#AWP AWP Conference and Bookfair

[sebastianravkin]

February Book Festivals 2024

Great way to fight book banning is to support your local book festivals. Here are some of the ones happening in February. Link to details provided at end.

NATIONAL

Alabama

SOUTHERN VOICES FESTIVAL (February 20 - 24 in Hoover, AL)

Colorado

FORT COLLINS BOOK FESTIVAL (February 01 - 19 in Fort Collins, CO)

Florida

READOUT FESTIVAL OF LESBIAN LITERATURE (February 16-18 in Gulfport, FL)

INDIE BOOK FAIR (February 17 in Orlando, FL)

AMELIA ISLAND BOOK FESTIVAL (February 22-24 in Fernandina Beach, FL)

F.R.E.S.H. BOOK FESTIVAL (February 23-24 in Daytona Beach, FL)

CHARLOTTE HARBOR BOOK FESTIVAL (February 24 in Punta Gorda, FL)

Georgia

SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL (February 15-18 in Savannah, GA)

Michigan

DETROIT BOOK CITY ANNUAL AFRICAN-AMERICAN FAMILY BOOK EXPO (February 17 in Southfield, MI)

GREAT LAKES COMIC-CON  (February 23-24 in Warren, MI)

New York

SOCIETY OF CHILDREN’S BOOK WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS ANNUAL WINTER CONFERENCE (February 9 - 11 in New York City, NY)

Pennsylvania 

AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN’S BOOK FAIR (February 3 in Philadelphia, PA)

Tennessee

ROSE GLEN LITERARY FESTIVAL (February 24 in Sevierville, TN)

Texas

BOOKWORM BOOK FESTIVAL (February 3 in Houston, TX)

PEOPLES POETRY FEST (February 22-24 in Corpus Christi, TX)

TEEN BOOKFEST BY THE BAY (February 24 in Corpus Christi, TX)

Virgina 

WILLIAMSBURG BOOK FESTIVAL (February 24 in Williamsburg, VA)

Washington

AWP CONFERENCE & BOOKFAIR (February 7-10 in Seattle, WA)

INTERNATIONAL

Australia

PERTH FESTIVAL (February 09 - March 03 in Perth, WA )

BANJO PATTERSON AUSTRALIAN POETRY FESTIVAL (February 17 - 25 in Orange, NSW)

VOICES ON THE COAST (February 22-28 in Sunshine Coast, QLD)

GENRECON (February 23-25 in South Brisbane, QLD)

Canada

CHERIE SMITH JCC JEWISH BOOK FESTIVAL (February 10 - 15 in Vancouver, BC)

SHARP WORDS BOOK FAIR (February 24 in Hamilton, ON)

MASC YOUNG AUTHORS & ILLUSTRATORS FESTIVAL (February 27 - 28 in Ottawa, ON)

England

WOLVERHAMPTON LITERATURE FESTIVAL (February 2 - 4 in Wolverhampton, England )

Mexico

SAN MIGUEL WRITERS’ CONFERENCE (February 19-23 in San Miguel de Allende, GTO)

TODOS SANTOS WRITERS WORKSHOP (February 4 - 10 in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur)

Morocco

MARRAKECH INTERNATIONAL STORYTELLING FESTIVAL (February 8 - 11 in Marrakech, Morocco)

New Zealand

SAMESAME BUT DIFFERENT LGBTQI+ WRITERS AND READERS FESTIVAL (February 14 - 18 in Auckland, NZ)

Scotland

GRANITE NOIR (February 20-24 in Aberdeen, Scotland)

Spain

BARCELONA CRIME NOVEL FESTIVAL (BCNEGRA) (February 5 - 11 in Barcelona, ES)

[songsforsquid]

Find Me @AWP Seattle: Off-Site Readings & Bookfair Interludes

Hello dear AWP conference goers and Seattle literary friends,

In the supersaturated abundance of exciting literary happenings -- here are some events I’m taking part in and places I’ll be. Hope to see you at some (or all!).

AWP - SEATTLE: On-Site Book Signings & Off-Site Readings

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8TH

* OFF-SITE: 6-7 PM, @National Nordic Museum (Ballard), "Inspired by Iceland Reading" w/ Katy Didden, Sierra Nelson, Katie Prince, & Melanie Noel; All Ages venue, masks highly encouraged; Seattle Times write-up

* OFF-SITE: 8-10pm, @Pine Box (Capitol Hill), PoetryNW & SAL Present, Group Reading Featuring: Kenzie Allen, Laura Da', Lauren Hilger, James Hoch, Sasha LaPointe, Eugenia Leigh, Sierra Nelson, & Paisley Rekdal; 21+ venue 

THURSDAY, MARCH 9th

* OFF-SITE: 5-6pm, @Chop Suey (Capitol Hill), A Dozen Nothing Celebration, Group Reading featuring: Colleen Louise Barry, Mary Biddinger, Bill Carty, Jason Crawford, Nicelle Davis, Rosemarie Dombrowski, Gabriel Dozal, Emily Kendal Frey, Knox Gardner, Charles Jensen, Robert Lashley, Denis Mair, John Marshall, Trey Moody, Sierra Nelson, Shawnte Orion, Rena Priest, Lily Someson, Arianne True, Elizabeth Vignali, Lizabeth Yandel, Jason Whitmarsh; 21+ venue, masks highly encouraged.

