The Kingston Campus is at its green and leafy best in June, which makes it a perfect setting for the Ocean State Summer Writing Conference, an annual gathering of writers and poets that has become one of the University’s signature events. This year’s conference is June 18-20.

What writer wouldn’t want to spend three days of inspiration, work, lively conversation, and fun with fellow writers and distinguished authors—including a couple of Pulitzer Prize winners?

The conference, now in its ninth year, has established a reputation for attracting prize-winning poets and writers. The 2015 conference welcomes two Pulitzer Prize recipients—keynote speaker Tracy K. Smith, 2012 Pulitzer Prize winner in poetry, and Gregory Pardlo, this year’s Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. Novelist Antonya Nelson, a New York Times notable author, is the conference’s fiction keynote speaker.

But this popular conference is about more than attracting the most successful authors. Its mission, from the beginning, has been to develop—and support—a community of writers. The annual conference is known for creating a warm, open atmosphere and a supportive place for writers to learn, experiment, and grow.

Its mission, from the beginning, has been to develop—and support—a community of writers.

“What people say about the conference is that they find a combination of warmth and challenge. “They feel invited and welcomed. There is an unpretentiousness about what we do here,” said Mary Cappello, professor of English and award-winning non-fiction writer, who has long been involved with the conference.

“This conference speaks to writers at every level of their craft,” said conference founding director Peter Covino, poet and associate professor of English. “You can do workshops for three days where you can get feedback, or you can come and listen to very well established, prize-winning writers.”

Conference presenters offer a range of options for attendees, including three-day workshops in fiction, non-fiction, memoir, poetry, and screenwriting; master classes with keynote speakers; intensives in topics such as food writing,  investigative journalism, and documentary film; and a series of craft sessions that explore a full spectrum of writing and publishing. During the conference, there are also opportunities to hear readings from conference presenters and attendees.

New this year is a Saturday afternoon family-friendly festival that includes music, storytelling, and a series of craft sessions for young writers (those under 18).

Because of the inspiring nature of the conference, many attendees become regulars, returning year after year to see familiar faces, re-connect, and meet other writers with whom they share so much.

Above all, the conference is for the community it has created and continues to nurture, offering writers the chance to come together and take the next step, whatever that might be for them. “They network with their peers, hear stories about how to get their work out there, and begin to feel confident about walking through that next door,” said Peter Covino.

Photo credit: Nora Lewis