Forrest Fest (The Loft Poets) (Lamesa)Writers' conferences and groups

One of the most fruitful moves most writers make is to join up with a group of likeminded scribes, for critique, learning, networking, and socializing. Texas is fortunate to have more than a hundred of them—general, poetry, romance, children's, Christian, ethnic, songwriting, screenwriting, mystery, technical writing, you name it.

Lift the veil of solitude and reach out to one of these groups or organizations, categorized by Texas city—they'll tell you more about their purpose, meeting times, and membership requirements. Other useful resources for locating a group that suits your interest and location are your local bookstores and libraries, and the Austin-based Writers’ League of Texas.

Is your group's information missing or out of date? Email us with contact details.

Abilene Writers Guild (Abilene)

Rio Grande Valley Writers (Alamo)

Texas Mountain Trail Writers (Alpine)

Inspirational Writers Alive! (Amarillo)

High Plains Writers (formerly Panhandle Professional Writers) (Amarillo)

Southwest Cowboy Poets Association (Amarillo)

Writers Association of the Golden Spread (Amarillo)

Writers' Corner (Amarillo)

JStokes Writing Ministries (Arlington)

Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) – North Central/Northeast (Arlington)

Austin Creative Non-Fiction Writers Group (Austin)

Austin Creative Writing Group (Austin)

Austin Fiction, Writers Group (Austin)

Austin Mystery Writers (Austin)

Austin Poetry Slam (Austin)

Austin Public Library Friends Foundation

Austin Romance Writers of America (ARWA) (Austin)

Austin Screenwriters (Austin)

Austin Songwriters Group (Austin)

Austin Unbound Screenwriters (Austin)

Austin Writergirls (Austin)

Lake Travis Fiction Writers (Austin)

National League of American Pen Women (Austin)

Novel in Progress (Austin)

Poetry (Austin)

Sisters In Crime – Heart of Texas Chapter (Austin)

Society for Technical Communication (Austin)

Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) (Austin)

Story Circle Network(Austin)

The Slugtribe (Austin)

Texas Association of Authors (Austin)

Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (Austin)

Texas Institute of Letters (Austin)

The Writing Barn (Austin)

Writing From The Heart (Austin)

Writing Practice (Austin)

Writers League of Texas (formerly Austin Writers’ League) (Austin)

North Texas Professional Writers Association (Bedford)

Trinity Writers Workshop (Bedford)

Prairie Hill Books (Brenham)

Brazos Writers (Bryan)

National League of American Pen Women (Bryan)

Romance Writers of America – NTRWA (Burleson)

National League of American Pen Women (Carrollton)

Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) – Brazos Valley (College Station)

Dallas Area Romance Authors (Dallas)

Dallas Area Writers Group (DAWG) (Dallas/Cedar Hill)

Dallas Screenwriters Association (Dallas)

Poetry Society of Texas (Dallas)

Lucky Dog Books (Dallas)

National League Of Pen Women (Dallas Chapter)

Poetry Discussion Group - Dallas (Dallas)

Sisters In Crime – Deadly Allies Chapter (Dallas)

Society for Technical Communication - Lone Star (Dallas)

Southwest Writers (Dallas)

WBA Dallas Chapter (Dallas)

Word Space (Dallas) (Dallas)

Writer’s Block (Dallas)

Writer’s Garret (Dallas)

Writing Workshops Dallas (Dallas)

Denton Writers' League (Denton)

North Branch Writers’ Critique Group (Denton)

El Paso Writers League (El Paso)

Sisters In Crime – El Paso Chapter (El Paso)

The Tumblewords Project (El Paso)

DFW Writer’s Workshop (Euless)

North Texas Christian Writers (Fort Worth)

Freelance Writers Network Dallas-FW (Fort Worth)

National League of American Pen Women (Fort Worth)

Sisters In Crime – Cowtown Crime Solvers (Fort Worth)

Write4Kids (Frisco)

North Texas Speculative Fiction Workshop (Hurst; Dallas area)

American Christian Fiction Writers (Central Texas Chapter) (Georgetown)

San Gabriel Writers’ League (Georgetown)

Young County Writer's Roundtable (Graham)

Valley Byliners (Harlingen)

Association of Authors and Publishers (Houston)

Bay Area Writers League (BAWL) (Houston)

Houston Writers Guild (Houston)

Houston Writers House (Houston)

InPrint (Houston)

Manuscriptors Guild (Houston)

Nuestra Palabra (Houston)

Society for Technical Communication - Houston (Houston)

Women in the Visual and Literary Arts (Houston)

Woodlands Writers Guild (Houston)

Writers Club of Pasadena (Houston)

Writespace Houston (Houston)

Romance Writers of America – Yellow Rose (Hurst)

Irving Writers Connection (Irving)

East Texas Writers’ Association (Jacksonville)

Bear Creek Book Club (Katy)

Romance Writers of America – West Houston (Katy)

Novel Ideas (Killeen)

Forrest Fest (The Loft Poets) (Lamesa)

Red Raku Writers’ Cottage (Tilmon; Lockhart area)

Caprock Writers’ Alliance (Lubbock)

Society for Technical Communication TTU – Student (Lubbock)

Write Right Critique Group (Lubbock)

Highland Lakes Writers (Marble Falls)

West Texas Writers (Midland)

Texas Coalition of Authors (New Braunfels)

Writers Club of Pasadena (Pasadena)

Southeast Texas Writer’s Café (Pasadena)

Writers Guild of Texas (Plano)

Romance Writers of America – DARA (Richardson)

Inspirational Writers Alive! – ETX Chapter (Rusk)

San Angelo Writers Club (San Angelo)

Christian Writers Group of Greater San Antonio (San Antonio)

Gemini Ink (San Antonio)

National Association of Women Writers (San Antonio)

Romance Writers of America (San Antonio)

San Antonio Meetup Group: Novel Writing and Publication (San Antonio)

San Antonio Writers Guild (SAWG) (San Antonio)

Sisters In Crime – Without A Clue Chapter (San Antonio)

Society for Technical Communication – Alamo (San Antonio)

Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) – Southwes (San Antonio)

Narciso Martinez Writers Forum (San Benito)

Romance Writers of America – Northwest Houston Chapter (Spring)

Romance Writers of America National (Spring)

Sisters In Crime – The Final Twist Chapter (Spring)

Houston Writers Guild (Fort Bend Writers) (Stafford)

Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) – Houston (Sugar Land)

East Texas Writers Guild (Tyler)

Romance Writers of America – Heart of Texas (Waco)

Romance Writers of America – Bay Area (Webster)

Romance Writers of America – Red River (Wichita Falls)

Northeast Texas Writers’ Organization (NETWO) (Winfield)

Golden Triangle Writers’ Guild (Woodville)

Literary Magazines

Texas is home to more than 80 creative journals publishing fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, photography, reviews, and other artistic content. Almost all are open to submissions and post guidelines on their websites.

A Strange Object

Amarillo Bay

American Letters & Commentary

American Literary Review

American Short Fiction

Analecta

Aries: A Creative Journal of Literary Expression

Art House Dallas

Austin Review

Bat City Review

Bayousphere

Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review