In-Person Events
These events will take place in person in Chicago, Illinois, in March 2027. Unless otherwise noted, these events will not be available to watch online.Loading...
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100 Years of Prairie Schooner: A Celebration Reading
Publishing since 1927, Prairie Schooner holds the distinction of being among the five oldest literary quarterlies in the nation. In commemoration of its centennial issue, this panel will bring together four contributors from the archives of Prairie Schooner, authors of poetry, short fiction, and essays, in a celebration of 100 years of publishing original poetry, short fiction, and essays from around the world.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Timothy Schaffert Presenter: Denise Duhamel Presenter: Rigoberto Gonzalez Presenter: Toi Derricotte Presenter: Molly Gaudry
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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005 |
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15 Trombones Where Other Women Got Hips: Ntozake Shange’s Jazz & Choreopoems
Black feminist poet, playwright, and novelist Ntozake Shange blended jazz, African drums, and Black dance with drama to create rhythmic poetry and choreopoems such as for colored girls, i live in music, spell #7, and other works. Shange’s writings connected themes on Black girlhood, Black feminism, Black consciousness, love, music, and spirituality. The panelists will read from Shange’s work and reflect on how her style, themes, and achievements influenced their own writings and perspectives.
Speaker(s): Moderator: DuEwa Frazier Presenter: Cherise Pollard Presenter: Samiya Bashir Presenter: Michele Evans
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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010 |
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A Brain for Every Character: Write Authentic Neurodivergent Characters
Neurodivergent and cognitively diverse character representation is expanding in fiction. Learn how to write these characters authentically and avoid stereotypes. Panelists will discuss characters within their work, research techniques, positive and negative depictions, coded and explicit representation, and the impact of narrative choices to write multilayered characters with a wide range of brains. The panel will include specific resources and exercises to strengthen character creation.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jenna Grinstead Presenter: Guadalupe Garcia McCall Presenter: Mary Morris Presenter: Susan Mesler-Evans Presenter: Francesca Block
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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015 |
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A Certain Bitchiness: Women Writing Women in Fiction
Too often women characters in fiction are created using stereotypes and tropes that can, at best, detract from the writing and, at worst, perpetuate harm. Five women fiction writers will discuss how to approach writing women characters, how they negotiate “likability,” flaws, and the relatability of characters who might not have all the right answers. Each writer will share strategies about and experiences in writing women characters in novels, novellas, short stories, and hybrid works.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Katie Jean Shinkle Presenter: Erika Wurth Presenter: Jeanne Thornton Presenter: Megan Giddings Presenter: Ursula Villarreal-Moura
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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020 |
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“A Different Kind of Novel”: Reading & Writing Experimental Fiction
“All novelists,” writes Anne Carson, “share the fantasy of a different kind of novel.” Yet most fail to “abolish” the novel’s familiar indicators of “plot, consequence, the pleasure a reader derives from answers withheld.” What does it mean to disrupt or transform the pleasure these indicators afford? This panel will consider how experimental, plotless, situation, or language-based narratives offer up politically and aesthetically meaningful reconfigurations of the reader-writer contract.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kasia Van Schaik Presenter: Brendan Bowles Presenter: Mandy Gutmann-Gonzalez Presenter: Jeff Noh Presenter: Sarah Burgoyne
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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025 |
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A House We Built Together: Sustaining Literary Communities for Writers of Color
Five panelists will discuss strategies for cultivating long-term creative ecosystems through mentorship, accessible programming, intergenerational collaboration, grassroots organizing, and collective care. Moving beyond conversations of representation alone, this session asks how literary communities are maintained, protected, and reimagined over time, and what becomes possible when writers are supported not just as artists, but as whole people.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Leticia Hernández-Linares Presenter: MK Chavez Moderator: Maw Shein Win Presenter: Lee Herrick Presenter: Kevin Dublin
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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A Press That Feels like Home: How to Publish Multiple Books with the Same Press
In the competitive publishing landscape, ongoing relationships with a home press are an essential practice that can make writers feel supported as they explore new territory. This panel features four writers whose relationships with a publisher—from small presses to university presses to the Big Five—have supported more than one book. Topics include how to identify presses open to publishing multiple books, how to cultivate editorial relationships, and how to broach the subject of a new manuscript.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Dennis Sweeney Presenter: Cameron Barnett Presenter: Devi Laskar Presenter: Sonya Huber Presenter: Lucy Jane Bledsoe
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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035 |
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A Time & a Place: Residencies, Retreats & Finding Space to Create
What opportunities can residencies and retreats offer for both solitary creative time and community building? This panel features directors of a variety of residency programs who will offer practical guidance and resources for prospective attendees. By exploring a range of opportunities—urban and rural, short- and long-term, collaborative and service-based—panelists will demystify the residency experience, exploring the value of creating space for individual and communal artistic endeavors.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jennifer Moore Presenter: Erin Elizabeth Smith Presenter: Jerod Santek Presenter: Sara Cutaia Presenter: Gabriel Chalfin-Piney-González
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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040 |
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AAPI Caucus
What is literature’s role in liberation? How do we as Asian American and Pacific Islander writers and readers steward spaces of care, emergence, legacy, and belonging? How can we think expansively about what it means to be of AAPI diasporic communities and what it means to be a writer?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Gina Chung Presenter: Noah Arhm Choi Presenter: Lawrence-Minh Davis Presenter: Ching-In Chen
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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045 |
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Accidental Ambassadors: Immigrant Writers on Representing Home Countries
Writers with immigrant roots writing about home countries often hear complaints that they do not portray their people and cultures in favorable terms and that they fail to serve as ambassadors of their countries of origin. In this session, five writers representing five South Asian countries discuss how they write about and represent their home countries and cultures. More specifically, they explore underlying tensions in representation and discuss strategies they employ as they write from diaspora.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Khem Aryal Presenter: Rahad Abir Presenter: Kanza Javed Presenter: Oindrila Mukherjee Presenter: V.V. Ganeshananthan
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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050 |
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Adjunct Faculty Writers & the Rise of Generative AI: Plagues & Opportunities
It’s a truism that since ChatGPT burst on the scene at the end of 2022, generative AI has changed our jobs as writing teachers. For adjunct faculty, the rise of AI threatens to add even more precarity and unpaid labor to our working conditions. Our panel will discuss the most productive ways that instructors and administrators can respond to the pedagogical challenges raised by the widespread availability of AI tools while protecting nontenurable faculty’s livelihoods and academic freedom.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Courtney Bambrick Presenter: Elizabeth Switaj Presenter: Estelle Erasmus Presenter: Sarah Layden Presenter: Staci Halt
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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055 |
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Adjunct Writers Caucus
The Adjunct Writers Caucus provides a space for writers who teach from precarious positions within academia—including adjunct faculty, contingent faculty, graduate students, and others without stable institutional support—to connect, share resources, and grow. The caucus works to increase visibility for this large and under-recognized community of writers and instructors, while creating space for discussion, support, solidarity, and advocacy.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Cara Diaconoff Moderator: Mike Spry Presenter: Elizabeth Donald Presenter: Joe Hess
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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060 |
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African Poetry in Translation, Sponsored by ALTA
This event focuses on aesthetic and cultural questions related to translating African poets writing in African colonial and indigenous languages. Recent books published by the African Poetry Book Fund include poetry from Angola (Portuguese), Ghana (Ewe), South Africa (Afrikaans), and Zanzibar (Swahili). The translators involved will discuss approaches to the craft of literary translation, their aesthetic collaboration with the poets, and the process of publishing African poetry in translation.
