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Pricing

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2026 Conference faculty

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Accommodations

We will be at the Ramkota Hotel in Casper this year. Reservation details will be released as they become available.

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Conference Features

Our conference features a number of great benefits for attendees. Below are some of the features we offer every year! Features that are specific to this year will be added as they are confirmed!

Faculty Breakout Sessions

These workshops cover a range of topics from of the top minds in the field today. Find full class descriptions in the Faculty section of this page.

Pitch Sessions

Attendees get the opportunity to pitch their work to an agent or publisher accepting pitches for their agency or publishing house. This years pitch opportunities include:

The Paddle Panel

This perennially popular session involves a faculty panel who listen to the first pages of anonymously submitted works read aloud. When one of our faculty hears something that would make them stop reading, they hold up their paddle and the panel then gets to discuss what worked and didn't work for them about the piece.

All conference attendees can submit a single, double-spaced, first page of a fiction or non-fiction work to be read at the panel. Paddle Panel submissions are gathered at the registration table.

Critique Tables

Refine your masterpiece with feedback from your peers by attending one of our critique tables. Manuscripts are read aloud before being respectfully critiqued with constructive feedback by the others at the table.

Tables are broken up into the following categories:

Fiction
Non-Fiction
YA/Children's
Traditional Poetry
Free Verse Poetry

Read our advice on how to prepare for the critique tables, how to behave at the critique tables, and what to expect here!

Example Schedule

Note: Below is the schedule for our 2025 conference. It is here as an example of what you can expect, but is NOT the official schedule for 2026.

Friday, June 6th

• 8:30 AM – Registration Opens
• 8:30 - 9:30 AM – Coffee/Breakfast
• 9:15 - 9:45 AM – Opening Ceremony
• 10:00 - 11:00 AM – Critique Sessions 1 (South & Central Ballrooms)

Breakout Session #1 (11:00 AM – 12:00 PM)
• Wyoming Theater – Mark Stevens: Don't Do What Gary Did
• Teton Room – Bernadette Soehner: The Fine Line Between Indie and Traditional Publishing
• North Ballroom – Matt Daly: New Maps to an Open Field

• 12:00 - 1:15 PM – Lunch on Your Own
• 12:30 PM – Bookstore Opens (Seminoe Room)

Breakout Session #2 (1:30 – 2:30 PM)
• Wyoming Theater – Mark Stevens: Write What You Don’t Know
• Teton Room – Lindsay Schopfer: From Body Language to Brawls
• North Ballroom – Nick Thacker: Marketing in 2025 (and Beyond)

• 1:30 - 5:00 PM – Pitch Sessions (Alcova & Pathfinder Rooms)

Breakout Session #3 (2:45 – 3:45 PM)
• Wyoming Theater – Amanda Cabot: Great Beginnings or How to Hook an Editor
• Teton Room – Lindsay Schopfer: Creating Original Worlds
• North Ballroom – Linda Rae Sande: Sex and Fiction Over 40

Breakout Session #4 (4:00 – 5:00 PM)
• Wyoming Theater – Amanda Cabot: Butterflies in Formation: Techniques to Tame the Fear of Public Speaking
• Teton Room – Hallie Guidry: Selling Out or Living the Dream? Freelance Editing and Ghostwriting
• North Ballroom – Linda Rae Sande: I Wrote a Book — Now What Do I Do?

• 5:00 PM – Bookstore Closes
• 5:00 - 6:30 PM – Dinner on Your Own
• 6:30 - 7:30 PM – Cocktail Hour – Meet & Greet – Author Signing
• 6:30 - 9:00 PM – Bookstore Open
• 7:30 - 9:00 PM – Open Mic

Saturday, June 7th

• 8:30 AM – Registration Opens
• 8:30 - 9:30 AM – Coffee/Breakfast
• 9:00 AM – Bookstore Opens
• 9:30 - 12:00 PM – Pitch Sessions

Session #5 (9:45 – 10:45 AM)
• Wyoming Theater – Mark Stevens: From Pulp to Meta
• Teton Room – Lindsay Schopfer: Investing in Your Writing Career
• North Ballroom – Linda Rae Sande: Fill Those Fields for Maximum Royalties

Session #6 (11:00 AM – 12:00 PM)
• Wyoming Theater – Amanda Cabot: The Balancing Act of Writing Historical Fiction
• Teton Room – Barbara Smith: Mining Your Memories
• North Ballroom – Nick Thacker: Leverage Your Assets

• 12:00 - 1:30 PM – Lunch & Awards
• 1:30 - 2:30 PM – General Membership Meeting
• 1:30 - 3:00 PM – Pitch Sessions (continued)
• 3:00 - 4:00 PM – Publishers Panel
• 4:00 PM – Bookstore Closes
• 4:00 - 5:30 PM – Break
• 5:30 - 7:30 PM – Formal Banquet – Keynote Address
• 7:30 - 9:00 PM – Open Mic
• 7:30 - 9:00 PM – Bookstore Open

Sunday, June 8th

• 8:30 AM – Registration Opens
• 8:30 - 9:30 AM – Coffee/Breakfast
• 8:30 - 9:30 AM – Bookstore Last- Chance Hour
• 9:30 - 11:00 AM – Paddle Panel
• 11:00 - 11:30 AM – Closing Remarks
• 11:15 - 12:15 PM – Critique Table Round 2 (South & Central Ballrooms)
• 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM – New Board of Directors Meeting (New & Old Board Members)

2026 Awards Nominations

Wyoming Writers, Inc. gives four awards every year.

The Western Horizon - Given to writers who have had their first major publication in the last year. Multiple writers may win this award in a given year.
The Milestone Award - Recognizes ongoing achievement in the careers of authors.
The Arizola Magnenat - Awarded to a person, business, organization, or other entity who has given special encouragement and motivation to writers in the last year.
The Emmie Mygatt Award - Our highest honor, recognizing an individual who has provided outstanding service to the organization in the past year.