Since, for a la carte ticketing purposes, each individual event must have its own page in our Event Calendar system, we’ve also created this standalone webpage a single-source-of-truth with all the info you need about the overarching weekend — including an FAQ at the end.
We’re thrilled to once again host an online version of HippoCamp: A Conference for Creative Nonfiction Writers. We simply call it “HippoCamp Online Weekend” because it’s a name familiar to past attendees, and we kept the August timing because that’s typically when we held the in-person conference in Lancaster, PA.
HippoCamp Weekend includes four main separate events, plus evening “chill and chats,” which are informal Zoom meetings that allow registered attendees to connect and reflect. Introduced last year, afternoon Deep Dives are back; these generative sessions are optional add-ons that can be purchased individually.
We hope you will join us online for one or all of the sessions.
At a Glance: An Overview of the Weekend’s Events
A brief description and links to each individual event page for registering.
| EVENT | DAY & TIME all times are ET |
DETAILS & REGISTRATION |
| HippoCamp Minis: Craft
Five 10-minute sessions on craft-based topics specific or relevant to creative nonfiction. |
Saturday, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. | $30, register or see details here |
| A Night of Nonfiction: Debut CNF Author Readers & Discussion
Readings from debut authors, plus a featured reader, followed by a discussion and audience Q&A. |
Saturday, 6-8 p.m. | Free/Donate what-you-can ($10 suggested), register or see details here |
| HippoCamp Minis: Publishing, Promotion & the Writing Life
Five 10-minute sessions on getting your work out there. |
Sunday, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. | $30, register or see details here |
| An Evening with the Book Champions: A Publishing & Publicity Roundtable
A moderated discussion with publicists and agents, followed by an audience Q&A. |
Sunday, 6-8 p.m. | $30, register or see details here |
| After Hours: Chill & Chats
As an option, join your fellow attendees for a casual chat after the evening events. No agenda. Just come to say hi, share highlights, etc. |
Sat and Sun 8:15 – 9 p.m. |
No registration needed. Attendees will get the Zoom link in their Day-Of Reminder Email. |
| OPTIONAL ADD-ONS (Not part of weekend ticket package) |
DAY & TIME – all times are ET | DETAILS & REGISTRATION |
| Deep Dives (purchase separately)
90-minute, interactive session in meeting format. Seating limited. These are live only, not recorded. |
Saturday 2 to 3:30 p.m. |
$50, view details:
Saturday, Option 1 Saturday, Option 1 |
| Sunday 2 to 3:30 p.m. |
$50, view details:
Sunday, Option 1 Sunday, Option 2 |
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| Purchase a full weekend event package for $75 here. (includes access to all four main webinar events, valued at $100, including the suggested $10 donation for Night of Nonfiction) |
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Event & Speaker Info
While event details and speaker bios are listed on each individual event page, we’ll also list out session and speaker names here for an at-a-glance overview.
BookShop List for Books By or Featuring Our Speakers
We’ve curated a list from our affiliate BookShop store with select tiles by this year’s speakers and participants; your purchase here not only helps the author, but we get a dollar or so, too.
(The widget below is a little wonky; view the whole HippoCamp Online 2026 list over at BookShop instead.)
Other Places to Order Speaker Books
A few of the titles by our guests are not available (or not yet listed) at BookShop. Here are links to purchase direct:
- Brother Epistles: A Sister’s Memoir by Shanda McManus
- Selected Memories: 15 Years of Hippocampus Magazine (edited by Donna Talarico, Rae Pagliarulo, Steph Auteri, Wendy Fontaine, and Jenn Hall)
- Getting to the Truth: The Craft and Practice of Creative Nonfiction (ed. by Donna Talarico & Rae Pagliarulo) – also at BookShop
Hippocampus Magazine & HippoCamp Merch
Tees, hats, totes, stickers, and more. A virtual merch table!
- HippoCamp logo print-on-demand items from Threadless Shop
- “True. It’s What We Do.” print-on-demand items from Threadless Shop
- “True. It’s What We Do.” stickers from our own online store
HippoCamp Online Conference Q&As
Just a few bits of information that we get asked about:
Will the event(s) be recorded?