Speaker(s): Moderator: John Keene Presenter: Gabeba Baderoon Presenter: Meg Arenberg Presenter: Sandra Tamele Presenter: Patron Henekou
Translation
Panel Discussion
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065 |
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Afrofuturism, Afrosurrealism & Africanjujuism: The Texts That Shape the Movement
Afrofuturism is one of the fastest-growing genres in the world and is acknowledged for its capacity to push innovations. We will discuss the nuances of three pivotal terms and analyze the foundational texts that have shaped these movements, from pioneering speculative fiction to contemporary surrealist prose, and how it shows up in our own work. Finally, we will navigate the demands of the publishing industry and resist the pressure to explain cultural or spiritual elements to a mainstream audience.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Delight Ejiaka Presenter: Shingai Kagunda Presenter: Somto Ihezue Presenter: Rutendo Chidzodzo Presenter: YVETTE NDLOVU
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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070 |
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Against the Marriage Plot: Queerness & Narrative Structure
Queerness is a site of resistance against inherited narratives of who we are and who we should become. What possibilities, and possible futures, emerge when we write into this resistance? Which narratives do we seek to defy, divest from, or transform? What are our responsibilities as queer nonfiction writers working in an era of rising fascism, when assimilation is still seen by some as a path to safety? In this panel, five writers explore the craft of queering narrative structure in memoir.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Joseph Osmundson Presenter: Aisha Sabatini Sloan Presenter: Alex Marzano-Lesnevich Presenter: Zena Sharman Presenter: Jaquira Díaz
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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075 |
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Age & the Page
Mid- to late-career women poets consider how maturity affects content, craft, and commitment, reflecting on the challenges often specific to women—caregiving, sexism, mentoring workloads. They will reflect upon the challenges they faced as younger poets, the creative choices they made, and how the idea of the poem continued to change along with their own personal journey and constraints. They will reflect upon the opportunities they envision as they consider their own poetic legacy.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Kathy Fagan Presenter: Paisley Rekdal Presenter: Rita Dove Moderator: Jill Bialosky Presenter: Erin Belieu
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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080 |
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Age Up, Not Out! Kick-Ass Strategies: Patricia Smith’s Sage Creators Collective
Embrace aging, don’t be canceled by it! Stay relevant and fearless at every stage of your writing life. These dynamic and diverse Sages (a “force,” per Patricia Smith) redefine age, sharing candid real-life insights on sustaining creative verve. With community and solid strategies, women can continue to heighten artistic growth and resilience. As writers in their mid-50s to 70s, this multigenre panel will share samples of their work and offer tools they’ve wielded to dispel the myth that artists age out of the literary world.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Karen Paul Holmes Moderator: Rebecca Evans Presenter: Patricia Smith Presenter: Jean Howard Presenter: Melissa Rayworth
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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All Welcome on the Schoolyard: Writing #OwnVoices MG/YA Diverse Protagonists
We’ll share our experiences and practical insights about crafting #OwnVoices books for younger readers in today’s political climate where important characters are BIPOC, LGBTQ, neurodivergent, immigrant, working class, or disabled. This will include how we researched and wrote our stories with nuance and sensitivity, how we sought out agents and publishers who understood our stories, and how we navigated censorship and criticism.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Natalia Sylvester Presenter: Benjamin Gorman Presenter: Jenny Ferguson Presenter: Jonathan Rice Moderator: Shilpa Kamat
Children’s & Young Adult Literature
Panel Discussion
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090 |
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Another Country: Fiction, Travel & the Writer’s Craft
This panel brings together four award-winning writers whose fiction has been shaped by travels across Europe, Africa, and Asia. With roots in America, Nigeria, China, Scotland, Sierra Leone, and India, these authors move beyond their own cultural and personal narratives to write about places and communities within and outside their immediate experience through immersion, and sustained engagement. They will discuss the challenges and creative possibilities of experiencing travel to expand their fiction.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Anqi Tang Moderator: Leeya Mehta Presenter: Aminatta Forna Presenter: Helon Habila
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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Art School Writing Faculty Caucus
The Art School Writing Faculty Caucus provides a forum for writers to consider issues unique to art and design environments, their students, and their curricula. This year we welcome new members and guests to a panel discussion of topics including AI, neurodiversity in the classroom, and writing across genres and artistic disciplines. We also seek input concerning the coming year’s caucus programming and the needs of our caucus members and their respective institutions.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Amy Lemmon Presenter: Kathryn Savage Presenter: Melissa Tombro Presenter: Sung Ju Ahn Presenter: Raki Kopernik
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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100 |
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Asian American Ghost Stories
New Asian American ghost stories. Come hear Cathy Che, Lawrence-Minh Bùi Davis, and Karen Yamashita read from new work, all about ghosts.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Lawrence-Minh Davis Moderator: Gerald Maa Presenter: Karen Tei Yamashita Presenter: Cathy Che
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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105 |
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Back to the Future: Empowering Community College Students with In-Class Writing
In response to students’ inclination to use generative-AI tools for writing, many composition and creative writing instructors at two-year colleges are moving to having students write papers in class. This panel will draw from the expertise of experienced faculty in navigating the challenges and benefits of in-class writing. Panelists will discuss their unique approaches, provide sample in-class assignments, and describe how they have overcome the unique challenges of in-class writing.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Regina Peters Presenter: April Gibson Presenter: Jessica Lewis Presenter: Stacy Egan Presenter: Michelle Myers
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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110 |
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Bad Muslims: Resistance & Narrative Complexity
Five writers explore the political and cultural construction of “good” and “bad” Muslims across contemporary Western discourse. Dominant narratives render Muslims legible through reductive binaries of assimilation, extremism, or ideological alignment. Drawing from diverse Muslim identities, panelists discuss how their work uses fragmentation, contradiction, irreverence, ambiguity, and lived experience to resist imposed representations—expanding what it means to write and be read as Muslim today.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Hayan Charara Presenter: Jameelah Lang Presenter: Tarfia Faizullah Presenter: Ladan Osman Presenter: Khaled Mattawa
