So, I thought the first post of the New Year would be a great time to lay out the 2023 Voice Over Conference Calendar for you, not just the big ones like VO Atlanta, but some of the lesser known, more intimate, more boutique conferences like MAVO.

So, at this point in the first week of January, when we're filming this video, some of the conferences haven't announced dates or details yet, but we know generally, historically, when they fall.

So, I want to give you a brief overview of each and, you know, details and all that good stuff, organizers, and event people when I can, in case you've never heard of these conferences or you've never been to them.

Also before you @ me, this list is not meant to be exhaustive or definitive or comprehensive. This is simply my list of conferences I believe you should consider if you're putting together your plan for conferences for the 2023 year. I'm not slighting anybody or any event by not mentioning them. This is just simply my first cut list.

Now, if you've never been to a voice over conference, the central question is why? Why go through all the perceived hassle? Why do all the networking? Why take time out of the booth where you normally make your money? Why spend time and money? Why travel hundreds and maybe thousands of miles?

And the answer is this: Voice over conferences are your best opportunity to start and grow relationships in person that will advance your career and enrich your life, period.

Sometimes that comes in the form of learning, either in the general sessions or in breakout groups, or even sometimes in paid additional sessions. Sometimes it's in the form of making new friends among coaches or demo producers or other service providers. Sometimes it comes with meeting other voice actors that you may have already met virtually online and being able to deepen those relationships. In-person conferences are the best opportunities you have to expose yourself to these people.

Get your mind out of the gutter. 😉

They're your best opportunities to meet new coaches and sample them and get an idea of who they are and how they work and what their strengths and weaknesses are. They're your best chances all year to learn from the best in the world. Your best opportunities to learn about the industry and current trends and how those trends may affect your business directly.

Look. None of us does this alone. All successful voice actors have a team around them, and voiceover conferences are the best opportunities you're going to have to meet the people that one day you may want to put on your team. Coaches and peers who support us. Demo producers who showcase our abilities. Agents who get us better access to better auditions and support us that way. Managers who guide us and council us.

Now all of that can sound intimidating or daunting. Don't let it be. Here's the only thing you need to know to be effective at voice over conferences: All you need to do is learn as much as you can, be as authentically friendly as possible, and pace yourself. The rest will take care of itself.

Alright. We're going to lay out the 2023 Conference Calendar for voiceover in chronological order. We will give you a brief overview. We'll tell you who the organizers are and a little bit about what to expect.

So with no further ado,…

February

Let's start with February and VOcation, the VOcation Conference February 9th through the 12th in Cancun, Mexico. Now, VOcation is the only voice over conference currently dedicated entirely to the business side of voiceover.

It's run by two very successful voice actors Carin Gilfry and Jamie Muffett. Carin is also one of the co-founders of NAVA, the National Association of Voice Actors, and Jayme Muffett runs the VO School Podcast in addition to a couple of others. Also teaches classes and is very successful himself. He's a British voice over originally from Great Britain, now in the States.

Now VOcation has been around for a few years, but this is the first year, to my knowledge, that it's been held outside the U.S. and this year it is limited to 150 people. All the classes, as we said, are limited to the business side of voice over - SEO, marketing, branding, negotiation, casting agents, managers, you name it.

The keynote speaker this year is the legendary Dave Fennoy. Other speakers include my commercial coach and one of the best in the world, Tina Morasco. Also Tracy Lindley. Jordan Reynolds. Maria Pendolino, one of my personal favorites, Everett Oliver, and a whole lot more.

Tickets for VOcation are $550 U.S. plus taxes and fees, and it's being held at the Moon Palace Resort (pictured) in Cancun, Mexico, which is all-inclusive, which means your food, your drinks, both alcoholic and non, the hotel facilities, all the hotel-led entertainment is all included in the price of your room. Room prices start at $558 per room. That holds up to two people and a third person can join for $198 U.S..

The website is VOcationConference.com.

MARCH

Next up, the granddaddy of them all, VO Atlanta, March 23rd through the 26th in, of course, Atlanta, Georgia. Now, not only is VO Atlanta the largest VO conference in the world, but this year it's back from the brink of extinction, thanks to J. Michael and Anna Collins, who will be running VO Atlanta for their first time this year.

This also happens to be the 10th Anniversary Edition of VO Atlanta. Now, there are a number of ways to attend VO Atlanta this year, as in past years, there are full weekend tickets. There are Thursday/Friday and Saturday/Sunday tickets. There are tickets where you can attend virtually with an option for video replay. There's a video replay-only option.

And this year, a kids program for child voice actors. Also this year, the audiobook content has been reincorporated back into the core conference. Now, speakers. This year's speaker is the amazing Debra Wilson, and the list of speakers and presenters is virtually endless. Just about anybody you want to hear speak live in person in the voiceover industry will be speaking in Atlanta unless their name is Paul Schmidt.

It's okay. I'm not bitter. I'm really not. And I'll tell you why in a minute. Now, I will say this: VO Atlanta can be intense. If this is your first conference, it can be a little overwhelming, a little daunting. Don't let it be. Remember all you have to do to be effective at a voice over conference:

Learn as much as you can, be as friendly as you can authentically be, and pace yourself. VO Atlanta is four intense days of learning and networking, and it can be exhausting. Stay hydrated, eat well, keep some healthy snacks with you in your bag. Get your sleep. If you are the person type of person that works out, make sure you keep doing that.

