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AUGUST 17-20,
2023
NEW YORK CITY
NEW YORK CITY
14 July 2022
If we’ve learned anything over the past two years, it’s the need to keep things flexible and pivot when needed as well as the importance of our writing community and connections. We’ve been following data very closely regarding COVID-19, and we made the determination that this is the year we will be back in person in New York City. We’ve also heard and fielded a lot of questions over the past several months regarding comfort levels for attending. Our goal at Writer’s Digest is to make our fellow writers as comfortable as possible in anything we do. What is best for the good of our community and allows us to safely gather, we’re going to do.
With that in mind, we’ve decided for the safety of our attendees, staff, speakers, and guests that the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference in New York City, July 28-31 will require masks. Masks, while not perfect, have been proven effective in stopping the spread of this airborne, highly contagious virus. This small requirement will go a long way towards making many attending more comfortable. Below is a full list of what the conference is doing to make everyone attending as comfortable and safe as possible.
Masks are required for ALL speakers, agents, staff, attendees, and guests. A KN95 mask will be provided in the registration bags and additional masks will be available at the registration desk. There are a few exceptions to this requirement, while briefly eating or drinking and for speakers/staff who are actively running a session and are distanced from the audience.
All attending will have a lanyard option to indicate their comfort level.
Green = "I'm up for hugs and handshakes!"
Yellow = "Please ask first."
Red = "No physical contact, please."
We’re spreading out our seating to create as much space as we can between audience members.
We’re putting our food and beverage in the largest, open space so all attendees feel comfortable getting what they need without feeling confined.
The Hilton has upgraded their air filtration system for peak airflow efficiency.
Hand sanitizer will be available outside of every room and at the registration desk.
We really can’t wait to welcome you to the conference, and we appreciate your respect and compliance in advance. For optimum safety, we recommend vaccinations and testing although they are not required for attending the conference. If any attendees (speaker, agent, staff, attendee) are unwilling to follow the requirements and guidelines above, they will be asked to leave the conference area. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us via email at: writersdigestconference@aimmedia.com
Thank you!
Taylor Sferra and the rest of the Writer’s Digest Staff
26 March 2021
A lot of progress has been made in the last two months in the fight against COVID-19. Cases are decreasing or have plateaued and vaccination rates increase every day. Writer’s Digest Annual Conference is STILL hopeful we will be able to meet in-person this July. However, there is still a lot of COVID-related uncertainty in 2021 and WD wants to take the proper steps to ensure all of our speakers, attendees, exhibitors, and staff are as safe as possible. In addition to planning a virtual back-up event, we will extend the same flexible cancellation policy for 2021 as we did in 2020, allowing attendees to cancel, if needed, once they’ve registered for a full refund. We are monitoring vaccination rates and state/federal travel guidelines very closely and will post updates on our website and via email.
Here’s a short list of how we are planning and what we are doing to ensure the safety of our speakers, attendees, exhibitors, vendors, and staff.
There will certainly be updates and additions to this list as things progress. Please be on the lookout for updates on our website, social media, accounts, and via email. We hope everyone is staying healthy and don’t forget to keep writing! #WDC21
28 January 2021
Writer’s Digest Annual Conference is hopeful we will be able to meet in-person this July. There is still a lot of COVID-related uncertainty in 2021 and WD wants to take the proper steps to ensure all of our speakers, attendees, exhibitors, and staff are as safe as possible. In addition to planning a virtual back-up event, we will extend the same flexible cancellation policy for 2021 as we did in 2020, allowing attendees to cancel, if needed, once they’ve registered for a full refund. We are monitoring vaccination rates and state/federal travel guidelines very closely and will post updates on our website and via email.
Here’s a short list of how we are planning and what we are doing to ensure the safety of our speakers, attendees, exhibitors, vendors, and staff.
There will certainly be updates and additions to this list as things progress. Please be on the lookout for updates on our website, social media, accounts, and via email. We hope everyone is staying healthy and don’t forget to keep writing! #WDC21
25 June 2020
Writer’s Digest Annual Conference 2020 is going VIRTUAL!
New Dates: November 5 –7, 2020
The Writer’s Digest Annual Conference—NEW DATES: November 5-7, 2020—is going virtual for the safety of our attendees, speakers, staff, exhibitors, and partners. We did not come to this decision lightly but feel it is the best course of action for all parties involved.
Now, on to the fun part! What can you expect from the virtual #WDC20? The best writing instruction, inspiration, and publishing advice possible all from the comfort of your own home with flexibility to view sessions when it works for you! We’ve done a lot of research and have partnered with an exciting virtual event platform called Intrado. While the platform is easy to use, it will not be your run-of-the-mill Zoom or GoToWebinar virtual experience.
Registration is now open and we’re working on some exciting surprises. We’ll be providing more information on what to expect, the new platform, and everything #WDC20 in the coming weeks. Be on the lookout for announcements on our website www.writersdigestconference.com and on Twitter and Facebook. In the meantime, keep writing and stay healthy!
– The WD Team
12 May 2020
Dear #WDC20 Attendees,
We are now about three months away from the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference. The situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic is changing rapidly with new and different regulations state to state. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the virus, especially those who are considered essential to keeping us safe, healthy, and well-fed.
We’re still working on our go-forward plan for the conference but we’re getting closer and expect to have an official update for you in a few weeks. We continue to work on an awesome program and will start sending out programming announcements once we have an official update.
Keep checking this page and rest assured we will email you when we have concrete information to share.
Stay well and be safe.
-The WD Team
Useful Resources
27 March 2020
Dear #WDC20 Attendees,
We are now about four and a half months away from the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference. The situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic has changed dramatically in recent weeks and our thoughts are with everyone affected by the virus, especially those who are considered essential to keeping us safe, healthy, and well-fed.
Because we’re a hopeful group, we still believe we’ll be able to safely gather together in August to celebrate writing and writers. That said, we are considering alternatives should the situation dictate such a response. But, because we don’t anticipate having enough information to make those decisions for several weeks yet, we will be taking a hiatus from sending event emails. We don’t feel it’s appropriate to announce new programming or keynotes at this time, and we don’t want to clog your inboxes with the same COVID-19 message each week.
Keep checking this page and rest assured we will email you when we have concrete information to share.
Stay well and be safe.
-The WD Team
Useful Resources
13 March 2020
Dear #WDC20 Attendees,
Although our Annual Conference in New York City is still more than 5 months away, we know concerns about COVID-19 are growing and we want to reassure you that we are closely monitoring the situation.
Many places in the U.S. now encourage social distancing and the minimization of large gatherings over the next several weeks in order to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. We remain hopeful that these measures will work and that our conference will go on as planned.
We’re still looking forward to offering you the best writing instruction, inspiration, and publishing advice on August 13-16, 2020 at the Hilton Midtown in New York City, but we’ll also be developing contingency plans over the next several weeks should the situation necessitate an alternative approach.
If necessary, you’ll be able to cancel your reservation without penalty by June 30, 2020 by which time we’ll all have a much better sense of what’s happening.
For the most current updates, keep an eye out for future emails, follow @WritersDigest on Twitter, and bookmark this page which we’ll be updating regularly.
– The WD Team
Useful Resources
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