* OFF-SITE: 6-7:30pm, @Town Hall Seattle (First Hill; entrance off Seneca), Cascadia Field Guide Book Release Celebration (Not reading, but have work in the anthology!), All Ages event, masks highly encouraged

FRIDAY, MARCH 10th

* AWP BOOKFAIR: 10-11am @ Rose Metal Press table T1328, book signing for I Take Back the Sponge Cake

* OFF-SITE: 9-10pm, @Rendezvous (Jewelbox Theater, Belltown), Vis-a-Vis Society (Rachel Kessler & Sierra Nelson) Entre Rios Press & Friends Multi-Media Reading, 21+ venue, Masks highly encouraged. Grotto stage is not ADA accessible. (Lots of great readings the whole night, 7-11pm, on 2 stages, plus food & drink available): Seattle’s Entre Ríos Books hosts Fence, Fonograf Editions, Omnidawn, and Birds LLC in the Jewel Box Theater & the Grotto. NW presses Blue Cactus and Winter Texts offer conversation and chill in the Red Velvet Lounge.  One of Seattle’s classic old-school bars— food and drink available. Fence #40 West Coast premiere! Performances by Dao Strom and the Vis-à-Vis Society. A short play by Christine Deavel. With readings by Colleen Barry, Bill Carty, Sommer Browning, Peter Burghardt, Julie Carr, Cort Day, Emily Kendal Frey, Annie Guthrie, Robert Lashley, Cameron Martin, Erin McCoy, Joyelle McSweeney, Margaret Meehan, Patrick Milian,  Lucas de Lima, Warren C. Longmire, Sawako Nakayasu, Hilary Plum, Kimberly Reyes, Steven Rood, Jess Stark, Rodrigo Toscanao, Zoe Tuck, Maw Shein Win, Haines Whitacre, and Deborah Woodard w/ Peter Nelson-King.) 

SATURDAY MARCH 11th

* AWP BOOKFAIR: 12-1pm @ Poetry Northwest table 1311, book signing for The Lachrymose Report

*  AWP BOOKFAIR: 9-11am & 3-5pm @ Seattle Arts & Lectures table 805 

*************************************************************

Wed 3/8 6pm: Inspired by Iceland Reading w/ Katie Prince, Katy Kidden, Melanie Noel, & Sierra Nelson @National Nordic Museum (Ballard)

Wed 3/8 8pm AWP Welcome Party & Reading Hosted by Poetry NW & Seattle Arts & Lectures @The Pine Box (Capitol Hill) 

Thurs 3/9 5pm A Dozen Nothing Reading @Chop Suey (Capitol Hill)

Thurs 3/9 6pm Cascadia Field Guide Launch Party @Town Hall Seattle (First Hill) 

Friday 3/10 7-11pm Rendezvous: a Seattle AWP Offsite @Rendezvous (Belltown) w/ Entre Rios Press, Fence, Fonograf Ed, Omnidawn, Birds LLC, Blue Cactus, Winter Texts readings (Vis-a-Vis Society performs 9-10pm in Jewelbox Theater, w/ some solo Rachel Kesler & Sierra Nelson work as well) 

[literaryhousepress]

Literary shades are BACK for the 2019 AWP Conference & Bookfair in Portland, OR!! This year our free swag comes in purple and lime green. Come see us at the Rose O'Neill Literary House booth (6054) and these goofs will give you a free pair of literary shades. Maybe while you're there, subscribe to Cherry Tree and read up on some REAL literary shade? Up to you. See you in Portland!

[sfsucw]

2023 Conference Scholarship Program

The AWP Conference Scholarship Program aims to increase access to the annual conference and bookfair. While anyone may apply, AWP encourages those who identify as people of color, disabled, LGBTQIA+, and/or low-income to apply. Membership is not required to apply.

The AWP Community Scholarship launched in 2021, and since then hundreds of writers have been able to attend the conference at no cost, or a significantly reduced cost.Apply for an AWP Conference Scholarship using the short form below by December 08, 2022.

For more info - https://www.awpwriter.org/awp_conference/registration_scholarship_program

[superstitionrev]

AWP 2021 Conference

Join Superstition Review in attending the Association of Writers and Writer Programs’ 2021 Conference, March 3rd-7th. “The AWP Conference & Bookfair is the annual destination for writers, teachers, students, editors, and publishers of contemporary creative writing. It includes thousands of attendees, hundreds of events & bookfair exhibitors, and five days of essential literary conversation and…

[katherineitacy]

Glad I stopped off at @voodoodoughnut before heading to the #awp conference! #butterfingering and #vivacioushibiscus #🍩 #mmmdonuts The registration line is, legit, longer than a Black Friday line at the Apple store! And hallelujah for the #disability #accessibility line! #awp19 #bookfair #writer #writerscommunity #writersofinstagram #booknerd #author #authorsofinstagram (at Portland, Oregon) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvj39xAHhFh/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1sebv0g2suay8

[tachyonpub]

Tachyon editor Jaymee Goh  is attending the AWP Conference & Bookfair

Jaymee Goh will be at the annual AWP Conference & Bookfair in Portland, OR on March 27-30.

The AWP Conference & Bookfair is an essential annual destination for writers, teachers, students, editors, and publishers. Each year more than 12,000 attendees join our community for four days of insightful dialogue, networking, and unrivaled access to the organizations and opinion-makers that matter most in contemporary literature. The conference features over 2,000 presenters and 550 readings, panels, and craft lectures. The bookfair hosted over 800 presses, journals, and literary organizations from around the world. AWP’s is now the largest literary conference in North America. Join us in Portland, OR, in 2019 to celebrate the best of what contemporary literature has to offer.

AWP Conference & Bookfair March 27-30 Oregon Convention Center  Portland OR

[engl3150b]

Online Writing Resources

As a writer, your best resources are your dedicated daily writing practice and your writing group. But these might be helpful too.

Finding Places to Submit and Apply: Magazines, Contests, Journals, Conferences, MFA & PhD

Community of Literary Magazines and Presses: http://www.clmp.org/

The CLMP is a directory that catalogues independent literary publishers. These publishers focus on publishing indie poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction; they are mission-driven, meaning that their main concern is long-term, quality relationships with authors and small but devoted audiences, not ads, dollars, or fame. This CLMP directory helps you find these indie and alt publications, so you can determine what their preferences are before sending your work to them.

