{"id":129398,"date":"2026-05-17T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/organizers-highlight-unique-atmosphere-and-opportunities-for-2026-mesa-verde-writers-conference\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T16:00:00","slug":"organizers-highlight-unique-atmosphere-and-opportunities-for-2026-mesa-verde-writers-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/organizers-highlight-unique-atmosphere-and-opportunities-for-2026-mesa-verde-writers-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Organizers highlight unique atmosphere and opportunities for 2026 Mesa Verde Writers Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Registration
Registration is open for the Mesa Verde Writers Conference, which will take place at Deer Hill Expeditions in Mancos from Sept. 2-4. (Photo courtesy of Lisa C. Taylor)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Registration is open for the 2026 Mesa Verde Writers Conference, a three-day event in September that will offer workshops, panels, close faculty interaction and more for writers of all levels.<\/p>\n

There are 40 slots in total for the event.<\/p>\n

The conference will be held at Deer Hill Expeditions, 7850 Rd. 41 in Mancos, and registration includes dinner catered by the lodge. The conference will be held Sept. 2-4.<\/p>\n

The list of this year\u2019s faculty includes authors Annette McGivney, Wendy J. Fox, Monica Barron, and conference co-founder and author Lisa C. Taylor of Mancos.<\/p>\n

Workshops will be held throughout the course of the conference, allowing faculty and students to connect through the art of writing while learning from each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are things about this conference that are completely and utterly unique,\u201d Taylor told The Journal<\/em>. \u201cAs somebody who\u2019s worked at other conferences and been to many other conferences, I can tell you, ours is a wonderful kind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor said workshop topics include building engaging narratives and nature writing; writing dialogue; \u201cscaffolding poems using sound, phrasing, line breaks and breath;\u201d \u201cnotebooking for peace;\u201d creating surprise in fiction through tension; and \u201cfreeze the moment\u201d techniques that apply freeze-frame approaches to poetry.<\/p>\n

\"Students
Students and faculty will be in close proximity throughout the Mesa Verde Writers Conference, creating a unique atmosphere that allows students to grow as writers. (Photo courtesy of Lisa C. Taylor)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Optional manuscript reviews with faculty are also available for participants who submit work in advance for in-depth feedback with the goal of being published. Past attendees have seen success. One former student developed a manuscript with faculty that was accepted for publication and another\u2019s poetry collection went to print. A manuscript review will add an extra cost to the registration fee.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been at least a couple who have brought unfinished work to a better place and then gotten it published, both poetry and fiction,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cI feel like that\u2019s pretty unique, because I\u2019ve been to a lot of conferences and they don\u2019t have those types of stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor emphasized that the small, intimate way the conference is set up allows for a unique learning experience that isn\u2019t often found at most writing conferences. During meals, faculty and staff will eat together, allowing for spontaneous conversation around writing and other topics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is awesome because you build relationships. I know some of the faculty are still in touch with students, because some of them are in touch with me,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cThis has long-reaching effects.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event will have workshops that run Sept. 2-4, followed by a publishing panel with all faculty on Sept. 5. A full scholarship in memory of poet and writer Baron Wormser is available, along with partial scholarships. Taylor added that they have also applied for grants, with the hopes of helping more writers attend.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they say, \u2018Well, $100 off would really help me,\u2019 we\u2019re hoping we can accommodate that because we don\u2019t want money to be a big obstacle for people,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n

The cost to attend the conference is $500.<\/p>\n

The conference is a program of the Mancos Creative District. Following its completion, the second annual Mesa Verde Literary Festival will be held on Sept. 5 in downtown Mancos.<\/p>\n

The conference was created by Taylor and author Mark Stevens, who officially launched the project in 2023.<\/p>\n

Details and registration can be found online<\/a> at www.mesaverdewriters.org. Questions and other inquiries can be directed to mesaverdewriters@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

bduran@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Registration is now open for the September event<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":129399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5903],"tags":[363,1060,28,60,29,6419],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-129398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-arts","tag-arts-entertainment","tag-headlines","tag-montezuma-county","tag-newsletter","tag-tj-trueanthem"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129398"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=129398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}