Writers’ Conference
83rd Annual Writers’ Conference at Ocean Park
August 5-9 at Porter Hall
The Conference began in 1941 to provide “an informal meeting place of inspiration and instruction for all persons interested in the writing arts, whether prose or poetry, whether or not they themselves are writers.” This statement, written by The Conference’s co-founder, Del Jakeman, Sr., continues to set the tone of The Conference today. Find recognition, enthusiastic response, and kind encouragement to be the very best writer you can be.
To register contact Jim Brosnan, P.O. Box 172, Assonet, MA 02702; (401) 598-1424; or email opmewriter@gmail.com. Here is the registration form. The deadline for early registration and contest entries is July 1 postmarked. Registration at the door may be available if there is space.
To submit contest entries, read the guidelines here.
poetry contest submition form
prose contest submition form
August 5: 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm (Opening)
August 6: 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
August 7: 8:30 am – 8:00 pm
August 8: 8:30 am – 8:00 pm
August 9: 8:00 am – 1:00 pm (Conclusion)
Some of our presenters this year include:
Ryan Britt writes fiction and non-fiction. His first book was the memoir/essay collection Luke Skywalker Can’t Read and Other Geeky Truths. This was followed by the non-fiction history book called PHASERS ON STUN! How the Making and Remaking of Star Trek Changed the World. He is the editor at Fatherly and a contributing writer for Inverse. He also writes regularly for Esquire, Den of Geek! and Star Trek.com. He has taught creative writing at The Gotham Writers’ Workshop in New York City, and also for Sackett Street Writers, Catapult, and The Maine Writers and Publisher’s Alliance.
David Stankiewicz is the author of two poetry collections: My First Beatrice (Moon Pie Press, 2013) and Night Garden (Deerbrook Editions, 2024). A graduate of the Stonecoast MFA program, he is professor of English and Humanities at Southern Maine Community College. He lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine with his wife and daughters.
Amy Neswald is a fiction writer and screenwriter. Her work has appeared in The Rumpus, The Normal School, Bat City Review, and Green Mountain Review, among others. Her debut novel-in-stories I Know You Love Me, Too, is a recipient of the New American Fiction Prize and a finalist for a Maine Literary Award and her short films and feature length screenplays have screened internationally and garnered many awards and honors. She teaches creative writing at the University of Maine in Farmington.
Betsy Sholl’s tenth collection of poetry is As If a Song Could Save You, University of Wisconsin Press, 2022, winner of the Four Lakes Prize. She teaches in the MFA in Writing Program of Vermont College of Fine Arts and served as Poet Laureate of Maine from 2006 to 2011. In 2020 she received the Distinguished Achievement Award from Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance.