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CALL FOR PROPOSALS

ESWA is excited to announce that our annual Bay to Ocean Writers Conference Call for Proposals is now open! Eastern Shore Writers Association (ESWA) invites proposals for our 29th annual Bay to Ocean Writers Conference (BTO) which will take place on Saturday, March 14th, 2026 at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, Maryland.

CLICK HERE

to Submit Your Proposal!

Now headed into its 29th successful year, the Bay to Ocean Writers Conference (BTO) will offer participants the chance to explore the opportunities, challenges, and trends specific to writers through keynote presentations, panel discussions, craft talks, a book store, and workshops led by contemporary authors.  The conference will provide writers a space on the beautiful Eastern Shore of Maryland to gather for inspiration, further education, support, and networking.
 

For the 2026 conference, we are seeking innovative, fun, and engaging presentations that include hands-on writing activities in the areas of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, creative non fiction, children & YA literature, as well as publication, editing, promotion, & social media.  Sessions will run approximately 50 minutes in length and average 10-20 participants per session.

PLEASE NOTE:
Please note: Only ONE proposal is allowed per person; participants can present only once during the conference, though they may also participate in a panel discussion, if the committee decides to create panel discussions.  Please also note that BTO receives over 90 submissions of proposals a year, and can be competitive.

Submission Deadline for Proposals: 11:59 PM on August 30th, 2025

The Bay to Ocean Writers Conference provides a modest honorarium of $125/presentation, and $100/panel.  Selected speakers will invited to attend the day's conference free of charge, and gifted a one-year honorary ESWA membership, a copy of the 2025 BTO Journal, and be permitted to sell their books onsite through our bookstore.

Travel expenses and hotel costs are NOT provided by BTO.  A block of rooms will be available at local hotels for a discounted rate for the night of Friday, March 13th and/or Saturday, March 14th.  Please consider this before submitting.

Proposals will be reviewed and decided upon by our committee.  You will be notified of the status of your proposal by November 15th.

For ideas on how to format your session, bio, or just to see what we did last year, please click here.

Questions?
DROP US AN EMAIL

____________________________________

Ron Sauder & Tara A. Elliott
BTO 2026 Conference Chairs


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