In June 2023, I took the opportunity to attend my first educator’s conference with my administrators and several other teachers. The conference was in Austin, Texas. I’d never been to Texas before, so that in and of itself was motivation enough to accept an everything-but-meals-and-activities paid trip. About halfway through the conference, one of my colleagues said that he’d attended this exact conference with his previous school a few years prior, and the sessions and keynotes were the exact same. So he spent the week picking sessions he didn’t pick last time, or just enjoying himself in a city he’d never been to. Six months later, that same conference came to Salt Lake City, Utah – an hour north of us. Those of us who went to Austin saw no reason to attend again. So, the teachers who didn’t go to Austin, went to the Salt Lake sessions.

An editing software that I use hosts several online conferences each year for different genres. I religiously attended for a couple of years, and I noticed that they had the same presenters teach the same session for the topics of marketing, plotting, and different world building and editing programs. After the third repeat, I stopped attending those sessions.   

With that being my introduction to conferences, I struggled in deciding if attending the Quills Conference two years in a row would be worth it. 

It was.

First of all, the sessions were completely different. There were new presenters that were not there last year, and returning presenters taught completely different classes – or different enough, that it didn’t feel like a repeat. 

The networking opportunities were different as well. In fact, if my memory serves me correctly, there were more networking opportunities this year. 

Some things remained the same: pitches with agents and editors, headshots with a professional photographer, and banquets featuring three keynotes speakers (though the keynote speakers were different).

Overall, I learned plenty of new information, connected with new writers, reconnected with writers I only get to see at the Quills and Pre-Quills, and had an enjoyable break from my normal life. 

So, yes, attending the Quills Conference year after year is totally worth it. I look forward to having it be part of my summer travels each year. 

What writers conferences have you attended that you would recommend to others? Tell us in the comments!