I’ve talked about how meeting other creatives face-to-face at conferences, art markets and other events has been absolutely crucial for growing my biz over the years.

While there are plenty of conference roundups out there, I couldn’t find one that comprehensively listed the types of creative conferences that I’d like to attend. So I decided to create one!

I’m taking a pretty broad approach to what it means to be a “creative conference,” which is why I’m including events like Dragoncon and the Austin International Drag Festival here. I attend both of these events, and they are full of INCREDIBLY creative people. These events are a meeting of like-minded folks and both will have some type of workshop or educational panel this year.

I also included a lot of Maker Faires here. I’ve been to a few, including the flagship event near San Francisco, and they are awesome events for creatives to meet each other, learn and get inspired.

I steered clear of most traditional business and digital marketing industry events for this roundup, but I included a few bigger conferences that are known for kickass speakers and amazing content. (Kristi Hines did a really great directory of business & digital marketing conferences if you’re interested.)

Most events listed here are geared more towards individual creative entrepreneurs, bloggers, designers, infopreneurs, crafters and artists. I’ve included the primary target audience for each conference below.

The majority of these events are based in the United States, but if you live anywhere in the world and know of an event that should be on this list, please contact me and let me know!

January 2016

• Alt Summit // January 20-23, 2016 // Salt Lake City, Utah // creative entrepreneurs (I’m attending + liveblogging!)
• Create + Cultivate // January 30, 2016 // Dallas, Texas // female creative entrepreneurs
• Bakersfield Mini Maker Faire // January 30, 2016 // Bakersfield, California // makers + creatives
• Perpignan Mini Maker Faire // January 30, 2016 // France // makers + creatives
• Caguas Mini Maker Faire // January 30, 2016 // Puerto Rico // makers + creatives

February 2016

• PubWest Conference 2016 // February 4–6, 2016 // Santa Fe, New Mexico // writers
• Barcelona Mini Maker Faire // February 7, 2016 // Barcelona, Spain // makers + creatives
• Build Your Blog Conference // February 19-20, 2016 // Salt Lake City, Utah // bloggers
• Miami Mini Maker Faire // February 20-21, 2016 // Miami, Florida // makers + creatives
• Field Trip // February 22-26, 2016 // Santa Barbara, California // photographers
• International Conference on Opportunities in the Arts: Expanding Worlds // February 25-27, 2016 // Boston, Massachusetts // artists
• Self-Employment in the Arts Conference // February 26-27, 2016 // Chicago, Illinois // artists
• Thrive Blog Conference // February 26-27, 2016 // Houston, Texas // bloggers (I’m speaking!)
• Kalispell Mini Maker Faire // February 27, 2016 // Kalispell, Montana // makers + creatives
• Las Vegas Mini Maker Faire // February 28, 2016 // Las Vegas, Nevada // makers + creatives

March 2016

• The Makers Summit // March 4-5, 2016 // Greenville, South Carolina // creative entrepreneurs
• Florida Creativity Weekend // March 4-6, 2016 // Sarasota, Florida // creatives
• Go Blog Social Conference // March 5, 2016 // Kansas City // bloggers + creative entrepreneurs
• Design Bloggers Conference // March 6-8, 2016 // Atlanta, Georgia // interior design bloggers
• Stationery Academy Conference // March 6-9, 2016 // Pensacola, Florida // makers + artists + designers
• New Orleans Entrepreneur Week // March 11-18, 2016 // New Orleans, Louisiana //entrepreneurs (I’m speaking!)
• SXSW // March 11-20, 2016 // Austin, Texas // music, film, digital creatives
• Maker Faire Ruhr // March 12-13, 2016 // Dortmund, Germany // makers + creatives
• NoVa Mini Maker Faire // March 13, 2016 // Reston, Virginia // makers + creatives
• Simply Stylist // March 19, 2016 // Los Angeles, California // fashion + beauty bloggers
• Melbourne Mini Maker Faire // March 19, 2016 // Melbourne, Australia // makers + creatives
• Create Something Magical Conference // March 19-20, 2016 // Iselin, New Jersey // writers
• Norwescon 39 // March 24–27, 2016 // Seattle, Washington // creative geeks
• Maker Faire Cairo // March 26, 2016 // Cairo, Egypt // makers + creatives
• Charlottesville Mini Maker Faire // March 26, 2016 // Charlottesville, Virginia // makers + creatives
• San Antonio Mini Maker Faire // March 26, 2016 // San Antonio, Texas // makers + creatives

