We are excited you’re considering the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference and want to be sure to provide you with the following valuable information. We hope it will make preparing for the conference stress-free.
To make reservations for this great event please call 1.800.588.7222.
The cut-off date for making conference reservations is May 12, 2026.
NOTE: On the Ridgecrest Conference Center website, the room fee is for the ENTIRE conference, not per night.
$114 per night for Rhododendron, and $129 per night for Mountain Laurel.
Meals: $176 per person (12 meals; Monday Dinner- Friday Lunch)
In-Person Program Fee – $425 per person Monday – Friday
(anyone staying off-campus pays a $25 facility fee in addition to the program fees.)
The best way to register for the conference is by calling 1-800-588-7222. By doing this, you will be able to speak with someone at the conference center who can help you tailor your conference experience directly to your needs.
This is especially true if you’d like to make adjustments to your stay and/or meal plans.
These are scheduled times when you can sit down with the author, agent, or editor of your choice and discuss your writing or brainstorm or have them answer your burning questions. You do NOT have to pay for these appointments, they are included as part of your conferee experience.
You will NOT sign up for 15-minute appointments until you get to the conference.
In the meantime, consider who you may want to schedule an appointment with, because after our first group meeting on opening night, you’ll be able to choose two people to meet with and sign up for those appointments. The next morning, after breakfast, you’ll be allowed back into the room to set up any more appointments you’d like. We request you only sign up for two the first night so that everyone has an opportunity to meet with the faculty members they would like to.
At BRMCWC, we do NOT require you to sign up for classes beforehand. We actually encourage you to begin praying and asking God to reveal what classes He would have you participate in. You can find a list of classes on our website, and on opening night we’ll have the faculty introduce themselves and give you a brief description of what they’re teaching.
Note:
The only exception to this is practicums. There are some that require advance sign up. To sign up for those, email the instructor directly. (Their information will be listed with the class listings.)
All of our classes are labeled with two distinctions:
We do offer the opportunity for conference attendees (Attendees ONLY) to buy a package of conference audio recordings for $85.
PLEASE NOTE the change. The conference is now MONDAY – FRIDAY, not Sunday – Thursday. At the conference, the schedule will be provided to you as a hard copy, tri-fold brochure. All of the faculty bios, class descriptions, etc. are online at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference website.
Eva Marie Everson is our contest director and works very hard every year to organize our contests. Please see the Contest Information page on this website for how to enter and be sure to follow the detailed submission instructions found on that page.
Here are the 2 contests we offer:
The BRMCWC Foundation Awards Contest: This has previously been known as the Unpublished Contest. You must be registered for the entire conference in order to compete. If you have been paid or published through a recognized professional site for your writing in any publication category, then you are ineligible for this contest in that category. (For example, if a publication paid you for a devotion, or if you had a devotion published by a site comparable to crosswalk.com, then you may not enter the contest in the devotion category, but you may enter in a different category.) You may enter in more than one category but we accept only one entry per category.
The Selah Awards: The Selah Awards are open to all published authors whose books were published between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024, with either traditional or non-traditional publishers. If the book is co-authored, both authors must sign the entry form. PLEASE NOTE, the eligibility dates are different for the Selah Awards than the other two contests.
The Yvonne Lehman Legacy Award: more information coming soon!
Several of our faculty members offer to critique your writing and meet with you at the conference. Critiques cost $35 each, and you can find the list of faculty and what type of writing they will critique on the Blue Ridge Conference website soon. Please be sure to follow the guidelines when you submit your request to the faculty members.
These will be IN ADDITION to your regular 15-minute appointments and are paid appointments.
If you sign up for a critique, you will want to check the faculty member’s appointment sheet BEFORE you sign up for your chosen 15-minute appointments opening night. They will have already designated a time to meet with you on their appointment sheet. Once you know when your critique appointments are, then you may sign up for your two chosen appointments. Critique appointments don’t count as those two appointments.
This event takes place on Thursday evening and is NOT something you must register for separately. It is an opportunity to dress up—IF YOU CHOOSE. You’ll find our faculty in glittering evening wear and this is our chance to come together to celebrate all of our authors’ hard work by honoring them with awards. The results of both contests will be announced during this time. There isn’t a formal dress code for the Awards Evening. It’s as dressy as you want to make it. Some will wear tuxes or cocktail dresses or gowns. Others will wear their Sunday best, and still others will be in nice jeans and a polo or dress shirt. It’s really up to you how you would like to dress, but we want you to have the information you need to be comfortable in all situations.
PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:
Group worship is held every morning and evening before the keynote.
Worship is led by the amazing Russell & Kristi.
Find out more online @ www.russellandkristi.com
General Conference attire is creative, business casual. We suggest appropriate, comfortable clothing. There is a lot of walking up and down hills, so be sure to pack comfortable shoes.
Our bookstore will operate in the rear of Spilman Auditorium. Linda and John Gilden are our bookstore managers. Please see our Bookstore tab for information about how to consign a book during the conference.
We also encourage you to LIKE our Facebook page, another place where we disseminate information regularly or join our official Facebook group (the best place to ask a question and get an answer).
One opportunity that we like to offer our conferees is the chance to have professional headshots taken by our conference photographer. You will notice our photographer snapping pictures throughout the conference. She will also have an appointment sheet so that you can sign up to meet with her and have your picture taken. There is a minimal cost for this service, and we will have more information for you shortly.
We encourage you to please frequently check this website for new information. There is a place there to sign up for email updates when new information is posted. We strongly urge you to do so. This is the first place we share new information.
***BRMCWC and/or Ridgecrest Conference Center are not responsible for making your arrangements with airport to conference transportation or any issues you may have with those arrangements***
Again, if you have any questions concerning the conference, we encourage you to join our private official Facebook group. That is the best place to receive an answer, as we have moderators keeping an eye on the conversation at all times. Conference planning is hard work, and we may not always be available answer individual questions quickly, although we do try!
