We’re not even halfway through 2020 and it’s been a year to remember. Wildfires in Australia, four-foot carnivorous reptiles, murder hornets, the prediction of a highly active hurricane season, and all that on top of the Covid-19 pandemic. Enough already, right?
2020 also marks the fifth year Broadleaf Writers will bring you our annual conference. We marched into this year with visions of the grandest of celebrations to mark the occasion, to bring our writing community together for a weekend of fun, education, and opportunity. We assembled a speaker list as solid as ever and we’ve even added new elements to paint some shiny new gloss to our annual event. What we didn’t plan for was a pandemic that effectively restricted us all to our homes and created a need for social distancing for the greater good. Though we’re all slowly inching our way back out toward normalcy, we can’t avoid a peek further into 2020 and what it means for our conference.
After considerable discussion, and out of an abundance of caution, we’ve made the decision to move the 5th Annual Broadleaf Writers Conference online. Though this removes the ability for us all to meet up in person, it affords us an opportunity to come together virtually and to fully benefit from all the elements of our conference. As with previous conferences, you will still be able to choose from a great list of panels, workshops, or breakout rooms in which to learn and meet new people, but for 2020, every attendee of the 5th Annual Broadleaf Writers Conference will also receive the complete recording of every panel and workshop! Can’t decide which session to attend? Now you’ll be able to review them all later, and as often as you like.
For 2020, we have reduced the cost of attendance to a flat rate of $175! With your registration, you will have access to both days of panels and workshops (and their recordings) and will be able to schedule a one-on-one pitch session with an agent, as well as a one-on-one mentoring session with an agent or author. You will also have access to breakout rooms with some of our speakers to chat with, and rooms with other attendees with whom you can meet and discuss your work.
And if you choose to do it all in your PJ’s, we won’t judge!
No travel, no traffic, no gas, no hotel or food costs for you to incur. Two days of our conference from the cozy confines of your home, or wherever you want to be for the weekend!
We insist on the highest of quality for our conference. We want every attendee to gain and to grow from their experience with us, to meet new friends and mentors, and to be inspired and even challenged to become the best writer they can be. This year will be no different. In fact, in many ways, we are excited to have this opportunity to exceed the standards of previous years, and to gain from this experience so that we may make every year to come better than the last!
In the coming weeks, we’ll have further information on the structure for this year’s conference, so be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and make sure you’re signed up for our newsletter.
Registration for the 5th Annual Broadleaf Writers Conference will open on Monday, June 1st, 2020. Our schedule of panels and workshops will be available for you to peruse as well on June 1st. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the conference, please feel free to contact our Executive Director, Zachary Steele, at zach@broadleafwriters.com.
We look forward to seeing you there, and to all that we can offer our writing community during a most difficult time.