Experience the education, camaraderie, and opportunities provided by a live writing conference without ever having to leave your home!
Writer’s Digest University is pleased to present a one-of-a-kind online event for Nonfiction writers! On November 14, 2026, our WDU Nonfiction Writing Virtual Conference will provide expert insights from bestselling nonfiction authors. Spend the day learning techniques for honing your craft, then optionally receive a personalized critique of your query letter or pitch for a magazine/web article from a participating literary agent.
Writing the Taboo in Memoir: 5 Techniques to Help You Delve Into Messy Truths
5 Structural Twists to Consider for Your Memoir
More course sessions and speaker information coming soon!
Meet the speakers
Katie Bannon
Katie Bannon is a writer, editor, and educator with a passion for helping others tell their truest stories. Her authors have been published in Big Five presses, independent and hybrid publishers, and in hundreds of literary magazines. Her own work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Rumpus, Narratively, and more. She holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Emerson College, and her memoir manuscript was named a finalist for the Permafrost Nonfiction Book Prize. You can find her at www.katiebannon.com.
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Michelle Lerner
Michelle Lerner is an attorney, animal advocate, and writer whose lifelong bond with a rescued horse named Shire helped shape her path to Harvard Law School, where she graduated magna cum laude and helped launch Harvard’s first animal law program. After more than a decade as a legal aid attorney, Michelle focused her career on animal law and policy, becoming a leading advocate for humane feral cat management programs and co-chairing the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Animal Law Committee. She also founded a local Trap-Neuter-Return and cat rescue organization that helped turn her town no-kill through hands-on rescue work and policy reform. Michelle’s advocacy has always been rooted in her experiences caring for a wide cast of rescued animals, from dogs and cats to sheep, chickens, squirrels, and horses, each of whom deepened her belief that animals are individuals with distinct personalities and perspectives. A poet since childhood, Michelle turned to fiction and memoir writing after a disabling illness left her unable to practice law. Her debut novel, Ring, was published by Bancroft Press in 2025 and was longlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize. A Series of Opinionated Animals is her first memoir. To learn more, visit her online at www.michellelerner.net
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