Regency Fiction Writers
2026 Virtual Conference
The Regency Re-Imagined: Crafting Stories of Mystery, Fantasy, Romance and Beyond
July 30 – August 1, 2026
Three days. One weekend. Hundreds of writers who speak your language.
Whether you’re chasing the perfect ballroom scene, untangling a Regency-era mystery plot, or figuring out how to make a duke believable in a fantasy world — this is the room where that conversation happens.
The RFW Annual Conference brings together authors, historians, and industry professionals for a virtual weekend built around the fiction you actually write. Expect deep-dive craft workshops, research sessions that go beyond the basics, and honest publishing industry insights you can use the moment the conference ends.
Plus the beloved Annual Soirée and Silent Auction, because we take our fiction seriously and our fun even more so.
All sessions held live via Zoom. Recordings available so you won’t miss a thing.
Please check back later, as more information will be included below as it comes available.
Why Should You Register?
Don’t just take our word for it, previous attendees are generous with their praise…
Keynote Speakers
We’re excited to share with you our amazing keynote speakers for our 6th annual conference, two ladies who are legends in the Regency storytelling world: Caroline Linden and Julie Anne Long.
Caroline Linden was born a reader, not a writer. She earned a math degree from Harvard University and wrote computer code before discovering that writing fiction was far more fun. Since then, the Boston Red Sox have won the World Series four times, which is not related but still worth mentioning. Her books have been translated into seventeen languages, and have won the NEC-RWA Reader’s Choice Award, the Daphne du Maurier Award, the NJRW Golden Leaf Award, and RWA’s RITA Award. She lives in New England.
Julie Anne Long is a USA Today Bestselling author and RITA Award winner. Her books have been published around the world, nominated for numerous awards, and included in NPR’s and Parade Magazine’s list of the best romances of all time. Readers and reviewers call them “dazzling,” “brilliant” and “impossible to put down.” She lives in Northern California.
Schedule of Events
Conference Chair Cecilia Rene along with Assistant Chair Lori Lamb and their committee of volunteers have created another wonder conference line-up this year. The Board of Directors and the Conference Committee are delighted to offer a wide variety of workshops and presenters and hope attendees enjoy this year’s virtual event.
If you have any questions, please contact our Conference Chair or our RFW President.
Conference Schedule Overview July 30th – August 1st
Day 1, Thursday, will kick-off our conference with a marketing workshop and one historical workshop. Join us for our meet and greet at the end of day 1!
Days 2 and 3, Friday and Saturday, will feature historical, marketing, and writing craft workshops. Award-winning RFW Member Caroline Linden’s Keynote will occur on Friday, and USA Today Bestselling author Julie Anne Long’s Q&A Keynote will happen on Saturday.
For Julie Anne Long’s Q&A Keynote, we will be taking questions in advance from registered attendees only until 11:59 pm, July 18th, 2026. The link to submit questions will be included in both the confirmation/receipt email and on the welcome packet page. So, start thinking about what you’d like to ask her so you’ll have it ready when you register
The conference will culminate on Saturday evening with our Soirée. The evening will include breakout rooms, the final hours of our Silent Auction, and fellowship.
Subject to Change
Thursday, July 30, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE DISPLAYED IN YOUR LOCAL TIMEZONE
4:00 pm – 4:15 pm
Conference Zoom Opens
The Conference Zoom waiting room opens at 3:45 pm.
Attendees will be let into the main “room” beginning at 4:00 pm.
Cameras and microphones will be turned off at 4:15 pm sharp.
4:15 pm – 4:30 pm
Welcome: RFW President Bill Haggart
Housekeeping Announcements – Cecilia Rene, Conference Chair
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Workshop: 3-Day Marketing Bootcamp from Diverse Writers & Readers International (DWRI), Part 1
Presented by: Karol Jarvis & Moni Boyce
If you’ve ever stared at your social media or newsletter dashboard thinking, “What do I post? How do I reach readers? Why isn’t anything working?” — you’re not alone. Most authors skip critical marketing steps and end up frustrated, spinning their wheels, and wondering why their books aren’t selling.
In this 3-day interactive bootcamp, we’ll fix that. You won’t just learn strategies — you’ll build your marketing in real time. By the end, you’ll walk away with clarity, hands-on experience, and confidence knowing that you’re focusing your time on what truly matters.
