Awp conference & Bookfair 2018 Tentative Accepted Events

Poetry in Public Places (Meggie Monahan, Laurin Macios, Scott Cunningham, Martin Farawell, Aisha Sloan)

Why don’t people read poetry? Is it because it’s not right in front of them? Are there opportunities for putting poetry on a pedestal, or a city wall, or a sidewalk? Panelists will share their experiences putting poetry in the public eye, changing the perception of literature from inaccessible to interactive and inspiring. They will also share how you can build relationships in your community to create projects that directly impact communities.

Poetry in the Expanded Field (terri witek, Urayoán Noel, Vidhu Aggarwal, Johnny Damm, amaranth borsuk)

When poets make combinatory, sutured creatures by mixing fields of artistic practice, where does the genre then reside? As we choose away from poetry’s genealogy of reading/page, do we have to explain or even decide? Writers who for very different reasons have become successful inter-arts practitioners demo their work and discuss the benefits, tensions and complicities of what happens when poetry “wanders.”

Poetry on the Big Screen (Kai Carlson-Wee, Sara Nordgren, Todd Boss, Michele Poulos, Jamaal May)

With recent blockbuster films like Patterson and Neruda, poetry has been having a Hollywood moment on the screen. While poetry and film have had a long history, increased interest in indie-filmmaking and social media has made it possible for poets to reach a larger, more diverse audience through multimedia. Five panelists–who have directed award-winning poetry films, documentaries, and visual poems–will screen their work and discuss the process of adapting poetry to the big screen.

Poets Teaching Poets: Literary Mentorship and the Creative Life (Melissa Hammerle, Kathleen Graber, Malena Mörling, Patricia Spears Jones, Danielle Legros Georges)

Our greatest teachers are those who attend, with exquisite care, to the literary terrain of our inner lives. They show us a path into our writing with an understanding that shapes us profoundly, as writers and as teachers. In this panel we will reflect on our own mentors, including Stephen Dunn, Lorna Goodison, Galway Kinnell, Philip Levine, Lorenzo Thomas, Jean Valentine, while considering what constitutes meaningful literary mentorship in the academy and in our broader writing communities.

Political Pivoting: Literary Publishing at the Pace of Politics (Johnny Temple, Paul Reyes, Amanda Johnston, Meara Sharma)

Politics pivots from one issue/story to the next very quickly. How can small publishers keep up with the pace while remaining both relevant and true to their literary values? A panel of writers, activists and independent literary publishers tackling current events discuss challenges and opportunities.

The Politics of the Personal: Writing Large By Writing Small (CJ Hribal, Peter Ho Davies, Valerie Laken, Dean Bakopoulos, Lan Samantha Chang)

We're not all going to write dystopian novels of resistance, yet we also all know the political affects us every day. Does that show up in our narratives? How can writers express the political within the personal? How can we "write large" without being preachy or overbearing? Perhaps by writing "small." Five fiction writers will discuss narrative techniques gleaned from some of their favorite novels where the political and the personal are intertwined.

The Power of Poetic Play: Writing That Connects with Young Children (Mary Quattlebaum, J. Albert Mann, Cate Berry, Marianne Murphy, Margaret Cook)

A rich pre-literacy environment enhances future skill in and enjoyment of reading, with poetry especially suited to the creation of this environment. How can we create texts that best engage young children? What part do poetic elements (rhythm, rhyme, repetition, pattern, wordplay, and sound) play in this--and why? Five writers for children discuss examples--from short verse to picture books--that encourage youngsters to actively listen, chime in, and cross into their own reading and writing.

The Power of the Unstable Setting (Janet Johnson, Laura Shovan, Karina Glaser, Leah Henderson, Tricia Springstubb)

When the places most important in children’s lives are in jeopardy, how can books help them cope? Novels dealing with loss of home, family, community, and security encourage young readers to think about their own deep connections to place as well as the dual nature of flux. This panel of middle grade authors will discuss what a powerful force the unstable setting can be as it drives story and shapes characters’ actions and decisions, while also offering young readers new ways to view change.

