Writing Convention?

I'm told that there are a bunch of good places for aspiring writers to meet up in the Twin Cities, and I have been to none of them... yet.  Did I mention I'm new to this? I did however go to Convergence last year, and intend to go again this year.

Convergence is a yearly speculative fiction convention that will be held in Bloomington, MN on July fourth this year.  It's a big deal, and worth traveling for, although I'm lucky enough to live nearby.  Now it isn't about writing per se, and my interest in writing is not my main interest in attending, but it is a surprisingly good resource for someone interested in writing speculative fiction.

Some of the panels are clearly about how to write.

Others are not so blatant, but are about subjects a speculative fiction author might consider, such as "Use of Magic in Books"

And of course throughout all four days there will be authors doing readings, signings, and participating in panels.

There are even panels that would be of interest to someone trying to market a book, like "How to Get Your Book into the Library". John Picacio will be attending, who is a professional artist that specializes in book covers.

The full schedule can be found here, and I made a custom schedule with with only the events that I think are writing related here.