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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115 |
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Before the Beginning: The Case For & Against Novel Prologues
Novel prologues can get a bad rap as being pretentious or throat-clearing. Some readers even ignore them entirely. But they can also serve as a sly tool to create anticipation, build voice, and tease the range of the story to come—among many other possibilities. This panel will explore the mechanics of well-crafted prologues, the challenges that present themselves in this technique, and innovative ways to make the most of the opening of your novel.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Rebecca Makkai Moderator: Jac Jemc Presenter: Gina Balibrera Presenter: Nana Adjei-Brenyah Presenter: Nina McConigley
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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120 |
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Behind the Scenes at The Chicago Manual of Style
Chicago is home to the premier style manual followed by authors and publishers of literary journals and books. In this session, members of the University of Chicago Press team that produces The Chicago Manual of Style discuss how they decide what to add, delete, and update with each edition as well as what they do when they disagree about changes and how they address issues arising between editions. Writers and editors, come learn the secrets of Chicago style from those who help shape it! Speaker(s): Presenter: Jenny Ringblom Presenter: Jenni Fry Moderator: Carol Saller Presenter: Mary Laur
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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125 |
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Being In-Between: Dilemmas of Affiliation & Creativity
Writers find direction and opportunities through diverse affiliations, whether literary movements, political identifications, religious communities, or informal collaborations. Yet these very affiliations can put writers at odds with their emerging creative work. How do writers negotiate loyalties to these communities and their need for creative freedom? How do they contribute to community formations within and apart from universities while sustaining their commitments to personal discovery?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Elizabeth Robinson Presenter: Rae Armantrout Moderator: Jeanne Heuving Presenter: Jeanne Heuving Presenter: Cindy Juyoung Ok
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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130 |
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Beyond & With the Pastoral: An Indigenous Restoration
Colonial pastoral poetry idealizes retreats to stolen land, where Indigenous people are backdrops for non-Native musings upon simpler ways of life, industrializing both land and imagination. But what are the possibilities of Indigenous poetics writing within and beyond this form? We will discuss how Indigenous poetics can restore the pastoral, utilizing sound, refrain, and visual form, and how this relates to the restoration of our home lands and waters, writing with these sacred spaces as kin.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Halee Kirkwood Moderator: Chris Hoshnic Presenter: Arielle Lowe Presenter: Summer J. Hart Presenter: Robert Bordeaux
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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140 |
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Beyond Control: Perspectives on Censorship in the Literary Arts
In today’s climate, writing and publishing are mired in issues of literary censorship. From “illegal DEI” to book bans and canceled events, writers are losing potential earnings and their right to free speech in support of social justice issues. This panel will give attendees a chance to learn from three writers with firsthand experience of political and identity-based censorship, and to hear a legal perspective from an attorney who specializes in publishing law.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Cathy Che Moderator: B Sampson Presenter: C. Russell Price Presenter: Elisabet Velasquez Presenter: Steven Baron
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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145 |
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Beyond Formulas & Tropes: Centering Genre Fiction in Craft Discussions
Poets writing sonnets are praised for creating something new out of an expected form. But genre fiction writers are criticized for the same work, often dismissed as too reliant on formulas and tropes. This panel brings together scholars and professors who write romance, science fiction, thrillers, horror, and mysteries to discuss why the craft of genre fiction should be centered precisely because it involves creativity with formal elements, and how these genres are transforming literature today.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jessica Goudeau Presenter: Gabino Iglesias Presenter: Tod Goldberg Presenter: Ada Palmer Presenter: Alexandra Vasti
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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150 |
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Beyond Lady Lazarus: Womxn Poets Talk Suicidality
In this session, we will reframe the spectacle of the suicidal womxn poet in the 21st century. How have we learned from foremothers like Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton to defy fetishization and scrutiny in favor of advocacy and community care? How do we balance emotional honesty with the pressures of professional demands? How do we create spaces for young writers to speak about mental health? Five award-winning womxn poets will explore such questions by sharing their experiences and creative work.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sara Henning Presenter: Alexis Sears Presenter: Diannely Antigua Presenter: Rachel Mckibbens Presenter: Stevie Edwards
Poetry Readings
Reading
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155 |
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Beyond Representation: Radical Narrative Forms of Witnessing
This panel asks how fiction can bear witness to atrocity, repression, displacement, and violence without reducing suffering to spectacle. Moving beyond representation, it considers how form can enact dissent and resist dominant narratives. What structures can hold histories of occupation, migration, racialization, caste, gendered violence, incarceration, and empire? Panelists discuss fiction as counter-archive, witness, refusal, satire, collective voice, image, and world-making.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sayantika Mandal Presenter: Alexia Nader-Rondinini Presenter: Annell Lopez Presenter: JAMIL KOCHAI Presenter: Luis Urrea
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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160 |
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Beyond the Big Five: Practical Visibility for the Independent Author
Most university and independent presses don’t have the marketing budgets to land major reviews or retail placement, but that doesn’t mean you can’t sell your book! This panel brings together a National Book Award judge, an artistic director, an activist writer, and two indie bestsellers to discuss building a readership through library circuits, bookstore partnerships, grassroots touring, and more. Attendees will leave with specific, effective strategies for self-promotion.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Hannah Grieco Presenter: Avitus B. Carle Presenter: Monica Prince Presenter: Zach Powers Presenter: Michelle Malonzo
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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170 |
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Beyond the Book Deal: How Writers Make Money