Writer’s Market & Writer’s Digest: http://www.writersmarket.com/ & http://www.writersdigest.com/

Offers a lot of free online content, but to obtain the detailed directories of lit magazines and markets that pay writers, you must subscribe or go through hard copies at the library. Writer’s Market is a huge reference work, printed each year in several volumes dedicated to specific genres. It is updated annually and includes listings of magazines looking for new writers as well as submission requirements. Writer’s Digest has helpful articles on writing, revision, pitching, queries, etc. Writers can connect with other writers on forums, visit blogs and sign up for free weekly e-newsletter. There are also weekly writing prompts, contests and competitions, conference listings, and articles. It is geared more toward popular writers. Look for their annual feature, “One Hundred Best Sites for Writers.”

*Poets & Writers: http://www.pw.org/

A well-rounded print and online resource for new writers. Online you’ll find an excellent search engine for lit magazines specifically looking for writers. They also offer a biannual magazine that is very popular; local libraries often keep new and back copies. It is a practical, thoughtful, inspiring, and invaluable resources for those interested in researching grants for writers, summer workshops, writing conferences, and contests. Also includes their ranking of MFA and PhD programs.

*AWP & The Writer’s Chronicle: https://www.awpwriter.org/

Both the AWP website and their monthly magazine are essential resources for those interested in creative writing as a discipline, submitting work to new and outstanding journals, and interviews with writers along with in-depth articles on reading and writing literature. A must for those for those wanting to continue their education after undergraduate studies. AWP’s 2016 conference featured over 2,000 presenters and 550 readings, panels, and craft lectures. The bookfair hosted over 800 presses, journals, and literary organizations from around the world.

New Pages: http://www.newpages.com

NP is a respected website that provides information on literary journals and other places seeking submissions. Their call-for-submissions page is updated regularly. They also have several writer’s guides and information on graduate writing programs.

The Review Review: http://www.thereviewreview.net/

Website founded by Becky Tuch to explore the world of 2000+ current literary magazines, foster a “deeper connection” with these journals, and link writers to editors.

Literistic: https://www.literistic.com/

Every month, Literistic sends you a list of deadlines for the next month. If you sign up for their fee-based list, it’ll be based on your subscriber preferences. You can also sign up for their basic, short-list for free.

Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America: http://www.sfwa.org/

SFFWA features contests to enter, publications, writing instruction, and member discussion forums.

Figuring Out Which Publication to Submit to

*Pushcart Prize Literary Magazine Rankings: http://cliffordgarstang.com/?cat=948

Publishers are ranked based solely on the number of Pushcart Prizes and Special Mentions a magazine has received over a rolling 10-year period in each genre. Helps break magazines down into tiers of magazines, so won’t find yourself having to choose between an excellent magazine and a lesser one.

Ranking of the 100 Best Literary Magazines: http://thejohnfox.com/ranking-of-literary-journals/

This list ranks literary magazines by how often their short stories have appeared (or were honorable mentions) in the Best American Short Stories.

Preparing to Submit and Keeping Track of Submissions

Proper Fiction Manuscript Format: http://www.shunn.net/format/story.html

Tried and true format for short stories when you decide to submit to literary magazines. However, please do not use Courier New font. Editors overwhelming prefer serif fonts like Times New Roman (a heavy favorite) or Georgia or Garamond. I also prefer page numbers and name at the bottom as I find it less distracting.

*Duotrope: https://duotrope.com/

Duotrope is a subscription-based service for writers that offers an extensive, searchable database of current fiction, poetry, and nonfiction markets, a calendar of upcoming deadlines, a personal submissions tracker, and useful statistics compiled from the millions of data points we've gathered on the publishers we list. This website aids writers in the submission process: tracking submissions, deadlines, acceptance ratio, favorite markets. Because users disclose stats from their submitting experience, which provides an insider look at how difficult certain markets are, how often they accept, their expected response time.

*Submittable: https://submittable.com

Many lit magazines depend on online submissions, especially using Submittable. Also helps you keep up with submissions, rejections, and acceptances.

How to Find an Agent

Agent Query: http://www.agentquery.com/

Often recognized by Writer’s Digest as one of the best websites for writers, AQ is an online database of hundreds of literary agents. It also offers several helpful guides on the world of publishing, as well as a list of the best places to send your work, both in print and online.

P&W Literary Agent Database: http://www.pw.org/literary_agents

Agents are listed with contact information and submission guidelines and are organized according to what sort of literature they are interested in representing.

Literary Hubs and Other Wonders

Aerogramme Writers' Studio: http://www.aerogrammestudio.com/ News and resources for emerging and established writers:

Assay Journal: http://www.assayjournal.com/ Articles, news, and conversations about creative nonfiction:

*Electric Literature: https://electricliterature.com/ Essays on writing, author interviews, reading suggestions

*Lit Hub: http://lithub.com/ Lively and ever-changing website and updates for literary news, insider tips, insights, and interviews.

The Millions: http://www.themillions.com/ Great books, reviews, lists, and articles

Literary Magazines (that are online accessible)

*The Believer: http://www.believermag.com/ A literature, arts, and culture magazine.

Brevity: http://brevitymag.com/ Brief essay forms, along with craft essays and book reviews.

Blunderbuss: http://www.blunderbussmag.com/

Diagram: http://thediagram.com/

Fugue: http://www.fuguejournal.com/

Guernica: https://www.guernicamag.com/

Gulf Coast: http://gulfcoastmag.org/

Hippocampus: http://www.hippocampusmagazine.com/

Hobart: http://www.hobartpulp.com/

The Kenyon Review:   http://www.kenyonreview.org/journal/marapr-2016/index/

*Masters Review: Seeking to publish new voices, online and in print. Monthly submission deadlines and essays on writing. https://mastersreview.com/

*McSweeney’s: https://www.mcsweeneys.net/ Online humor, publishing house, The Believer

Nano Fiction: http://nanofiction.org/ Featured story, interviews, reviews, writing prompts:

Narrative Magazine: http://www.narrativemagazine.com/

New Delta Review: http://ndrmag.org/current-issue/

The Normal School: http://thenormalschool.com/

Pleiades Magazine: http://www.pleiadesmag.com/ Featuring poetry, fiction, essays, and reviews.

