October 16 – 18, 2025

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2025 Conference!
We’ll see you next year in person in Phoenix, Arizona
October 15 – 17, 2026
More information coming soon

Quick Links:
Meet the Speakers | View Conference Schedule | Pitch Session Information | Post-Conference Video Access

Online, everywhere, for everyone

Join Women Writing the West this October to explore the journey we, as writers, have made From Quill To Keyboard. Two full days of educational workshops, inspiring speakers, and networking opportunities are topped off with the presentation of The WILLA Literary Award, The LAURA Short Fiction Award and The DOWNING Journalism Award. Agents and Editors are scheduled to hear your pitch.

All of this available to you from the comfort of your favorite chair – live online.

Video Recordings of the entire Conference will be available to all registered participants for 30 days after the Conference on the Conference Hub page.

Workshops, Speakers, Panels and Awards Ceremonies were held Friday and Saturday, October 17 and 18th, culminating with Saturday evening’s WILLA Award announcements.

View Conference Schedule

Schedule is subject to change. Please check back for updates!
Schedule is a PDF Document – download or print

View Workshop Descriptions and Meet The Presenters

Registration for Pitch Appointments

Pitch Sessions took place on Thursday, October 16, 2025. 
Participating Professionals included:

Blue Cottage Agency – Krista Soukup (Marketing)
Tule Publishing – Sinclair Sawhney (Editing)
Sentient Publications – Emily Graf (Editing)
She Writes Press – Brooke Warner (Publishing)
Roan and Weatherford Publishing – Casey Cowan (Editing)
Buy the Book Marketing – Mary Walewski (Marketing)
 

Thank you to all the participating Editors, Agents and Marketing Professionals.

Meet the Participating Editors, Agents & Marketing Professionals

Please Note: Pitch Session appointments are available only to those registered for the Conference.

Conference recordings will be available to all Conference registrants for 30 days after the conference.

For more information contact the Conference Committee CONTACT

Meet Our Speakers

Friday
Dr. Jacob K. Friefeld
Keynote Speaker

Dr. Jacob K. Friefeld is the Director of the Center for Lincoln Studies. He came to the Center from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and his research has focused on Abraham Lincoln’s western legacy. His recent book, co-authored with Richard Edwards, The First Migrants: How Black Homesteaders’ Quest for Land and Freedom Heralded America’s Great Migration, tells the epic story of Black Americans homesteading in the Great Plains after the Civil War.

The First Migrants was praised as the first account of Black homesteading and recognized for its contribution for understanding the American West.

  • Winner of the Denver Public Library’s 2024 Caroline Bancroft History Prize
  • Winner of the 2024 Nebraska Book Award
  • Finalist for the 2024 Spur Award
  • Finalist for the 2024 ASALH Book Prize
  • Honorable Mention for the 2024 Jon Gjerde Prize

His first book, Homesteading the Plains: Toward a New History, examines the Homestead Act of 1862, one of the most important social policies ever enacted in the United States.

Saturday
James Scott Bell

JAMES SCOTT BELL is a winner of the International Thriller Writers Award, and the author of the #1 bestseller for writers, Plot & Structure (Writer’s Digest Books). He served as the fiction columnist for Writer’s Digest magazine and has written several popular writing books, including Just Write, Conflict & Suspense, and The Art of War for Writers (all from Writer’s Digest Books). He’s also published How to Write Dazzling Dialogue, Write Your Novel From the Middle, Super Structure, and How to Make a Living as a Writer. 
 
Jim has taught writing at Pepperdine University and at numerous writers conferences in the United States and around the world. A former trial lawyer, Jim now writes and speaks full time. He appeared as an expert commentator on Good Morning America, CBS radio, and in Newsweek magazine during the O. J. Simpson murder trial. He lives in Los Angeles.