It’s summertime, and writers, you know what that means: it’s conference season! To celebrate, we’re speaking with Leah Stewart, the director of the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, one of the best and most prestigious writing workshops in the country. Stewart shares how the conference works, the changes she’s made since taking the reins as director, tips for applying, why summer conferences are valuable for writers, the importance of financial support, and how literary organizations can evolve their institutional culture for the benefit of attendees, staff, and faculty alike. She also discusses her own writing process, why researching her latest novel made her relieved to be a writer instead of an actor, the current publishing landscape for novelists, and more.

Page Count is produced by Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, visit the episode page. To get in touch, email [email protected] (put “podcast” in the subject line) or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.