing climate, and everything in between, this conference provided an exhausting and exhilarating array of opportunities to grow, reach, and succeed as writers. Gail Carriger […]

Early registration pricing is extended to March 31! Price will remain $395 until March 31, going up to $465 April 1. Register between March 16 and March 31, and be entered to win a prize package that includes keynote books! One lucky winner will be randomly drawn from registrations.