The Southampton Writers Conference will return to Stony Brook Southampton for its 50th summer from July 9-13. The event will offer five days of workshops, lectures, and panel discussions led by notable authors, editors, and professionals from the literary industry.
"I’m so excited about the workshop leaders this summer," said Christian McLean, the director of the Southampton Writers Conference and associate director of the MFA in Creative Writing. "It is an incredible program with a distinguished history, and a thriving future. The 50th annual conference should be one of our best."
Workshop leaders will include Billy Collins and Carmen Giménez in poetry, Chloé Cooper Jones in memoir, and Matthew Klam in fiction/nonfiction, among others. The event aims to provide an immersive environment for participants to refine their skills in various genres, such as fiction, poetry, and children’s literature.
Participants will be grouped into small sessions of 12-13 people, facilitating individualized attention and strengthening peer relationships. On-campus accommodation will be provided to those accepted into the program.
Accepted attendees will also have access to a lecture series, complete with afternoon sessions and evening readings by authors such as Billy Collins and Meg Wolitzer. Commuters have the option to apply solely for the lecture series.
The conference will conclude with a performance by “Selected Shorts,” a New York City-based group presenting readings of select fiction.
Past participants include literary figures like Joyce Carol Oates, James Baldwin, and Colson Whitehead. Recent years have seen faculty such as Meg Wolitzer, Terrance Hayes, and Lauren Groff contribute to the program.
The price for the full conference is $1,595. Accommodation costs are $67.50 per night for a shared room and $82.75 for a single room. Meals are available for $250, and the lecture series alone is $150. Applications can be submitted online.