Behind the public fanfare of publishing lies the murky reality of how writers make money. Authors from a variety of upbringings, backgrounds, and career paths offer a frank discussion about advances, royalties, and taxes; supporting writing with other work; how social class shows up in publishing; and career transitions before and after their book deals in a candid conversation about sustaining a writing life while paying the bills.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Lacey Dunham Presenter: Emily Smith Presenter: Maurice Carlos Ruffin Presenter: Sara Petersen Presenter: Kristen Berry
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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175 |
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Beyond the Coasts: Teaching in Rural & Remote Landscapes
Students from remote or rural locations face unique challenges in the creative writing classroom. They often inherit shameful stereotypes about rural populations and the bias that coastal literary hubs are superior to their communities. In turn, these students can be disempowered to write. This panel brings together a group of writers and educators who discuss how to overcome these barriers and share specific tools for engaging this unique student population in the creative writing classroom.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Courtney LaFaive Presenter: Gene Kwak Presenter: Molly McCully Brown Presenter: Sean Enfield Presenter: Thomas Dai
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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180 |
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Beyond the Ivory Tower: Creative Writing & the Community
Creative writing isn’t bound to academic spaces. Some of the best pedagogy unfolds in public-facing community spaces or in courses that include a real-world writing component. These five panelists, with backgrounds in both academia and community writing, will share what they’ve learned by taking the literary arts to the streets (or to the woods), both literally and figuratively. This interactive panel will include exercises that help creative writing thrive beyond the traditional classroom.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Emma Hudelson Presenter: Danni Quintos Presenter: Rajpreet Heir Presenter: Sarah Seltzer Presenter: Yalie Kamara
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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185 |
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Beyond the Lesson: Adapting Diverse Children’s Literature for the Stage
Children’s theater is often expected to teach lessons, but memorable stories begin with compelling characters. How do playwrights adapt children’s books for the stage while preserving the heart of the original story? How do they secure rights, expand brief narratives into dramatic action, and bring culturally specific protagonists to broad audiences? This panel explores the artistic and practical challenges of adapting children’s literature featuring BIPOC protagonists.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Alvaro Rios Moderator: Guadalupe Mendez Presenter: Susan Pak
Playwriting & Screenwriting
Panel Discussion
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190 |
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Beyond the Page: Magazine & Lit Mag Editor-Writer Relationships
So you want to write for a magazine or lit mag? Editor-writer relationships are crucial for both emerging and established writers. But they can be hard to cultivate, and without them, writers may feel like they’re submitting to the void. This panel illuminates the process from both editors’ and writers’ perspectives, offering insights about what makes these relationships work. Panelists will provide tips for pitching and submitting work and for forming writer-editor relationships that last.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Leona Chen Presenter: Jimin Han Presenter: Kim Liao Moderator: Steph Liberatore Presenter: Emma Komlos-Hrobsky
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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195 |
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Beyond the Workshop: Experiential Learning in the Creative Writing Classroom
This panel focuses on alternatives to traditional creative writing instruction, exploring experiential learning approaches such as community partnerships, travel courses, collaborative world-building, applied editing and publishing, ethics and representation, multimodal creation, game writing, and more. Panelists will discuss a variety of approaches to applied learning, providing practical strategies for attendees interested in incorporating experiential approaches into their own classrooms.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Julialicia Case Presenter: David Wanczyk Presenter: Eric Freeze Presenter: Trent Hergenrader Presenter: Jennifer Pullen
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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200 |
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Beyond What the “I” Can See: Point of View in Flash Fiction
Point of view is more than a writer’s choice of pronouns; it shapes readers’ relationship to the characters and story. In flash fiction, POV really comes out to play. Write from the perspective of a shoe? Sure! Or from a chorus of housewives? Why not? You only have to make it work for 1,000 words . . . but you also only get 1,000 words to create a world. Our panel explores the nuances and effects of various POVs in flash, celebrating the strangeness that each can unlock in this compressed genre.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sian Griffiths Presenter: Gwen Kirby Presenter: Sarah Freligh Presenter: Tommy Dean Presenter: Avitus B. Carle
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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205 |
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Biting the Bullet: Poets Respond to Gun Violence
Five poets whose lives have been shaped by gun violence—a father murdered; a soldier at war; a shooting survivor; a mother protecting her son; a committed witness to mass shootings of marginalized communities—read and discuss work that wrestles not only with trauma but with healing, often by turning to the solace and life/death cycles of nature. After bullets, hear how being struck down by beauty can make grief bearable, can allow empathy to enter, can give human resilience a place to grow.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Jennie Malboeuf Moderator: Alison Granucci Presenter: Brian Turner Presenter: Richard Blanco Presenter: Michael Kleber-Diggs
Poetry Readings
Reading
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210 |
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Black Aesthetics in Docupoetry
The Black aesthetic in docupoetry (re)renders the experience of Black American life in the absence of documented stories by centering personal, private, and family archives as the primary architects of our stories amid the larger historical frame. These poets employ critical fabulation as the means to imagine and reimagine the stories they seek to exhume and employ poetic forms such as persona, ekphrastic, and visual poetry to enter and expand upon larger historical conversations.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Mick Powell Moderator: MARS Marshall Presenter: Courtney Taylor Presenter: Ajanae Dawkins
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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215 |
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Black Queer Masculinities & the Excavation of the Self
What does masculinity look like when both race and gender expansiveness are considered? If we move beyond cisheteronormative representations of Black masculinity, how can this transform us? What new possibilities can emerge in our world and our writing? In this panel, authors will share from works that envision and recreate Black masculinities and speak at length about how they unearthed alternate masculinities for themselves and how this is explored in their writing.
