Prep for 2026 with These Events for Journalists and Bloggers

Welcome to Blogger Events, a monthly column of upcoming blogger and journalist events that we think you should know about. Plan even further ahead and bookmark our page with upcoming events for the entire year.

We still have a month left in 2025, but 2026 already has a well-developed schedule of unique events for journalists and bloggers. So start the new year off on the right foot by getting ahead on your schedule.

Dive into the list of events below and find the perfect learning opportunity for you. Whether you write about tech, retail, travel or food, or are an investigative journalist, there’s something for you coming up in 2026.

This list is just a start. If you have a training, webinar or expo that would be ideal for journalists and/or bloggers to attend in 2026, let the team know so we can include it in our monthly roundups throughout the year.

Dec. 10: Covering Retail: What a $1 trillion holiday shopping season says about consumer spending

Experts from Retail Dive, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Washington Post and CNBC will join this hour-long panel led by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW). They’ll dive into the NRF’s prediction for a $1 trillion holiday shopping season, consumers’ caution amid economic uncertainties, and how a potentially weakening labor market could be affecting consumer confidence. Come away knowing the “key trends and data points to keep an eye on this holiday season when covering consumers and retailers.”

Dec. 11: Improve Your Author Website: From Homepages to Contact Page

This two-hour webinar presented by Writer’s Digest University will provide tips, tricks and best practices for optimizing your portfolio website, whether you’ve been published or not. Discover key elements of every homepage, strategies for the About/Bio page, navigation mistakes to avoid and more.

Coming in 2026

Multiple 2026 Dates: Pinners Conference & Expo

A full slate of these events for DIYers, crafters, photographers, and other creatives is available for 2026. The Pinners Conference schedule will kick off in February in Overland Park, Kansas, and make its way around the country throughout the rest of the year, including stops in Utah, Texas and one TBD “Cool Place, USA.” Check out the full schedule to see which city and date work for you.

Jan. 6-9: CES

Registration is now open for CES, the one-of-a-kind consumer technology event in Las Vegas. Thousands of exhibitors from all over the world will meet with hundreds of media attendees to discuss how their innovations are building a better world. Some of the keynote speakers already lined up include Joe Creed, CEO of Caterpillar, and Dr. Lisa Su, Chair and CEO of AMD. Expect the latest advancements in fields like AI, digital health, advanced mobility, entertainment, fitness, robotics, space tech and more.

Jan. 8: How to Get Published, Land a Book Deal in 2026

Register now for this two-hour webinar from Writer’s Digest University to come away thinking like an insider who knows what it takes to get published, whether it’s fiction, nonfiction, or a memoir. Attendees will receive “practical advice and tools to help you develop strong pitch letters and proposal materials for both fiction and nonfiction-plus back-door methods for networking with agents and editors.”

Jan. 9-10: Tastemaker Conference

This popular food blogger event will take place in Los Angeles. Attendees will be treated to meals (of course), swag bags, workshops, panels and food excursions around the vibrant L.A. food scene. Sessions will cover YouTube for food bloggers, tips for succeeding in an AI search landscape, food trends and more.

Jan. 10-11: Adventure Travel Show

After a five-year absence, “off the beaten track” travel specialists and inspiring speakers from around the globe will convene in London for the Adventure Travel Show. Tickets to the 2026 event will also include entry to the Gravel & Adventure Bike Expo, a new boutique show dedicated to adventure cycling. Register now to discover new bucket list experiences and trips for your readers.

Jan. 12-14: Affiliate Summit West

Mass publishers and bloggers alike will head to Las Vegas to attend Affiliate Summit West. Build new partnerships and learn new ways to build traffic to your site. Content & Commerce, Lead Gen, Brand Strategy, and E-commerce are some of the available content tracks. Experts from the Daily Mail, Washington Post, McClatchy, Her Campus Media and Blavity are just a few of the many speakers on the agenda.

March 5-7: ACP Spring National College Media Conference

The Associated College Press (ACP) is heading to San Francisco for its Spring National College Media Conference. The event provides collegiate journalists and advisers with helpful sessions on key skills, mental health, AI and responsible reporting. Other topics include advertising, leadership, editing, yearbook planning and more. On-site media critiques will provide attendees with common-sense suggestions for improvement.