April 2016

• Creative South // April 7-9, 2016 // Columbus, Georgia // designers
• Craftcation Conference // April 7-10, 2016 // Ventura, California // crafters + creative entrepreneurs
• New Orleans Mini Maker Faire // April 9, 2016 // New Orleans, Louisiana // makers + creatives
• Edinburgh Mini Maker Faire // April 10, 2016 // Edinburgh, Scotland // makers + creatives
• SNAP! Conference // April 14-16, 2016 // Salt Lake City, Utah // creative entrepreneurs
• The Blog Connect // April 16, 2016 // Philadelphia, Pennsylvania // bloggers
• CROP 2016 // April 15, 2016 // Baton Rouge, Louisiana // graphic designers
• Santa Cruz Mini Maker Faire // April 16, 2016 // Santa Cruz, California // makers + creatives
• Tyler Mini Maker Faire // April 16, 2016 // Tyler, Texas // makers + creatives
• Maker Faire Vienna // April 16-17, 2016 // Vienna, Austria // makers + creatives
• The Hive Gathering // April 16-17, 2016 // Dublin, Ireland // digital storytellers, tastemakers & bloggers
• Eat, Write, Retreat // April 22-24, 2016 // Los Angeles, California // food bloggers
• Rio de Janeiro Mini Maker Faire // April 23, 2016 // Rio de Janeiro, Brazil // makers + creatives
• Maker Faire UK // April 23-24, 2016 // Newcastle, UK // makers + creatives
• Mom 2.0 Summit // April 27-29, 2016 // Dana Point, California // mom bloggers
• Austin International Drag Festival // April 28 – May 1, 2016 // Austin, Texas // drag performers + fans (I’m planning to attend!)
• Westport Mini Maker Faire // April 30, 2016 // Westport, Connecticut //makers + creatives
• Cape Cod Mini Maker Faire // April 30, 2016 // Cape Cod, Massachusetts // makers + creatives
• Quiet Power Strategy: The Summit // April 30 – May 1, 2016 // Portland, Oregon //  creative entrepreneurs

May 2016

• Pubcon // May 3, 2016 // Austin, Texas // digital marketers
• 99U Conference // May 5-6, 2016 // New York, NY // creative entrepreneurs
• Self-Publishing Conference // May 7, 2016 // Leicester, UK // writers
• Maker Faire Austin // May 7-8, 2016 // Austin, Texas // makers + creatives
• Hustlecon // May 13, 2016 // Oakland, California // startup entrepreneurs
• Madison Mini Maker Faire // May 14, 2016 // Madison, Wisconsin // makers + creatives
• Palm Beach Mini Maker Faire // May 14, 2016 // Palm Beach, Florida // makers + creatives
• TECHmunch New York // May 19, 2016 // New York, NY // food bloggers
• Everything Food Conference // May 19-21, 2016 // Salt Lake City, Utah // food bloggers
• Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetic Guild Conference // May 19-21, 2016 // Tampa, Florida //  handmade soap & cosmetics makers
• The Unique CAMP // May 19-22, 2016 // Big Bear, California // creative entrepreneurs
• Jackson Hole Mini Maker Faire // May 21, 2016 // Jackson Hole, Wyoming // makers + creatives
• Maker Faire Bay Area // May 21-22, 2016 // San Mateo, California // makers + creatives
• Trieste Mini Maker Faire // May 21 & 22, 2016 // Trieste, Italy // makers + creatives
• Maker Faire Hannover // May 27-29, 2016 // Hannover, Germany // makers + creatives
• Artful Business Conference // May 28-29, 2016 // Melbourne, Australia // creative entrepreneurs
• Lyon Mini Maker Faire // May 28-29 2016 // Lyon, France // makers + creatives
• TBEX Conference North America // May 29-31, 2016 // Bloomington, Minnesota // travel bloggers

June 2016

• Rouen Mini Maker Faire // June 3-4, 2016 // Rouen, France // makers + creatives
• Eastern Long Island Mini Maker Faire // June 4, 2016 // Port Jefferson, New York // makers + creatives
• Southwest Michigan Mini Maker Faire // June 4, 2016 // Saint Joseph, Michigan // makers + creatives
• TECHmunch Chicago // June 10, 2016 // Chicago, Illinois // food bloggers
• BlogU Conference // June 10-12, 2016 // College Park, Maryland // bloggers
• Denver Mini Maker Faire // June 11-12, 2016 // Denver, Colorado // makers + creatives
• Creativity Expert Exchange // June 12-14, 2016 // Buffalo, New York // creatives
• Blogtacular // June 18, 2016 // London, England // bloggers
• Maker Faire Bodensee // June 25-26, 2016 // Bodensee, Germany // makers + creatives