The Minis, Night of Nonfiction, and Publishing Roundtable will be recorded, and the video link will be shared with registered attendees. Deep Dives are not.
But… why aren’t Deep Dives recorded?
We added this format as an optional add-on in 2025 SPECIFICALLY to provide an opportunity for richer, real-time engagement that’s more generative in nature. Allowing someone to register for it only to get the recording later defeats the purpose of this specific event type, and also takes away a seat from someone else who is eager to participate, live, with other writers.
I registered for a Deep Dive, but can no longer attend. Can I get a refund and/or transfer my seat?
Yes, we will allow full refunds up to a week before the event, 8/8/2026. This will give us ample time to put the ticket back up for sale.
If you need to cancel after 8/8, you may transfer the ticket to someone else and work out any payment between yourselves. Simply email us at conference@hippocampusmagazine.com to let us know their name and email address by 8/14. (We will not have the bandwidth to handle event changes after the 14th.)
What is the refund policy?
- We aren’t offering refunds for those who cannot attend live or who missed attending the event(s) live because you will still get recording access and there is value in that. (Deep Dives are a tad difference; see previous question.)
- If you placed an order in error (wrong event, accidentally hit “buy” twice, etc.), we are happy to issue a refund within a reasonable amount of days after your initial order.
- If you have extenuating circumstances, just let us know and we are happy to issue refunds on a case-by-case basis.
Refund-adjacently, I bought a few a la carte tickets but decided I want to experience the whole thing. What do I do?
No problem. With most events at $30 each, it IS a great value to register for the whole weekend for $75. If you purchased one or more tickets a la carte, but now wish to attend (or experience via recordings) everything, contact us by email and we can arrange a way to work out the difference.
I bought a ticket but didn’t get a confirmation email or ticket email yet. Did my order go through?
Due to technical limitations with our ticket software and ecommerce plug-in, some payment methods (PayPal) require us to manually “confirm” an order. In full transparency, we’re all volunteers with day jobs and we often do our “hippo stuff” in the evenings. And the one person who handles orders can’t be online 24/7, so there may be a delay. Thank you for your patience. (If you don’t get a confirmation in a few days, please email us.)
Will there be handouts?
Some speakers provide copies of slide decks (if applicable) and handouts; we will send a link to view/download those with your follow-up email after the event.
What is the difference between a Zoom meeting and a Zoom webinar?
We are using both for HippoCamp Online.
- We use the Zoom Webinar format for Minis and panels; only speakers are on screen for this. Think of it like watching TV! But there will be an attendee chat option, as well as a place to ask questions.
- For the Deep Dives, we’re using the Zoom Meeting format, which most folks are familiar with this. This is because these are meant to be interactive. HOWEVER – etiquette applies here and you may be asked to turn audio off or use the hand-raise function. Each individual session/speaker will give preferences.
- The optional Chill & Chats are also Zoom Meetings so that they can emulate “lobby hangs” that are often part of an in-person experience and one of my – Donna’s – favorite things about IRL conferences.
Will the in-person conference EVER come back?
Maybe. We get asked, a lot. We get people offering ideas, a lot. The truth is that there are many, many factors and complexities to our decision to keep HippoCamp on hiatus. It sounds odd to say it like this: but we’re proud that you miss it. It was (is) something special. For now, we love that we get to reach even more people doing an online version, we love that the hiatus spawned the idea for How-To Tuesday and Stories on Sunday, and we love that members of the HippoCamp community have found other meaningful ways to stay connected to one another. So — maybe one day, friends. For now, we’re focusing on staying sustainable and focusing on the heart of what we do, which is publishing true stories. We were (and are) a magazine first, after all. xoxo
Why We Do It: About the Online CNF Event
This event is not only driven by our mission to “entertain, educate, and engage” readers and writers of creative nonfiction, but as an independent, self-funded/sustaining magazine, it’s become one of the primary fundraisers of sorts. Your support helps us pay our writers, helps us attend AWP when we can, and helps cover the costs of running a robust online magazine (with 15 years of archives and images that need good, safe hosting.)
