The Tin House Summer Workshop meets for a week of workshops, panels, readings, and more at Reed College, near Portland, Oregon. They are known for having a stellar faculty lineup.

Length: 6 days

Cost: ~$1,750 (includes room and board)

Financial assistance: "Full and partial" scholarships available but likely to be highly competitive.


The Tin House Winter Workshop is similar to the summer workshop, but shorter and smaller. These 3-day workshops take place over a weekend at the Sylvia Beach Hotel on the Oregon coast. Fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry are separated into different weekends for this conference.

Length: 3-4 days (Friday - Monday)

Cost: ~$1,300 (includes room and partial board)

Financial assistance: One full scholarship available per workshop, which covers tuition and room.


Held, as the name suggests, in California's Napa Valley, this late-July conference includes workshops and lectures over the course of five days. 

Length: 5 days

Cost: $975

Financial assistance: Some full and partial scholarships available 


This six-day conference is held during the summer season at the Squaw Valley ski resort in the Lake Tahoe area. There is one conference for fiction and nonfiction writers, and separate ones for poetry and screenwriting.

Length: 6 days

Cost: $1,100 tuition; lodging ranges from $300-$900; dinners provided, but not breakfast and lunch

Financial assistance: Unspecified financial aid offered on the basis of merit and need; additional scholarships available for specific populations (see the website for a full list)


This five-day conference is held in October along the coast north of San Francisco.

Length: 5 days

Cost: ~$1700, including food and lodging

Financial assistance: none mentioned on website


This a three-day writing conference held in the fall at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, CA. It features writers from a variety of genres and disciplines, including screenwriting.

Length: 3-days (Friday-Sunday)

Cost: $200-300, depending on how early you register; covers lunches but not lodging or other food