Awp conference & Bookfair 2018 Tentative Accepted Events

Translating from the Peripheries (Chenxin Jiang, Annie Janusch, Kelsi Vanada)

Translating from the peripheries of a dominant language, e.g. from Taiwan/Hong Kong for Chinese, from Austria/Switzerland for German, or from Venezuela/Chile for Spanish, underscores questions about what readers and publishers expect in translated literature. Panelists discuss the challenges and rewards of translating authors on the margins of their own language, such as an Austrian writer whose books were initially mis-received by German reviewers for being written in "Austrian.”

Translation and/as Exile (Becka McKay, Sarah Stickney, Michelle Gil-Montero, Mira Rosenthal)

How does exile—literal and metaphorical, physical and otherwise—affect the process of translation? How do our choices change when we translate into or out of diaspora? And isn’t translation itself a form of exiling a language? Translators working from Hebrew, Spanish, Polish, and Italian will explore the relationship of exile to translated language—from working with the words of exiled writers to examining differences that the state of exile imposes on our language.

Translation as/and Advocacy (Chip Rolley, Pierre Joris, Elizabeth Lowe, Aron Aji, Alta Price)

Translators often consider how their work influences the cultural landscape into which they translate. Equally important is how the translator creates political ripple effects, welcome or not, in the author’s home country. Panelists translating from Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Turkish discuss their experiences navigating cultural politics, censorship, and nationalism, as they explore the political consequences and ethical burdens of serving as a medium between cultures.

A Tribute to June Jordan (Patricia Spears Jones, Javier Zamora, Evie Shockley, Patrick Rosal, Carey Salerno)

This tribute celebrates the work of June Jordan, award-winning American poet, playwright, essayist, and teacher. Over a career that produced twenty-seven volumes of poems, essays, libretti, and work for children, Jordan engaged the fundamental struggles of her era: over civil rights, women’s rights, and sexual freedom. Poets and writers celebrate her influential position in American letters, sharing and discussing their favorite works, and conveying the power and prowess of June Jordan.

A Tribute to the poets Claire Kageyama-Ramakrishnan and Derick Burleson, two University of Houston graduates (Allen Gee, Adrienne Su, Laurie Clements Lambeth, Sean Hill, Edward Skoog)

In 2016 the writing world lost Claire Kageyma-Ramakrishnan and Derick Burleson. They had each earned their doctorates at the University of Houston, and they were each poets and professors in the prime of their careers, Claire only 47, Derick just 53. Their absence is not easy to bear; our diverse panel will pay tribute to them for their friendship, their teaching, and their writing, and we hope everyone who knew them will gather with us to contribute as many remembrances as time allows.

A Tribute to Van Brock, Poet and Founder of Anhinga Press (Rick Campbell, Geoff Brock, Peter Meinke, Silvia Curbelo, Donna J. Long)

In this tribute, writers who knew Van Brock for many years will discuss his work, legacy and read some of his poems. Others from the audience may offer their remembrances too.Van K. Brock taught at Florida State University for 30 years. During that time he nurtured three generations of writers, founded Anhinga Press, edited Sundog and International Quarterly, and started a still-active Tallahassee reading series. He also published six collections of poetry.

Truer Words Were Never Spoken: On the Challenges of Writing About Family in Creative Nonfiction/Memoir (Artress Bethany White, Sharon Harrigan, Bridgett Davis, Lori Horvitz)

Writers of nonfiction struggle with the ethics of transparency in their work, particularly when discussing family. From fratricide to confronting parental abandonment or making a living from illegal professions, writers must often face their own demons and those of extended family members to tell their stories. Each author will discuss a work of memoir from a published or forthcoming book and then discuss reconciling the transparency necessary for the success of the project.

Trusting the Process: The Work of John Dufresne (Hector Duarte, Jr, Tom Demarchi, John Dufresne, Louis Lowy, Cully Perlman)

John Dufresne is an important advocate in the South Florida writing community. Everyone who knows him is familiar with his selflessness and generosity when it comes to craft. For decades, he has taught anyone willing to learn, and has done so with grace, patience, humility, and a keen editorial eye. Three panelists share personal stories of friendship and tutelage with John Dufresne. Later, the man himself will sit for a question and answer session, offering insights and advice.