Whether you’re launching your first book or re-launching after disappointing sales, this bootcamp shows you how to master reader engagement and conversion.
Moni Boyce is a USA Today Bestselling and Emma Award-winning author of contemporary and paranormal romances, filmmaker, and poet. After working in the film industry for fifteen years, helping others bring their visions to life, she now creates worlds of her own, full of diverse characters with heat, heart and happily ever afters. Moni began her writing career as a ghostwriter before writing novels under her own name. She considers herself a bookworm, film buff, foodie, music lover and an avid world traveler having visited 37 countries and counting. Currently, she resides in Virginia, but considers Los Angeles her hometown.
5:30 pm – 5:45 pm
Break
5:45 pm – 6:45 pm
Workshop: Worldbuilding for Historical Fiction and Romance
Presenter: Leslye Penelope
Great historical fiction recreates the past and makes readers feel as if they’re living inside it. From social customs and power structures to sensory details and daily life, careful worldbuilding helps transform research into an immersive world that readers will get lost in. Learn practical techniques to help you craft rich historical environments, weave research seamlessly into your narrative, and bring the culture and atmosphere of your chosen era to life.
Leslye Penelope has been writing since she could hold a pen and loves getting lost in the worlds in her head. She is an award-winning author of fantasy and paranormal romance. Equally left and right-brained, she studied filmmaking and computer science in college and sometimes dreams in HTML. She hosts the My Imaginary Friends podcast, co-hosts the Ink & Magic podcast, and lives in Maryland with her feline dependents. Visit her online at https://www.lpenelope.com/.
6:45 pm – 7:00 pm
Break
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Meet & Greet w/ breakout rooms
** Not Recorded **
Friday, July 31, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE DISPLAYED IN YOUR LOCAL TIMEZONE
10:30 am – 11:00 am
Conference Zoom Opens
The Conference Zoom waiting room opens at 10:30 am.
Attendees will be let into the main “room” beginning at 10:45 am.
Cameras and microphones will be turned off at 11:00 am sharp.
11:00 am – 11:15 am
Welcome to Day 2 – President Bill Haggart
Housekeeping – Cecilia Rene, Conference Chair
11:15 am – 12:15 pm
Workshop: Comparison Regency & Victorian
Presenter: Edie Cay
The 19th century was one of political, technological, and social change in the Western world. And while Amazon kindle categories might not distinguish between the Regency and Victorian, as historical romance writers, we must know the difference. This workshop outlines the differences and similarities of each time period, giving writers the opportunity to see which era fits their story best. No prior publications needed to learn, contribute, and discuss how the world changed that century.
Katie Stine, writing as Edie Cay, has two series of award-winning historical romances, as well as short contemporary fiction set in and around Yosemite. She has a Bachelor of Arts in both English (with a creative writing emphasis) and Music (with a piano performance emphasis) as well as an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Alaska Anchorage. She has reviewed for the Anchorage Daily News and currently reviews books for the Historical Novel Society. In addition to her award-winning historical romances about women’s boxing during the Regency era and women’s alpine climbing during the Victorian era, she also has several articles and short stories published in literary magazines. As a speaker, she has contributed to a number of conferences internationally. She is a member of Historical Novel Society, The Regency Fiction Writers, and a founding member of Paper Lantern Writers. Recently, she contributed to the well-received Crafting Stories from the Past: A How-To Guide to Writing Historical Fiction. Her most recent romance publishes this spring, The Lyon’s Last Chance from Dragonblade Publishing.
12:15 pm – 12:30 pm
Break
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
Workshop: The Season
Presenter: Louisa Cornell
’TIS THE SEASON For Husband Hunting, Partying, and Scandal in the Regency Era
One of the staples of writing Regency fiction is The Season. Whether used as the setting for a story or as a device to introduce a character or put a character into impossible situations that Regency era enigma, The Season, is a concept that has dozens of uses for the writer of Regency fiction. However, as a result of its frequent use errors about what The Season actually was and what it was not abound in the genre. In this workshop we will explore the uniquely Regency concept of The Season in an effort to put those errors to rest and make The Season even more useful as a device for fantastic Regency fiction!
