Upcoming Writing Events
Online
November 5-6, 2026
On Writing for Young People is a two-day online conference to discuss ideas & insights in the academic field of creative writing for children and Young Adults.
Leaf Journal’s annual conference returns for our fourth year. This year we will be gathering online on Thursday 5th and Friday 6th November to hear from the usual, wonderful mix of invited keynote speakers, panel presentations from our wider community and writing workshops. This year, we are delighted to be joined by Beth O’Brien, poet and author of Carnegie-winning Wolf Siren. Beth will deliver a keynote on her research on disability in literature. We are over-the-moon to be joined by the Waterstones Children's Laureate Patrice Lawrence MBE, who will be delivering a keynote on her novels and her plans for her tenure in the role. We warmly welcome, bestselling author Sophie Anderson who will lead a workshop on 'Reimagining Traditional Tales'.
The conference hosts speakers from the UK, India, Egypt, USA and beyond. They will deliver papers on a wide range of issues from representations of masculinity, monsters in YA, representing Black British history in children's fiction and more.
We will also host practical writing workshops and networking opportunities.
Salt Palace Convention Center
February 5-6, 2027
Improv for Writing: Adapting for the Classroom
Improvisation theater is based on the premise of "yes, and" - accepting creative choices and building on them. During this interactive workshop, participants will connect the basic improv principle of "yes, and" with the storytelling and writing. This approach enables writers to honor their own ideas and push through the idea generation phase into drafting in real time.
Participants will be introduced to improvisational games and tools to bring to their own classroom. Adaptations will be shown to adjust games and expectations for different age groups.
Yes! And... bring your writing implements and an open mind. Handouts will be provided along with resources for the classroom.