Chesapeake Writers' Conference

Chesapeake Writers' Conference Write on the River. World-class Workshops, Craft Talks, Lectures, Reading Series, Publishers' Panel Mary’s College of Maryland.

Join a community of writers on Maryland’s beautiful Western Shore for the first Chesapeake Writers’ Conference at St. For five days we will focus intensively on writing in small, selective workshops led by acclaimed writers. Participants will work with faculty closely to hone their craft in one of three genres—fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction. Craft classes, lectures on writing, and discu

ssions of publishing will supplement the intensive workshop experience, and recreational activities will allow participants to explore and enjoy the beaches, bays, wineries and restaurants of the region.

This time next week, the Chesapeake Writers' Conference is making the most of our gorgeous location by going on excursio...
06/17/2026

This time next week, the Chesapeake Writers' Conference is making the most of our gorgeous location by going on excursions! You'll have the opportunity to visit Leonardtown, hike the Hogaboom Trail, explore Historic St. Mary's, or relax with a yoga class by Sona Brymer! In Leonardtown, enjoy 10% off at Fenwick Books, check out local restaurants, shop small businesses and check out the Butterfly Trail.

Join us in welcoming Annie Marhefka, Executive Director of Yellow Arrow Publishing, and the most-recent edition to our 2...
06/15/2026

Join us in welcoming Annie Marhefka, Executive Director of Yellow Arrow Publishing, and the most-recent edition to our 2026 Publishing Panel!

Annie is a writer in Baltimore, Maryland; she is the recipient of the 2024 Eunice Williams Nonfiction Prize, has been featured on The Slowdown Show, and nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Annie is the Executive Director at Yellow Arrow Publishing, a Baltimore-based nonprofit empowering women-identifying writers. She has a BA in creative writing from Washington College and an MBA, and is an MFA candidate at the University of Baltimore. She has authored two collections, Strangers We Know By Heart with Garden Party Collective and Baltimore, a travelogue memoir, for the Writer in Sites series by Scrawl Place. When Annie is not writing, she is usually trying to find her way back to the water. Follow Annie on Instagram and at anniemarhefka.com.

Check out our list of Craft Talks & Lectures for the 2026 Chesapeake Writers' Conference in just nine days! For more inf...
06/12/2026

Check out our list of Craft Talks & Lectures for the 2026 Chesapeake Writers' Conference in just nine days! For more information, visit the consistently updated Schedule on our website.

The 13th annual Chesapeake Writers' Conference is almost sold out, so if you've been waiting to register or apply, today...
06/10/2026

The 13th annual Chesapeake Writers' Conference is almost sold out, so if you've been waiting to register or apply, today is the day! Apply today at the Submittable link in our bio. Once you've been accepted, register ASAP to reserve your spot!

Know a high school-age writer ready to refine their voice? Bring them along! Our Youth Workshop is now 50% off through June 15th!
(Note: No other discounts apply to this special offer.)

Tuition: Only $212.50 for the full week (Normally $425)
Schedule: Monday–Friday, 1:15 PM – 4:15 PM
This is not a summer camp; it’s an immersion into the college workshop experience and the writing life. Youth participants get dedicated mentorship and work alongside current SMCM college student writers to workshop pages, refine their craft, and experience a thriving creative community firsthand.
Only 6 discounted Youth Workshop seats remain.

We're excited to announce the third member of our Publishing Panel, Callie Updike, Director of Development & Publicity a...
06/05/2026

We're excited to announce the third member of our Publishing Panel, Callie Updike, Director of Development & Publicity at Boa Editions!

In this role, she oversees both the “nonprofit” in “nonprofit poetry” and the “publicity” in “publicity.” After earning her BA from Columbia University, she returned home to Rochester, NY, as an intern at Boa, leading her to a dream job that combines creative work with community building. When she isn’t writing grant applications, sending review copies, or working on poetry of her own, you can find Callie singing outlaw country, watching film noir with her orange cat, or shooting darts (and missing).

We are thrilled to be hosting Gaby Iori as a member of our incredible Publishing Panel!Gaby Iori is a publicist and podc...
06/04/2026

We are thrilled to be hosting Gaby Iori as a member of our incredible Publishing Panel!

Gaby Iori is a publicist and podcaster based in Baltimore. She is a born and raised North Carolinian and has a BA in communications and film from UNC-Chapel Hill. Formerly in marketing and publicity at Quirk Books, she’s now a freelance publicist working across genres and specializing in thoughtful, dynamic approaches to the rapidly changing world of media and publicity. She’s also a producer and audio editor for pop culture podcasts under the Material Girls umbrella.

