Conference Offerings

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Join us for an unforgettable evening at the Killer Nashville Songwriters Live Roundtable, an event that promises to be a highlight of the conference. This unique roundtable, presented by the acclaimed author and musician Baron R. Birtcher, features two of Nashville's most talented and influential figures in the music industry: David Malloy and Paul Childers.