MNWC ~ June 23-26, 2026
We’re excited to announce, after having to cancel our 2025 conference due to a powerful storm hitting Bemidji on the eve of the event, the Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference will return to Bemidji State University this summer, with six intensive writing workshops beside beautiful Lake Bemidji. Our faculty so far includes four members of the MNWC25 faculty: Jennifer Foerster (poetry), Toni Jensen (creative nonfiction), Douglas Kearney (poetry), and Joni Tevis (creative nonfiction). The award-winning novelist Debra Magpie Earling (fiction) will be joining the faculty this year. We are working on confirming a sixth faculty member. Please check our website periodically for updates. We will open registration in March.
The MNWC staff is always refining, adjusting, and revising the conference in order to best serve our community. This year, we have condensed the conference by a couple days. But we’ve worked to maintain the workshop contact hours while creating a more concentrated workshop experience. Whereas last year’s schedule held 10.5 hours in workshop across a six-day conference, this year we’re holding those same 10.5 hours in workshop across a four-day conference. Each faculty member will deliver a craft talk as usual. We’re also planning to run a sixth workshop, allowing us to lower the workshop cap from 12 to 10 participants per workshop, providing each participant more personalized attention. Part of our consideration for this decision for holding the conference from Tuesday through Friday was reducing the number of days away from home, and number of lodging days required, in order to lower financial barriers. We hope to see you this coming June!
Please email Mark Spero at participantcoord.mnwc@gmail.com to let us know if you have any questions.
Since 2003, writers from all over the United States have gathered in our intimate lakeside setting with award-winning authors and teachers to practice the arts of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference has given hundreds of participants from Minnesota and across the United States the opportunity to work closely our faculty. We offer a range of scholarships to support emerging writers, important voices, and community leaders.
Conference Features
- Intimate Workshops with Exceptional Faculty
- Auditor Tracks with Virtual Options
- Daily Craft Talks
- Publishing with Guest Editor
- Evening Reading Series
- Publishing Panel with Teaching Staff
- Affordable Housing in a Lakeside Setting
We are able to attract some of the finest teaching writers to Bemidji and keep our conference affordable in part due to the generous support of our donors and partners. Thanks to MNWC past participants and area writers for your contributions. Thanks to the Minnesota State Arts Board and Region 2 Arts Council for your steady support. Miigwech to Graywolf Press and Heid E. Erdrich and the contributors to the New Poets of Native Nations anthology for supporting Native women writers. And thanks to all of our partners at Bemidji State University.
Past faculty include Faith Adiele, Steve Almond, Kimberly Blaeser, Elizabeth Bradfield, Jericho Brown, Rebecca Brown, Derick Burleson, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Alison Hawthorne Deming, Natalie Diaz, Mark Doty, Camille Dungy, Danielle Evans, Nikky Finney, Jennifer Foerster, David Gessner, Joy Harjo, Terrance Hayes, Robin Hemley, Edward Hirsch, LeAnne Howe, David Jauss, Mat Johnson, J. Drew Lanham, Joan Naviyuk Kane, Douglas Kearney, Judith Kitchen, Ada Limón, Lorraine Lopez, Bret Lott, Donna Masini, Wayne Miller, Judson Mitcham, Ander Monson, John Murillo, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Sharon Olds, Peter Orner, Jay Parini, Dustin Parsons, Benjamin Percy, Claudia Rankine, Paisley Rekdal, Scott Russell Sanders, Tim Seibles, Brenda Shaughnessy, Sue Silverman, Tracy K. Smith, Meera Subramanian, Joni Tevis, Natasha Trethewey, David Treuer, and Kevin Young. See a complete list of faculty here.
