Kaz Conference Writing Workshop — ALL WRITE, COLUMBIA, CREATIVE NONFICTION Writers Conference 2026

Overview
The All Write, Columbia Creative Nonfiction Writers Conference is a four-day intensive devoted to the craft and business of creative nonfiction, specifically personal essay and memoir. Convened in New York from November 5–8, 2026, it is the fifth annual iteration of a program that has established itself as a focused alternative to larger, more diffuse writing conferences. Admission is capped at twenty writers, a constraint that signals the organizers' commitment to workshop intimacy and sustained attention to each participant's work. The 2026 faculty comprises Donna Kaz, author of "UN/MASKED," and Mardi Jo Link, author of "BOOTSTRAPPER," as workshop leaders. They are joined by Chloe Caldwell ("TRYING") and Mathangi Subramanian (OUR PERIODS). Jane Wong, author of "Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City," will appear via Zoom to read from her memoir and address questions of craft and publishing. This roster reflects a curatorial emphasis on writers who have navigated the personal narrative form across essay and book-length memoir, and who can speak to both its literary demands and its professional realities. The conference is open to all levels, from writers beginning to shape personal essays to those with a memoir manuscript in progress. Applicants must be at least 18 years old. The application deadline is October 6, 2026, and there is a $10.00 application fee. With only twenty places, the selection process is necessarily competitive; the conference's value lies in its scale, its faculty's direct engagement, and its explicit attention to the business of writing alongside craft.