Preserving the Memory: Strategies for Keeping the Work of Deceased Poets Alive (John Hoppenthaler, Brian Turner, Sidney Clifton, David St. John, Laure-Anne Bosselaar)

A staggering number of poets have left us over the past decade, poets whose presence in our ongoing conversations about poetics and culture remains important. Creative actions by family members, editors, publishers, academics and readers can help to make sure these writers retain a seat at the table. This panel will speak to specific cases, what has been done, and what we hope to do in the future to preserve their memory.

Profundity as Purpose: Thoughts on Sentences, Vocabulary, and Style (Christine Schutt, Josh Weil, John Keene, Christian Kiefer, Porochista Khakpour)

Thrilling! I couldn't put it down! A literary page-turner! Such exclamations speak to a particular set of reader values, namely that writing should be entertaining, concise, clear, and propulsive. This panel speaks to its political opposite: writing that stretches boundaries, considers musicality as important, searches for vocabulary and meaning. Where is today’s writing that takes up the gauntlet of Faulkner, Woolf, Dos Passos, and what can such writing mean in the 21st century?

Publishing Pulse: Anthologies for Orlando (Miguel M. Morales, Roy G Guzmán, David López, Luis Lopez-Maldonado, Maya Chinchilla)

June 12, 2016. Pulse Nightclub. Orlando, FL. As writers responded to the mass shooting by creating work honoring lost LGBTQ voices, two anthologies arose: Pulse/Pulso and The Brillantina Project. This panel details how editors defined and organized their projects focusing on healing and community while navigating the initial crisis and the troubling aftermath. Learn how these sister projects continue to support one another and united for a reading at AWP. Panel will also share contributor poems.

Publishing the Disabled Voice (Kelly Davio, Cecil S. Giscombe, Stephanie Gray, Natalie Mesnard)

Leading disability-focused writers and publishers reflect on, argue about, and discuss the growing canon of literature around disability, and how and where it's being published. Learn what's important to know when reading, discussing, and publishing the literature of disability.

Putting Her Back in the Narrative: History and Herstory (Chantel Acevedo, David Ebershoff, Alina Garcia La Puerta, Ash Parsons)

In the final song of the hit musical Hamilton, Eliza Hamilton "puts herself back in the narrative" to offer a revealing epilogue. In the same spirit, the panelists have brought lesser known female historical figures, hidden in the shadows of history, to the forefront of their fiction and nonfiction. They will share tips for archival research, how to find funding for it, how to shape the story around these women, as well as discuss how a sense of narrative justice informs the work.

A Question of Class: The Art of Writing From Below the Middle (Jeannine Ouellette, Jennifer Bowen Hicks, Bao Phi, Micheal Torres, Roy Guzman)

As bell hooks has said, counting the costs of revealing one’s lower class background can lead to silence and censor as writers struggle with what and how much to reveal. Yet, while writing experiences from below the middle class can be otherizing, especially within the academy, it is also empowering and needed. This panel explores the rewards, risks, and particular craft issues of writing from below the middle class. Panelists speak from experience and teach in nontraditional environments.

Race in Contemporary Memoir & Creative Nonfiction (David Mura, Alexis Paige, Daisy Hernandez, Alexs Pate, Helen Peppe)

With our changing racial landscape, writing on race autobiographically becomes more complex and pressing. For writers of color, issues of intersectionality, new theory and contemporary context can require a wider, deeper and more intricate framework. For white writers, race can be daunting, fraught with potential missteps; yet those who address race can discover a deeper understanding of their own story and society. The panel explores these issues on a craft and theoretical level.

Re-Defining a Writer’s Success Through Intuition, Vulnerability, and Community Service (Allyson Jeffredo, Julie Paegle, Romaine Washington, Isabel Quintero)

As marginalized writers, many times our success cannot be quantified. We work in our communities, yet do not imagine ourselves as “successful” per say. Instead, our actions are responsibilities, necessities. Intuition and vulnerability are vital to being a successful writer, performer, cultural worker, to share our authentic selves, experiences, knowledge. This synergy drives us. In this discussion, writers share their discovery of success through intuition, vulnerability, and community service.

