017 awp conference & Bookfair February —11, 2017 • Washington, dc

Women's Caucus. (AMY KING, Ashaki Jackson, Hafizah Geter, Melissa Studdard, Lynn Melnick)

Where is the place for women writers within AWP and within the greater literary community? The women's caucus discusses questions of continuing inequities in creative writing publication and literature, issues of cultural obstacles in the form of active oppression, stereotypes, lack of access to literary power structures, and the historical marginalization of women's writing. The caucus also explores perspectives and the diverse voices of women and offers networking opportunities.

Women's Fiction: How to Write It, Sell It, and Market It. (Dorian Karchmar, Maya Ziv, Elizabeth Hohenadel, Anton DiSclafani)

Female authors are reluctant to be categorized as writing Women’s Fiction, and for good reason: they are less likely to be taken seriously by critics. Yet writing such fiction offers real benefits, starting with the support of a passionate, female audience. Consisting of an editor, an agent, a publicist, and a novelist, this panel will address how authors can deliberately and selectively embrace the advantages of writing fiction aimed at women, from finding an agent to marketing one's work.

Word Banks: Accounting for Small Presses, Sponsored by CLMP. (Jeffrey Lependorf, Rafay Khalid, Brent Cunningham)

A discussion of the unique bookkeeping and accounting issues and challenges facing independent literary presses, with tips and strategies to address them, from monitoring sales and structering margins to tracking author royalties and dealing with bad debt.

Working with Archives—Ethics, Strategies, and Methods. (Daniel Tiffany, Miroslava Chavez-Garcia, Gerald Vizenor, Jena Osman, Harmony Holiday)

Writers sometimes use archival records as sources of inspiration and information. Our panelists, including poets, a fiction writer and a historian, look at the use of public records as sources of first hand accounts, as a way to gain better emotional understanding of their subject, and as evidence of sometimes grim historical events that have been overlooked. The panelist will discuss the methodologies, strategies and ethics of working with archival material, and read examples from their work.

Working With Your First Editor. (Jeff Kleinman, Barbara Jones, Judy Sternlight, Ayesha Pande)

You've finished your work and sent it off. In due course your piece arrives back in your inbox, covered in red. What if you don't agree with the edits? How do you know if you're dealing with a smart editor or a moron? What insights can an editor provide about you and your work? How do you know when your work is "ready" to be submitted, and whether you should work with a freelance editor? These and other questions will be explored in a nuts-and-bolts panel discussion.

Write Your Memoir Like A Novel. (Joanna Rakoff, Tova Mirvis, Dani Shapiro, Marie Mockett, Christa Parravani)

What happens when a novelist writes a memoir? Some of the rules change: no more making everything up. But crafting a memoir requires many of the same skills used in writing fiction. A memoir is filled with characters that need to be developed — even if one of those characters is you. Real-life events still need to be shaped into an arc. This panel, comprised of fiction writers who have written memoirs, will discuss ways to use the techniques of fiction-writing to bring a memoir to life.

Writerism: The Intersection of Community Activism and Writing Within and Beyond the Academy. (Ruben Martinez, Luis Rodriguez, Dagoberto Gilb, Aimee Suzara, Michael Warr)

Panelists include creative writers who have also been founders or key players in community centers, cultural spaces, magazines, and advocacy organizations. The panel will address the conflicts and confluences of meaningful community activism with writing of skill, integrity and substance. How does one balance aesthetics, ethics, and social engagement? Where is the border between art and the pamphlet? Writers in communities of color face unprecedented violences today. Are we writers in wartime?

Writers on the Road: The Life of the Writers' Circuit. (Rick Campbell, Donald Morrill, Laura McCullough, Brian Turner, Marty Williams)

A writers' circuit tour is a moveable feast. These panelists represent multiple facets of a working writers' tour-- administrators of the Florida Writers Circuit and the Georgia Poetry Circuit, tour faculty members, and writers who have been featured on these tours. Panelists will discuss how the tours were founded and how they are operated, the benefits received by programs visited and services offered to writers on the tours.

