Annual UND Writers Conference
The UND Writers Conference has featured some of the most well-known authors of the 20th and 21st centuries at all stages of their careers.
Founded in 1970 and held every year since, the UND Writers Conference is a three-day event featuring six to eight authors annually. Past UND Writers Conference authors include Gwendolyn Brooks, August Wilson, Salman Rushdie, Tommy Orange, and Colson Whitehead. Throughout our decades-long history, we've remained committed to sustaining the value of literature and creative writing for all in our community through our public workshops, our outreach efforts, and our three-day literary festival each March.
Our mission is to provide a forum for those in North Dakota and the Upper Plains to discuss how the arts impact our everyday lives. It focuses on the work of the invited authors, poets and artisans, as well as their extemporaneous interaction with attendees. All Conference events are free and open to the public with recordings uploaded to its digital collection, creating an open access opportunity for a rigorous exploration of the literary arts, not otherwise available, to all.
58th Annual UND Writers Conference
"Who Tells the Story" | March 22–24, 2027
Join us on the UND campus or online for our 58th annual conference, "Who Tells the Story," on March 22–24, 2027! We're thrilled to offer an expanded lineup of conference events, including more community craft workshops, new panel discussions on publishing, community open mics, and talks by our featured authors and artists. Featured authors include critically acclaimed and award-winning authors Téa Obreht, Jung Yun, Jennifer Eli Bowen, and Kristine Langley Mahler, with other authors and guests to be announced soon.
Visit the welcome page for the 58th Annual UND Writers Conference to learn more about our featured authors, featured artist, and the draft conference schedule. In-person and online registration will open once our lineup and schedule are finalized.
We will share author announcements and event information on this site and on our social media channels. Watch this space for news and updates about the 2027 UND Writers Conference!
57th Annual UND Writers Conference
"Fables & Futures" | March 25–27, 2026
Our 2026 conference featured three days of community workshops, open mics, panel discussions, and author events. Our featured authors included Booker Prize-winner George Saunders, Maria Dahvana Headley, Anna Maria Hong, Megan Kamalei Kakimoto, Ananda Lima, Roque Raquel Salas Rivera, and Amber Sparks. Joining our authors were featured artist Beatriz Cortez and featured literary agent Penelope Burns.
Visit the welcome page for the 57th Annual UND Writers Conference to learn more about the March 2026 program.
National Endowment for the Arts
The 2010, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023, and 2024 UND Writers Conferences were sponsored in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.