Re-Membering: The Work & Legacy of Jake Adam York (Wesley Rothman, Major Jackson, Ailish Hopper, Honorée Jeffers, Jon Tribble)

When we reflect on memory, we put back together the past. Jake Adam York’s poetry is memory, artfully rendered, of people and places often forgotten. The work of elegy, memoriam, and poetic biography, revises and expands our cultural memory. Five years after his sudden passing, we reflect on York’s complex and crucial contribution of re-membering. Panelists will share about their relationships with York and his work, offer their own approach to the past and our responsibility to re-member it.

Reading as a Revolutionary Act: Inciting Change in the Literary Community (Rachelle Yousuf, Lisa Lucas, Yahdon Israel, Renee Watson, Glory Edim )

How can organizations and members of the literary community connect with readers? How do they engage and incite readers? How can books help create community and foster diversity? This panel will explore the ways in which reading can be an active and effective medium for inciting change and how organizations can work with readers to further their mission and work. We will discuss topics such as how to start and sustain a book club and how reading can unite disparate peoples.

Reading by Example: Some Inquiries into the Art of Criticism (Jonathan Farmer, Evie Shockley, Tess Taylor, Walton Muyumba, Stephen Burt)

What makes a poetry review feel artful and reward reading? What makes it more valuable than the latest issue of Poetry-Consumer Reports? Five leading critics break down exemplary reviews from recent years, discussing the ways their authors create alert, intelligent prose that helps us all see more deeply into poems—and helps us see more clearly how those poems are speaking to and making art from the world around them.

Reading the Dead: Bringing the Past to Life in Nonfiction (Jeremy Jones, Rebecca McClanahan, Kiki Petrosino, Robert Root)

What complications and opportunities arise when nonfiction writers become enmeshed in ancestor’s diaries or explorers’ notebooks or aged love letters? How does their immersion lead them beyond biography into an intimate engagement with figures of the past? Panelists working with family letters and diaries, Thomas Jefferson’s field notes, coded journals, and other historic texts examine questions of ethics, authority, structure, and genre among the challenges of reanimating the past.

Realism is Dead/Long Live Realism: Resistance and Acceptance of a Dramatic Form (Andrew Pederson, Jayme McGhan, Deborah Jordan, Craig Thornton)

Four playwrights, who also direct, present and discuss challenges and approaches to using Realism in the plays they write and choose to produce. We will examine the validity and opportunities that arise from both embracing and denying Realism as a mode of representation on stage. We will discuss how Realism can be limiting in craft to young writers and ways to combat the fatigue of only “writing what you know”.

The Real Mother of All Bombs: Reconsidering John Hersey’s HIROSHIMA (Bob Cowser, David Mura, Kelly Carlisle, John McNally)

‘Fear of the bomb’ has returned, so a reconsideration of John Hersey’s 1946 book HIROSHIMA, a landmark of new journalism exploring the effects of an atomic bomb dropped by U.S. forces on that Japanese city, is very timely. Panelists (including the Hersey’s son Baird) will consider the book’s legacy: the phenomenon of its publication as an entire issue of THE NEW YORKER magazine, its formal innovations as a work of long form literary journalism, and its cultural legacy in America and Japan.

Redemption in the Pen: Insights from the Journeys of Formerly Incarcerated Writers (Michael Fischer, Alexis Paige, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Randall Horton, Hosea Stevens)

Over two million Americans live behind bars. Many write to ease the pain of confinement and forge paths to reinvention. This panel offers perspectives from formerly incarcerated writers of both poetry and prose, discussing how they chose language to express such personal and stigmatized experiences. Topics include how to write an ongoing trauma, maintain a healthy writing practice in a toxic environment, and discussion of how writing programs and journals are incorporating these new voices.

Reimagining Our Family Tree: New Poetry of Inheritance and Survival (Traci Brimhall, Victoria Chang, Brenda Shaughnessy , Javier Zamora, Rachel McKibbens)

Five authors of hot-off-the-press poetry collections from Copper Canyon Press trace and reinvent family ties. Through readings and conversation, we’ll share vital stories including a multi-generational migration from El Salvador to the United States; an immersive journey with the ghosts of Brazilian ancestors; identity in adventures in high-stakes suburbia; and notions of inherited madness, marked names, and queer chosen family—this is poetry that claims a lineage of survival.

