Join Us As We Celebrate 20 Years of Connecting Writers!

  • 2025 Killer Nashville International Writers' Conference Registration is NOW LIVE! August 21-24, 2025

    Register Now

  • Meet Last Year's Award Winners

    See Winners

  • Read the Most Recent Issue of Killer Nashville Magazine

    Read Now

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National Public Radio (NPR) says, since 2006, Killer Nashville
has helped writers from all over the world build their careers

The #1 Voted Writers’ Conference in the U.S. (The Writer Magazine)

157 Author Panelists
171 Presentations & Events
480 Attending Authors
352 Volunteers Worldwide
Agent / Editor Meet & Greets
8 Book Signings Open to the Public
Multiple Networking Events

“I owe my writing career to Killer Nashville. I am grateful for all I’ve gotten from Killer Nashville and recommend it to any new writers.”
— Nina Wachsman
“This conference changed my life as an author.”
— Donna Braswell

Killer Nashville’s
20th Annual
International
Writers’ Conference

August 21-24, 2025
Franklin, TN
Embassy Suites Hotel
& Convention Center

YOUR PATH TO PUBLISHING

Killer Nashville is the premier forum for all genres incorporating mystery, thriller, suspense, action, or romance elements; learn, present, meet agents & editors, sign books, mingle with forensic experts, and network.

The Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference was created in 2006 by author/filmmaker Clay Stafford in an effort to bring together forensic experts, writers, and fans of crime and thriller literature.

Our objective is simple: to educate and empower aspiring and established writers, and connect them with other industry professionals. We pride ourselves on our intense, intimate workshops and panels, and on our close-knit community of writers.

At the conference, we try diligently to ensure that the weekend has something for every writer and lover of literature, and our sessions are structured to assist writers on multiple career levels. Our learning tracks tackle the craft of writing, business of writing, marketing, and forensics.

Killer Nashville features 140+ panels & workshops, nine breakout sessions for intense smaller group interaction, an authors’ bar (free for hotel guests), a moonshine and wine tasting, agent/editor roundtable pitch sessions, a mock crime scene designed by special agents and other law enforcement professionals, cocktail receptions, the Killer Nashville Awards Dinner, film previews, live music performances and—of course—all the great activities one can enjoy in downtown Nashville.

Killer Nashville reserves the right to change conference offerings at any time based upon any unforeseeable circumstances.

For all crime genres incorporating mystery, thriller, suspense, action, or romance

Voted #1 Writing Conference in the USA
in The Writer magazine

“Killer Nashville was a runaway favorite among our readers, earning more votes than any other event on our list and attracting writers, agents, editors, fans of crime and thriller literature, and forensic experts from across the country every year.”— The Writer

“Defining which books become bestsellers throughout the nation’s book culture.”
— Publishers Weekly

  • "Clay Stafford has created an epic annual event with Killer Nashville."

    Leesa Payne

  • “One of my favorite conferences!”

    Lisa Jackson

  • “Killer Nashville is the best writers’ conference on any continent.”

    Anne Perry

  • “The best writer’s conference I have ever attended.”

    Anne-Marie Lacy

  • “Killer Nashville was the source of the sale of my first book.”

    Michael Guillebeau

  • “Killer Nashville is one of the best experiences for an aspiring writer available today.”

    Jacob M. Appel

  • “I owe my writing career to Killer Nashville.”

    Lois Schmitt

CONFERENCE OFFERINGS

  • 3-Hour Master Classes

    Learn from the professionals. Register for one of our Master Classes to expand on your Killer Nashville experience.

    Learn More >

  • Breakout Workshops

    Are you a writer with specific questions you would like addressed? Do you want a chance to sit with an author and discuss the business of writing and getting published? Then a breakout session may be just the answer.

    Learn More >

  • Agent Roundtables

    We know how important seeing the right agent, editor, or publisher can be, and that’s why we give you ample opportunity to meet them at network dinners, lunches, social gatherings, and classroom sessions.

    Learn More >

  • Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques

    A manuscript critique offers a specialized one-on-one meeting with a professional writer or literary agent who will read a section of your manuscript and then offer you a face-to-face analysis of what works and what does not in your submission.

    Learn More >

  • Awards Dinner

    Join our bestselling authors for our annual international gala honoring the finest authors in thriller, mystery, suspense, and crime-based literature. Mingle with other authors. Socialize with agents, editors, and publishers.

    Learn More >

  • 'Shine 'n' Wine Shindig

    While listening and dancing Nashville-style to our live Killer Nashville band, bump elbows with agents, editors, and bestselling authors at the 2023 Killer Nashville ‘Shine ‘n’ Wine reception.

