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June 6: Shortcon 2026 is sold out! Are you on the waiting list for the Premier Conference for Writers of Short Crime Fiction

When: Saturday, June 06, 2026 from 7:30-6pm

Where: 208 Queen Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314

Buy your ticket: Register today, just $255

About the Event: Join acclaimed crime fiction professionals for an immersive, one-day event and learn how to write short crime fiction, get your stories published, and develop and sustain a long-term career writing short.

ShortCon is a one-day conference emphasizing crime fiction short stories—how to write them, how to get them published, and how to sustain a long-term career as a short-story writer. The event will be held Saturday, June 6, 2026, at Elaine’s Restaurant in Alexandria, VA. In addition to presentations, ShortCon provides short-fiction writers with networking opportunities that are essential to establishing long-term writing careers.

Elaine’s Restaurant will provide breakfast, lunch, and coffee service for attendees, and these meals are included with the registration fee. Dinner is not included.

Registration is open until midnight on Friday, June 5th. If space allows, onsite registrations will be accepted the day of the event. An additional $25 will be charged for onsite registrations. The deadline to cancel is May 17th. Cancellations will incur a $25 processing fee. Registrats who are unable to attend or cancel after May 31st may roll their registration forward to the following year’s event.

Schedule: (subject to change)

7:30 Registration
8:00-8:50 Breakfast
8:50-9:00 Welcome
9:00-10:30 Blueprinting Criminal Behavior (Part 1) with Gary Phillips
10:30-10:45 Refreshment Break sponsored by Mystery Writers of America
10:45-12:15 Blueprinting Criminal Behavior (Part 2) with Gary Phillips
12:15-1:30 Buffet Lunch
1:30-2:30 Every Moment is a Story with Michele Slung
2:30-2:45 Break
2:45-3:45 Linked, Intertwined, or Seamless: The Curious Case of the Novel in Stories with Art Taylor
3:45-4:00 Refreshment Break sponsored by Mystery Writers of America
4:00-5:00 Everything You Forgot to Ask with All Speakers/Moderated by Stacy Woodson
5:00-5:15 Wrap Up
5:45 Dinner (Optional/Not Included with Registration

Program

Blueprinting Criminal Behavior: Gary Phillips leads writers in an interactive workshop. In constructing the crime fiction short story, there’s not a lot of real estate for deep characterizations or defining of the arena your characters are often thrust into. Yet these elements can’t be ignored as you’re also putting the plot in motion toward the clever ending you’ve envisioned. Along the way, elements such as set-up and pay-off, and laying the groundwork for the twist or the reveal or the reversal are addressed as well. With that in mind, our time together will be minimal lecturing; a war story sprinkled in here or there; and mostly you the writer on the grind as we discuss and workshop building your characters, constructing the road they take, tension in dialogue, organically creating the complication(s), and delivering the goods. Whew.

Every Moment is a Story: Michele Slung, Otto Penzler’s first reader, provides an insider’s look at how best-of-year anthologies are put together.

Linked, Intertwined, or Seamless: The Curious Case of the Novel in Stories: Art Taylor explores how to use short stories as building blocks toward the architecture of full-length books—analyzing various distinct models and reflecting on his own experiences. The discussion will explore the benefits and the challenges of the novel in stories, in terms of both craft and marketing; offer tips for establishing a longer narrative arc through character, plot, motif, and other links; and distinguish why some collections don’t coalesce as novels.

Everything You Forgot to Ask: Stacy Woodson guides speakers through an audience-driven Q&A and provides her perspective as a new editor and an award-winning writer.

About our Elaine’s Literary Salon Host, Jeffrey James Higgins: A retired supervisory special agent who writes thrillers, short stories, creative nonfiction, and essays, Jeff has wrestled a suicide bomber, fought the Taliban in combat, and chased terrorists across five continents. He received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Heroism and the DEA Award of Valor. Jeffrey has been interviewed by CNN, National Geographic, and The New York Times. Learn more: jeffreyjameshiggings.com

Find more of Elaine’s Literary Salon events here. And check back for new episodes of Elaine’s Literary Salon on Inkandescent.tv and listen to all the podcasts on InkandescentRadio.com.

Elaine’s Literary Salon

About Elaine’s Restaurant: A menu filled with delicious modern Mediterranean cuisine selections is sure to please everyone in your party. The dishes are inspired by exquisite food from Alexandria, Egypt — a blend of Middle Eastern and French, Greek, and Italian influences. Elaine’s is named for the owner’s grandmother and is based on a promise she made at the age of 12, growing up in Cairo. “I promised my grandma I would someday own a restaurant and name it after her,” shares Cynthia, who is also an author. She and her husband, bestselling thriller novelist Jeffrey James Higgins, are proud to share my family’s recipes with new friends and families in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.” Located in an 1880s building, it was the previous home for 38 years of the beloved bistro Bilbo Baggins. The newly renovated restaurant is located in the heart of Old Town’s Historic District within sight of the Potomac River and Founders Park, just a few blocks from The Torpedo Factory Art Center, and Old Town Alexandria Waterfront. Make a reservation today: elaines-restaurant.com.