Reports from the Field: Recent Candidates Discuss the Academic Job Hunt (Stephanie Devine, Ryan Habermeyer, Nick White, Sara Johnson, LaTanya McQueen)

Five candidates: two with tenure-track jobs, two currently on the market, and one pursuing a fellowship, relay their unique experiences navigating the academic job market. This panel offers advice covering all the stages of the job search, from deciphering the ads, writing the job materials, the preliminary interviews, and the campus visit. We discuss missteps made, the potential problems POC face, the decisions that went into the positions chosen, and what we wish we'd known before we began.

Required Reading: Authors, Editors, and Publishers Talk Textbooks for Creative Writers (Sean Prentiss, Todd Kaneko, Stephanie Lenox, Heather Kummel, David Avital)

This panel of publishers, editors, and writers examines the [adjective: dynamic, sexy, arduous] process of writing textbooks—from conception, to finding a publisher, to building the book, to, even, creating an entire textbook series. This panel will include nuts and bolts, but much of it will investigate how writers, editors, and publishers dream up new ways to write for the college student and to carve out a niche in the competitive textbook marketplace.

The Revival of Aphrodite’s Daughter: Rhetoric in Contemporary Poetry (Jericho Brown, Sharon Dolin, Linda Gregerson, Pablo Medina, Ange Mlinko)

“Persuasion is Aphrodite's daughter: it is she who beguiles our mortal hearts.” So wrote Sappho 2,600 years ago, and rhetorical figures, once considered disingenuous outliers, have undergone a shift in perception by poets who recognize them as the enduring armature of many memorable lines of poetry—from the political to the post-confessional. After two previous panels on rhetoric, five poets discuss additional rhetorical figures as they exist in their own poems and in those of poets they admire.

The Road Out: Lambda Literary Surveys the Future of LGBTQ Writing (Tony Valenzuela, William Johnson, Joy Ladin, Amy Scholder, Brandi Spaethe)

In the 30 years since its founding, Lambda Literary has advocated for LGBTQ writers and readers as we confronted AIDS, debated marriage, grappled with issues of equality and justice, and sought to foster a diverse and inclusive queer/trans culture. Now, amid renewed oppression and threat, how best can Lambda Literary and queer writers foster a proactive, sustainable place for ourselves? Literary activists affiliated with Lambda Literary lead a conversation with the community on the path forward.

The Role of The Expatriat Writer in Times of Political Upheaval (Connie May Fowler, Robin Hemley, Xu Xi, Sion Dayson, Donald Quist)

During periods of deep political turmoil, do expatriate writers bear special responsibilities? Do we return home and resist or do we, from our perches abroad, seek to create a more nuanced, globally informed narrative? Our panelists live in far flung reaches—Hong Kong, Mexico, Paris, Southeast Asia—and will discuss how they deal with urgent issues such as dissent, war, American policy, terror, and climate change as both Writer and Other in a world in which being neutral is not an option.

A Rose by Any Other Name Smells Just as Sweet: Creating and Reinventing Literary Magazines at Two-Year Colleges (Emily Andrews, Laura McClister, Jasmin Ziegler, Kristofer Whited, Matt Larrimore)

Want to start or reinvent a literary magazine at your two-year school? Advisers discuss and demonstrate strategies for naming and renaming the magazine, involving all of the stakeholders, garnering submissions, submission management, budget concerns, design, printer selection, online presence, and student practicums. Panelists also discuss the various views on the role of the adviser. While the panel focuses on two-year school programs, this event is also applicable to university publications.

RX for Writers Targeted by Hate Speech and Trolling (Katy Glenn Bass, Sam Zelitch, Ashley Ford, Kyle Dacuyan)

As the internet and social media becomes ever more influential in writers’ careers, we will discuss how they can deal with hate speech and trolling directed against their work and in some cases their sense of personal safety. This discussion aims to surface the experiences of writers facing such harassment and equip them with the tools and techniques available to combat this kind of assault on their work and online presence.

Screenwriting in the Twenty-First Century: Writing for All Lengths and Screen Sizes (Leslie Kreiner Wilson, Gregg Bachman, Andres Orozco, Tom Provost, Claire Hutchinson)

Screenwriting has diversified and expanded in the twenty-first century. Devices such as cell phones, tablets, laptops – streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, Hulu – as well as websites such as YouTube – have all multiplied the types as well as lengths of screenplays. In this panel, screenwriters discuss new distribution platforms, short films, web series, streaming shows, binge watching, YouTube Channels, and other phenomena that have changed the ways in which some audiences consume media.