March 5-8: NICAR 2026

The 2026 data journalism conference will take place in Indianapolis, Indiana. The session schedule is TBD and full session and speaker details will be released in early 2026. The deadline for submitting lightning talk ideas is Feb. 8, 2026.

March 12-18: SXSW

Austin, Texas, returns as the home of SXSW and will welcome a diverse group of innovators, storytellers, humanitarians and global thought leaders for a week full of collaboration. The 40th SXSW event will bring the Conference, Film & TV Festival and Music Festival together for the first time to run concurrently. The climate, creator economy, startups, sports/gaming, and brands and marketing are just a few of the session tracks available on the packed schedule.

March 30-April 1: ONA26

The Online News Association’s annual event focuses on the future of digital media and will be held in Chicago. Attendees range from digital media audience and analytics professionals to news product, strategy, and business executives and entrepreneurs.

April 15-18: International Journalism Festival

Perugia, Italy, will again host the International Journalism Festival, the largest annual media event in Europe. The schedule is still being finalized and will be available in Q1, but to give you an idea of what’s covered, the 2025 conference focused on topics like AI, climate, collaborative journalism, local news and press freedom. Speaker proposals will be accepted through the end of 2025.

May 7-9: SABEW Annual Conference

The annual conference for the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW) will be held in Philadelphia. “Whether you are a newsroom leader, early/mid-career journalist, academic, student, or PR pro, SABEW’s annual conference is an excellent opportunity to take home new ideas to use in your stories, newsrooms, or classrooms,” the site explains.

May 18-22: Essential Skills for New Managers

During this five-day, in-person workshop from Poynter, first-time managers or those on the path to becoming one will learn how to establish credibility, manage former peers, and provide effective feedback to help their team improve. Attendees will receive personalized feedback from colleagues and leave with greater self-awareness and actionable tools they can use right away.

May 29-31: WITS (Women in Travel Summit)

Creative entrepreneurs, influencers and travel experts will head to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for WITS 2026. They will “discuss future innovations, build dynamic collaborations, and change travel worldwide, all while supporting and empowering a diverse community.” Discussions will center around elevating women and underrepresented creators as well as current issues in travel. All genders are welcome to attend. If you’re new to travel blogging, check out the Beginner Bootcamp add-on for an extra half-day of programming. The schedule features speakers from Marriott, Wanderful, Girls Who Travel, Pinterest and much more.

June 10-13: Craft + Commerce

Boise, Idaho, will host the event where “top online creators gather to help grow their businesses.” Inspiring keynotes, intimate workshops and plenty of networking opportunities will round out the schedule. Topics like SEO, design, photography, newsletters and more have been featured in previous years; the full 2026 schedule is still being finalized.

June 23-26: TBEX North America

Travel content creators will attend TBEX to boost their writing, photography and video skills; network with other creators, travel experts and tourist boards; and more. Dozens of workshops, sessions and forums will fill the schedule. TBEX North America 2026 will take place in Richmond, Virginia, which was CNN Travel’s #1 town in America to visit in 2024.

September: Podcast Movement

Exact dates are TBD, but we know Podcast Movement will be taking place in New York City in 2026. Thousands of podcasters and industry pros will attend the event, which includes educational sessions and workshops, networking events and parties, and a podcasting expo and trade show.

Nov. 9-12: Web Summit

Although it’s nearly a year away, you can already start prepping for Web Summit 2026. The “world’s premier tech conference” will again take place in Lisbon, Portugal. Educational masterclasses and roundtables will be available at the event, which will bring together experts from some of the world’s top companies to define “what’s next, offering deep insights, practical skills, and a clear path forward.”

TBD: Global Investigative Journalism Conference

GIJC26, the world’s largest international gathering of investigative reporters and editors, is likely to take place in the fourth quarter of 2026. It will feature training on the latest investigative tools and techniques, cutting-edge workshops, and extensive networking and brainstorming sessions.

Did we miss an event? Email the team and let us know so we can add it to our full list of upcoming events for journalists and bloggers.

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