The Southampton Writers Conference celebrates its 44th summer this month, hosting writers seeking to hone their craft at an oceanside location featuring some of the top instructors in the business.
Located at Stony Brook Southampton, the conference takes place July 10-21, offering full days of programming, including morning talks and lectures, afternoon workshops, evening salons, and nightly readings by today’s top writers. The schedule includes five- or 12-day workshops, a 12-day lecture series option, and a 12-day writer’s residency for those who want some time and space to finish a project.
Among the literary luminaries who have visited the Southampton Writers Conference since its founding in 1976 are Joyce Carol Oates, E.L. Doctorow, Elizabeth Strout, Mark Doty and Tom Wolfe. In recent years, regular faculty Meg Wolitzer, Billy Collins and Roger Rosenblatt have been joined by such luminaries as Vijay Seshadri, Natalie Diaz, Sharon Olds, Lauren Groff, Brit Bennett and Marisa Silver.
A five-day Children’s Lit Conference is also held from July 10-14, featuring world-renowned authors, illustrators and editors offering workshops in writing picture books, middle grade fiction and young adult novels.
Attendees stay in Stony Brook Southampton’s suite-style dormitories and share communal meals, although some choose to stay off-campus.
While the majority of the conference is reserved for conference participants, the public is invited to bring a beach chair, pack a picnic, and attend the Sunset Faculty Reading on Tuesday, July 16, at 7 p.m. on the Chancellors Hall Lawn. The event will feature readings by Stony Brook Southampton’s MFA faculty.
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