An annual vacation is something many people look forward to. Not Joyce Carol Oates.

"I love to work. I mean, I'm a writer. It's not factory work, and I don't hate it," said the internationally renowned author, speaking last week from her home in Princeton, N.J.

"I guess the things that I take these days are what you might term 'working vacations.' So, yes, coming to Lancaster for me is what you could call a vacation."

Oates will be the featured speaker at the 21st annual Pennwriters conference, taking place May 16-18 at Lancaster Host Resort & Conference Center. Tickets go on sale Jan. 2

"I do enjoy Lancaster," Oates said. "I mean, I know it for having come so many times to Franklin & Marshall College."

Oates, 69, is one of the most prolific and lauded writers of her generation. Winner of the 1970 National Book Award, a three-time Pulitzer nominee and member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she is the author of the 1996 bestseller "We Were the Mulvaneys," and more than 50 other novels and novellas, as well as poetry, essays and criticism. She teaches writing and literature at Princeton University.

She will be speaking here to an organization that is expanding by leaps and bounds.

Pennwriters was founded in Pittsburgh in 1987. At first, the intent was to offer networking opportunities to practitioners of what can be a "lonely" profession, according to founding member Nancy Martin, author of the bestselling Blackbird Sisters mystery series.

"Though we have our core membership in Pennsylvania, we've grown exponentially over the last few years," said Lisa Kastner, the organization's vice president.

Pennwriters now offers an array of services to about 450 members ranging from novice writers to established professionals.

The group's May conference will offer a mix of workshops on writing techniques and getting published. A unique feature, Kastner said, will be the guaranteed 10-minute "pitch sessions" with participating agents and editors, ensuring that even first-time writers can have one-on-one face time with leaders in the publishing industry.

Conference packages, which include an option to see Oates, will be available online as of Jan. 2, starting at $199 for members and $249 for nonmembers.

After March 2, dinner tickets to see Oates will be $65 for Pennwriters members and $99 for nonmembers. For more information, visit the Pennwriters Web site, www.pennwriters.org.

"Fiction writers, at least, tend to flock together and support one another, which makes for a wonderful conference atmosphere," Martin said. "So the conferences we have are always quirky and fun, with an opportunity to meet and mix with not only big name writers but also New York agents and editors."

For Oates, who first broke through with her 1964 novel "With Shuddering Fall," it's important to support the next generation of writers by helping organizations like Pennwriters.

"Writers should keep working and try not to be discouraged. It's a challenging job, no doubt, and one that requires tremendous self-motivation," she said. "And the one piece of advice I always give is that writers should try and read as much as they write."