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm
Tea Time Break
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Workshop: How to Produce Your Own Audio Book
Presenter: Golden Angel
Audiobooks can be a great investment or a financial sinkhole for authors. Learn from USA Today Bestselling Author how to decide when to start your audiobook journey, how to choose your first book for audio, finding a narrator, deciding on retailers, and the rewards and pitfalls of indie audiobooks.
3:00 pm – 3:15 pm
Break
3:15 pm – 4:15 pm
Workshop: 3-Day Marketing Bootcamp from Diverse Writers & Readers International (DWRI), Part 2
Presented by: Karol Jarvis & Moni Boyce
See workshop description on Day One for more detail and presenter bio.
4:15 pm – 4:30 pm
Break
4:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Keynote Speaker: Caroline Linden
Caroline Linden was born a reader, not a writer. She earned a math degree from Harvard University and wrote computer code before discovering that writing fiction was far more fun. Since then, the Boston Red Sox have won the World Series four times, which is not related but still worth mentioning. Her books have been translated into seventeen languages, and have won the NEC-RWA Reader’s Choice Award, the Daphne du Maurier Award, the NJRW Golden Leaf Award, and RWA’s RITA Award. She lives in New England.
5:00 pm – 5:05 pm
Break – Change Zoom Links for the AGM
5:05 pm – 6:30 pm
RFW Annual General Meeting & Recognition Awards (Separate Zoom link)
** All Regency Fiction Writers members are encouraged to attend. Conference registration is not required.
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Write & Drink
** Not Recorded **
Return to the main conference Zoom link for a spirited writing session!
Saturday, August 1, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE DISPLAYED IN YOUR LOCAL TIMEZONE
10:15 am – 10:45 am
Conference Zoom Opens
The Conference Zoom waiting room opens at 10:15 am.
Attendees will be let into the main “room” beginning at 10:30 am.
Cameras and microphones will be turned off at 10:45 am sharp.
10:45 am – 11:00 am
Welcome to Day 3 and Announcements
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Workshop: Diverse Writers & Readers International (DWRI) 3-Part Marketing Bootcamp, Part 3
Presented by: Karol Jarvis & Moni Boyce
See workshop description on Day One for more detail and presenter bio.
12:00 pm – 12:30 pm
Tea Time Break
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
Workshop: Wide Open To Edits: Keeping Your IP Out of the Estate Trash Bin
Presenter: Matt Buchman
Is your estate ready to pass on? Is your heir(s) ready when it does? No matter your age or the scale of your creations, the time to prep is now. Come learn a series of practical steps to organize your written legacy and educate your heirs so that your years of writing don’t end up getting tossed along with your Harlequin Historicals collection.
1:30 pm – 1:45 pm
Break
1:45 pm – 2:45 pm
Workshop: Coitus Interruptus in the 19th Century
Presenter: Jessica Cale
This workshop will delve into the nineteenth-century obsession with coitus interruptus, aka the withdrawal method, one of the oldest documented forms of birth control. The history and philosophy behind the practice during the 1800s is surprisingly complex and hilarious! It involves ghosts, tantra, and people trying to channel electricity so they could live forever.
Jessica Cale is an award-winning author, public historian, and journalist. Originally from Minnesota, she earned degrees in History and Media Writing at Swansea University in Wales while working as a freelance contributor to BBC History Magazine. She has worked with Planned Parenthood as a voluntary sex-education teacher, and she brings the history of sex to a broader audience as the host of the Dirty Sexy History podcast and editor of the Dirty Sexy History blog. She has appeared as an on-camera historian on Netflix’s hit docudrama, The Lost Pirate Kingdom. Jessica is the author of a dozen Historical Romance books, and the co-author of Sexuality and its Impact on History: The British Stripped Bare. Her latest book is Forbidden Fruit: The Secret, Scandalous History of Contraception and Abortion, forthcoming in Autumn 2026 from Putnam. You can find her at dirtysexyhistory.com.
2:45 pm – 3:00 pm
Break
3:00 pm –4:00 pm
Workshop: Bow Street Runners and Early Policing in London
Presenter: Nikki Druce
Just how difficult was it to set up a formalised police force in London during the regency period…pretty darn difficult! The Bow Street Runners were the beginnings of the police force we know today, but it was a hard-won battle to get there. Funding was difficult to come by, arrest and extortion went hand in hand and the public trust in them was non-existent.
