The 21st Pikes Peak Writers Conference was a hugely successful weekend of amazing workshops, motivational speeches, and informative presentations. Our inspiring keynote speakers included: Amber Benson, an actor/director/writer who reminded us all how lucky we are to be writers in this point in history; Libba Bray, who gave one of the funniest, and at the same time most poignant, keynote speeches I’d ever heard; David Liss, a hilarious speaker and insightful teacher whose listeners mobbed the bookstore; and Barry Eisler, whose casual discussion of traditional versus digital publishing has touched off an internet firestorm. It was not remotely a dull weekend. On Friday at lunch, Barbara Nickless spoke movingly about all she gained when the Waldo Canyon Fire consumed her home. Barbara’s speech not only set the tone for the entire conference, she embodied the theme of “Writing from the Ashes… Never Lose Sight of Your Dreams.” Attendees were offered a dizzying array of over 70 workshops to choose from as well as 15 Read & Critique sessions, 9 informal un-workshops, and countless discussions over meals, at the mixers, or in the bar. Many attendees heard the words “send it” from an editor or agent, and they left in high spirits. Others seriously pondered the worlds of digital and independent publishing and considered a path to publication they’d previously ignored. Brian Schwartz, president of the Colorado Independent Publishers Association, taught an extended session on the topic of independent publishing in his “Pixels to Profit” sessions. Editors Michael Braff, Christopher Hernandez, Pat Van Wie, and Deb Werksman busted through the myths about book publishing in our “Mythbusting Editors” panel. Literary Agents Hannah Bowman, Sorche Fairbank, Barry Goldblatt, Shannon Hassan, Nicole Resciniti, Kate Testerman, and Pamela Van Hylckama Vlieg did the same in our “Mythbusting Agents” panel. Both editors and agents also presented informative workshops, read attendees’ first pages, and took pitches. The conference bookstore enjoyed huge success in a new location, the Marriott’s glass-walled conference room. The faculty booksigning on Saturday was one of our most successful ever. Featured speaker David Liss was so popular in his Thursday and Friday sessions that we’d nearly sold out his entire stock of books before the booksigning on Saturday. (Sorry, David!) On Saturday Night we honored our volunteers. Shannon Lawrence received the Pikes Peak Writers Volunteer of the Year award, while the PPW Conference Volunteer of the Year award went to two people, Jennifer LaPointe and MB Partlow. All three of these women have been extraordinary in their tireless work for Pikes Peak Writers over the past year. Thank you to these award winners and all our dedicated volunteers. Then came the big announcement. Many of you know that the PPW Fiction Writing Contest had been retired last year. We presented a retrospective on Saturday Night highlighting the tremendous success that has arisen out of the contest over the last twenty years. Afterward, we announced that the contest is returning with a new, revamped format. Be looking for more information here on our website this summer. By the time attendees left on Sunday there was not only tremendous emotion – and exhaustion – but also the sense that everyone had been a part of something special. We carried with us the knowledge that we are writers. And we are the luckiest people in the world.