Check out gabyiori.com to see more of her stuff!

Meet our 2026 Conference Scholars, Meghan, Isa, Karli, Mercedes, Laura and Truman! Meghan is a recent graduate of the MA...
06/02/2026

Meet our 2026 Conference Scholars, Meghan, Isa, Karli, Mercedes, Laura and Truman!

Meghan is a recent graduate of the MAT program at SMCM. She graduated St. Mary's in 2025 with a Bachelor's in English and a minor in Educational Studies. Meghan was a scholar at the Conference last year and says her favorite part was bonding with the other scholars. Aside from teaching, Meghan loves spending time with her friends, line dancing, and (of course) reading and writing.

Isa is a rising junior at St. Mary's, where she majors in English with a minor in business. She is on the swim team at St. Mary's, and has swam in the past two conference meets where her team won the Championship title. Isa is also published in AVATAR, the school's literary magazine, and loves yoga as well as a good mystery read!

Karli is a rising senior at St. Mary’s. An English major with a creative writing and educational studies double minor, she is a member of the Sigma Tau Delta Society chapter, as well as the VOICES Reading Series Assistant. Along with the CWC, she is also serving as an intern for the SlackWater Journal of Southern Maryland this summer.

Mercedes is a Senior at St. Mary's College of Maryland studying Environmental Science and Creative Writing. She loves the outdoors and works at the Kate Chandler Campus Farm. She is the President of the Farm Club, Co-President of the Veggie Co-op, and a leader on the Christian Fellowship team (InterVarsity). Mercedes looks forward to meeting new people and exploring new topics of writing.

Laura graduated from SMCM this spring with an English major and French and Ed Studies minors. She loves creative writing, dancing, and swimming in the St Mary’s River.

Truman is a senior at SMCM studying art with a minor in creative writing. She works as a theater props assistant and will be the Student Ambassador for the Art Department this coming year. She loves to draw and write, spend time with her guinea pigs, and play lots of video games! She is excited to meet new writers who share her passion for storytelling and looks forward to seeing everyone at the Conference!

Meet our 2026 Conference Assistant, Allison Glaser! Allison is a recent SMCM graduate who received her BA in English las...
06/02/2026

Meet our 2026 Conference Assistant, Allison Glaser!

Allison is a recent SMCM graduate who received her BA in English last month with minors in Philosophy and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies before moving to Baltimore City. She has been working behind the scenes for the past three months with Director, Crystal Oliver, helping to organize the Conference and manage the social media. At St. Mary's, Allison worked with the St. Mary's Arts Council and the SMCM Writing & Speaking Center and served as Editor-in-Chief of the AVATAR Literary & Arts Magazine. Allison is a Creative Nonfiction and Poetry writer who is interested in exploring family dynamics (especially siblings), religion, and what it means to love through difference. She is thrilled to get to work once again with such a talented community of writers and thinkers and cannot wait for June 21st!

We still have a few FREE spots left in our 2026 Youth Workshop! Apply for the Youth Pen Scholarship sponsored by the SMC...
05/31/2026

We still have a few FREE spots left in our 2026 Youth Workshop! Apply for the Youth Pen Scholarship sponsored by the SMCM Arts Alliance (see our website for more details).

Secure your high-schooler's summer plans with our 2026 Youth Workshop! Apply for our refined summer camp experience where your student will:
• Practice a wide range of genres and styles, from prose to poems to TV scripts,
• Work closely with our award-winning faculty,
• Build relationships with other young writers,
• Enjoy our waterfront campus by kayak or paddle-board, with sunsets worth writing about!

Apply today at the Submittable link in our bio (Note: Youth Pen Scholarship requires a separate application).

Explore the world of ekphrasitic writing in Natalie J. Graham's lecture, "Writing through the Canvas." See the Conferenc...
05/29/2026

Explore the world of ekphrasitic writing in Natalie J. Graham's lecture, "Writing through the Canvas." See the Conference Schedule for more details!

Graham explores strategies for prose and poetry writers to engage the joys of ekphrastic production through relationship, reflection and research. Ekphrastic writing, or writing in response to visual art, makes visible a conversation between past and present, writer and inspiration. Albeit often speculative, this writing enlivens authentic connections across time and space, bringing us nearer to past images, people, and ideas, nourishing an artistic ecosystem and creating a figurative third space for artistic communities.

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47645 College Drive
St. Marys City, MD
20686

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+12408954236

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