Speaker(s): Presenter: MARS Marshall Moderator: Dez Brown Presenter: Christian Ivey Presenter: Jasper Joyner Presenter: Sean Medlin
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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220 |
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Black Romance: A Radical Act
In a literary world that often centers Black trauma, contemporary romance writers are rejecting the limitations placed on Black storytelling. This panel examines the ways Black writers are challenging the status quo, depicting love in its many forms, including friends to lovers, queer love, chosen family, and journeys toward self-love. Panelists will discuss how romance writing reimagines Black love beyond the stereotype, by focusing on joy, intimacy, pleasure, and tenderness.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Amber Phillips Presenter: Frances Williams Presenter: Rasheda Malcolm Presenter: Mariana Sheppard
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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225 |
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Black to the Future: How a Diaspora Can Bring Heritage into Their Writing
Ghana, one of Africa’s first independent nations, shares its 70th anniversary with AWP’s 60th in March. Yet, 95% of US fiction (1950–2018) was by white authors and only 6% of UK shortlists (1998–2023) were Black (PEN, Creamer). What will make this decade different? How can a diaspora bring heritage to writing and connect with their “Western” experience? This panel of African diaspora scholars and writers discuss how authors can incorporate heritage through oral tradition, fables, rhythm, and realism.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Grace Amui Presenter: Kadija George Presenter: Kianna Greene Presenter: Tope Folarin
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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230 |
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Bless Our Hearts: Teaching While Queer in the South (Revisited)
Teaching as a queer writer in the South brings rewards and challenges, from Southern hospitality and humor to conservative values and recent legislation targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Can writers come out in the classroom? How do we discuss diversity while fostering a respectful, welcoming environment? How can queer educators address homophobia, racism, transphobia, and sexism? Panelists share experiences and strategies for teaching while queer today in the South and beyond.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Brandy Wilson Presenter: T.K. Lee Presenter: Yuly Restrepo Presenter: Douglas Ray Presenter: Julie Marie Wade
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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235 |
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Body Blows: A Multigenre Combat Sports Reading
In the 1950s, Charles Bukowski wrote, “It takes guts to be a great artist and it takes guts to be a great fighter.” In this multigenre reading, four combat sports athletes/writers write about single-legs and jabs to create a multidimensional world of fighting as a doorway into conflict, fear, love, and grief. With different approaches and within different genres, we wonder together about the intersections of writing and fighting—the ways combat sports can support narrative growth and risk.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Sean Prentiss Moderator: Jenny Liou Presenter: John Vercher Presenter: Michael Copperman Presenter: Raisa Tolchinsky
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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245 |
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Book Tours & Publicity: What Works?
You’ve published your book! Now how do you put together an effective book tour and develop publicity for your book? A panel of mid-career writers and a marketing professional will discuss how to plan and navigate a book tour and generate publicity for your book. They’ll discuss cost-efficient strategies that generated the best results for them. These panelists will share their advice and experience, and impart the lessons they learned as they navigated their own book tours and publicity efforts.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Wes Blake Presenter: Agata Szczeszak-Brewer Presenter: Karol Lagodzki Presenter: Jared Lemus
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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250 |
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Books & Magazines: Demystifying the Mechanics of Publishing, Sponsored by CLMP
This panel explores the nitty-gritty, mechanical and practical aspects of going from manuscript to printed work, whether in a magazine or a book. Panelists will discuss the specifics of the publication process, including editing, copyediting, design, proofreading, and printing. Writers and aspiring publishing professionals will gain insight into what can sometimes seem like a black box after the writing is done and understand the similarities and differences between magazine and book publication.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sabrina Pyun Wiemert Presenter: Brittany Torres Rivera Presenter: Stephanie Schubet Presenter: Beth Duncan
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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255 |
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Borderless Stories: Writing Transnational Experiences
The short story has long remained as a favored genre among transnational writers. In this session, five writers of short story collections that transcend national boundaries discuss how their work moves across borders in an effort to capture transnational experiences. More specifically, they highlight how their work unfolds across geographies and cultures and how their transnational experiences shape not only their subject matter but also the ways their stories are imagined and told.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Khem Aryal Presenter: Jared Lemus Moderator: Jeffrey Condran Presenter: Pauline Kaldas Presenter: Susan Muaddi Darraj
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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260 |
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Bringing Back Print with The Onion & the Chicago Reader
In this panel, senior leadership at Chicago-based legends The Onion and the Chicago Reader discuss the recent rebirth of their print publications with Christine Wenc, author of Funny Because It’s True: How “The Onion” Created Modern American News Satire. Topics: How do you make print work today? Is the tide really turning from digital media? How are alt media and the literary arts connected? How much does print cost anyway? And is the Reader hiring book reviewers? Wenc may also discuss work to recreate ALL Review, the lit journal of Arts + Literature Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin, as a print insert in the newspaper Isthmus.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Christine Wenc Presenter: Chad Nackers Presenter: Sarah Conway Presenter: Malik Jackson Presenter: Jimmy Hasse
