HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The DFW Writers Conference, also known as DFWCon, is an American annual professional conference for writers in multiple genres. The letters DFW stand for Dallas–Fort Worth. It always takes place in a city within the
Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and ancho ...
, normally in the spring months.


History and operations

The conference's purpose is to help writers grow their professional network, develop their writing skills and business knowledge, and meet with publishing-industry professionals. Attendees include
literary agent A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers, film producers, and film studios, and assists in sale and deal negotiation. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwrit ...
s and editors from publishing houses around the country, and writers from Texas and other states. The conference offers its attendees the opportunity to meet with a literary agent for one-on-one pitch sessions, and its education program typically features more than fifty writing classes. The conference started in 2008. It is organized by members of the
DFW Writers' Workshop DFW may refer to: Businesses *, an early twentieth century German aircraft manufacturer * Dutch FilmWorks, a film distributor * Duty Free World, a US-based in-flight shopping company Government agencies * Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (M ...
, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that helps writers in multiple genres develop their writing to publication-level quality. The group has operated in the DFW metroplex since 1977. The DFW Writers Conference was selected by readers of
The Writer ''The Writer'' is a magazine for writers, published monthly by Madavor Media. History ''The Writer'' was first established by William H. Hills and Robert Luce, two '' Boston Globe'' reporters, as "a monthly magazine to interest and help all l ...
magazine in 2019 and 2020 as "The Best Writing Conference In Texas"


