The Field's End Writers' Conference grew out of the burgeoning Field's End writers' community located in Bainbridge Island, WA, a known artists and writers enclave in the Puget Sound region. The community had been offering classes, roundtables, workshops and special reading events for several years when the decision was made to host an annual one-day conference where community members could gather and celebrate the writing life through workshops, networking, special events, book sales and signings.

Field's End was named "Best Writers' Community" by The Seattle Weekly in 2006.

This conference is in its fourth year and proudly features talented literary figures from the region as well as national headliners. In 2009, Grammar Girl Mignon Fogarty will deliver the keynote address and Olympia author Jim Lynch (The Highest Tide) will open the conference with a discussion about surviving the writer's life. Presenters for breakout sessions, panel discussions and Q&A include Kathleen Alcala, Elizabeth Austen, Lana Hechtman Ayers, Royce Buckingham, Carol Cassella, Jonathan Evison, Waverly Fitzgerald, Mary Guterson, Paul Hanson, Grace Jackson, Priscilla Long, George Shannon and Michael Dylan Welch.

Previous keynoters and speakers include Roy Blount, Jr., Stephanie Kallos and Timothy Egan (2008); Malachy McCourt and Debra Dean (2007); David Guterson and Erik Larson (2006). Previous breakout session leaders, speakers, panelists and instructors include: Alice Acheson, Kelli Russell Agodon, Dorothy Allison, Anjali Banerjee, Knute Berger, Lyall Bush, Ivan Doig, Robert Dugoni, Clyde W. Ford, Karen Joy Fowler, Elizabeth George, Brenda Guiberson, Mary Guterson, Laura Kalpakian, Bharti Kirchner, Thomas Kohnstamm, Rosina Lippi, Priscilla Long, Jennifer Louden, Claire Rudolph Murphy, Charley Pavlosky, Katherine Ramsland, Debra Dean, Sheila Rabe, Veronica Randall, Suzanne Selfors, George Shannon, Garth Stein, Gail Tsukiyama, David Wagoner, Elsa Watson, Susan Wiggs.

The focus of the conference is on workshops to help writers to polish their craft; while some professional development workshops are offered, there are no agent meetings and writers are advised to leave their manuscripts at home. Genres in focus include a wide variety, such as commercial fiction, poetry, children's writing, literary nonfiction, and others. This conference attracts writers of all levels and ages and is especially attractive to writers who are no longer in college programs, so it might be fair to think of the Field's End writers' conference as an excellent continuing education event for writers.
 
Part of the charm of this conference lies in its location: the Kiana Lodge, a scenic Northwest-style lodge set on Agate Passage, just north of Bainbridge Island. The site is maintained by the Suquamish tribe and features several gorgeous meeting spaces including one room which was frequently used in interior scenes for the popular television show, Northern Exposure. The grounds are meticulously landscaped as well, with spring flowers at their prime during the event. The delicious salmon/vegetarian lunch buffet, which remains popular among attendees, is included in the registration fee, as are all beverages, snacks, continental breakfast, and cheese and wine afterwards during the booksigning reception. In addition, participants taking the Seattle-Bainbridge Island ferry are greeted at the ferry terminal with a free shuttle to the conference, a popular option for "green" Northwesterners interested in lightening their carbon footprint.

The conference in 2009 is pleased to announce that it will keep its registration fees at the 2008 rate while increasing its offerings, which means the conference continues to be an excellent value as well as a memorable experience. This year's event will also include a first-ever post-conference reading featuring haiku poet Michael Dylan Welch, as well as a moderated participant open mic with poetry maven Lana Ayers, a creativity wind down session with Grace Jackson, and a moderated freewrite session with Mary Guterson.