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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265 |
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Building & Maintaining an Undergraduate Creative Writing Program
Given high workload demands and resistant administrations, what’s the trick to building an undergraduate creative writing program? Once built, how can faculty maintain that program with vibrancy and equity? Or appeal to students facing the pressures of degree-to-career pipelines and writing in the age of AI? Panelists who have helped build and maintain a robust presence at community colleges and at small, regional four-year colleges respond with creative solutions and future strategies.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Maria Brandt Presenter: Anastasia Nikolis Presenter: Gabrielle Myers Presenter: James Ducat Presenter: Lisa Whalen
Program Development
Panel Discussion
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270 |
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Call-and-Response: Poets Respond to Art, Music & Film
Poets working across disciplines explore the urgency of ekphrastic engagement with visual art, music, film, and pop culture. Through craft discussion, the panel celebrates historical connections between painters and poets, musicians and lyricists, filmmakers and graphic forms. Considering call-and-response as a sociopolitical act rooted in listening, research, and engagement, panelists examine the erasure of marginalized voices while reimagining ekphrastic practice in contemporary poetry.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jenny Molberg Presenter: Caitlin Cowan Presenter: Kathleen Winter Presenter: Michelle Alexander Presenter: Derrick Austin
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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275 |
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Caucus for K–12 Creative Writing Education
This caucus creates a space where creative writing teachers in K–12 schools and those who teach young writers outside traditional K–12 settings can share their experiences. By discussing the joys and challenges of teaching young writers, this caucus aims to deepen our understanding of how to best nurture students’ creative identities. The meeting will feature presentations by caucus members and discussion of how to build and facilitate an accessible and impactful creative writing curriculum.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Annell Lopez Moderator: Allison Campbell
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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280 |
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Celebrating the Legacy of Lexi Rudnitsky
This panel explores and celebrates the legacy of Lexi Rudnitsky, who died suddenly at the age of 32 in 2005, shortly before the publication of her sole poetry book, A Doorless Knocking into Night—just reissued for a new generation of readers. A person and poet of sly wit and deep conviction, Lexi’s fierce spirit continues through her writing and through two annual book prizes (past winners include Cameron Awkward-Rich, Molly McCully Brown, Shane McCrae, and dozens more) and other ventures in her name, all aimed at bringing poetry to corners of the world it might not otherwise reach.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Molly McCully Brown Moderator: Gabriel Fried Presenter: Donna Masini Presenter: Gabrielle Calvocoressi Presenter: Monica Ferrell
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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285 |
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“Charity, Sainthood, Glory, Shame” in Gwendolyn Brooks’s In the Mecca
“In the Mecca were murders, loves, loneliness, hates, jealousies. Hope occurred, and charity, sainthood, glory, shame, despair, fear, altruism.” —Gwendolyn Brooks, Report from Part One
In preview of the 60th anniversary of the publication of Gwendolyn Brooks’s In the Mecca, this hybrid panel presentation examines the literary, historical, and sociological significance of Brooks’s fifth volume of poetry. Speaker(s): Moderator: Sandra Jackson-Opoku Presenter: Joanne Gabbin Presenter: Nora Blakely Presenter: avery r. young Presenter: Adrienne Brown
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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290 |
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Chicago Roots: Art & Literature Influenced by Workers & Latine Movements
A city with strong historical ties to labor rights and grassroots organized movements, Chicago continues to be a hub for community-centered movements that aim to protect its working-class residents, as demonstrated recently by its response to heavy ICE presence. A city with such a fight has undoubtedly influenced generations of writers and multidisciplinary artists. Panelists at this event will share how workers’ rights and Latine movements have become tied to their work.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Angelica Davila Presenter: Diego Baez Presenter: Rocio Franco Presenter: Ricardo Gamboa Presenter: Britney Quiroz
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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295 |
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Children of the Thunder Dragon: The Myths & Magic of Eastern Storytellers
What unique evolutions do Southeastern artists have to contribute to the craft of writing? What transformative values and ideas can previously insulated countries like Bhutan and India offer the West? An open conversation exploring the expansion and subsequent intersection of cultural boundaries in the stories we tell as well as the act of honoring heritage through our film and literature.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Zuni Chopra Presenter: Pawo Dorji
Playwriting & Screenwriting
Panel Discussion
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300 |
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CLMP Membership Meeting
This event is for all independent literary magazine and small press publishers: seasoned professionals, those just starting out, and all in between. Learn what we’re planning for the year, and share your thoughts on how we can best ensure that our community thrives. If you’re not yet a member of CLMP but would like to find out more, please feel welcome to join us.
