CREWS
2026 WRITERS CONFERENCE
Looking to get even more out of your conference experience? This add-on pre-conference day offers more focused instruction and interaction in a small-group setting with an expert mentor. Limit one per registrant.
CONNECTION
REFINEMENT
EQUIPPING
WISDOM
Extend your conference experience and take your writing to the next level with specialized small-group instruction on Wednesday, November 4, 2026 (in-person). CREWs are limited to eight people and spots are available first come, first serve. At $199, this popular add-on often sells out, so don't delay! Returning for 2026: a career CREW group for intermediate to advanced writers, by application only. See below.
tickets: $199
Self-Publishing Success
USA Today bestseller Shelley Adina Senft will help you put the indie publishing pieces together to create a successful career. You’ll learn to understand the retailers and their metadata, make good product development decisions, and build marketing into your books that will make readers come back for more.
SHELLEY ADINA SENFT
Publishing
Creating Complex Characters
This CREW session will teach writers how to create emotionally and psychologically deep, robust characters by exploring character wounds, misbeliefs and then build a physical, emotional, and spiritual story by using GMC and spiritual conflict. Bonus material includes an in-depth look at villains, show/don’t tell, body language, and how to create quirky characters.
TARA JOHNSON
Fiction
Sharpen Your Pen
Advanced Strategies for Nonfiction Writers
This workshop will teach writers how to develop voice, master the art of narrative, deepen biblical teaching and precision, design with intention, elevate word craft, build empathy for readers, cultivate a practice of revision mastery, add a metaphorical thread, and write what they don't know (yet).
JANET MCHENRY
Nonfiction
Writing Through Transition
Finding Your Voice in the Wilderness
Write powerfully from life's in-between places without waiting for resolution. Through contemplative exercises, writing prompts, and supportive peer feedback, you'll discover how to craft authentic narratives from ongoing transition, discern what's ready to share, and meet readers in their own wilderness with honesty and hope.
Jan Kern
Writing Life
Jumpstart Your Memoir
Getting Started (or Restarted) on Your Story
You have a story worth telling — and the world needs to hear it. This hands-on workshop will show you how to shape your true story into a compelling read using the same techniques best selling novelists rely on. We'll cover structure, scene-building, voice, dialogue, beginnings and endings, privacy concerns, and publishing paths. You'll leave with a visual story map and real momentum. Whether you're writing your own memoir, helping a family member capture their legacy, or collaborating with someone to bring their story to life, this workshop will give you the tools and confidence to finally get started or restarted, on your story.
Nonfiction
SUSY FLORY & PENELOPE CHILDERS
Think & Write Like a Poet (Without Being One)
Writers often make a strong distinction between poetry and prose, but the best prose writers allow poetry to influence their prose and inject new life. This CREW, taught by two published authors, Joe Bentz and Tim Riter, who also teach literature, focuses on ways poetry can enrich your life and improve your writing, whether you write poetry, fiction, or nonfiction.
Craft
JOSEPH BENTZ & TIM RITER
Canva Confidence
Create Basics Like a Pro
Fighting fonts, confused colors, and something suspicious in the corner of your graphic. Sound familiar? This Canva course teaches you layouts, fonts, colors, photos, and exporting. You’ll leave with finished creations, not just notes. No experience necessary! Design is mostly just rules. Come learn them with Carrie and Clancy.
Marketing
CARRIE TALBOTT & S.E. CLANCY
For intermediate and advanced writers, by application only.
Career CREW
Elevate Your Craft, Career, and Connections
Specialty
Whether you're an established author seeking to reinvigorate your brand or a seasoned freelancer exploring new ventures, this collaborative experience will provide the time to think through and discuss writing, editing, publishing, marketing, and how to mindfully and prayerfully assess and prepare for the upcoming years.
Career CREW highlights:
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Industry updates: What industry experts are talking about
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Thoughtful, high-level discussions on the craft of writing
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A survey of the publishing ecosphere
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What’s new and popping in the area of platform and marketing
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The business side of writing: How do writers pay their bills, earn a profit, and even save up money? How can you develop multiple revenue streams? Leave with a basic business plan
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The spiritual life of the writer: What keeps you sane and grounded in Christ in an ever-changing and sometimes chaotic world?
To apply, select the career CREW during registration, answer the questions in the registration form, and submit your registration. If you don't qualify, we will refund your CREW ticket. Please note that this CREW will have a larger group size, with up to twenty attendees. Questions on this CREW group? Email info@westcoastchristianwriters.com.