We’ll delve into why London needed a police force and why it thought it didn’t, the gangs that came before the Runners and just what it meant to be one of the first so-called good guys. Expect a blend of crime, punishment and a lot of seedy Soho.
4:00 pm – 4:15 pm
Break
4:15 pm – 5:15 pm
Workshop: A Dangerous Dinner: Writing Gothic Food Scenes in Regency Fiction
Presenter: Dr Alessandra Pino
Regency dinner tables may appear elegant, but beneath polished silver and refined manners lies a world of tension, rivalry, and unspoken conflict. In A Dangerous Dinner, Dr Alessandra Pino explores how meals in Regency fiction can function as charged narrative spaces where power circulates, hierarchies are reinforced or challenged, and silence speaks louder than words. This practical, craft-led workshop guides writers through techniques for constructing dinner scenes that generate Gothic atmosphere and narrative pressure through food, social ritual, restraint, and social performance. Drawing on literary examples and historical context, participants will develop tools for transforming an ordinary meal into a site of suspense and psychological unease, concluding with a focused writing exercise.
5:15 pm – 5:30 pm
Break
5:15 pm – 5:45 pm
Keynote Q&A: Julie Anne Long
Julie Anne Long is a USA Today Bestselling author and RITA Award winner. Her books have been published around the world, nominated for numerous awards, and included in NPR’s and Parade Magazine’s list of the best romances of all time. Readers and reviewers call them “dazzling,” “brilliant” and “impossible to put down.” She lives in Northern California.
For this special Q&A Keynote, we will be taking questions in advance from registered attendees only until 11:59 pm, July 18th, 2026. The link to submit questions will be included in both the confirmation/receipt email and on the welcome packet page. So, start thinking about what you’d like to ask her so you’ll have it ready when you register.
5:45 pm – 8:00 pm
Break– Conference Zoom will be closed during this time.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Soireé, Silent Auction, & Breakout Rooms
** Not Recorded **
With presenter permission, our sessions are recorded for registrants’ use for at least 90 days after they become available. Any sessions not recorded will be marked as such in advance so attendees may plan to attend in person.
Conference Fees
* If you have ever registered for an Academe Class, Monthly Tea, previous conference or Annual RFW Membership (or The Beau Monde), please LOGIN before attempting to register for the conference. Questions? See the FAQ.
What You’ll Get
Registration Now Open!
RFW Members
Full Registration
from 12:00 am, July 1st, 2026
until 11:59 pm July 27th, 2026
$125 USD
Scholarships are available to
RFW Members BEFORE Registration.
ALL TIMES ARE DISPLAYED IN YOUR LOCAL TIMEZONE.
Cancellation Policy: There will be no refunds due to availability of recorded sessions for at least 90 days after.
Silent Auction
RFW Members may wish to start thinking about what they want to donate to this year’s Silent Auction. A call for donations with more information will be sent to RFW Members in the future.
We ask that our generous donors also agree to absorb the cost of shipping the items to U.S. winning bidders. The organization reimburses international postage.
All proceeds come back to Regency Fiction Writers in the form of Scholarships and toward making our conference affordable for all!
Among our most popular items are Regency research books. In addition to research books, past donors have provided unique gifts ranging from Regency fashion prints, Jane Austen-themed items, to English china, to British edible delicacies. We try to keep the items British-centric or compatible with the writing of Regency-set fiction.
Indie publishing services like formatting, cover design, editing, or promotion are also highly desired. Also very popular are beta reads from our members as well as critiques from multi-published, award-winning authors.
A Feather to Fly With —
The Emily Hendrickson Scholarship Fund
Any RFW member in good standing who has financial need and qualify can apply to have their conference fees paid through the generous contributions and fundraising efforts of the A Feather to Fly With—The Emily Hendrickson Scholarship Fund BEFORE registering, as if approved you will receive a special registration link to use instead of reimbursement.
Review the application criteria, rules, and deadlines for submission before applying. Visit the Scholarship Fund page for more information and the application.
If you have any questions about the scholarship process, please contact RFW’s Membership Director and Coordinator for A Feather to Fly With Scholarship Fund.