Pro Forma
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303 |
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Cognitive Estrangement in Science Fiction: A Tool for Writing Brighter Futures
Cognitive estrangement is a term coined by critic Darko Suvin to define the unique power of science fiction, describing how SF uses an imagined setting to distance readers from their familiar reality, allowing them to view unexamined societal norms, biases, and everyday assumptions from a fresh perspective. When it becomes difficult (or even dangerous) to write and publish realist political fiction, science fiction offers a powerful alternative for presenting visions of a better future.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Mary Anne Mohanraj Presenter: Andrea Hairston Presenter: Isaiah Hunt Presenter: Alex Kingsley Presenter: Tara Betts
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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305 |
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Community College Teaching & the Burgeoning Writing Career
Teaching at a community college is at once rewarding and challenging. These kinds of open enrollment institutions are rife with brilliant students who may have learning differences or are at various levels of college preparedness, leaving little time for committed community college professors to also build writing careers. Panelists will discuss ways to “juggle” the very real work of community college teaching and writing and whether there is ever enough time to do both well.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Gail Upchurch Presenter: Jeremy Broyles Presenter: Racquel Goodison Presenter: Rashaun Allen Presenter: Shinelle Espaillat
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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315 |
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Comps Confidential: What You Need to Know About How Comps Work at Each Stage of the Publishing Process, Sponsored by Publishers Marketplace
From querying to editorial to sales to retail, comparative/competitive titles are a crucial, infuriating part of every publishing journey. Learn from publishing executives, literary agents, and other industry experts how they work, which bestsellers to avoid, and what free tools as well as bespoke industry searches from Publishers Marketplace can help hone your research, so you have confidence in your saleable strategy.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Mary Ann Naples Presenter: Amy Bishop-Wycisk Presenter: Maggie Cooper Presenter: Jackie De Leo
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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320 |
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Conjuring & Conjugating: Siguanabes in Future Tense
To conjure is to call something into the world; to conjugate is to shift its time. Writers of the Central American diaspora invoke La Siguanaba, the shape-shifting leyenda used to punish audacious women, as provocation and portal. Through readings and discussion, panelists explore how this inherited monster informs their lives, imaginaries, and craft: the mask, the turn, the withheld face, the refused punishment, the future-tense body becoming rimbombante, capable, and free.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Leticia Hernández-Linares Presenter: MK Chavez Presenter: Claudia Castro Luna Presenter: Janel Pineda Presenter: Tatiana Luboviski-Acosta
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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325 |
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Conversation & Communion: How Should We Discuss Someone’s Writing?
Pedagogy books such as The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop and Craft in the Real World indicate a growing awareness among educators and writing groups that the activity of sharing and critique contains an interpersonal element that can require careful leadership and intervention. How can we create productive, comfortable spaces by guiding discussion and conversation? How can we create challenging, dynamic spaces? How can we best serve the work that is being discussed, and the writer who wrote it?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Ginger Ko Presenter: Kelly Krumrie Presenter: Sam Corfman Presenter: JOSHUA BURTON Presenter: Guadalupe Mendez
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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330 |
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Conversing with the Dead: Wrestling with Grief Across Genres
While grief is a universal human experience, the ways grief is expressed are as varied as the individuals impacted by it. Perhaps the question of how to write one’s grief begins with choosing its genre. Is your grief a memoir, essay, novel, diary, poetry collection, or hybrid creature? How do you decide? Writers united in their disparate creative approaches to the losses of their closest loved ones read excerpts from their work and answer questions from the moderator, followed by an audience Q&A.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Isobel O'Hare Presenter: Jonah Mixon-Webster Presenter: Karie Fugett Presenter: Kenning García Presenter: Steven Dunn
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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335 |
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Cracking the Monolith: Publishing Global Voices Beyond the American Lyric
How do translators convince US publishers to take risks on poets unknown here, especially when the work resists familiar Anglophone aesthetics? Five practitioners—translators, editors, press founders—discuss what worked, what failed, and what they learned while bringing Uruguayan experimentalists, Korean radicals, and other formally challenging poets into English for the first time. Attendees gain useful guidelines for pitching work that refuses to conform to standard market expectations.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Claretta Holsey Moderator: Gabriella Bedetti Presenter: Joyelle McSweeney Presenter: Katherine Hedeen Presenter: Michael Shea
Translation
Panel Discussion
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340 |
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Crafting the Scene: The Backbone of Great Storytelling in Audio & Beyond
Scenes are the backbone of audio documentaries. They allow us to care about characters in a way that explanatory journalism cannot. But how do you produce gripping podcast scenes? In this interactive workshop, we’ll learn how to build characters, worlds, stakes, and action through close listening of immersive scenes from podcasts like This American Life, Snap Judgment, Last Day, The 13th Step, and more, and demonstrate techniques that work equally well for the screen, the page, and the stage.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Laura Davis Moderator: Elaine Grant Presenter: Jia Rizvi Presenter: Micaela Blei
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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345 |
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Creating Safe, Respectful, Inspiring Events with Visiting Writers
The ongoing escalation of the risks faced by visiting writers—particularly those who are BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+, and/or undocumented—is a burden that hosting staff are meant to lighten. Those of us who manage readings and residencies have been especially alert to this obligation in recent years, and this panel convenes five such professionals to discuss practical strategies to meaningfully welcome guests, center their work, and leave both audiences and visiting artists feeling inspired.
Speaker(s): Moderator: MEGAN BEISNER Presenter: Dan Lau Presenter: Evie Atkinson Presenter: Stephanie Soileau Presenter: Lillian-Yvonne Bertram
Program Development
Panel Discussion
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350 |
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Creative Divergence: Embracing Neurodiversity in Writing, Teaching & Editing
This panel represents a convergence of editors, educators, and writers from multiple genres devoted to challenging the neurotypical assumptions embedded in creative writing. This session examines inclusive strategies in publishing and teaching and unique approaches to languaging and living the creative life, along with the innovations and challenges of neurodiversity and disability for the creative professional, including ADHD, Autism, and chronic illness.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Stephanie Lenox Presenter: Chris Martin Presenter: Christie Collins Presenter: Leigh Rourks Presenter: H.K. Hummel
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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355 |
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Cripping the Line: Embodiment & Form in Disability Poetry