Screenwriting: Introducing Your Protagonist (Leslie Kreiner Wilson, Gregg Bachman, Andres Orozco, Claire Hutchinson, Tom Provost)

One of the most important moments in any screenplay is the introduction of the protagonist. On this panel, we show examples of great character introductions in films as well as examine how those moments relate to plot, theme, and character arc. Screenwriters and instructors leave with a new arsenal of examples to help them improve their own work and the work of others.

Second Blooming: Resources for older women writers (Ellen Meeropol, Robin Talbot, Amy Wheeler, Kendra Kopelke, Breena Clarke)

Publishing creative work is more challenging for older women, even though maturity and life experiences are invaluable assets for a writer. This panel offers resources – MFA programs, residencies and conferences, and publishing options – that particularly welcome and support the work of older women writers.

The Secret Sauce – How Boards and staff partner to make amazing things happen (Ruth Dickey, Andrea Voytko, Lisa Lucas, Fiona McCrae, Andrew Proctor)

Ever wonder the secret behind thriving nonprofits that are accomplishing extraordinary things? Literary centers, publishers, and other nonprofits all need great leadership at the board and staff level to accomplish audacious goals. Come hear from leadership pairs (Executive Director & Board member) from the National Book Foundation, Literary Arts, and Seattle Arts & Lectures about what makes the partnership work, how to recruit great board members, and lessons learned in collaboration.

The Semi-Formal: Hybrid Free and Formal Verse (Marc Vincenz, Larissa Shmailo, Dean Kostos, Timothy Liu, Elizabeth L. Hodges)

Between the polarities of free and formal verse is a spectrum of hybrid poetry that utilizes the treasures of both: inventiveness, innovative structures, rhyme and rhythm. This panel will present and analyze such hybrid poems, classic and contemporary, including work by Gerard Manley Hopkins, Patricia Smith, and Claudia Rankine. We will "out" free verse poets in their use of formal elements, discovering their metric codes, and discuss the impact of free verse on the evolution of form.

Sexual Violence in Poetry (Elizabeth Mayorca, Susan Ayres, Wendy Barker, Dorianne Laux)

Poets are erasing the silence and shame of sexual violence, specifically incest, by bringing unique voices and perspectives to writing. In this open and honest discussion, writers wrestle with the topic of incest in their work and the influential work of others to explore representation, memory, and trauma. Topics include: navigating trauma writing with a high level of craft; challenging norms of family secrets; exploring intersections of sexual identity and trauma.

The Shadow of the Mouse: How Florida Fiction Can Escape Theme Park Culture (Chris Eder, Regina Sakalarios-Rogers, Jeffrey Newberry, John Dufresne, Patrick Ryan)

When Americans think of Florida too often they think of theme parks or mobility scooters. Those who write in and about this region hope to be taken seriously when the place they write about isn’t. Five writers of literary fiction consider the inward and outward facing qualities of Florida literature. Specifically, how can fiction writers make Florida feel real when it’s so often associated with make believe? How can they humanize a cartoon state?

Shooters Gotta Shoot: Voice in Sports (MJ McGinn, Anelise Chen, Lucas Mann, Kerry Howley, Dvora Meyers)

How can we accurately capture the language and voice of sports? How has the mainstream media, specifically athlete interviews, altered our cultural understanding of language in sports and in what ways does that affect our writing? In what ways can voice be utilized to flesh out the world of sports that we have created? This diverse panel of authors will discuss how they have redefined their sports literature through the use of voice.

Should I Stay or Should I Go: Re-visioning the Tenure Track (Rebecca Lehmann, Joanna Luloff, V.V. Ganeshananthan, Valerie Wetlaufer, Sara Schaff)

Three fiction writers and two poets consider the pros and cons of entering, and staying on, the tenure track. In an increasingly competitive job market, when is chasing the tenure track dream worth it, and when is it time to walk away? Topics include best practices for landing a tenure track job, whether a PhD is necessary, negotiating job offers, teaching institutions versus research universities, when a visiting gig might be a better fit, and when to prioritize happiness over the tenure track.