The Rumpus: http://therumpus.net/ Another great lit magazine with interviews and features.

Wigleaf: http://wigleaf.com/ Publishes very short fiction

To MFA or Not to MFA (and Beyond)

“MFA vs NYC:” Both, Probably: http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/mfa-vs-nyc-both-probably

What Getting An MFA In Fiction Meant To Me: https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexanderchee/my-parade

The MFA as Calling Card Round-Up: Several essays on the topic https://brevity.wordpress.com/2016/08/12/the-mfa-as-calling-card-round-up/

Post-MFA: http://post-mfa.tumblr.com/

What should I do after my MFA if I need a job to support myself, but would like to continue writing? Links and resources about opportunities that you might pursue.  It includes sections on fellowships, residencies, international opportunities, diversity resources, academic jobs, employment outside of academia, and additional degree programs.  There’s also some advice on requesting letters of recommendation.

Keeping Inspired, Motivated, and Writing

National Novel Writing Month: http://nanowrimo.org/

NaNoWriMo is November and is a thriving movement made up of novel writers who push hard to get a full first “down” draft done in November of each year. The site offers instructions, guidance in forming a support team, and tips for completing a novel (and what to do next).

*Pacemaker Planner: https://pacemaker.press/

Who may find Pacemaker helpful? Anyone needing to plan a writing or reading schedule based on word count or any other quantifiable measure including time in hours or minutes.

*750 Words https://750words.com or Morning Pages http://morningpages.net/

Online journaling sites aimed at writing 750 words every day.

Pomodoro Timer: https://tomato-timer.com/

Write in timed bursts with scheduled breaks

Twitter: http://twitter.com

Follow lit magazines and journals. See open submission periods. Follow your favorite writers. Commiserate about how miserable or great writing can be. @theoffingmag / @NarrativeMag / @mcsweeneys / @submittable

Prompt generators:

Write Real People I & II http://caesaretluna.tumblr.com/post/87091540594/write-real-people

http://caesaretluna.tumblr.com/post/87189950869/write-real

Writing Exercises UK: Generate random story ideas, plots, subjects, scenarios, characters, first lines for stories and more. http://writingexercises.co.uk/index.php

NaNoWriMo Word Sprints: http://nanowrimo.org/word_sprints Timed writing challenge with “Dare Me” prompt generator

[deezybotpress]

Sky From Inside

[coniumreview]

ACLU donations at our AWP table The 2017 AWP Conference is just a couple days away. We'll be exhibiting at table 548-T, and we're co-hosting an…

[frontporchlit]

Conversations at AWP 2017 by blog editor Leticia A. Urieta

The Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference is a microcosm of the national and international writing and publishing community, where hundreds of writers, publishers, educators and administrators convene in one city for four days and engage in a communal celebration of and conversation about the nature of writing. This year, the AWP conference was held in Washington D.C. and this made all the difference.

I should explain that this was my first time attending AWP, and I went into the experience primed by the charged environment of where we were and what I might experience. I was staying with friends and colleagues who had attended other AWP’s, and so I was given much conflicting advice: enjoy the panels, don’t go to the panels they are a waste of time, attend off site events, the readings are the best, etc. I also had to be cognizant of my scheduled time at the bookfair representing Front Porch Journal. When I downloaded the app the AWP provides to plan your schedule, I was a bit overzealous, like a young Hermione Granger attempting to attend too many classes; since I didn’t have a Time Turner, I would have to split my time as best I could between the bookfair, panels, readings and time with friends who I had the privilege of seeing because we were meeting in this city for these few days.

If I could summarize the conference into one word (besides more colorful words that my friends were using after a few nights of drinking), it would be resistance.

As I said, we were in the capital of our nation, where our president was signing contentious and discriminatory executive orders whose effects were taking place around us. While at the conference, part of me wanted to avoid social media, lock myself in this bubble of literary dreams to hear writers and poets like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie speak about her novel or hear the quiet, hypersensitive voice of Ocean Vuong as he read his poetry like I’ve never heard anyone read before. It was invigorating to be around and amongst these talents, some I knew and some I was meeting for the first time, and gave me energy to want to return to my own thesis work, now at the end of my final semester in the Texas State MFA. Then I would get on Facebook and see the ICE raids occurring back home, threatening friends and youth in the community that I served. I couldn’t help but feel a certain amount of guilt and need to perform some form of resistance while I was here, to take some action that would mean something before I left the birthplace of so much fear and division in our country.

As I wandered the Bookfair and attended panels centered around race, language and identity as these facets of ourselves shape our relationship to our writing and to other writers, I saw people wearing black buttons with ‘Resist” written in bold white ink. I saw women wearing “Black Lives Matter” t-shirts and rainbow flags sewn to their coats. All around me, resistance was occurring in a multitude of forms, from the reading of political, angry, passionate poetry from Terrance Hayes, to the conversations taking place. At several points during the conference, there were overt acts of resistance to the current political regime, from several writers creating a “wall” during the bookfair (which I participated in) to inconvenience those trying to pass, as well as readings and candlelight vigils around the capital that made statements-this may be normal, but this is not OK. What was especially interesting, however, was that it seemed that the word “resistance,” meant very different things to different people. During our brief “human wall” demonstration, several people scoffed and complained that we were blocking their way to certain booths at the bookfair, to which we responded that that was exactly the point. It seemed that people who espouse the ideals of resistance, and continuously call for us to avoid normalizing the Trump administration, were in fact resistant to being criticized or made to feel uncomfortable for even a few minutes of their day. The dream bubble of AWP isolation was bursting before their eyes, and they didn’t like it.