    Learn More >

  • SEMWA's Pitch Workshop - SOLD OUT

    Practice makes perfect. Come practice your three-minute book pitch with experts. Published authors from Southeast Mystery Writers of America will evaluate your pitch so you can put your best marketing foot forward with agents and editors at Killer Nashville.

    Learn More >

  • MidTN SinC Marketing Speed Date

    Are you new to the world of writing and publishing? Bewildered by marketing? Wondering how to become a successful mystery writer?

    If you answered yes to any of those questions, Killer Nashville’s speed dating session is for you!

    Learn More >

  • Book Signings

    The Killer Nashville Book Signings are free & open to the public. Join us throughout the conference weekend to visit with bestselling and award-winning authors.

    Learn More >

  • Silver Falchion Award

    The Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award seeks to discover and honor the best books of the previous year (novels, novellas, collections and anthologies, and non-fiction) that incorporate the elements of mystery, thriller, suspense, action, and romance in numerous genres or, in the case of nonfiction, books that are applicable to writers in general.

    Learn More >

  • The Claymore Award

    Created in 2009, the Killer Nashville Claymore Award assists new and rebranding English-language fiction authors to get published, including possible agent representation, book advances, editor deals, and movie and television sales. We give playwrights and screenwriters acknowledgement to help them open doors. In all cases, we try to facilitate recognition of being a winner or a finalist with agents who can help these respective writers’ careers.

    Learn More >
“My agent, whom I met through Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference, sent my manuscript to their Hollywood co-agent and next thing I know, he has five big production companies (Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment; Dan Lin, producer of the Sherlock Holmes movies, etc.) all taking it in to their respective studios: Sony, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, etc. etc.) Then some folks we never even sent it to swooped in, made us an offer, and now have the rights - a team of two production companies – Nick Wechsler Productions (The Road, Time Traveler’s Wife, Magic Mike) and Steve Schwartz at Chockstone Pictures (The Host, Killing Them Softly, Tree of Life, etc.). Of course, a publisher made an offer two hours after the movie option deal – the tail wagged the dog! And it all got started thanks to a writing contest in Nashville! Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference.”
— Jonathan Stone

CONFERENCE WHO’S WHO

  • "The best thing about the conference was every author checked their ego at the door and came together as a writing community to share the love of writing. That’s what made it awesome!"

    TM Clark

  • "Great speakers and panels. This conference is not only directed toward published authors but is great for the unpublished as well."

    Opal Privette

  • “I have signed a three-book deal with an option of first refusal on a fourth book. This is the direct result of my attending Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference. Without Killer Nashville, I might be writing another twenty years without getting published.”

    Ernest Lancaster

  • “Killer Nashville is now responsible for me selling four books, writing the story that ended up as my first Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine sale, and finding an agent. Not a bad track record from a conference.”

    Debra Goldstein

  • “Fabulous conference dedicated to supporting all of us struggling authors.”

    Bryan Robinson

  • “Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference got me published a lot faster and easier than if I’d gone about it another way.”

    Margaret Fenton

  • “There’s a lot of great writing conferences around, but none as unique and wonderful and beneficial for a writer to experience as Killer Nashville.”

    R.G. Belsky

Killer Nashville's Sponsors

Become a Sponsor

As the premier forum for all things mystery, thriller, action, and suspense, Killer Nashville has the platform to help you reach your perfect audience. Publishers Weekly noted that Killer Nashville plays “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers [throughout] the nation’s book culture.” And, with 20,000+ visits each month the Killer Nashville Website, and over 6,000 opt-in newsletter subscribers, it’s easy to see why. Killer Nashville is a volunteer-run organization with a bare-bones office staff. Our sponsors allow us to make our annual conference a reality and to help writers along the path to success.

If you are interested in helping us further our mission to educate and empower writers, please let us know. We can provide a variety of options for different levels of sponsorship. Please email us here for more information or visit our Sponsor Page.

What People Are Saying

“Killer Nashville gives “fledgling writers a supportive environment in which to develop their talent” and both Clay Stafford & Killer Nashville play “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers” throughout “the nation’s book culture.”

— Publishers Weekly

“Whether you are only thinking about writing, in the middle of eighty-thousand words, or feel you’re ready for publication, Killer Nashville is the event for you.”

— Author, David Burnsworth

“Killer Nashville is an action-packed, all things crime writing conference of unforgettable inspiration, compelling workshops, and nonstop networking for both new writers and seasoned authors. It is an entertaining, thrilling, and to die for weekend! I recommend Killer Nashville to anyone…”

— Author, Maureen C. Berry

“This will be my second time attending KN. Had a great time when Anne Perry and D.P. Lyle were your guests of honor. Of all the conferences I’ve been to, Killer Nashville has been a special favorite. Great, friendly crowd and wonderful city. To say I’m even more excited now, well, doesn’t quite cut it. Thank you!”

— Kandy Williams