Take care of yourself. And also don't make a lot of plans early the week following because you're going to need a day or two to recover. But I promise you it will be well worth it. Tickets at the time that we're shooting this video are $549 U.S., less for the partial and virtual and video tickets. The conference is back at the same site this year, the Hilton Atlanta Airport, and the conference rate is currently…currently $179 for the conference right now.

Remember that conference block of rooms is going to go fast. So if you're going to book that, make sure you get on it quickly early in the year. And it is a pretty good deal. When I checked out the non-conference rate just the other night, it was almost double the conference rate. So make sure you get on that.

More information, tickets, hotel venues, speakers, all of that at VOAtlanta.me.

Now if you're an audiobook narrator going to VO Atlanta, well buckle up, Buttercup, because there's no rest for the weary. APAC is the next day. The Audio Publishers Association Conference is hundreds of miles north in New York the very next day, Monday, March 27th.

Back at the Marriott Marquee this year in Times Square. If you're an audiobook narrator, especially if you do fiction, but also if you do nonfiction, this is the conference for you. Now, there are virtual speed dating sessions even before the conference starts March 13th, 17th and 24th. If you're not familiar with speed dating, it's a lottery system that matches audiobook narrators to publishers.

So you get a little bit of face time five or 10 minutes or so that you can sit down with the publishers and explain to them your abilities, your capabilities, your experience, and all that. They get to know you. You get to know them. Very cool, very fun, very intense. But you have to be an APA Member to participate in speed dating.

You can do that at their website, which I'll give you in just a minute. Tickets for APAC are $375 for members before March 1st, $475 for members after March 1st. Non-members pay $100 more on both of those prices. Now, there is a conference rate available at the Marriott Marquee Hotel. And according to my lookup, rooms at conference rates start at $289 a night.

Now, for more information on APAC, you can head on over to audiopub.org/APA-conference.

MAY

Next up in May, WoVoCon, the World Voices Organization Conference, May 4th through the 7th in Orlando, Florida this year. Traditionally before the pandemic, WoVoCon was held in Las Vegas. This year, it's moving to the East Coast in Orlando.

Now, I've not been to WoVoCon before, so I can't give you a general overview of this one. And it's a little bit early yet. It's in early May, we're sitting here in the first week of January filming this, so tickets, speakers, event details, all of that...none of that's been announced yet. So I can tell you that I have applied to speak at WoVoCon this year and I'll keep you up to date on those details.

All the event details for WoVoCon you'll be able to find in the weeks leading up to WoVoCon at World-Voices.com.

Now, May also means the first iteration of the One Voice Conference - One Voice UK. Now if you've been in a drunken stupor for a couple of years, you may not know that there are now two iterations of the One Voice Conference, one in the middle of May, in London, in the UK, and one in early August in the US, in Dallas.

Now, dates and details for both One Voice conferences have yet to be announced, but I can tell you it's owned and run by the owners of Gravy For the Brain, Hugh Edwards and Peter Dickson and J. Michael Collins himself helps out on One Voice USA. Now, with the One Voice conferences come the One Voice Awards, both in the UK and in the U.S..

I tend to think of these as the BAFTAs and Golden Globes of VO because they're often early predictors of nominees and winners of the SOVAS Voice Arts Awards at the end of the year. I am scheduled to speak at One Voice USA this year. I'm really looking forward to it, and I have more details for you as we get closer.

Now for more details on both One Voice conferences, you can hit up OneVoiceConference.com.

SEPTEMBER

Next up, in September…absolutely nothing. September used to mean VO North in Toronto, but sadly, the organizers of that conference have sunsetted VO North and it will no longer be happening. Now, I say, sadly, but the honest truth is putting on these events is a massive job. It's a labor of love and it's incredibly hard work and difficult to do. So, all I can say about VO North is it will be missed.

NOVEMBER

Onto November and MAVO - the Mid Atlantic Voiceover Conference will be held this year, November 10th through the 12th at the Westin Dulles in the Washington, D.C. area. MAVO is organized by Val Kelly, one of my favorite people in the world. She is a very accomplished voice actor herself and MAVO is a little bit different because MAVO is limited to 125 voice actors.

It was my first conference, and as it turns out, in retrospect, was a great first pick. Because of that small size, you get more personal attention. It's not overwhelming and daunting. Like some of the larger conferences can be.

The sessions are more intimate and more importantly, you get to speak and hang with speakers in a much more personal way because it's not so jam-packed. Tickets for MAVO are pricier, but that's the price you pay for a more intimate, less crazy experience. Tickets and information for MAVO are available at MidAtlanticVO.com.

DECEMBER

And finally, December, and that means That's Voiceover! The That's Voiceover! Career Expo, likely back in New York this year in 2023.

Now, this conference alternates between Los Angeles and New York. Last year it was in Burbank. This year, 2023, will likely be back again in New York, and it's held in conjunction with the SOVAS Voice Arts Awards, the unofficial Oscars of VO presented by SOVAS, the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences. Last December, the conference was held at the Marriott Burbank Conference Center, and the Service Awards were in Burbank at the Warner Brothers lot.

This year, dates, speakers, event details, all of that...It's all the way off in December. We're here in January. None of that has been announced yet. But look again for maybe the middle of December or so in New York and you can get more information throughout the year at SOVAS.org. That's SOVAS.org.

And that friends is my 2023 Voice Over Conferences Calendar. You can download a printable version for free here.

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