The Writer - 10.2019

40 | The Writer • October 2019

CONFERENCE INSIDER

BY MELISSA HART

F

or 26 years, Gotham Writers
Workshop has empowered
students in person and online
with creative writing classes
and public lectures. In October 2019, it’s
launching a writers’ conference held at
the Ace Hotel in mid-town Manhattan.
Director of Conferences and Con-
tests Josh Sippie has attended numer-
ous writers’ conferences. He longed to
break away from the traditional model
in which writers meet literary agents to
pitch a project in a 10-minute forced
conversation – a model he says many
agents would like to eliminate as well.
Instead, Gotham welcomes anyone
to attend the first day of the confer-
ence, which will be filled with

presentations about authors’ journeys

from rejection to publication. The sec-

ond day will be devoted to agent

roundtable presentations and discus-

sions by invitation only, based on an

application and writing sample.

“This fits with the Gotham philoso-

phy,” Sippie explains. “We don’t want to

take your money if you’re not ready for

something. We want to see your query

and pages first, to make sure you under-

stand what you have. We don’t want to

waste your time or the agents’ time.”

What you’ll learn

The first day of the conference begins

with a panel of authors talking about

how they’ve written and published a

book, moderated by novelist and edi-

tor Joe Okonkwo. Memoirist and fic-

Gotham Writers Conference

Spend two days talking craft and networking with agents at this NYC conference

hosted by one of the country’s most well-known writing centers.

CONFERENCE:

Gotham Writers Conference

DATES:

October 25-26, 2019

COST:

$245-$595

LOCATION:

New York City

CONTACT:

Conference Director Josh Sippie,

[email protected],

writingclasses.com/

writers-conference/index

IM_photo/Shutterstock