Two Mediums in One Artist: Life as a Musician and Author (Brendan Stephens, Ephraim Scott Sommers, Cal Freeman, Cornelius Eady, Michelle Cruz Gonzales)

What are the major points of intersection between songwriting and the writing of literature? How might these two seemingly different mediums inform one another? What can music achieve that literature cannot? The artists on this panel have dedicated their lives to the writing of literature and the writing of song and will speak to the fruitful connections this blending of forms has afforded their creative lives.

Unacknowledged Legislators: Poetry in the Age of Alternative Facts (Brian Brodeur, Cornelius Eady, Dorianne Laux , David Mason, Mai Der Vang)

What counts as political poetry? Which characteristics constitute a successful political poem? Can invocations of myth, landscape descriptions, and dramatic personae affect social, cultural, and political change? Join us for a lively consideration of these and other topics including literary representations of otherness, the political implications of prosodic techniques, and writing beyond the limitations of satire, polemics, and prophecy.

Understanding Novel Structure (Arna Bontemps Hemenway, Lan Samantha Chang, Peter Ho Davies, Susanna Daniel)

It can be a lodestar, a revelation, a voice in the wilderness, the solution to a riddle. From premise to final revision, structure is at the core of successful fiction. But where, for the author, does it come from? And how does one conceive of, execute, and/or repair a manuscript’s shape? Four writers--including the Director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, winners of the PEN/Hemingway and PEN/Bingham Awards, and a Man Booker long-listed novelist--discuss the ins and outs of structuring a novel.

Understanding the Boom (Bryan Hurt, Sean Bernard, Amaranth Borsuk, Christopher Coake, Jennifer Kwon Dobbs)

Three to 733: that’s the increase in creative writing degrees since 1975. While institutions are meeting demand, they rarely understand why it exists, which can lead to static curriculum and graduates uncertain what to do next. This panel brings together professors from programs serving diverse populations to discuss student expectations and best practices for designing responsible curriculum that prepares graduates for the future.

Undocupoets Speak (Suzi F. Garcia, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Javier Zamora, Janine Jospeh, Christopher Soto)

In 2015, Undocupoets published an open petition asking for ten highly-visible & renowned first book poetry contests to reconsider and remove the language stating U.S. citizenship as a requirement for submission/publication. In fall 2016, they established the Undocupoets Fellowship. Janine Joseph joined them in order to begin this fellowship to help undocumented writers pay book contest fees. Here they will discuss their goals moving forward and discuss the marginalization of undocumented writers

Unnatural Deaths (Sarah Dohrmann, Nick Flynn, Christa Parravani, Carolyn Murnick, Darin Strauss)

Suicides, murders, overdoses, accidents, acts of war—they're the unnatural deaths that pose particular challenges for some writers of nonfiction. Panelists will discuss approaches in craft for a subject that often has more questions than it does answers, as well as the unique challenges presented during the editorial, publishing, and post-publication processes—legal issues; political reverb; candid, uncomfortable discussions; and the delicacy in dealing with those who loved the dead.

The Unreliable Speaker (Catherine Barnett, Kimberly Johnson, Jay Hopler, Monica Youn)

In an era of fake news and eroding trust, five poets take a look at the role of the unreliable speaker. Panelists discuss notions of truth, sincerity, persona, facts, disguise, performance, authority, illusion, self and the counterfeit self, all of which have taken on increasing urgency in the past year. At the heart of the conversation on the poetic (as on the political) stage are George Herbert's lines: "At least those beams of truth, which onely save, / Surpasse in brightnesse any flame."

Untangling Copyright: A Crash Course for Creators (Brianna Schofield, Christine Fruin, David Hansen)

From the moment you put pen to paper, copyright questions loom in the background. Is your work protected by copyright? Can you incorporate other authors’ works into your own? On what terms do you want to let publishers—or others—use your work? This panel of legal experts provides a primer on copyright, fair use, and publishing terms. You will leave the panel armed with practical information that will empower you to make informed copyright decisions so you can focus on your writing.

