MAKE THE SCENE
With many of us planning on attending in-real-life writing events this year, Alex Davis puts on his writing and literature events organiser hat with this guide to make the most of conventions and conferences IRL
Alex Davis
After what has largely been a barren few years on the convention and conference front – barring those events flexible enough and nimble enough to shift online, of course – in 2023 we’re liable to see the return of a lively and vibrant literature events scene up and down the UK, as well as internationally. This of course is a great benefit to writers out there, especially those among us who were not so keen on Zoom, Teams, Google Meet and their like.
So, as we head into an increasing variety of face-to-face events, in this piece we’re going to look at how you can make the most of conferences in 2023 as an author.
Do your research
Whatever your writing field of choice, you are going to find a number of events representing it – and it’s unlikely you’ll be able to attend all of them. And this is where we have to try and be selective and take a look at what events are offering in terms of headline speakers and content to make sure they are right for us. That answer might be different from person to person, of course, so here are a few things you might want to consider before making your decision.
• How far is it to travel? You might consider this in terms of distance and time to get there – is it worth you going that far?