Writers Organizing the Future. (Kimiko Hahn, Luis Rodriguez, Zakia Henderson-Brown, Elizabeth Bradfield, Christopher Shannon)

As the planet spins into deeper social and environmental crises, how can writers participate in finding solutions? Whether we care or not, our voices are out in the world. Panelists will explore writers' unique tools and social connections and see what has worked in the past and what could be in the mix? Issues will include: the environment, labor, grass-roots organizations with or without a cultural component. Is action a writer’s responsibility? No, no more than any other citizen. Join us.

Writing Against Borders: Literature and the (Un)Making of Nationhood. (Dean Rader, LeAnne Howe, Heather Hill, Matthew Shenoda, Margaret Noodin)

What is the role and responsibility of a writer to a nation? In what way can literary production be an integral part of nationhood? How can writing resist or redefine nationalities? This interdisciplinary panel looks at the many ways fiction, poetry, nonfiction, drama, and film participate in, interrogate, and reimagine nationalism and nationhood. Each of these writers has turned to literature to explore how national identity not only comes to be but comes to be internalized and reinforced.

Writing as Refugees: Collective Trauma & Impossible Return. (Fatimah Asghar, Monica Sok, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Safia Elhillo, Kenzie Allen)

This dialogue is among indigenous, African, Latino, and Asian writers whose work draws upon their experiences of being refugees, relocated, and stateless. While writers communicate their ancestors’ grief through words, they may face repercussions for breaking the silence. Considering the current refugee crisis, this panel will broaden the conversation by discussing when geographical return is impossible, people become undocumented, and war and genocide obliterates a notion of “home.”

Writing Capitalism: Chicken Shack to Cloud Corporation, Barmaid to Bureaucrat. (Julie Sheehan, Susan Briante, Timothy Donnelly, Nate Marshall, Daniel Borzutzky)

It’s the economy, stupid, and so poets are responding to how ours operates, undermines, amplifies, thwarts, defines or demoralizes the American citizenry. But why respond with poetry? Why are so many poets, like these panelists, writing capitalism, whether in terms of class, race, power structures, depersonalization or environmental impact? What challenges, obligations and joys to be found in this essential project? Perhaps, as with any national trauma, poetry is the only sane response.

Writing Centers: Building a Community of Writers Outside the Traditional Classroom. (Gerald Richards, Joe Callahan, Lacey Dunham, Kyle Dargan)

Join 826 National, 826DC, and the Writer’s Center as they discuss different ways to foster literary creativity outside the traditional classroom by bringing together community volunteers, educators, and writers of all levels. What are the challenges and benefits of building and running a community space, and what do these organizations offer the diverse range of writers and communities they hope to serve and inspire?

Writing From the Wound. (Kelly Sundberg, Carmen Machado, Aspen Matis, Jason Arment, Lisa Nikolidakis)

Trauma-based nonfiction sells, but at what personal and professional cost? How can we maintain a literary standard when writing about loaded topics such as war, murder, rape, or abuse? How can we resist an impulse towards melodrama, hagiography, and cliché? And is there a point at which the writer must take a break, or even give up? Panelists will discuss how to navigate the world of trauma writing and maintain a high level of craft while telling intensely personal, yet universal, stories.

Writing in the Internet Age. (Mark Neely, Esmé Weijun Wang, Ander Monson, Sandra Simonds, Ashley C. Ford)

The internet is the most significant advance in writing and publishing since Gutenberg, and also one of the defining subjects of contemporary literature. It can be a powerful tool and a supreme distraction, an interruption or inspiration. Writers of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction will talk about how the web has influenced their work and working lives, and discuss the internet as a subject, compositional instrument, publishing platform, and (sometimes troubling) extension of the writer’s brain.

Writing in the National Parks’ Artist-in-Residence Program. (Kim O'Connell, Marybeth Holleman, Bill Maxwell, Diana Friedman, Alice Fogel)

Broad vistas, calm woods, reedy rivers, unsettling isolation—the National Park Service offers a range of experiences for writers in its Artist-in-Residence program. Unlike some writers’ residencies that are more communal, the NPS A-I-R program offers writers total solitude and a deep connection with place. This panel of five writers—representing Denali, Shenandoah, the Everglades, Catoctin Mountain Park, and Carl Sandburg Historic Site—will share how a park residency can inform one’s writing.

