Registration is open for the 2026 Mesa Verde Writers Conference, a three-day event for writers of all experience levels from Sept. 2 to Sept. 4 at Deer Hill Expeditions, 7850 Rd. 41 in Mancos. The conference will feature workshops, discussions led by faculty, networking opportunities and more.
The conference will accommodate 40 writers, and four authors make up the faculty: nonfiction writer Annette McGivney of Cortez, novelist and short story writer Wendy J. Fox of Phoenix, poet Monica Barron of Missouri and novelist, short story writer and poet Lisa C. Taylor of Mancos. Taylor is also a co-founder of the conference.
McGivney is an award-winning author and professor emeritus in journalism at Northern Arizona University. She has five non-fiction books and her next book, “Public Shaman,” will publish in September. Her book, “Pure Land: A True Story of Three Lives, Three Cultures, and the Search for Heaven on Earth,” won the National Outdoor Book Award in 2018.
McGivney hopes attendees take away how to focus and keep moving forward on their projects even when it feels overwhelming.
“What’s the next step to get you there? In that vein of instruction, I have a philosophy around narrative structure that I like to teach, how to put a frame around your ideas,” McGivney told The Journal. “Your creative inspiration is there, but how do you build it into a story one brick at a time?”
She encouraged writers and aspiring writers on the fence about the conference to give it a try.
“If it’s something that they’ve always kind of aspired to do, this is a great opportunity. It’s a low investment level to get in and see how it feels for you,” she said. “You’re never going to know if it’s right for you unless you stick your toe in the water and give it a shot.”
Fox’s fiction explores class and the American West, and her collection of short stories, “What If We Were Somewhere Else,” won the Colorado Book Award. Another, “If The Ice Had,” is listed as a Buzzfeed recommended read and a grand prize winner from the Santa Fe Writers Project.
Fox’s love of reading translated into a love of writing.
“For me, the joy in reading comes from a truly immersive experience, and the act of writing can also create this feeling of being immersed in a world, a character or even just a moment,” Fox said. “I want my readers to experience understanding, recognition, or even concern. I want my readers to care about the dramas unfolding in the pages. That to me is the job of a writer, and my favorite part is when I know it is working.”
She emphasized the conference won’t merely be talking about writing – students will walk away with their own writings.
“Many of the planned workshops have a generative component, so students will also leave with their own creative pages in hand,” she said. “This feels important to me, as sometimes we spend more time talking about writing or participating in some kind of discourse than actually doing the writing. Because many of us write alone, doing creative work in a group setting also sometimes sparks new ideas.”
Barron is a founding member of Lesbians WriteOn, and her poetry collection “Prairie Architecture” was published by Golden Antelope Press. Her work has also appeared in numerous magazines and other publications.
Barron shared how the conference impacted her as a writer prior to becoming a faculty member.
“I am a great believer in conferences – not in a same-group-same-time-every-year way, but more like the location and the group and its sessions draw you in,” Barron said. “What stood out to me here is the way that the group stays together, many hours, for a few days.”
The writers in the Four Corners area are what brought her back.
“I first attended Mesa Verde as a writer. I was impressed by the writers in this region who are the main audience here and I enjoyed their work and their sense of seriousness about their work. And that’s why I’m here,” Barron said.
Taylor published a novel in 2025 titled “The Shape of What Remains” and has published three poetry collections and two short story collections. She has received a Hugo House New Works Fiction Award and a poetry collaboration that received the Elizabeth Shanley Gerson Honor at the University of Connecticut.
As a conference co-founder, Taylor has been a faculty member before. Seeing student success and hearing conversations spark between attendees were noted as highlights from previous years.
“There are many moments that stand out for me – from reviewing manuscripts to hearing successes of former attendees,” Taylor said. “We’ve had at least three who have published books they worked on at our conference. The spontaneous conversations around a meal or outside are the best. Sharing that all of us went through rejections before we were finally published, and encouraging persistence is something that comes up every year.”
Taylor has loved writing from a young age, but it was a writers conference that led to her becoming a published author.
“If you’re on the fence – take the leap. I went to my first writers conference over thirty years ago and it literally changed my life,” Taylor said. “I had not submitted any work before that conference. It led to my decision to pursue an MFA and become a professor of creative writing for many years. Out of that conference came six books with a seventh on the way in 2027.”
In closing, she expressed her desire to help writers, whether seasoned or learning, accomplish their goals at the conference.
“I truly want to help all writers and wannabe writers reach their goals, whether it is telling a life story or polishing a poem or story for publication,” Taylor said. “I believe that everyone has a story to tell and a unique voice. It is my desire to encourage the creative that lives in all of us.”
The conference’s workshops will cover topics like building engaging narratives, writing dialogue, scaffolding poems, creating surprise in fiction, freeze-frame techniques in poetry and prose and more. Optional manuscript reviews with faculty are available for an additional fee.
Registration can be done online at mesaverdewriters.org.
The conference will lead into the second annual Mesa Verde Literary Festival on Sept. 5 in downtown Mancos. Mystery writer Nina Simon will deliver the keynote address at the festival.
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