![\"PennWriters](\"https:\/\/lawrencecconnolly.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PennWriters-images.jpg\")
<\/a>Writers\u2019 Conferences are great for\u00a0learning and networking. With many conferences to choose from, it\u2019s hard to decide which one is for you. Should you choose the conference closest to home? The New York conference with the high cost? The conference with the most workshops? A genre-specific conference? Before you become overwhelmed by the choices, consider Pennwriters\u2014the New York style conference at a Pennsylvania cost.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nThe keynote speaker at this year\u2019s event is Ridley Pearson<\/a>, the #1 New York Times<\/em> bestselling author of more than 48 novels, divided almost equally between adult suspense and young adult adventure.<\/p>\n I\u2019m also looking forward to seeing good friend Jon Sprunk<\/a>, whose second book in The Black Earth<\/a> series is due to be released by Pyr Books on June 2. Good reading ahead.<\/p>\n<\/a>That\u2019s how the promoters of this weekend\u2019s Pennwriters Conference<\/a> describe their annual event\u00a0at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott, and this year I\u2019ll be joining them as one of their featured speakers. It\u2019ll be my first year with them, and I\u2019m looking forward to getting a firsthand look at all of the great things I\u2019ve been hearing about them over the years.<\/p>\nI\u2019ll be catching Pearson’s\u00a0speech on Friday evening, where I\u2019m also looking forward to meeting up with some fellow residency writers from Seton Hill University<\/a>, namely\u00a0Heidi Ruby Miller<\/a> (novelist and editor of the massive writing book One Craft, Many Genres<\/em><\/a>), Jason Jack Miller<\/a> (author of the Murder Ballads and Whiskey<\/a> series), and Timons Esaias<\/a> (whose short story \u201cSadness\u201d has just been selected for The Years Best Science Fiction 32<\/em>, edited by Gardner Dozois).<\/p>\n