Writing Neighborhoods: (Re) Creating the Places We Live. (Kathy Flann, D. Watkins, David Ebenbach, Patrice Hutton, Mary-Sherman Willis)

We’re told to write what we know, but it can be daunting to portray the places we know best: our own communities. Where do we find the authority to get it right? This panel explores the challenges, responsibilities, and rewards of writing from the particular home places of Baltimore and Washington DC. The founder of Writers in Baltimore Schools, which runs workshops for low-income students, joins poets and prose writers to discuss the transformative possibilities for writers and readers alike.

Writing the Abyss: Turning Grim Reality into Good Fiction. (Stephen O'Connor, Helen Benedict, Catherine Lacey, Helen Phillips, Ellery Washington)

How can powerful, beautiful and/or comic fiction be made out of the darkest aspects of human experience? Novelists who have written about war, slavery, suicide, existential and literal despair will tell how they do justice to their grim topics without overwhelming readers or becoming overwhelmed themselves. Questions considered: Is it better to render the horrific in detail or by implication? Must we give readers hope? Is there a war between beauty (or humor) and truth? Can cynicism be wisdom?

Writing the Complexity of a Transnational Identity. (Nyla Ali Khan, Susan Muaddi Darraj, Sohrab Homi Fracis)

Even when one is rooted in a single country, neither life nor writing about it is simple. Expanded identity labels such as Indian American imply dual geography, culture, history, politics, etc. Such lives have added layers of complexity, and writing about them has added degrees of difficulty. Award-winning Indian American and Palestinian American authors discuss their transnational work, reflecting current pluralistic discourses that challenge monolithic concepts of identity.

Writing the Dual Self: Opening Spaces for Hybrid Identities. (Philip Metres, Tomas Morin, Samiya Bashir, Thrity Umrigar, Michael Croley)

Writers with dual ethnicities or hybrid backgrounds often struggle to find ways to tell a nuanced story of identity and community. Five writers with diverse racial, ethnic and gender identities will share experiences of the struggle and strategies for forging a space for the dual, hyphenated, multiple self—one that does justice both to our art and our ancestors, working through the liberatory possibilities of writing and to resist the urge (or to market's demand) to self-stereotype.

Writing the South Asian Diaspora in Young Adult Fiction. (Sona Charaipotra, Padma Venkatraman, Nisha Sharma, Tanaz Bhathena, Sandhya Menon)

In the last five years, the South Asian influence in fiction has bloomed as big and bright as the lotus flower. However, the community remains underrepresented in young adult fiction. In the next few years, that will begin to change. In this panel. five South Asian writers with diverse regional and religious backgrounds will discuss their understanding of the South Asian diaspora, the importance of fair cultural representation in fiction and how South Asians in YA are here to stay.

Writing Under the Gun (The Agony & Ecstasy of The Book Contract). (Michelle Herman, Scott Raab, Dan Kois, Nick White, Michael Kardos)

The elusive book contract--the writer's holy grail--both offers security and fosters panic. We'll take a look at the deal (with the devil?) and its effect on the writing process, and offer strategies for writing/revising a book on the clock. We'll also offer advice on everything to ask before signing, nurturing a healthy relationship with one's editor, keeping to a productive and reasonable writing schedule, how to ask for an extension, and how to cope with the pressure of a looming deadline.

Writing White Characters. (Andrea Rexilius, Daniel Jose Older, Sophfronia Scott, Khadijah Queen, Traci L. Jones)

A google search of “writing white characters” defaults to its opposite, the trials and errors of white writers attempting to write characters of color. There are numerous articles about whitewashing, tokenization, disrespectful tropes and representations, and appropriation. What there isn’t, however, is an in-depth conversation about what it’s like for writers of color to write white characters.

