San Francisco Writers Conference 2022

July 21 to July 24, 2022 
Hyatt Regency San Francisco

If you’re a member of WNBA-SF, then you understand the value of honing your writing craft. You also know how important it is to promote and sell your work and to network with your fan base and other writers.

The San Francisco Writers Conference understands all those things, too. That’s why they continuously bring together the best speakers, teachers, agents, and editors at the annual San Francisco Writers Conference.

As a proud sponsor of the SFWC since its inception in 2004, WNBA-SF is delighted for the conference to return this July after the pandemic cancelled its 2021 event.

Learn From the Best in the Business

At the conference, there will be nearly 100 presenters, consisting of experts who will help you improve your writing and teach you what it takes to market and sell your book. You can expect to hear from the following professionals:

• Bestselling authors
• Literary agents
• Acquisition and independent editors
• Book tech company reps
• Self-publishing gurus
• Pitching pros

Events for Everyone

Throughout the weekend of the conference, the SFWC will have various events such as:

• Three keynote speakers who will share not only their journeys to fame but also how to deal with setbacks and overcome obstacles
• Writing for Change, a 3-hour extravaganza, free to the public, teaching you how to change the world through your writing
• Meet the Agents and Editors, a panel during Saturday morning breakfast at the Grand Ballroom
• The Ask A Pro session, an opportunity to ask any professional all your burning publishing questions
• Writing for Hollywood, for writers interested in the entertainment industry
• Poetry Summit, an all-day event poets for who want to share their work to the world
• The Gala Party, a cocktail party that is perfect for networking
• The Poetry and Jazz session, an evening party following the Poetry Summit featuring a performance and an open mic event

New to the conference this year are the optional manuscript and screenplay critiques, where you go one-on-one with a professional who will critique your work ahead of time and discuss it with you in a private consultation at the conference. 

This may be a lot to pack into a 4-day weekend, but the SFWC will also be providing every attendee the opportunity to view video recordings of all the sessions for up to a year following the conference.

WNBA-SF at the SFWC

Congratulations to WNBA-SF Board Member Sheryl Bize-Boutte for winning the Adult Fiction writing contest with an excerpt from her upcoming novel The Burden Keeper.

Elisabeth Kauffman (also the marketing director for SFWC) will be appearing at the conference store with her Lunaria Tarot Deck for Writers.

During the conference, a number of WNBA-SF Board Members will speak on various panels. Have a look at their schedule below:

Friday, July 22

10:15-11:15 a.m.

• Elisabeth Kauffman, “General Session: What is Discord and Why are so Many in Publishing Using it?”

Saturday, July 23

10:15-11:15 a.m.

• Elisabeth Kauffman, “Nonfiction Session: Capture Readers in the Gift Section”

1:00-2:00 p.m.

• Kate Farrell and Brenda Knight, “Nonfiction Session: Two Views- One Nonfiction Book” 

2:15-3:15 p.m.

• Elise Collins, “Nonfiction Session: Food Writing Tips: How to Write and Publish Cookbooks”
• Brenda Knight, “Children’s/YA Session: Kidlit First Pages Critique”

3:30-4:30 p.m.

• Brenda Knight, “Children’s/YA Session: Children’s Book Agents and Editors Talk About What’s Hot and What They’re Eager to Read”

For more details about the conference, please visit the SFWC website and check out the schedule for July 2022, the list of speakers, and the descriptions of the events.

While you’re there, feel free to stop by the WNBA-SF exhibitor’s table and say hello. And we have a few spots left for volunteers if you are interested, please email sanfrancisco@wnba-books.org we hope to see you there!