SAN MIGUEL
Writers' Conference & Literary Festival
February 11-15, 2025
Hotel Real de Minas, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico
The Place
SMWC: Connecting You to the World of Writing
Learn from expert keynotes and faculty that include contemporary writers, award-winning authors, teachers, agents, and journalists with years of experience in their respective fields.
A diverse set of master classes, workshops, and events ranging from poetry to the business of publishing will guide your writing and inform your choices.
Experience a tri-cultural exchange of ideas that arise from three countries coming together: the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The program includes English and Spanish language events.
San Miguel de Allende, which has a UNESCO World Heritage designation, is located in the heart of Mexico and has been voted multiple times as the best small city of the world by Condé Nast Traveler readers.
The San Miguel Writers' Conference (SMWC) is a project of the San Miguel Literary Sala, A.C.
Laura's Workshops
How to Write About What You Can't Remember with Laura Davis
Date: Thursday, February 12, 2026
Time: 9:00–10:30 AM CT
Level: All Levels
Session 2 Workshop
Many of us believe that writing memoir requires accurately remembering our past and then transcribing those memories. Yet there’s so much we don’t remember. This workshop, suitable for all levels, will teach you how to transform scraps of memory into a rich written legacy. You’ll walk away with strategies for writing about events that happened years ago with fresh immediacy—enhancing vague or unclear recollections and effectively writing about parts of your history that are impossible to know for sure.
Memoir: How to Create Unforgettably Vivid Moments Your Readers Will Never Forget with Laura Davis
Date: Saturday, February 14, 2026
Time: 2:00–5:00 PM CT
Level: Intermediate
Intensives PM
What makes scenes compelling are emotionally resonant moments filled with urgency. In this intensive, you’ll learn how to identify the pivotal moments that form your story’s backbone, front-load sensory detail to create vivid and unforgettable writing, and why you should “slow down where it hurts.” You’ll come away with a powerful draft of a crucial scene, a list of future scenes to develop, and new skills to write those scenes with powerful immediacy. Come prepared to write, learn, and share.
Your Teacher
Laura Davis: Writing Teacher
The author of seven non-fiction books, including The Courage to Heal, Becoming the Parent You Want to Be and I Thought We'd Never Speak Again. Laura's groundbreaking books have sold more than 1.8 million copies around the world. Laura has also worked as a columnist, talk show host, radio reporter, radio producer, blogger, editor and speaker. Words have always been at the core of her work and her self-expression.
Laura's newest book, The Burning Light of Two Stars: A Mother-Daughter Story, her first memoir, tells the story of her dramatic and tumultuous relationship with her mother from the time of Laura's birth until her mother's death. You can read the first five chapters for free here.
Laura has been mentoring and supporting writers for the past 20 years. It is truly the work of her heart: "I love teaching. I love watching my students find their natural voice and their rhythm. I love it when they find their true stories and discover the courage to put them on the page. I feel like a midwife as my students birth their stories, and I feel honored to witness their bursts of creativity and pure life energy pouring out on the page. Our writing circles are safe places where skills are honed, tears and laughter are welcome, and each writer is seen, heard and deeply known."
Laura leads weekly writing groups and retreats in the Santa Cruz, CA region and online, as well as retreats internationally. She has taken writers to Bali, Scotland, Greece, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Peru, and Italy. She documents these trips to the delight of many readers in her blog, The Virtual Vacation. You can visit Laura’s media page to read, listen, and watch her talk about her work.
Registration
Registering for the Conference
We suggest you start by looking at the Schedule and then head over to the Registration to purchase your conference package.