"What's the best and/or worst experience you've had at a writers' conference?"

I haven't attended a lot of conferences. In fact, I can count them on one hand - 2 "major" industry conferences and maybe 3 minor ones. And I haven't had any badly memorable experiences at any of them. In fact, only good experiences. Probably because I never attended a conference until I was a published author, so I was usually speaking on a panel or signing books. And that's a blast. And nothing I'd ever complain about.

My favorite conference experience: I got to meet, sit next to and talk extensively with Ruppert Holmes, singer of the infamous "Pina Colada" song. The man is brilliant. Hadn't even known he was a writer. He is funny and smart (used to write songs for porn movies and has greatly amusing stories). The thing is, I LOVED that song in sixth grade, owned it and knew every word of the lyrics. It was a watershed moment for me. I went home and called my best friend from sixth grade and told her. She was equally in awe of the greatness I had shared a table with during an autograph session.

I haven't attended a conference in four years. And the one thing I really enjoyed, and sorta miss now that I'm reminded of how long it's been, is hanging out with other authors. Authors are fun and friendly and a great crew to hang out with. And four years is way to long to go without such great company.