Events

2008: The first conference took place at the Grapevine Convention Center in
Grapevine, Texas Grapevine is a city and suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth located in northeast Tarrant County, Texas, United States, with minor portions extending into Dallas County and Denton County. The city is located in the Mid-Cities suburban region betwe ...
, attended by approximately 110 people. Its keynote speaker was entertainment journalist and romance author Candace Havens. 2009: The second event took place at the Grapevine Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas. Its keynote speaker was bestselling thriller author
Bob Mayer Robert Mayer may refer to: * Robert Mayer (ice hockey) (born 1989), Swiss ice hockey goaltender * Robert Mayer (philanthropist) (1879–1985), German-born British philanthropist * Robert Mayer (politician) (born 1957), president pro tem of the Miss ...
. 2010: The third event took place at the Grapevine Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas. Its keynote speaker was ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''- and ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...
''-bestselling romance author
Jodi Thomas Jodi Thomas (born Amarillo, Texas) is the pen name of Jodi Koumalats, an American author of historical romance novels, most of which are set in Texas. In 2006, she was inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. Biography Jodi Thom ...
. 2011: In its fourth year, the conference had grown to the point where it needed a larger venue. It moved to the
American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passenge ...
Training Center in Fort Worth. ''The New York Times''-bestselling romantic thriller author
Sandra Brown Sandra Lynn Brown, née ''Cox'' (born March 12, 1948) is an American bestselling author of romantic novels and thriller suspense novels. Brown has also published works under the pen names of Rachel Ryan, Laura Jordan, and Erin St. Claire. Ear ...
was the keynote speaker. 2012: Forced to move again due to the size of its attendance, the conference relocated to the new Hurst Conference Center in
Hurst, Texas Hurst is a city in the U.S. state of Texas located in the densely populated portion of northeastern Tarrant County and is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. It is considered a Dallas and Fort Worth suburb and is part of the Mi ...
. Bestselling action/adventure and techno-thriller author
James Rollins James Paul Czajkowski (born August 20, 1961), better known by his pen name of James Rollins, is an American veterinarian and writer of action-adventure/thriller, mystery, and techno-thriller novels who gave up his veterinary practice in Sacram ...
was the keynote speaker. 2013: The conference remained at the Hurst Convention Center in Hurst, Texas. The keynotes this year were Pulitzer Prize nominee, journalist and author
Michael Capuzzo Michael Capuzzo (born May 1, 1957) is an American journalist and author best known for his ''New York Times''-bestselling nonfiction books '' The Murder Room'' and ''Close to Shore'' He was formerly a reporter with the '' Miami Herald'' and the ...
and bestselling thriller author Deborah Crombie. 2014: DFWCon took place at the Hurst Conference Center in Hurst, Texas. The keynotes this year were bestselling multi-genre author
Jonathan Maberry Jonathan Maberry (born May 18, 1958) is an American suspense author, anthology editor, comic book writer, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. He was named one of the Today's Top Ten Horror Writers. ...
and literary agent
Donald Maass Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...
. 2015: For the first time, the conference moved to
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
and took place at the
Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre The Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre is a theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas (USA). It is one of four venues that comprise the AT&T Performing Arts Center and was dedicated October 12, 20 ...
. Keynote speakers were bestselling mystery writer
Charlaine Harris Charlaine Harris Schulz (born November 25, 1951) is an American author who specializes in mysteries. She is best known for her book series ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', which was adapted as the TV series ''True Blood''. The television show ...
, bestselling science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson, and photography writer Me Ra Koh. 2016: The 2016 event took place April 23–24 at the
Fort Worth Convention Center The Fort Worth Convention Center (formerly known as the Tarrant County Convention Center) is a convention center and indoor arena located in Sundance Square in Fort Worth, Texas. The complex opened on September 30, 1968, and was expanded in 1983 ...
in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. Its keynote speakers were horror, fantasy and suspense author
Christopher Golden Christopher Golden (born July 15, 1967) is an American author of horror, fantasy, and suspense novels for adults and teens. Early life Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. He graduated from Tufts ...
and veteran journalists Tara McKelvey and
Thomas Kunkel Thomas Kunkel (born September 24, 1955) is an author, journalist, educator and president emeritus of St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin. Career Kunkel earned his B.A. in political science at the University of Evansville in 1977 and his m ...
. 2017: The 10th anniversary event featured the theme "InTENsify" and focused on rededicating oneself to one's writing goals. The conference returned to downtown Dallas and took place at the Sheraton Dallas. Its keynote speakers were science fiction and fantasy author
Rachel Caine Rachel Caine was the pen name of Roxanne Longstreet Conrad (April 27, 1962 – November 1, 2020) who was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy, mystery, suspense, and horror novels. Personal life Conrad grew up in West Texas and gra ...
and memoirist and popular blogger
Stephanie Klein Stephanie Klein (born September 29, 1975) is an American weight loss strategist and consultant, blogger and the author of ''Straight Up and Dirty: A Memoir'' and ''Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp.'' Biography Born in New York on September 29, 1975, K ...
. 2018: After three years of trying different venues, the conference returned to the Hurst Conference Center, a move that proved popular with attendees. The keynote speaker was multi-published young adult science fiction author
Scott Westerfeld Scott David Westerfeld (born May 5, 1963) is an American writer of young adult fiction, best known as the author of the '' Uglies'' and the ''Leviathan'' series. Early life Westerfeld was born in Dallas, Texas. As a child he moved to Connectic ...
. 2019: The keynote speaker was noted science fiction author
Chuck Wendig Charles David Wendig (born April 22, 1976) is an American author, comic book writer, screenwriter, and blogger. He is best known for his online blog Terribleminds, for his 2015 ''Star Wars'' novel trilogy '' Aftermath'', the first book of which ...
. The conference added a trio of special guests: playwright and author
Shay Youngblood Shay Youngblood (born 1959) is a novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. Youngblood has worked as a public information assistant for WPBA in Atlanta and as a Peace Corps volunteer in Dominica. Early life and education Shay Youngblo ...
, bestselling author
Bob Mayer Robert Mayer may refer to: * Robert Mayer (ice hockey) (born 1989), Swiss ice hockey goaltender * Robert Mayer (philanthropist) (1879–1985), German-born British philanthropist * Robert Mayer (politician) (born 1957), president pro tem of the Miss ...
, who had been the keynote speaker in the event's 2nd year, and author Liara Tamani. 2020: 2020 saw the event canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
. 2021: The conference was held virtually October 23-24 with a limited schedule of online classes and presenters. 2022: DFWCon will return to the Hurst Conference Center October 8-9. The keynote speaker will be New York Times bestselling author Delilah Dawson. Registration is available a
dfwcon.org


See also

*
List of writers' conferences This is a list of worldwide authors' conferences for writers of all genres. Europe Bulgaria * Sozopol Fiction Seminars – Sozopol France * Paris Writers Retreat – Paris Iceland * Iceland Writers Retreat – Reykjavík Ireland ...


References


External links

* , the conference's official website * , the conference's official Twitter account * {{URL, dfwwritersworkshop.org, the official website of the DFW Writers Workshop
The Writer Magazine
, The Writer Magazine website 2008 establishments in Texas Annual events in Texas Conferences in the United States Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Recurring events established in 2008 Writers' conferences