July 9-11, 2025
For Published & Aspiring Writers
And .... Mesa Verde Literary Festival - July 12, 2025
Welcome
Planning for Mesa Verde Writers Conference 2025 is underway. The dates will be July 9 -11 with the primary days of learning on Thursday and Friday, July 10 & 11 with a kick-off reception on Wednesday night, July 9. The conference will be held on two weekdays in 2025 because planning is also underway for the first-ever Mesa Verde Literary Festival on Saturday, July 12. Also a key change will be the move from Harmony Barn to the new Mancos Commons building in downtown Mancos. More details soon about the festival and opportunities for conference attendees to get involved with the events on Saturday.
We had a wonderful inaugural conference in 2023 and a successful conference again in 2024. We will soon announce conference faculty for 2025 so stay tuned.
(For a quick look at some photos from previous conferences, click here.)
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Immerse yourself in the charm of a small southwesern Colorado town as you work with award-winning writers. Listen to your inner voice, take risks, and break from routine. This is a generative conference and work you create may become a finished story, personal essay, novel, or poem.
Mancos, Colorado, the gateway to Mesa Verde National Park, is an unspoiled place. Sunsets here range from peach rose to vermillion. Most days you’ll spot mule deer and it is not uncommon to see elk or fox. You may see people on horseback on the trails. We offer you a chance to stay in a serene valley surrounded by mountains. Even in summer, there may be snow on the peaks. Southwest Colorado has beckoned writers and artists for centuries.
Andre Gide said, "One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time." As you lose yourself in the never-ending vistas, traffic, deadlines, and the noise of your life will disappear. Writing and creativity can flourish.
The ability to begin and sustain creative work requires time. Let us provide this weekend for writing, dreaming, networking with other writers, and gazing at the stars in a Western sky framed by mountain peaks.
Extend your stay and hike in the San Juan Forest, visit Canyon of the Ancients, and see the Pueblo cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde. Book a ride on the Durango Narrow Gauge Railroad, weaving through narrow passes and by waterfalls. There are many sights to see and we can help you plan.
We invite you to an idyllic setting for writing. Russian sage, sunflowers, and paintbrush dot the summer landscape, and aspen trees tower on winding paths. Leave everything behind and spend a weekend with other writers and your muse. We look forward to welcoming you! And stay tuned to this website as details come available in 2025.
The Mesa Verde Writers Conference is proud to be a program of the Mancos Creative District.
(For a quick look at some photos from previous conferences, click here.)
++
Immerse yourself in the charm of a small southwesern Colorado town as you work with award-winning writers. Listen to your inner voice, take risks, and break from routine. This is a generative conference and work you create may become a finished story, personal essay, novel, or poem.
Mancos, Colorado, the gateway to Mesa Verde National Park, is an unspoiled place. Sunsets here range from peach rose to vermillion. Most days you’ll spot mule deer and it is not uncommon to see elk or fox. You may see people on horseback on the trails. We offer you a chance to stay in a serene valley surrounded by mountains. Even in summer, there may be snow on the peaks. Southwest Colorado has beckoned writers and artists for centuries.
Andre Gide said, "One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time." As you lose yourself in the never-ending vistas, traffic, deadlines, and the noise of your life will disappear. Writing and creativity can flourish.
The ability to begin and sustain creative work requires time. Let us provide this weekend for writing, dreaming, networking with other writers, and gazing at the stars in a Western sky framed by mountain peaks.
Extend your stay and hike in the San Juan Forest, visit Canyon of the Ancients, and see the Pueblo cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde. Book a ride on the Durango Narrow Gauge Railroad, weaving through narrow passes and by waterfalls. There are many sights to see and we can help you plan.
We invite you to an idyllic setting for writing. Russian sage, sunflowers, and paintbrush dot the summer landscape, and aspen trees tower on winding paths. Leave everything behind and spend a weekend with other writers and your muse. We look forward to welcoming you! And stay tuned to this website as details come available in 2025.
The Mesa Verde Writers Conference is proud to be a program of the Mancos Creative District.
Starry night photo by Mark Klemick, taken at Harmony Barn.