Past Legacy & Mini Conferences
Since 2019, WCoNA has gathered the writers of northern Appalachia together where the region’s stories seem to want telling. Below are the past Legacy Conferences and mini conferences we have held.
Past Legacy Conferences
2026 Legacy Conference
St. Francis University
Friday Night Panel: Appalachia: The Varied Landscapes of Keystone Poetry. A discussion with the editors and poets from the anthology Keystone Poetry, including Marjorie Maddox, Jerry Wemple, Abby Minor, Judith Sornberger, and Todd Davis.
Keynote Speaker: Todd Davis, author of multiple full-length collections of poetry, including Ditch Memory: New & Selected Poems and Coffin Honey. He is also the co-editor of the 2026 Book of the Year, A Literary Field Guide to Northern Appalachia.
2023 Legacy Conference
Robert Morris University
Keynote Speaker: Ben Moyer, whose writing on nature, outdoors, and conservation issues appears in numerous regional and national publications including Northern Appalachia Review and Pittsburgh Quarterly magazine. In 2019, the Outdoor Writers Association of America honored Moyer with its Excellence in Craft Award, which recognizes an outstanding lifetime body of work. His writing has also garnered numerous awards from the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association and the Mason-Dixon Outdoor Writers Association.
2025 Legacy Conference
St. Francis University
Friday Night Panel: The Spirit and Essence of Northern Appalachia: Exploring Our Literary Identity. The Book of the Year shortlist authors (Sherrie Flick, Laura Jackson, Michael Lockett), Keynote Speaker Sarah Elaine Smith (author of Marilou Is Everywhere), and WCoNA President PJ Piccirillo discuss the unique history, diversity, and tensions that shape and characterize our literary canon.
Keynote Speaker: Sarah Elaine Smith, author of Marilou Is Everywhere and the poetry collection I Live in a Hut.
2022 Legacy Conference
Duquesne University
Keynote Speakers: Kathleen George, Pittsburgh author of several award-winning mystery novels, as well as historical novels and short stories.
Lee Gutkind, author of several creative nonfiction books, and founder of the literary journal Creative Nonfiction. Named by Vanity Fair the Godfather of Creative Nonfiction.
2024 Legacy Conference
St. Francis University
Friday Night Special Session: USA Today best selling author David Poyer presented “Writing in the Age of AI.” Poyer introduced writers to the mechanics, process, and creative and legal perils of integrating AI into the process of creating novels, short stories, novellas, nonfiction books, and poetry.
Keynote Speaker: Maxwell King, former editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer and president of both The Heinz Endowments and The Pittsburgh Foundation. He is the author of the poetry collection Crossing Laurel Run, the New York Times bestselling biography The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers, and American Workman: The Life and Art of John Kane, a portrait of a man whose life typifies the overlooked voices of northern Appalachia.
View Max’s special address on the Power of Place presented at the 2022 WCoNA legacy conference.
2021 Legacy Conference
Virtual Conference
Our first fully virtual gathering that proved the region would show up for its own literature no matter the format. Workshops and readings ran from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM, followed by an evening of attendee readings from 6 to 8 PM.
Sessions covered writing for anthologies, storytelling elements in fiction and memoir, writing conflict, the writing life, writing in community, and how the tools of poetry sharpen prose.
2019 Legacy Conference
Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling, WV
Keynote Speaker: David Poyer, a Pennsylvania-born, now retired US Navy captain, Poyer is the author of over 40 books, and is a noted teacher and lecturer.
Past Mini Conferences
2026 Writers in the Woods
Cook Forest Sawmill Center for the Arts
An immersive day of literary exploration and professional growth. Surrounded by the serene beauty of one of the last remaining old growth forests in the eastern United States, this event invites writers of all genres and experience levels to deepen their craft amid nature’s timeless inspiration.
Presenters: Matt Ussia, Kimberly McElhatten, Bob Craven, and Tim Bennett
2025 Writers in the Woods
Cook Forest Sawmill Center for the Arts
An immersive day of literary exploration and professional growth. Surrounded by the serene beauty of one of the last remaining old growth forests in the eastern United States, this event invites writers of all genres and experience levels to deepen their craft amid nature’s timeless inspiration.
Presenters: Matt Ussia, Kimberly McElhatten, Bob Craven, and Jamie Lackey
2025 Writers on the Prairie
Jennings Prairie at Jennings Environmental Education Center
A two-day, place-based writing retreat held during peak bloom in one of Pennsylvania’s only publicly protected prairie ecosystems.
Presenters: Bob Craven, Lora Zill, and Kimberly McElhatten
2024 Writers in the Woods
Cook Forest Sawmill Center for the Arts
An immersive day of literary exploration and professional growth. Surrounded by the serene beauty of one of the last remaining old growth forests in the eastern United States, this event invites writers of all genres and experience levels to deepen their craft amid nature’s timeless inspiration.
Presenters: Bob Craven, Lora Zill, and Kimberly McElhatten
2023 Writers in the Woods
Cook Forest Sawmill Center for the Arts
An immersive day of literary exploration and professional growth. Surrounded by the serene beauty of one of the last remaining old growth forests in the eastern United States, this event invites writers of all genres and experience levels to deepen their craft amid nature’s timeless inspiration.
Presenters: Bob Craven and Lora Zill
2022 Writers in the Woods
Cook Forest Sawmill Center for the Arts
An immersive day of literary exploration and professional growth. Surrounded by the serene beauty of one of the last remaining old growth forests in the eastern United States, this event invites writers of all genres and experience levels to deepen their craft amid nature’s timeless inspiration.
Presenters: PJ Piccirillo, Lora Zill, and Deb Reynolds
WCoNA runs entirely on volunteers, and we have a variety of positions open right now! Join us in helping northern Appalachian literature thrive.
Your donation goes toward helping us keep the costs of our conferences and other writers’ services affordable. Help us grow the canon of northern Appalachia.
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