Another resistance I discovered, and enjoyed, was people’s resistance to labelling themselves with binaries of genre, language, identity and even style. During my time at the bookfair, I had so many wonderful conversations with people who responded to our questions about what they wrote when they said “everything.” Having had the experience of people trying to label me and my work in binary terms, as fiction, or poetry, as real, or fantasy, as white, or latina, I loved finding kindred spirits who, despite the publishing industry's insistence that branding oneself means reducing yourself to one thing, were embracing hybridity, versatility and even the political act of affirming their very existence through their art. I attended a panel led by mixed writers, and took away so many quotes to live my life by as a mixed woman, including one reminder that stood out: “Insist upon the integrity of your work.”

During my last night in D.C. I went to eat with friends. At the dinner table, I asked a question I had considered before, but never voiced: What is the difference between a writer and an author? The responses varied-some said that writers worked, while authors were already published. Some said that the terms were interchangeable. I argued that there was a level of ethos associated with the term “author,” and that this ethos opened doors for authors to do more work and have a defined platform in the writing community. A poet acquaintance pointed out that you don’t have to be published to be active in the community. Even here, there was a resistance of definitions and delineations because, as traditionally marginalized writers, we all knew that the work for us would never be done. After hearing responses from friends and new writers I met, it was obvious to me that the act of writing is a conversation with the literary communities that form us. With so many of embarking into new and unknown territory, because we are graduating from MFA programs, or because we are beginning new community and artistic projects, we are looking for our places in a social landscape that is often in disagreement.

Sitting here at the airport waiting for my flight home, I am OK with the fact that I didn’t go to any museums or visit any landmarks while I was here. That will be another trip. I am OK that I didn’t go to all the panels and readings that I wanted. The body and spirit are both invigorated and exhausted after a conference that requires so much travel and creative energy. In the end, I am simply grateful to have been a part of a conversation.

[macmillanusa]

MACMILLAN PUBLISHERS AT AWP 2017!

Visit us at AWP’s 2017 conference in Washington D.C.! We have an awesome lineup of authors and events that you won’t want to miss.

Be sure to visit Booth 682 for information and books, February 9-11!

9:00am: Amanda Petrusich joins panel for Dylanology (Capitol and Congress - Marriot Marquis); Meghan Daum gives a reading of Selfish, Shallow, and Self Absorbed (Room 203AB); Sarah Blake appears in “Global Narratives Within US Literature” panel (Room 204AB)

10:30am: Steven Sherrill joins panel “Leashing the Beast: Humanizing Fictional Monsters” (Capitol and Congress - Marriot Marquis); Alice Anderson appears in “But That’s Not How It Was: Memoir Writers on Pushing Back Against Expected Narratives” panel (AWP Bookfair Stage, Exhibit Halls D & E)

12:00pm: Chris Abani appears in “Not Just Novelists: On Publishing Contemporary African Poets” (Marquis Salon 6); Ruthanna Emrys and Kij Johnson join panel “The Infinite in the Finite: One Hundred Years of H.P. Lovecraft’s Legacy” (Liberty Salon I, J, and K); Dinty W. Moore appears in “The Multiheaded Beast: Challenging Genre in Creative Nonfiction” (Capitol and Congress - Marriot Marquis); Kelly Luce appears on “A Field Guide for the Craft of Fiction: Finding Structure” (Virginia Barber Middleton Stage); Christa Parravani joins panel “Write Your Memoir like a Novel” (Room 202A)

Also at 1:30pm: Gayle Brandeis joins panel “Speaking of the Dead: Craft & Ethics in Nonfiction” (Archives - Marriot Marquis)

Also at 3:00pm: Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich appears on “The New New New Journalism: Reporting with the I” (Marquis Salon 1 & 2); Deb Olin Unferth joins teaching roundtable “ R239. Together with All That Could Happen” (Marquis Salon 12 & 13); Meghan Daum appears on “Mommy Dearest/Daughter Darling: Putting Words in Her Mouth” (Liberty Salon N, O, & P); Joy Harjo and Amy Stolls join panel “Transforming Adverse Audiences to Verse: Lessons Learned from the NEA Big Read” (Room 102B); Joy Castro appears on “Celebrating 15 Years of American Lives: A University of Nebraska Press Reading” (Room 203AB)

4:30pm: Michael Byers joins the “Science in Literary and Mainstream Fiction: A New Wave” panel (Room 101)

6:00pm: Simone Zelitich appears in “Two-Year College Creative Writing Caucus” (Room 204C)

9:00am: Gayle Brandeis, Caroline Levitt, and Christa Parravani appear on “Can You Go Home Again?” (Marquis Salon 1 & 2); Rachel Dewoskin joins panel “Home: A Four-Letter Word” (Liberty Salon N, O, & P); Julia Fierro appears on “A Novelist’s Job: The Realities, Joys, and Challenges” (Room 203AB); Kristen Dombek appears on “Shape-Shifting and Writers' Centers” (Room 204C)

10:30am: Yusef Komunyakaa appears on “Outward in Larger Terms: Adrienne Rich's Collected Poems” (Marquis Salon 5); Thrity Umrigar appears on, “Writing the Dual Self: Opening Spaces for Hybrid Identities” (Marquis Salon 7 & 8); Nayomi Munaweera joins panel  "I’ve Never Heard of That Country: Sri Lankan American Writers on Shaping an Emerging Literary Identity” (Monument-Marriott Marquis); Deb Olin Unferth appears on “Novels and Short Stories: How a Narrative Finds Its Form” (Liberty Salon N, O, & P); Anne Finger joins panel “Body of Work: Exploring Disability, Creativity, and Inclusivity “ (Room 203AB); Helen Phillips gives a reading on “Crafty: Four City University of New York MFA Graduates Read from Their Work” (Room 204AB)