July 2016

• Simply Stylist // July 2016 // Chicago, Illinois // fashion + beauty bloggers
• The Abundant Artist Conference // July 1-2, 2016 // Portland, Oregon // artists
• Type-A Parent West // July 7-9, 2016 // Santa Fe, New Mexico // parent bloggers
• iRetreat Conference // July 10-12, 2016 // New Orleans, Louisiana // bloggers (I’m speaking!)
• IDEA World Fitness BlogFest // July 14-17, 2016 // Los Angeles, California // fitness bloggers
• TBEX Conference Europe // July 14-16, 2016 // Stockholm, Sweden // travel bloggers
• FitBloggin’16 // July 21-24, 2016 // Indianapolis, Indiana // fitness bloggers
• International Food Bloggers Conference // July 29-31, 2016 // Sacramento, California // food bloggers

August 2016

• #BlogHer16 // August 4-6, 2016 // Los Angeles, California // bloggers
• Blog Societies Conference // August 4-6, 2016 // Charleston, South Carolina // bloggers
• Haven Conference // August 5-7, 2016 // Atlanta, Georgia // design + diy bloggers
• Go Blog Social Conference // August 6, 2016 // Des Moines, Iowa // bloggers + creative entrepreneurs
• Conference on the Arts in Society // August 10-12, 2016 // Los Angeles, California // artists
• World Domination Summit // August 11-15, 2016 // Portland, Oregon // creative entrepreneurs
• Travel Writers & Photographers Conference // August 11-14, 2016 // Corte Madera, California // travel writers + photographers
• Writer’s Digest Annual Conference // August 12-14, 2016 // New York, NY // writers
• When Words Collide // August 12-14, 2016 // Calgary, Alberta, Canada // writers
• Mindcamp // August 17-21, 2016 // Orillia, Ontario, Canada // creatives
• The Yellow Conference // August 25-26, 2016 // Los Angeles, California // female creative entrepreneurs
• TECHmunch San Francisco // August 26, 2016 // San Francisco, California // food bloggers
• Savvy Business Owners’ Conference // August 28-31, 2016 // Scottsdale, Arizona // creative entrepreneurs
• Western Arts Alliance Conference // August 29 – September 1, 2016 // Los Angeles, California // artists

September 2016

• Dragon Con // September 2-5, 2016 // Atlanta, Georgia // creative geeks (I’m attending!)
• Circles Conference // September 7-9, 2016 // Dallas, Texas // designers
• ProBlogger // September 9-10, 2016 // Gold Coast, Australia // bloggers
• TECHmunch Atlanta // September 16, 2016 // Atlanta, Georgia // food bloggers
• VenturePOP! // September 17-18, 2016 // New Orleans, Louisiana // creative entrepreneurs (I’m on the organizing team!)
• Bloggy Conference // September 16-18, 2016 // Sandusky, Ohio // bloggers
• Maker Faire Berlin // September 30 – October 2, 2016 // Berlin, Germany // makers + creatives

October 2016

• Simply Stylist // October 2016 // New York, NY // fashion + beauty bloggers
• World Maker Faire // October 1-2, 2016 / New York, NY // makers + creatives
• Alliance of Artists Communities Conference // October 4-7, 2016 // Portland, Oregon // artists
• Creative Works Conference // October 6-8, 2016 // Memphis, Tennessee // designers
• TECHmunch Miami // October 7, 2016 // Miami, Florida // food bloggers
• #BlogHerFood16 // October 7-8, 2016 // Austin, Texas // food bloggers
• Pubcon // October 10-13, 2016 // Las Vegas, Nevada // digital marketers
• TBEX Conference Asia // October 13-16, 2016 // Manila, Philippines // travel bloggers
• Emerald City Writers’ Conference // October 14-16, 2016 // Seattle, Washington // romance writers
• NEPA BlogCon // October 15, 2016 // Northeastern Pennsylvania // bloggers
• Surrey International Writers’ Conference // October 20-23, 2016 // Surrey, British Columbia, Canada // writers
• Blog Elevated Conference // October 21-23, 2016 // Houston, Texas // bloggers
• Food Bloggers of Canada Conference // October 21-23, 2016 // Toronto, Ontario, Canada // food bloggers
• TECHmunch Seattle // October 22, 2016 // Seattle, Washington // food bloggers
• Type-A Parent East // October 27-29, 2016 // Orlando, Florida // parent bloggers

November 2016

• Blogalicious // November 3-5, 2016 // Atlanta, Georgia // bloggers
• Kauai Writers Conference // November 4-6, 2016 // Kapaa, Hawaii // writers
• Inbound 2016 // November 8-11, 2016 // Boston, Massachusetts // digital marketers
• TECHmunch Los Angeles // November 12, 2016 // Los Angeles, California // food bloggers

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I’ll continue to update this list as more conferences are announced, so please contact me if you know of a conference that should be here!

The post The Ultimate Guide to Conferences for Creatives in 2016 appeared first on Miss Malaprop.