Greetings, fellow writers! 

We are excited to announce that the 11th Annual Chesapeake Writers’ Conference was a tremendous success. We had amazing participants from all over, and everyone had a magnificent time learning from our accomplished faculty and speakers, networking with other writers, and getting inspired to write their own stories.

We sincerely thank our faculty, speakers, attendees, and SMCM staff and scholars for making this year’s conference magical. We couldn’t have done it without you! 

We are already planning for next year’s conference, and we are excited to announce that the 12th annual Chesapeake Writers’ Conference will be held on June 22-28, 2025. More information about next year’s conference is coming soon, so stay tuned here and on our social media accounts for details. If you’d like to sign up for our newsletter, please email us at chesapeakewritersconference@smcm.edu, and we will send you the latest news, updates, and special offers related to the Conference.

In the meantime, explore this website to learn more about the Chesapeake Writers’ Conference and apply for next year’s event. 

We hope you’ll join us in 2025 for words, water, woods, and more.

Write on the river,

Crystal Oliver
Director, Chesapeake Writers’ Conference

The eleventh annual Chesapeake Writers’ Conference will be held from June 16 to June 22 on the St. Mary’s College campus in St. Mary’s City, Maryland. The Conference features daily Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, and Youth Workshops (the latter for high school-age writers) and a dynamic schedule of lectures, craft talks, readings, and panel discussions. The faculty includes poet Heather Green, fiction writer Matt Burgess, creative nonfiction writer Melissa Scholes Young, and writer Eva Freeman to lead the Youth Workshop. There is no application fee. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. See the Fees & Registration page for more information.

Accessibility accommodations include elevators in all multilevel event spaces; accessible sidewalks, pathways, doorways, and parking; and ADA-compliant event spaces and restrooms. Contact the St. Mary’s College Office of Accessibility Services at (240) 895-2250, (240) 895-4327 for TTY service, or adasupport@smcm.edu for additional accessibility details.