12:00pm: Tyler McMahon joins panel “Peace Corps Writers: Crossing Borders, Spanning Genres” (Marquis Salon 1 & 2); Daniel Torday does a reading for the West Branch 40th Anniversary Reading (Marquis Salon 3 & 4); Amy Stolls appears on “Advice to Nonprofit Organizations Seeking Funding from the NEA” (Room 102B)

1:30pm: James Thomas appears on “From Flash Fiction to Microfiction: How Many Words Are Enough?” (Marquis Salon 3 & 4); Rakesh Satyal joins panel “Beyond the Book Deal: What Really Happens When a Publisher Signs Up Your Book” (Marquis Salon 6); Joy Castro appears on “Latina Memoir: Writing a New Chapter of the American Experience” ( Liberty Salon M); Brin-Jonathan Butler appears on “The Art of Rendering Sports into Writing, a Multigenre Discussion” (Monument-Marriott Marquis); Lisa Roney appears on “Foremothers: Southern Women Writers” (Liberty Salon I, J, & K); Kathleen Rooney joins panel “Surviving the End Times: Finishing a First, Second, or Fifth Book” (Marquis Salon 6)

3:00pm: Margot Livesey appears on “The Village of Your Novel” (Room 207B); Amy Stolls joins panel “Conversation about the Economy of Art (the Gift, the Market, the Puzzle)” (Room 202B)

4:30pm: Caroline Bock appears on “Young Adult Literature: A Political and Social Revolution” (Liberty Salon L)

6:00pm: Simone Zelitch joins panel “Two-Year College Creative Writing Caucus” (Room 204C)

9:00am: Alice Anderson appears on “Social Media: Breaking Barriers for the Marginalized, the Remote, and the Academic Outsider” (Room 204C); Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich appears on “Murder She Wrote: Women Writers on Writing Violence” (Liberty Salon I, J, & K); Derek Nikitas appears on “A PhD Program in an MFA World” (Marquis Salon 7 & 8)

10:30am: Caroline Bock joins panel “Get in Formation: Form in Young Adult Literature” (Liberty Salon N, O, & P); Traci L. Jones and Sophfronia Scott appear on “Writing White Characters” (Archives-Marriott Marquis); Kyoko Mori appears on “Does Gender Matter? Wrestling with Identity and Form in the Golden Age of Women’s Essays” (Marquis Salon 1 & 2); Frank X. Walker appears on “Subverting Reality: Using Real People in Fictionalized Settings” (Marquis Salon 3 & 4)

12:00pm: Geoffrey Brock appears on “What's Found in Translation” (Marquis Salon 12 & 13); Vicki Hendricks appears on “Such Mean Stories: Women Writers Get Gritty” (Room 202A); Yusef Komunyakaa and Robert Pinsky appear on “21st-Century Troubadours” (Ballroom B); Helen Phillips joins panel “Writing the Abyss: Turning Grim Reality into Good Fiction” (Marquis Salon 1 & 2); Irina Reyn appears on “Immigrants/Children of Immigrants: A Nontraditional Path to a Writing Career” (Liberty Salon N, O, & P)

1:30pm: David Odhiambo appears on “Narratives of Immigration and Displacement” (Liberty Salon N, O, & P); Lisa Roney joins panel “Practicum and Beyond: Publishing Courses and Literary Citizenship” (Marquis Salon 6); Laurel Snyder appears on “No Easy Readers: On the Art and Craft of Writing for Children” (Marquis Salon 3 & 4)

3:00pm: Garth Greenwell joins panel “Socially Conscious Fiction: Writing That Can Change the World”  (Liberty Salon L); Louis Bayard appears on “Wayfaring Stranger: Writing Away from Our Experience” (Marquis Salon 7 & 8)

4:30pm: Sarah Blake, Sarah Domet, and Kathleen Rooney join panel “Attempting the Impossible: Strategies for Writing Creative Biography” (Room 101); Geoffrey Brock joins “Us & Them: A Writer/Translator Reading “ (Marquis Salon 6)

8:30pm: Margot Livesey joins “A Reading and Conversation with Margot Livesey and Colum McCann, Sponsored by Arts & Letters / Georgia College” (Ballroom C)

[songsforsquid]

Upcoming Readings, Classes, & Events Spring 2019

* CASTALIA READING SERIES - Wed March 13th, 2019, starts 8:00 PM Location: Hugo House (1634 11th Ave, Seattle, WA) Readers: Areej Quraishi (MFA student), Alex Turner (MFA student), Dilara Elbir (MFA student), Sierra Nelson (alumna; poetry), Pimone Triplett (faculty; poetry), and Rae Paris (faculty; poetry). Castalia is a monthly reading series featuring graduate students, faculty, and alumni from the University of Washington MFA program. Doors open at 7:45pm; readings begin at 8pm.

* POETRY OF THE UNCANNY: GennaRose Nethercott & Sierra Nelson  Reading - Wed March 20th, 2019, 7:00-9:00 PM Location: Hugo House (1634 11th Ave, Seattle, WA) Event Details: Join poets GennaRose Nethercott and Sierra Nelson for a fabulist, theatrical exploration of the uncanny in celebration of their most recent collections. Nethercott’s book, The Lumberjack’s Dove, selected by Louise Glück as a winner of the 2017 National Poetry Series, tells the haunting story of a woodsman who cuts off his hand with an axe—only to watch it shapeshift into a dove. Moments of Nethercott’s reading will be animated by an elaborate shadow puppet crankie. Sierra Nelson’s newest book of poetry, The Lachrymose Report, examines the tenuous tentacles that connect humans, plants, and animals, that tether us to the past—detailing the ways in which a body is changed by what it encounters. 

