2026 Conference Schedule

Failure shapes the writer’s life, with powerful, surprising results. Whether it’s a rejected book, an unfinished draft, a grant or job that won’t materialize, or the failures of genre, disappointment shapes our creative trajectory. In a culture that fetishizes success, how do we metabolize failure? What are the pitfalls and opportunities of creative defeat? Carol Edgarian, Beth Ann Fennelly, Rick Barot, and Paisley Rekdal engage in an open conversation about failure within a long career.