The Value of Redemption When Writing YA Literature About Protest and Violence (Ann Angel, Debra Brenegan, Heather Lee Schroeder, Sarah Aronson, Artress Bethany White)

Recognizing the conflict inherent in protest and how protest ignored can lead to violence and war, writers instinctively examine the redemptive qualities found in protest and transform their communities by opening readers to diverse ideas and challenges. This panel of writers and writing teachers provides a powerful opportunity to help participants recognize the many ways that protest can effect redemptive resolutions through the written word.

Voice in the American Southeast: a David Kirby Tribute Panel (Dorothy Chan, David Kirby, Alex Quinlan, MaryKatherine Callaway)

Since 2003, David Kirby has served as the Robert O. Lawson Distinguished Professor of English at FSU. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Florida Humanities Council. His collection, The House on Boulevard St. was a finalist for the National Book Award. This panel honors Kirby’s legacy as a poet, teacher, and champion of poetic voice. As a figure, he speaks to Florida and Louisiana cultures and to poets past and present. Kirby himself finishes the panel with a reading.

Weaving All Our Tongues: Latinx Editors/Publishers and the Creation of Comunidad (Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrán, Raina J. León, Lorenzo Herrera y Lozano, Casandra Lopez, Carmen Giménez Smith)

Latinx publishing builds stronger activist, artistic, and scholarly communities. Editors and publishers will discuss the production and maintenance of Latinx, Indigenous, African, womanist, queer/trans, pan-people of color, and multicultural journals, solo/co-authored books, anthologies, and presses. Collaboratively producing diverse texts, panelists will discuss navigating economic, logistical, and institutional challenges, while centering issues of culture, politics, aesthetics, and diversity.

What Section of the Bookstore Does It Go? The Challenges of Marketing Hybrid Books (Neelanjana Banerjee, Amarnath Ravva, Lisa Pearson, Q.M. Zhang, Iris Marble)

For many writers, the confines of genre are not only limiting, but impossible, and the result are complex books that cross boundaries and defy classification. For small presses and their authors, the challenge comes when trying to promote these books in the traditional marketing systems and through mainstream media. In this panel, small press publishers who focus on hybrid books will discuss strategies and best practices to make sure your hybrid book doesn’t get lost in the stacks.

What We Really Tell When We Tell of Home: The Resonant Poetics of Narrative (Nishat Ahmed, Tim Seibles, Cornelius Eady, Luisa Igloria, Amanda Galvan Huynh)

Writers of color discuss ​the contemporary mandate for re-imagining the relevance, scope, and use of narrative in their work. Set against the context of traditions that seemingly view the use of auto/biographical and narrative types of writing in poems with suspicion because of their association with the merely confessional, this panel seeks to argue for the potency and continued relevance of narrative in poems, in the formal and poetic sense, and beyond their subjective or cathartic value.

What We Write About When We Write About Sustainability (Steve Heller, Irene Vilar, Douglas Unger, Sharman Apt Russell, Donald Strauss)

Authors Sharman Apt Russell, Irene Vilar, Doug Unger and Donald Strauss wrap their words around a crucial issue in the era of climate change—sustainability, and what that term means for writers. Why should we care? Should we be writers or activists first, and can we be both? Given an uncertain global future, how can we best prepare ourselves and our readers for dramatic shifts in ecology and society? Moderated by Steve Heller.

What Writers Need to Know about What Editors Do (Peter Ginna, Jane Friedman, Erika Goldman, Calvert Morgan, Jeff Shotts)

On the path to book publication, the editor is often seen as a mysterious and intimidating figure—the gatekeeper, the guru, or perhaps the pitiless slasher of prose. Such perceptions linger because the role of editor encompasses a wide range of tasks—not just shaping words on the page but serving as a book’s first and most critical advocate and publishing strategist. Five experienced panelists will share with writers in all genres what they need to know about what editors do.