* SEASONAL AFFECTIVE: GENERATIVE WORKSHOP - 1-Day Class Sun March 24th, 1:00-4:00 PM Location: Hugo House (1634 11th Ave, Seattle, WA) Note: Snows disrupted the original date of this writing class at Hugo House, so you have another chance to join in. Would love to see you there! Class Description: Brighten your writing palette and vivify your heart. Together we’ll harness all the ways the seasons affect us to write through the dark and back into light again using science, memory, experiment, and seasonally affected texts (such as Stevens, Glück, Dove, O’Hara) for inspiration. You’ll leave with new writing drafts and fresh experiments to try again at home. Slanted toward poetry but open to all genres. Let this generative class be the energizing lightbox to your notebook’s doldrums. REGISTER HERE.

* AWP PORTLAND OFF-SITE READING: BLACK OCEAN, POETRY NW, & ENTRE RIOS w/ POETRY-FILM HAPPY HOUR - Thurs March 28th, 6:00 PM-12:00 AM Location: “The Cleaners” at Ace Hotel Portland (1022 SW Stark St, Portland, OR - close to Powells Bookstore)  Event Details: This event will kick-off with Poetry-Film Happy Hour hosted by NW Film Forum and Cadence Video Poetry Festival. Followed by all-star readings featuring authors from Black Ocean, Poetry Northwest, and Entre Ríos Books, ending with Anne Bradfield, Rachel Kessler, and Sierra Nelson performing as the Vis-a-Vis Society with a special interactive reading in anticipation of their forthcoming book 100 Rooms: A Bridge Motel Project (Entre Rios Books). Ending with a DANCE PARTY with Portland’s DJ Lapushi. (Then on Sat March 30th come back to this same location for the Northwest Micropress Bookfair.) More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1082551165269863/

6:00-7:00 p.m. Poetry-Film Happy Hour SET 1 7:30-8:15 p.m. Elisa Gabbert Erin McCoy Wendy Willis Maya Jewell Zeller Kate Lebo David Biespiel Sierra Nelson SET 2 8:30-9:15 p.m. Kary Wayson Laura Read Jake Levine (trans. Kim Kyung Ju) Heather Alfeld Shin Yu Pai Zach Savich SET 3 9:30-10:00 p.m. Vis-à-Vis Society interactive performance DANCE PARTY 10:00 p.m. - midnight DJ Lapaushi from PDX's Noche Libre Latinx DJ Collective

* AWP PORTLAND BOOKFAIR: Poetry NW Booth #6020 - Fri March 29th, 11:00AM-1:00 PM Location: AWP Conference, Oregon Convention Center (777 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR), Booth #6020 (Poetry Northwest) Details: I’ll be running the booth and signing copies of The Lachrymose Report. Stop by and say hi!

* AWP PORTLAND OFF-SITE READING: WITS ALLIANCE READING - Fri March 29th, 5:00-7:00 PM Location: Literary Arts (925 SW Washington St, Portland, OR) Event Details: Readings by current and former teaching artists working with Writers in the Schools (WITS) programs in different parts of the country, including Seattle, Portland, and Houston. Sierra Nelson will be reading from her new book The Lachrymose Report (Poetry NW Editions, 2018) and sharing about her work for Seattle Arts & Lectures' WITS Program in Seattle. https://www.facebook.com/events/literary-arts/wits-alliance-reading-off-site-awp-event/1487518394711715/ 

* AWP PORTLAND: POETRY NW 60th ANNIVERSARY READING - Sat March 30th, 3:00-04:15 PM Location: AWP Conference, Oregon Convention Center (777 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR), Level 1, Room #B113 Readers: Olena Kalytiak Davis, Troy Jollimore, Sierra Nelson, and Supritha Rajan, moderated by Kevin Craft. More info: https://www.awpwriter.org/awp_conference/event_detail/16009 

* POETRY I: Six-Week Class, Saturdays April 6th to May 11th, 1:00-3:00 PM Location: Hugo House (1634 11th Ave, Seattle, WA) Class Description: Whether a beginning poet or lover of the art, this class will introduce you to the beauty and complexity of writing and reading poetry, as well as the basics of the workshop model. We will look to image, metaphor, sound, lineation, and structure to write our own poems. REGISTER HERE.

* CADENCE VIDEO POETRY FESTIVAL - Thurs April 11th, 7:00-9:00 PM Location: NW Film Forum (1515 12th Ave, Seattle), Tickets: $7-12 Event Details: My video-poem “Cephalopod Meditation” (with cinematography by Britta Johnson, sound recording thanks to Emily Eagle) was selected to be part of this Cadence Video Poetry Festival showcase.  More Info: https://nwfilmforum.org/festivals/cadence-video-poetry-festival/ & https://z-m-www.facebook.com/events/600744503671264/

* CEPHALOPOD APPRECIATION SOCIETY - Wed May 1st, 7:00-9:00 PM Location: Hugo House (1634 11th Ave, Seattle, WA) Description: Whether you are already a member of the Cephalopod Appreciation Society (est. 2000 by local poet Sierra Nelson) or just curious to learn more about the stunning and intelligent octopus, squid, chambered nautilus, and cuttlefish, come celebrate these creatures with us through poetry, music, art, dance, film, science, and more at this annual all-ages community event. (Free!) More info: https://hugohouse.org/event/cephalopod-appreciation-society-2/ https://www.facebook.com/events/1072083722974446/

[literaryhousepress]

We are today's AWP Bookfair Spotlight! 

Find us this upcoming March at Booth 717 at the AWP Tampa Bookfair!

[sfsucw]

The Kurt Brown Prizes 2019

Ends on March 30, 2019: $10.00 USD

Each year, AWP offers 3 annual scholarships to emerging writers who wish to attend a writers’ conference, center, festival, retreat, or residency. The scholarships are applied to the event or workshop fees of the winners’ chosen program. Winners and 6 finalists also receive a one-year individual membership in AWP.

Eligibility Requirements

Previous recipients of Kurt Brown Prizes (formerly known as WC&C scholarships), and former or current students of the judge are not eligible to submit.

Our judges this year are Siamak Vossoughi for fiction, Sandra Gail Lambert for creative nonfiction, and Ananda Lima for poetry.

