Weeknight Writers is a social enterprise dedicated to creating accessible educational resources and events for fiction authors, run by the Business for Authors team. The time and energy the Business for Authors team puts into this endeavor is paid for by our Sustaining Membership Program.
Ongoing events: #WeeknightWriters Bluesky chat
The Weeknight Writers group began as a Twitter chat on Thursday nights at 7PM EST. This chat has now moved to Bluesky. To join us, search for the #WeeknightWriters hashtag at 7PM EST on a Thursday night. If the hashtag isn’t showing up, search “WeeknightWriters” without the hashtag symbol.
To be stay informed about panelist calls and schedules for future events, sign up below:
Writing Roundtables
Writing Roundtables are two hour deep-dives into specific topics related to writing and publishing. The first half is devoted to questions from the moderators and members of our Sustaining Membership Program, with the second half devoted to live questions from the audience.
We have three Writing Roundtables scheduled for 2024:
The Business of Writing: Understanding Administrative Needs as a Self Published Author
Date: May 11th, 1-3PM EST
A virtual Writing Roundtable where four self published authors will share how they manage the business side of their author lives. We’ll be discussing topics like publishing costs, marketing, and tax preparation. Featuring CM Lockhart, Lindsay Buroker, Michael Roberti, and Tamsin Ley.
Get your ticket on Ko-fi (with payment via PayPal option)
Storycrafting Sessions
Storycrafting Sessions are free virtual one-day conferences where we explore different aspects of a specific aspect of writing or publishing. We have one Storycrafting Session planned for 2024:
Storycrafting Sessions: Editing
Date: June 15th, 10AM – 5PM
Previous Events
Differences in Attraction: Asexuality and Aromanticism in Fiction
Date: March 23rd, 1-3PM EST
An in-depth Zoom panel with asexual & aromantic authors talking about writing asexual and aromantic characters in fiction – and the representation that’s already out there, both what we love and what we wish was different. Featuring asexual & aromantic authors Claudie Arseneault, Moniza Hossain, Rosiee Thor, and Erika McCorkle!
How to Protect Human Authors and Artists in the Age of AI
Date: August 19th, 2023
With the rise of AI tools, human authors and artists are under threat. In this in-depth panel, we discussed how we can support each other and how publishers and other arts-based companies can support human authors and artists to succeed in the age of AI.
Watch How to Support Human Authors and Artists in the Age of AI on YouTube
Writing Alternative Relationships: Polyam, Queer-Platonic Partners and More
Date: June 10th, 1-3PM EST
Writing Alternative Relationships: Polyamory, Queer-Platonic Life Partners & More: an in-depth discussion about writing queer relationships. This is the first in what we’re hoping will be a series of Writing Roundtables where we facilitate in-depth conversations about important writing topics that don’t fit into our regular Storycrafting Sessions.
Watch Writing Alternative Relationships: Polyamory, Queer-Platonic Life Partners & More on YouTube
Storycrafting Sessions: Drafting
Date: March 25th, 2023
Time: 11AM – 7PM EST
This FREE one-day virtual conference will feature five panels discussing various aspects of the drafting process. Topics covered will include building a writing habit, story planning, writing large group scenes, and writing satisfying endings.
Watch the Storycrafting Sessions: Drafting panels on YouTube
Storycrafting Sessions: Horror
Date: October 8, 2022
Time: 11AM – 7PM EST
This FREE one-day virtual conference will feature five panels discussing various aspects of the horror genre. Topics covered will include creating atmospheric settings, writing about spirits and ghosts, and building social critique into your horror.
Storycrafting Sessions: Science Fiction
Date: March 19, 2022
Time: 11AM – 6:30PM
This one-day virtual conference will feature five Zoom panels exploring different aspects of writing science fiction + a Discord server where people can chat between panels & enjoy a stellar afterparty.
Watch the panels from Storycrafting Sessions: Science Fiction on YouTube
Storycrafting Sessions: Character Development
This event featured five panels about character development, with topics like writing inclusive casts and building effective character relationships.
Watch panels from Storycrafting Sessions: Character Development on YouTube
Storycrafting Session: Exploring Story Structure
Event date: July 3
Event hours: 11AM EST – 6PM EST
The Exploring Story Structure event featured five panels on topics ranging from balancing action and emotion to exploring alternatives to the hero’s journey, plus an extra-special Editors Talk panel about how to self-assess your story structure before sending your work off to an editor.
Watch panels from Storycrafting Sessions: Exploring Story Structure on YouTube
Storycrafting Session: Worldbuilding Deep Dive
Held on February 20th, 2021, the Worldbuilding Deep Dive event heralded the beginning of the Storycrafting Sessions. This one-day conference featured panel discussions about things like magic systems and developing conlangs.
Watch panels from Storycrafting Sessions: Worldbuilding Deep Dive on YouTube
Weeknight Writers Virtual Conference
Hosted on September 26th and 27th of 2020, the Weeknight Writers Virtual Conference was the first Weeknight Writers event open to the public. This two-day conference explored numerous topics related to the craft of writing and the business of publishing.
Watch panel videos from the Weeknight Writers Virtual Conference on YouTube
Help us create jobs for writers AND keep our events free
So far, Weeknight Writers events have relied on the effort of several enthusiastic volunteers. The next step is to turn some of those volunteers into paid employees, but there’s a catch: we want to keep our Storycrafting Sessions free. This might sound outrageous, but I believe we can pull it off if our amazing community comes together.
There are a couple of ways you can help us achieve these big goals:
Every contribution helps!