Writing With and About Dis/Ability, Dis/Order, and Dis/ease. (Sarah Einstein, Sandra Lambert, Sonya Huber, Elizabeth Glass)

This panel, comprised of disabled, disordered, and diseased writers, examines the ways our lived experiences impact both what and how we write. We will discuss the problematic imperative to write overcoming narratives, the contradictions of writing beyond and into the stereotypes of disability, and the lack of access to writing programs, conferences, and literary community. We will look at the ways radical “crip” writers are challenging these barriers, both in their work and as activists

You’re on the Tenure Track: Congratulations! Now What? (Joe Oestreich, Erica Dawson, Caitlin Horrocks, Marcus Jackson, Joey Franklin)

Many writers hope to one day secure a tenure-track teaching position, but few have a clear idea of what the job actually entails. What are the course load, scholarship, and service demands, and how do you balance them? How do you assemble a successful tenure file? Is it possible to switch schools mid-career? Panelists—all tenured or tenure-track and from universities of varying sizes—discuss strategies for navigating toward the tenure decision and beyond.

Young Adult Authors Tackle Social Justice and Activism. (I.W. Gregorio, Lilliam Rivera, Ibi Zoboi, Tanaz Bhathena, Nic Stone)

Police brutality, gender discrimination, gentrification, and immigration policies are just some of the topics being written by these five young adult authors of diverse backgrounds, ranging from the Caribbean to Middle Eastern. In conversation with an established YA author, the four debut authors will discuss incorporating social justice themes in their work, the struggle to portray honest teen responses to crisis, the path to hope, and how to write issue-based novels without sounding preachy.

Young Adult Literature: A Political and Social Revolution. (Pamela L Laskin, Brendan Kiely, Tiffany Jackson, Caroline Bock, Suzanne Weyn)

The poet Shelley said that writers are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.In this way, young adult literature with its focus on racism, inequality, social injuustice, war and challenged politics, functions as activism. This panel, comprised of four writers and a professor in the field, explores the Renaissance of political and social issues in YA fiction. Contemporary culture skates a more dangerous landscape, and in its unsparing honesty, the fiction becomes a form of social action.

Yummy, Yummy Yummy I got Love in my Tummy: Food, Poetry and Activism. (Millicent Borges Accardi, Amy Sayre-Baptista, PaulA Neves, Rachel M Simon, Khyran Boyd)

A chef and four writers discuss food-integrated readings and writing workshops, the successful pairing of recipes and writing techniques, and the necessary how-to's to integrate food and recipes in your own writing and student work. Handouts provided for how to put together a successful community reading/workshop series as well as interactive prompts and yummy ideas. Come hungry, leave satisfied.

Zora’s Legacy: Black Women Writing Fiction About the South. (Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, Tayari Jones, Bernice McFadden, Crystal Wilkinson, Stephanie Powell Watts)

During the Great Migration, many African Americans relocated to the U.S North. Yet southern culture survives in ancestral memories and in black women’s writing in particular. Why do so many black women writers remain fascinated by the South? This panel will feature five African American women authors who will discuss why they locate their work in the South, and how they confront specific craft issues when writing fiction about this region of profound cultural resonance.

Pedagogy

All I Have Is A Voice: Strategies for Inclusion in the Workshop. (Laura Minor, Adrian Matejka, Daniel Jose Older, Jillian Weise, Erin Belieu)

Workshops still remain a problematic landscape for the marginalized. This panel seeks to discuss how the workshop has changed in the last 25 years, and consequently, remained the same. The following year has been a hotbed of online take-downs and intersectionality controversies. What this panel seeks to uncover is how "the other" is still treated within the confines of the contemporary collegiate workshop.This panel will discuss strategies towards pedagogical inclusion.

American Meds: The Literature of Medicine. (Sandi Wisenberg, David Watts, Anita Helle, Irina Ruvinsky, Thomas Larson)

Illness and health, injury and healing, life and death. Medical subjects carry drama and our core humanity. No wonder ours is a golden age of nonfiction by physicians and nurses. Five college and MFA faculty present the literary strategies of medical authors we love to teach. How do these scribes portray patients with diseases, the vicissitudes of treatment, the healer’s empathy, the toll it takes on all? How do we teach our students the art and craft of reading and writing medical narrative?