Guidelines

Your name must not appear anywhere on the manuscript, otherwise it will be disqualified.

For fiction, one short story (or novel excerpt) up to 25 pages will be considered. Fiction must be double-spaced and presented in manuscript form with 12-pt font.

For poetry, up to 10 pages will be considered. Each new poem must start on a new page.

For creative nonfiction, up to 25 pages will be considered.

You may enter in more than one genre, and you may also enter multiple manuscripts in one genre, provided that each submission is accompanied by its own entry fee.

Please send us your best unpublished work.

A $10 reading fee must accompany each submission.

Submissions

Submissions are accepted between December 1 and March 30 of each year. Submissions are only accepted online via Submittable. Mailed-in submissions will not be accepted nor returned.

Winners

All winners will be notified by email by May 15 and announced on AWP’s website and in the AWP Annual Conference & Bookfair program. Three winners will each receive a $500 scholarship to attend a WC&C member program. Winners have one year to use their prize, and funds are paid directly to the selected program. Member conferences reserve the right to determine participants in their programs; winning does not guarantee admittance to any program.

https://awp.submittable.com/submit/24932/the-kurt-brown-prizes

[politicsprose]

AWP Associated Events at P&P

Politics & Prose is proud to be the official bookseller of the AWP Conference & Bookfair from February 9 to February 11, an annual destination for writers, teachers, students, editors, and publishers. The largest literary conference in North America features 550 readings, panels, and craft lectures, and 2,200 presenters. Even you can’t make it to the Conference, you can still participate! Various free AWP-associated events are taking place in our bookstore, and we’ve rounded them up below:

Middle Grade Fiction Panel with William Alexander, H. M. Bouwman, Kekla Magoon, and Anne Nesbet

Thursday, February 9, 2017 at 7  p.m.

Explore the breadth of middle-grade fiction with noted authors Anne Nesbet, Kekla Magoon, William Alexander, and H.M. Bouwman. Each of the panelists’ most recent novels represent multiple genres, all involving young people who unlock their personal histories to reexamine their identities. Follow a young boy’s unexpected relocation to Cold War-era Germany as he uncovers secrets about his family’s past in Anne Nesbet’s Cloud and Wallfish. Join 12-year-old Robyn as she tries to save her hometown and heritage in Kekla Magoon’s modern take on Robin Hood, Rebellion of Thieves. Finally, dive into fantastic scenes that draw parallels to the surreality of war, slavery, and the immigrant experience in William Alexander’s Nomad (Ambassador #2), and H.M. Bouwman’s A Crack in the Sea. This panel is moderated by children’s author and reviewer Mary Quattlebaum.

World Enough and Time: An Evening of Memoir — in The Den

Thursday, February 9, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.

Join us for an evening of memoir readings and discussion by local and visiting writers. The event will be hosted by Nicole Miller, a D.C.-based memoirist, fiction writer, and academic who teaches literature and writing at Politics & Prose, Grub Street (Boston), and Kingston University (UK). Participants include: Phillip Lopate, novelist, essayist, anthologist, and writing teacher at Columbia, whose most recent book, A Mother’s Tale, is a unique combination of memoir and interview; Richard Hoffman, author of the memoirs Half the House and Love & Fury, the story collection Interference & Other Stories, and the poetry collections, Without Paradise, Gold Star Road and Emblem; Brandel France de Bravo, author of the poetry collections Provenance and Mother, Loose, co-author of a parenting book, and editor of a bilingual anthology of Mexican poetry; Dorian Fox, a writer and writing teacher at Grub Street; Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich, the author of the forthcoming memoir, The Fact of a Body; and Mike Scalise, author of the memoir The Brand New Catastrophe.

Red Hen Press Reading with Alan Lightman, Ellen Meeropol, & Amy Hassinger  — in the Remainder Room 

Friday, February 10, 2017 at 6  p.m. 

Lightman is a physicist, essayist, and novelist. As Professor of the Practice of the Humanities at MIT, he’s the first person to receive a joint appointment in the sciences and the humanities. Now this versatile writer dramatizes both reason and intuition in a book-length narrative poem. Told in the first person by a man struggling to come to terms with devastating loss, the work is divided into two sections. “Questions with Answers,” reflecting the scientific method, follows the narrator’s effort to reason his way out of grief, while in “Questions without Answers” he turns to art and faith to find a very different way of understanding life’s intractable mysteries.

In her third novel, Meeropol, a founding member of the Straw Dogs Writers Guild and author of On Hurricane Island, explores the fine distinctions between radical activism that can save the planet and eco-terrorism that may only perpetuate human destruction. The narrative follows Jeremy, a botany student, whose passion for plants seems requited by the flora themselves. When he joins fringe groups planning an ambitious Earth Day action, Jeremy has to face unforeseen consequences for both the people and the plants he loves.

Hassinger’s evocative psychological novel focuses on Rachel, a new mother and languishing Ph.D. student, who suddenly doubts her commitments to both her domestic role and her studies. With her infant daughter, she flees to her grandmother’s northwoods cabin, but rather than refuge, she finds the complications of her grandmother’s illness, an old boyfriend, and a deeper historical legacy. Hassinger, the author of Nina: Adolescence and The Priest’s Madonna, vividly depicts both rural Wisconsin and the emotional landscape of a young woman struggling to understand her past and present selves.

Waywiser Press Poetry Reading — in The Den 

Saturday, February 11, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. 

The Waywiser Press is a small literary publisher specializing in poetry, with its main office in the UK, and a subsidiary in the USA. It was founded in late 2001, and started publishing in 2002. The Press is dedicated to publishing literary fiction as well as poetry, and promotes the work of new as well as established authors. On hand to read from their poetry: Austin Allen, Geoffrey Brock, Morri Creech, Joseph Harrison, Jaimee Hills, Dora Malech,  Eric McHenry, Penelope Pelizzon, Shelley Puhak, and Cody Walker.