Sonoran Writers Conference 2026
This past month, May 9th to be exact, I had the pleasure of attending a presenting at the annual Sonoran Writers Conference. It’s a yaerly event put on by Anthology, a local non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of reading and writing in the community.
The conference is an event for writers, by writers. It was a day of panels and presentations across a broad range of subjects important to writers, There were panels on craft, character creation, history, self-care, and the importance of accuracy in presenting trauma and emotional damage.
There was a wonderful keynote talk by author Tori Eldridge on the importance of moving forward, even when you’re not always sure where you’re going. Tori is an accomplished author of over a half-dozen thrillers including one of my favorites, the Ranger Makalani Pahukula series. Set in Hawai’i (one of my favorite places on Earth) the books capture the spirit, culture and language of the islands as well as telling cracking good stories. Tori was born and raised in Hawai’i and knows her stuff. She’s also a talented actress with both TV and Broadway credits, dancer, and voice actor. She was one of the highlights of the conference.
In addition there were panels on research in fiction, the do’s and don’ts of short story, pacing and plotting, the value of book awards, and critiquing and self-editing. All were well received and the program was varied enough to have something for everyone.
The venue at Benedictine University in downtown Mesa was ideal for this sort of intimate conference. Meeting rooms have enough space for everyone but are small enough to allow give and take between panelists and audience. That for me is one of the great strengths of this kind of conference. The ability of every attendee to participate directly in discussions with others and with the panelist creates a synergy of understanding that can’t be matched in big lecture halls.
Overall. I had a great time, met some fantastic people and look forward to next year.