What’s the Point of a Lit Mag? (Bryce Emley, Adam McGee, Jared Yates Sexton, Felicia Zamora, Yi Shun Lai)

The basic goal of any literary magazine is to bring important, quality writing into the world. But who defines what’s important, what’s good, what’s neither? Are magazines valued more by readers or writers? What roles do aesthetic, author background, and topic play in selections, and what does all this mean for writers vying for publication? Five editors discuss the purpose of literary magazine publishing today and their responsibility in choosing what and whom to promote—or even silence.

Whatever it Takes: Get Your Book the Attention it Deserves (Sean Bernard, Vanessa Hua, Alicia Rabins, Douglas Manuel, Ariel Lewiton)

Many authors don’t realize that in many ways, their work actually increases when the writing is done. Four recent first-book writers and one publicist will discuss the pitfalls and successes they’ve encountered in book promotion, sharing how to avoid mistakes both common and unique as well as strategies – from hustling reviews and doing book tours to selling poetry scarves, giving away temporary tattoos, making promotional trailers, and more – in order to usher works into happy existence.

Where Are All the Female Editors? The Imbalance of Female Editors in the Publishing Industry (Lisa Kastner, M.J. Fievre , Rebecca Dimyan, Jennifer McCauley)

Articles are regularly published reporting the imbalance of female editors to male editors on journal mastheads. Female editors of color are represented even less. Is there really a gender and racial bias in the publishing industry? In this panel, female editors from diverse backgrounds discuss the struggles, triumphs and challenges of working in the literary world.

Who Are We Writing For? Who Are We Writing Toward? (Bix Gabriel, T Kira Madden, Ursula Villareal-Moura, Megan Giddings)

Do I have to explain the difference between Pakistan and Bangladesh? Do I have to give a translation in my work for this phrase? How explicit do I have to be that this character is not white? Five emerging, female/genderfluid writers discuss their decisions about audience, the choices and negotiations they make while writing and editing their prose for mass consumption.

Why [Not] Say What Happened?: On Writing Confessional Poetry (Geffrey Davis, Rachel Mennies, Jericho Brown, Morgan Parker, Maggie Smith)

The 20th century saw both the birth of confessional poetry and its backlash. Today, the position of the “poetry of the personal” within contemporary poetry remains controversial, as poets tangle with the stakes of writing about the self. Join five poets for a candid conversation about their relationship to the confessional label; its usefulness—and misuse—when ascribed to poets writing about race, gender, and sexuality; and interrogating the ongoing dialogue between poet, speaker, and reader.

Why Indie Presses Are Opening Bookstores (Sally Bradshaw, Betsy Teter, Daniel Slager, Victor Giron)

An increasing number of independent presses are going into the retail book business, morphing into full-service community hubs for book browsing and expanded literary programming. Some see retail floor space as an opportunity to bring more customers and supporters to their front doors. Others see it as an important source of income. This panel, with representatives of three thriving presses, will examine how they did it, whether it’s working, what they hope to achieve, and what they've learned.

Why Start a Literary Magazine? (Erin Stalcup, Kenzie Allen, Gabriel Blackwell, Levis Keltner)

Some say more excellent literary journals exist than anyone could ever read, so there’s no need for any more. We disagree. The Founders and Editors of five mission-driven magazines—The Collagist, Nepantla, Anthropoid, Newfound, and Waxwing—discuss why we started our journals, and how we’re changing the literary landscape by publishing aesthetically brilliant, diverse voices. We are doing the necessary work of expanding the conversation through the range and rigor of our authors.

WITS Alliance Meeting (Robin Reagler, Jack McBride)

Writers in the Schools (WITS) Alliance invites current and prospective members to attend a general meeting led by Robin Reagler, Executive Director of WITS Houston. We will discuss how to start and/or expand a WITS program in your community, exploring fundraising, strategies for growth, summer camps, and more.

Women “of a Certain Age”: Poetry, Desire & Power (Sarah Browning, Amy Dryansky, Teri Ellen Cross Davis, Venus Thrash)

Obsession with the female body crosses cultures and timelines. Women are bombarded with imagery and mis/conceptions about our bodies, and how they should look, feel, and behave. Female desire is endlessly policed and, as we age, denied or belittled. But what do women “of a certain age” feel about our bodies outside the corporate, cultural (male) gaze? What do we have to say about desire, power, visibility, and loss and how do we craft these investigations into challenging, sexy poems?

