Eastern Shore Writers Association (ESWA) invites proposals for our 30th annual Bay to Ocean Writers Conference (BTO) which will take place on Saturday March 13th, 2027 at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, Maryland.
Now headed into its 30th 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 2027 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, & AI & social media. There is no theme, however oftentimes a natural theme emerges as sessions are selected. Sessions will run approximately 50 minutes in length and average 15 - 30 participants per session.
Please note: Only ONE proposal is allowed to be submitted 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.
Co-presenters are limited to 3 panelists in total.
Please note, panels are strictly limited to 3
presenters maximum. BTO operates on a limited budget. Submitting a panel instead of a session may impact your standing with the committee
for acceptance due to budgetary constraints.
Please also note that BTO receives over 90 submissions of proposals a year, and can be competitive.
Submission deadline for proposals: August 30th, 2025 at 11:59 PM.
The
Bay to Ocean Writers Conference provides a modest honorarium of
$125/presentation, and $75/panel per speaker. Selected speakers will invited to
attend the day's conference free-of-charge, 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. Speakers are also invited to our speaker's dinner on Friday evening and to the BTO After Party following the conference. Please note: 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 1st.
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:
baytooceanwritersconference@gmail.comPat Valdata, Ron Sauder & Tara A. Elliott
BTO 2027 Conference Chairs