Artists, Athletes, Immigrants and Teachers Revise Formulaic Templates for Voice and Originality. (Bonnie Sunstein, Rossina Zamora Liu, Bernadette Esposito, Elizabeth Cowan, Steve McNutt)

In an outcome-driven era that relegates good writing to formulaic templates, how do teachers nurture voice and originality in students who have internalized an agenda rewarding inconspicuousness and conformity? Four writing teachers consider attributes of "good" writing in courses geared toward artists, athletes, immigrants and pre-service teachers. What makes good writing “good” and how do we teach it?

Beyond Diversity: How to Run the Truly Inclusive Creating Writing Workshop. (Sonya Larson, Jonathan Escoffery, Matthew Salesses, Eson Kim, Alison Murphy)

How do we move beyond the vague concept of diversity to create truly inclusive workshops? In focusing on craft and ignoring the larger cultural context of our writing, we often sideline POC, queer, and other voices marginalized by the literary establishment. Speakers from GrubStreet, Warren Wilson, and the University of Houston will interrogate traditional pedagogy for inherent bias and offer strategies on navigating issues of identity, to take workshops from simply diverse to truly inclusive.

Community Crafting: Reaching Beyond the Classroom to Empower Local Communities. (Sean Lovelace, BJ Hollars, Sarah Blackman, Jennifer Franklin)

How do we persuade students of the power of integrating classroom experiences within their communities, of the importance of touching lives beyond the page? From senior centers to humane shelters to museums, service learning provides vast opportunities for writers to contribute meaningfully to their communities. But what are the challenges of doing so, and which projects yield the best results? Join panelists as they explore innovative opportunities for writers to impact the world with words.

Compassion Fatigue: Avoiding Vicarious Traumatization in the CNF Classroom. (Jessica Hindman, Justin St. Germain, Bonnie Friedman, Samantha Rodman, Lauren Fath)

As class sizes and teaching loads increase at public institutions, CNF professors find themselves reading thousands of pages per semester of firsthand traumatic narrative. In addition to having little training to identify psychological distress in our students, we are also ill-equipped to recognize the effects of vicarious traumatization in ourselves. This panel, comprised of CNF professors and a clinical psychologist, will discuss the symptoms of vicarious trauma as well as coping strategies.

Creative Writing and Addiction. (Sheryl St. Germain, Brittany Hailer, Sarah Shotland, Jessica Kinnison)

How can poetry and storytelling serve the larger community of addicts in our society? Does teaching creative writing to addicts nourish the writer as well as the addict? Writers who teach in the Words Without Walls Program in Pittsburgh and Project Lazarus Wellness University and Orleans Parish Prison in New Orleans will share readings, prompts, and advice for starting community writing programs. All attendees will receive a digital link to a workbook of prompts.

Cross-Talk in Creative Writing Pedagogy. (Tonya Hegamin, Oindrila Mukherjee, Nancy Reddy, Glenn Shaheen, Darin Ciccotelli)

Nearly 40 years ago, Wendy Bishop tried to initiate “cross-talk” between rhetoric/composition and creative writing, applying the pedagogies of the former to the largely un-theorized practices of the latter. But today, creative writing still has a disconnect between those who teach it and those who theorize the teaching. This panel will renew the call for “cross-talk,” exploring how rhet/comp can influence our teaching while also asking if “blind spots” exist.

Dance, Movement and Meditation as Part of the Writing Process. (Kazim Ali, Julie Carr, Tracie Morris, Koshin Paley Ellison)

We located the mind in the physical body and the manipulation and use of that body can be an integral part of the creative process. A dancer, a yoga teacher, a zen priest and a performance artist will lead you through a series of breath, awareness, and movement exercises designed to open up new gates to language and creative expression. Appropriate for all levels of physical ability and mobility but please wear comfortable clothing and bring your favorite writing equipment.

Dawning of a New Day: Digital Storytelling and the Creative Writing Classroom. (Marissa Landrigan, Silas Hansen, Trent Hergenrader, Sequoia Nagamatsu)

Multimedia and digital forms of storytelling capture students’ imaginations and unlock the creative potential of play, but can feel overwhelming for instructors with more workshop background than technical knowledge. Teachers from a variety of backgrounds and experience levels will offer ideas for interdisciplinary approaches to multimodal creative writing classes, addressing questions of accessibility, collaboration, and curriculum development.