Throwback Tuesday: Countdown to Conference: Why My Conference is the Best Conference

Published January 13, 2026

Editor’s Note: 

Welcome to our very first Throwback Tuesday!

Each month, we’ll spotlight a standout article from our archives — a gem that deserves a second look.

And with the conference fast approaching, this article from 2014 is particularly relevant. If you’re still on the fence about attending, it will give you a glimpse of the insights, inspiration, and connections waiting for you.

Trust us — this is one event you don’t want to miss.

Trista Herring Baughman, WftP Managing Editor

By the Completely Unbiased M.B. Partlow

When I attended my first Pikes Peak Writers Conference, I didn’t know any writers. I hadn’t written a word since college. I felt like a giant fraud, certain someone would stand in a workshop, point at me and declare, “J’accuse!” And shy? It was all I could do to muster the intestinal fortitude to ask “Is this seat taken?” at lunch.

This is where I’d like to tell you I met the agent of my dreams at that conference, who saw my hidden potential and gave me a billion-dollar advance to write the novel of my dreams.

Ha! Even then, agents weren’t tossing money at unknown wannabes. And self-publishing was reserved for anarchists and pornographers, neither of which was an aspiration of mine.

Instead, I met people who were deeply, passionately interested in the craft and the business of writing. People who read as deeply and widely as I did, dreamers from every walk of life. People who wanted to tell stories. People who wanted to tell lies and get paid for it.

In other words, it felt like coming home. As though my entire life, I’d been just a half-step out of focus with everyone around me, speaking a language that was just a little different. But at conference? At conference I was surrounded by writers.

It was just like that moment when The Wizard of Oz goes from black and white to color. Or the moment in high school when all of a sudden either algebra or geometry (never both) clicks and makes sense.

We work really hard to make the Pikes Peak Writers Conference a successful event for everyone who attends, from the best-selling keynote speakers to the most shy attendee hiding behind his or her laptop.

How do we do that?

Would you believe me if I said magic?

No? How about a ton of hard work, a legion of dedicated volunteers, and occasional copious amounts of wine? (Maybe I meant whine. Maybe I didn’t.)

We review every single conference survey our attendees fill out. We read every session evaluation. We look at what worked in the past and challenge ourselves to find ways to make it even better. We make every attempt to stay current with the rapidly changing industry of publishing, which is something like tap dancing on an active fault line–you never know when the whole foundation is going to shift.

Not only that, we encourage all of our volunteers (and they are legion) to go out of their way to extend a smile, answer a question, make anyone and everyone feel welcome.

If you’re thinking about attending, take the plunge. Before you know it, you’ll go from being a new face to an old friend. A published friend. One who spells my name right on the dedication page of their first novel.

About the Author: MB Partlow, Pronouns: she/her, 2014 Programming Director for the Pikes Peak Writers Conference.