About
WriterFest was established by Ami McConnell in 2018 as a creative gathering for aspiring writers, published authors, screenwriters, poets, and songwriters in Nashville. Attendees enjoy keynote talks by the best book, song, and screenplay writers in the business as well as in-depth break-out sessions with professional editors, literary agents, filmmakers, and music industry insiders.
WriterFest FAQs
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November 22-23, 2024
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3 Keynote Sessions
6 Breakout Sessions - Choose from 16 available sessions
Access to our "Ask the Expert" one-on-one appointments all day, each day
Lunch (vegetarian & gluten-free options available)
Coffee, tea, and snacks!
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Meet bestselling writers across genres and mediums
Network with Pros: over fifty literary agents, publishers, editors, publicists, marketing specialists, and producers
Compare traditional (aka, legacy), hybrid, and self-publishing models
Learn to market your art without selling your soul
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A wealth of incredible talent! Writers of all stripes + over fifty editors, publishers, songwriters, producers, screenwriters, booksellers, publicists, and marketers. See WriterFestNashville.com for details.
Highlights from WriterFest 2022
WriterFest Nashville is a gathering for creators of song, film, and the written word. It took place on November 18 – 19, 2022 at Lipscomb University and included keynotes from Tim Reid Jr., Sr. VP of A&R and Senior Level Repertoire and Marketing Executive at BMG Music; Tara M. Stringfellow, poet, attorney, and author of national bestseller Memphis, Lisa Donovan, chef, essayist, and James Beard award-winning author.
The event was rife with breakout sessions led by subject matter experts representing several areas of the publishing industry. The varied topics in breakouts fostered dynamisms but were made exceptional through engaging and welcoming panelists, highly knowledgeable in their respective areas. This made for well-spent time in each breakout, regardless of the attendees’ personal areas of pursuit or interest.
WriterFest Nashville included keynotes covering multiple areas of publishing. Diversity in topic and presentation style invited even tepid observers to warm. Keynotes in 2022 highlighted publishing trends, best practices, and cultural observations in music and songwriting, visual art, culinary art, and the written word.
“WriterFest Nashville managed to do the impossible: it brought together screenwriters, songwriters, novelists, and nonfiction authors with top notch workshops, networking, and huge industry pros… There’s something for everyone here…”
- Rea Frey, Novelist, The Other Year
"If you want to advance your career as an author, screenwriter, or filmmaker, writerfest nashville is a must-attend event…. Invest in your writing. Writerfest nashville is worth every penny!”
- Joey O'connor, Segovia Entertainment/the Grove Center For The Arts & Media
WriterFest Directors
WriterFest founder and director Ami McConnell is an author, ghostwriter, and editor with over 20 years experience in-house at major trade book publishers. She formerly served as Editor-in-Chief and VP of Howard Books/Simon & Schuster and as an acquiring editor at HarperCollins. She has edited numerous New York Times bestsellers and award winners. She co-authored USA Today bestseller Kind Is the New Classy by Candace Cameron Bure. Ghostwriting projects include celebrated singers, songwriters, social media influencers, psychologists, doctors, therapists, as well as film/tv actors. She lives in the Nashville area with her family.
Follow Ami on Instagram @amimcconnellwrites or on Facebook here, or at amimcconnell.com.
Programing Director, Sara Wigal is an Assistant Professor of Cinema, Television & Media and Director of Publishing at Belmont University, a unique undergraduate degree that equips students with necessary skills and knowledge to enter the book world. She serves on the fundraising committee of Next Chapter Society a section of the Nashville Public Library Foundation. She is the founder of the Nashville Publishing Meetup, a group for industry contacts to network without being client-facing. Wigal has been published by Library Journal, The Tennessean, Publishers Weekly, and Writer's Digest. She is an aspiring historical fiction novelist, and writer of the personal essay.
As a former publicist she's normally pretty casual with celebrities, but once lost capacity for speech in front of a gracious Elizabeth Gilbert. Find her seldomly on Twitter @sarawigal and frequently on Instagram @shewritespirates.