Since being revamped and restructured last April, the Outreach and Project Development team has finally stabilized and secured a solid foundation for its future. We’ve got a lot of experience behind us now and plenty more on the horizon—including the much-anticipated tenth annual Write to Publish conference.

In our most recent post, we discussed key developments in the planning of the conference. Planning is still underway, and we still have a lot to prepare, but there are a few exciting new things we’d like to share with you!

Writing contests: The annual Write to Publish writing contests are now open to submissions! We welcome anyone and everyone to participate in our categories of flash fiction and poetry. Here are the submission guidelines:

• Submissions are accepted February 1–March 1
• The maximum length for flash fiction is 1,000 words
• The maximum length for poetry is fifty lines
• Flash fiction pieces must adhere to this year’s theme of journeys and adventures
• Poetry pieces must adhere to this year’s theme of personal journeys
• All work must be original and previously unpublished
• $10 entry fee per submission

The winner of each category will receive a $50 cash prize, have their work published by a partnering journal, and get an opportunity to read their winning piece at this year’s Write to Publish conference! We’d like to thank Master’s Review for partnering with us for our flash fiction contest again this year as well as Silk Road Review for partnering with us for our poetry contest.

Tickets: Looking to attend Write to Publish 2018 and celebrate our tenth anniversary with us? Tickets are on sale now! Click here to purchase tickets online! Early Bird tickets are now on sale for a reduced price of $65 until March 1. After March 1, general tickets will be available for $80. Students may also purchase reduced-priced tickets for $35—just present a valid student ID at the registration table on the day of the conference. Reminder: Student tickets are available to students of all ages and from all schools and universities!

Speakers: We’re still gathering what promises to be an impressive list of speakers and panelists, but there are a few names we now have confirmed. We’re very excited to announce that Write to Publish 2018 will include Joe Biel, the founder of Microcosm Press and co-founder of the Portland Zine Symposium; Elly Blue, the co-owner of Microcosm Press and co-producer and director of Groundswell films; and Laura Stanfill, the publisher of Forest Avenue Press and the founder of Mainstreet Writers Movement!

What else to look for: Our 2018 social media campaign has officially launched, so watch the #W2P2018 hashtag for more information on the conference! We’ll be posting updates on confirmed speakers and topics for our panels and interactive learning sessions. Please note that this year’s conference will not include workshops like in previous years; instead, we’ve scheduled “interactive learning sessions” (ILSs), which are structured as participatory lectures with a single instructor. We will also have more information in the upcoming weeks about our ever-popular Pitch to a Professional session, which acts as an educational opportunity for writers to learn about the pitching process and receive feedback from agents and publishers on their pitching techniques.

We look forward to seeing you at the conference on April 21!