Women, War and the Military: How to Tell the Story (Mariana Grohowski, Helen Benedict , Tracy Crow, Mary (M.L.) Doyle, Jerri Bell)

Five writers--three military veterans and two civilians--weigh the pros and cons of telling military women’s stories through fiction versus memoir. Is the novel still better, as Virginia Woolf argued, at representing the private discourses of women’s lives to the public? Or does the memoir better afford women the opportunity to write themselves into history? What can a novel do that a memoir cannot, and vice versa? Is there a reason why more women veterans have turned to memoir than to fiction?

Women's Caucus (Amy King, Melissa Studdard, Gabrielle Bellot, Hafizah Geter, 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.

Workshop Pedagogy and the Fiction of George Saunders (Ted Pelton, Alissa Nutting, Thaddeus Rutkowski, Christina Milletti, Dean Bakopoulos)

Five writers, all seasoned fiction workshop leaders, will discuss craft via the fiction of George Saunders. Saunders’s texts bridge several fiction-writing divides. His bestselling work is nevertheless informed by language-centered aesthetics; as well, Saunders blends the historical and documentary with exaggeration, hyperreality, and magic. Panelists will tease out how Saunders does what he does and what we can learn from this work, offering also GS-inspired exercises for fiction classrooms.

The World and the Story: How Plot Maps Fictional Realities (Leah Stewart, Brock Clarke, Jung Yun, Brenda Peynado, Julialicia Case)

In fiction, there’s an interdependent relationship between world-building (the map) and narrative construction (the route). This panel will examine how writers employ different types of stories—the romance, the mystery, the quest—in service to different visions of reality. Why does a realist like Chekhov so often use the romance? For what purposes does a fantasy writer use the quest? How can a writer of literary fiction employ the quest or the mystery to investigate character?

The Worst Writing Advice I Ever Got (Melissa Stein, Mark Doty, Chris Abani, Ada Limon, Susan Orlean)

Bad advice: it’s everywhere. Five intrepid prose writers and poets dish up counterproductive counsel offered by teachers, by friends and family, by other writers, by naysayers and ambition-squashers and status-quo-preservers anywhere they’ve encountered them in their lives (including, sometimes, in their own heads). We’ll explore how we develop resilience and courage and confidence and voice as writers and, along the way, may just sneak in a wealth of brilliant and eminently useful advice.

Writ Large: Expansion in the Short Story (Siân Griffiths, Eric Sasson, Caitlin Horrocks , Marie-Helene Bertino , Diane Cook )

William Strunk said, “vigorous writing is concise.” Professors and craft books tend to agree, emphasizing the importance of cutting and concision. However, what’s good for the sentence is not always good for the story. Our panel suggests that sometimes a story benefits from more, not less. We examine ways to know if a story needs another dimension and in those instances, discuss strategies the writer might explore to help their stories find their best length.

Write What You Know but Know It All: Research as Catalyst in Fiction (Alexander Chee, Jennine Capó Crucet, Patricia Engel, Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes, Xhenet Aliu)

One fiction writer constructs an imaginary world and turns to research—historical, scientific, vernacular—for verisimilitude. Another stumbles upon a historical event or character and uses imagination to give it life. Who did it right? Is there such a thing? A panel of novelists who’ve produced a diverse body of fiction, from the seemingly semi-autobiographical to the historical, discuss the ways in which research and imagination work in concert—or conflict—to build a fictional world.

Write What You Want to Know: Fiction Writers on Research (Chloe Benjamin, Lucy Tan, Piyali Bhattacharya, Joe Cassara, Judith Claire Mitchell)

Whether your project is inspired by the real world or an imagined one, research can play an essential role in writing fiction. How do we use facts without allowing them to derail our narratives? How do we take advantage of resources outside of our comfort zones? From conducting academic research to personal interviews, mining family histories to the depths of the Internet, four writers discuss tactics for exploring the interplay between research and imagination.