Storymakers Conference for Authors: A Practical Guide for Indie and Aspiring Writers
Some writing conferences feel like a lecture hall. Others feel like a community.
Storymakers Conference is firmly in the second category.
Held in Provo, Utah, and produced by Storymakers Author Guild, this is one of the most substantial writing conferences in the Mountain West. It is large enough to offer a deep schedule, professional presenters, special workshops, agent and editor consults, and recorded class access, yet it still carries the feel of an author community rather than a faceless industry convention.
For indie authors, that matters. A writer can find information almost anywhere now. What is harder to find is a room full of people who are learning, publishing, experimenting, revising, launching, failing, trying again, and taking the writing life seriously. Storymakers offers that combination of instruction and belonging.
The 2026 Storymakers Conference is scheduled for May 14 through May 16 at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo. The official conference page says the event features more than a hundred classes for aspiring and established writers, taught by presenters from the publishing industry. It also offers Thursday hands-on workshops, a First Chapter Contest for unpublished writers, and agent and editor consults that attendees can sign up for before the conference.
That makes Storymakers useful for a broad range of authors. A beginner can attend for foundational instruction. A novelist with several books can attend for craft refinement and networking. A writer seeking an agent can use the consult opportunities. An indie author can study craft, reader expectations, story structure, genre, and the habits of working professionals.
The Focus of Storymakers Conference
The focus of Storymakers is writing development across career stages.
Some conferences are built around one path. They may focus almost entirely on literary writing, traditional publishing, indie business, genre fandom, or reader-facing events. Storymakers is broader. It offers classes for beginning writers and expert writers, and the official FAQ makes clear that attendees do not need to be published to participate.
That open structure is one of its strengths. Writing careers do not move in a straight line. A bestselling indie author may still need a class on emotional arcs. A new writer may need a session on point of view. A hybrid author may need agent consults for one project and indie publishing knowledge for another. A writer who has been stuck for years may need the encouragement of being around people who understand the craft.
Storymakers seems built for that full range.
For indie authors, the value is especially strong because the conference emphasizes craft. Indie publishing gives authors freedom, but freedom is not a substitute for quality. The better the book, the easier every other part of the career becomes. Covers, ads, newsletters, retailers, direct sales, and book funnels all work better when the story itself delivers. A conference with a large class catalog can help authors strengthen the engine underneath the business.
Sponsor and Organizer
Storymakers Conference is produced by Storymakers Author Guild, a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization. The conference page states that the event is not affiliated with any religious group and is open to all writers.
That clarification is useful because Storymakers has strong roots in Utah’s writing community, where many authors and readers may know it through the broader LDS and clean-fiction author ecosystem. But the conference itself describes its attendance as open to all, and its programming is aimed at writers rather than members of a specific religious organization.
The Storymakers Guild also connects to the Whitney Awards, which recognize outstanding fiction by Latter-day Saint authors. That awards ecosystem gives the conference additional cultural presence, particularly for authors writing in genres popular with Utah and LDS readerships. Still, the conference programming itself is broad enough that many commercial fiction writers can benefit from it.
History and Background
Storymakers has grown into one of the best-known writing conferences in Utah. Its past keynote speakers have included major names such as Brandon Sanderson, Lois Lowry, Jennifer A. Nielsen, Shannon Hale, Ally Condie, and others. That history signals both ambition and credibility.
A conference does not attract names like that by accident. It requires an active writing community, good organization, and a reputation for delivering value to attendees. Utah has become an unusually strong state for writers, especially in speculative fiction, middle grade, young adult, romance, and commercially minded genre storytelling. Storymakers benefits from that environment.
For authors outside Utah, that is one reason to look closely at this event. Some regional conferences are mainly local. Storymakers has a broader pull because of the strength of the Utah writing community and the number of authors, editors, teachers, and publishing professionals connected to it.
General Description of the 2026 Event
The 2026 conference runs May 14 through May 16 at the Provo Utah Valley Convention Center. Registration opened January 26, 2026.
The conference offers in-person and virtual ticket options. The official registration page lists an in-person ticket at $305, with an early bird price of $255 during the early registration window. The virtual ticket is listed at $205. The in-person ticket has a 770-person cap, while the virtual ticket is listed as unlimited. The conference also lists a Whitney Gala ticket at $30, with a 280-person cap.
The in-person ticket includes live conference attendance, keynote speakers, and access to 110 classes for playback, but it does not include the Whitney Gala. The virtual ticket includes keynote speaker live links and recorded class playback, but no live attendance. These details are especially useful for authors who cannot travel to Utah but still want to learn from the class catalog.
The event also offers add-ons, including Thursday workshops, the First Chapter Contest, intensive classes, agent and editor consults, premise and plot chats, and Whitney Gala tickets. Some of these add-ons have deadlines earlier than general registration. Authors should read the registration page carefully and not wait until the last minute if they want critiques, consults, workshops, or contest participation.
The FAQ says lunch is provided Friday and Saturday, and snacks are provided Thursday for Thursday Workshop attendees, as well as Friday and Saturday. That kind of practical detail matters when calculating the true cost of attendance.
Attendance and Community
The 2026 in-person attendance cap is listed at 770. That makes Storymakers a large writing conference, but not an unmanageable one. It is big enough to support a deep schedule and a strong faculty list. It is small enough that attendees can still move through a shared conference environment and recognize repeated faces.
The conference age minimum is 16, and the FAQ notes that it is open to beginning through expert writers. That creates a wide community. A writer may sit next to a first-time novelist in one class and a multi-published author in another.
For indie authors, that range can be valuable. It prevents the room from becoming too narrow. Newer writers ask useful questions. Experienced writers bring hard-earned perspective. Hybrid authors often bridge the gap between traditional and self-publishing. Teachers and editors help connect craft issues to publishing realities.
Costs and Fees
The 2026 conference lists in-person registration at $305, with an early bird in-person discount of $255 during January 26 through January 28. Virtual registration is listed at $205. The Whitney Gala dessert social and ceremony ticket is listed at $30. Add-ons may carry separate costs.
Authors should also budget for travel, lodging, parking, meals not included, add-ons, contest entries, consults, and time away from writing. Because Provo is a destination for many attendees, hotel planning should be done early.
Who Should Attend?
Storymakers is a strong fit for fiction writers, especially those working in commercial genres, young adult, middle grade, fantasy, romance, speculative fiction, and other reader-driven categories. It is also useful for authors who want to improve craft in a supportive but serious environment.
Unpublished writers can benefit from the First Chapter Contest, classes, and consults. Published authors can use the event to refine craft, meet peers, and continue professional development. Indie authors can benefit from the large class catalog and recorded playback because craft improvement has a direct effect on sales, reviews, reader loyalty, and series growth.
Website
Official website: https://storymakersguild.org/storymakers-conference
Conclusion
Storymakers Conference is a strong Utah event for authors who want craft, community, and practical next steps.
It is large, but still personal. It is welcoming, but still serious. It offers classes, consults, contests, workshops, virtual access, and a deep writing community that has helped make Utah one of the more interesting states in the country for genre authors.
For indie authors, the lesson is simple. Never stop learning the craft. Marketing matters. Ads matter. Data matters. ScribeCount matters because tracking the business matters. But the story is still the foundation. The stronger the book, the more every other part of the author career has to work with.
Storymakers is built around helping writers make better stories.
That is always worth paying attention to.
Randall