Embodiment—the lived experience of existing within a particular bodymind—is central to disability poetics. Often, disabled poets use lineation, white space, fragmentation, duration, silence, visual arrangement, and other formal strategies to make their embodiment visible. Inhabiting a unique bodymind shapes how a poem moves, breathes, and communicates. Formal experiments challenge ableist assumptions about what writing, bodies, perceptions, and modes of expression are considered legitimate.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Ellen Smith Presenter: Travis Lau Presenter: Susanne Antonetta Moderator: Nathan Spoon Presenter: Leslie McIntosh
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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360 |
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Crisis Teaching: An Open Dialogue About Operation Metro Surge & Future Crises
Under crisis, we enter survival mode; what do we do when every semester is a crisis? Join a group of non-tenure-track Latinx writers and instructors in reflecting on what it was like to teach undergraduates at the University of Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge. What does crisis teach us about what “education” should be? How do we rise to the occasion?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Paula Molina Acosta Presenter: CIara Alfaro Presenter: Sandra Del Rio Madrigal
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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365 |
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Critical Poetics of Suicide for Queer & Trans People of Color
As QTBIPOC, not only are our narratives of suicidality ostracized in some circles, they have a tendency to be fetishized in others. As an underserved hyphenated community, our poetry is critical in reminding ourselves to stay alive for ourselves. Join us in a panel and reading discussion about the critical poetics of suicide for queer and trans people of color, featuring Diannely Antigua, EMDASH, Kailah Figueroa, and Maya Williams.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Diannely Antigua Moderator: Maya Williams Presenter: Emily ("Emdash") Gao Presenter: Kailah Figueroa
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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370 |
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Culture Takes: Criticism as a Parallel Practice
“Those who can’t do, critique.” In popular imagination, there exists a separation between the critic and the writer. The critic strains their spear at the heart of creative work, while the writer is all instinct and muscle. The writer makes, while the critic intellectualizes. In this panel, five writers who also moonlight as critics of cinema, pop culture, gender, food histories, postcolonial literatures, and AI discuss how criticism informs, supplements, and parallels their creative writing.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Meher Manda Presenter: Summer Farah Presenter: Torsa Ghosal Presenter: Lucas Mann Presenter: Colleen Morrissey
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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375 |
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Cuts & Closures in the Literary Arts
Support for the literary arts in the US is growing more precarious by the day. Framed by a discussion of contemporary austerity culture and the history of federal arts policy, teachers and administrators share their direct experiences with shuttered or gutted programs. What do the literary arts lose—and gain—when they lose institutional funding? How might we imagine and sustain new models of literary community? Together, we’ll swap strategies for confronting assaults on the literary arts.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Jessica Alexander Moderator: Becca Klaver Presenter: Hilary Plum Presenter: Nick Sturm Presenter: Joanna Davis-McElligatt
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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380 |
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Dark Green: On the Shadier Side of Nature Writing
Joyce Carol Oates famously wrote in “Against Nature,” that nature writing “inspires a painfully limited set of responses.” Far from a romanticized reverence, this panel dives deep into and discusses a darker nature. From gun violence to fracking, taxidermy, and the US military shelling whales, our writers offer advice for capturing a new angle on “nature.” From poetry to prose, this panel not only explores each writer’s obsessions, but also whether they choose to write in poetry, fiction, or CNF.
Speaker(s): Presenter: A. Kendra Greene Presenter: Sandra Meek Presenter: Taylor Brorby Presenter: Toni Jensen Moderator: Clinton Peters
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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385 |
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Debut Poets of the Queer South
Five queer Southern poets read from their debut poetry collections—all released in 2026 or 2027—and discuss how they’ve navigated the debut publication process as well as their experiences living, writing, teaching, engaging in activism, and being in community in the South.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Ellie Black Presenter: Acie Clark Presenter: JC Andrews Presenter: Toni Garcia-Butler Presenter: TR Brady
Poetry Readings
Reading
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390 |
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Demystifying the Summer Workshop
Consisting of administrators at Juniper, Disquiet, McCormack, and Sewanee, this panel will focus on how summer workshops function and how applicants/participants can best utilize this kind of workshop in service of their artistic and professional development. Topics discussed will cover how these programs function, scholarships and funding, how to choose a program that’s the best fit for you, how to find and build a writing community through workshops like this, and more.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Vika Mujumdar Presenter: Autumn Fourkiller Presenter: Betsy Wheeler Presenter: Jeff Parker Presenter: Travis Eisenbise
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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395 |
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Destabilize Your Ontology: Experiments in (Non)fiction
Apparitions, hallucinations, collapsing timelines, and virtual worlds: What happens to a story when multiple realities fold into one another? Five writers discuss recent experiments in fiction, memoir, autofiction, and all the shades between. We’ll talk craft beyond straight narrative realism, techniques for layering realities (memory vs. archive, actual vs. virtual, living vs. dead) and how, in storyworlds where nothing feels quite real or unreal, truer truths bubble up like magic.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sarah Mullens Presenter: Carmen Machado Presenter: Hilary Leichter Presenter: Jami Lin Presenter: Laura Van Den Berg
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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400 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Developmental Editors: Why You May Need One & What They Do
More and more, writers are using developmental editors to shepherd their manuscripts into the submission process. With literary agents and editors swamped, developmental editors play a crucial role in helping a work stand out in a crowded field. But what do developmental editors actually do? How to choose the right one? What to expect? What are the pitfalls? A panel of developmental editors, each with different approaches, shares insights from working with emerging and experienced writers.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Marina Budhos Presenter: Jaimee Garbacik Presenter: Michelle Wildgen Presenter: Mike Levine Presenter: Pamela Erens
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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405 |
E26054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Diagonal Passages: Latiné/Latinx Ekphrastic Memoir & Arts Criticism Today
Our point of departure is author Roberto Tejada’s latest essay collection, Along the Diagonal: Art/Essays/América, as a site of critical exploration of biography and memoir, modern and contemporary arts practices and productions, and cultural histories of the Americas. Four writers converge at the intersection of memoir, cultural criticism, autobiography, and ekphrasis to explore recent Latiné/Latinx arts nonfiction writing as a relational and/or kaleidoscopic act.
Speaker(s): Moderator: RAQUEL GUTIERREZ Presenter: Carribean Fragoza Presenter: Roberto Tejada Presenter: Deanna Ledezma Presenter: Rose Salseda
Nonfiction Readings
Reading
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410 |
DC6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Did You Marry Rich? How to Sustain an Equitable Independent Literary Journal
It’s been said that a literary magazine that can’t afford to pay its contributors shouldn’t exist. Is this true? And what does it mean to publish an equitable independent literary magazine in 2027? Perhaps it’s publishing diverse voices, offering free submissions, or paying staff. In light of the dwindling arts funding in the US, can this be done—and how? During this panel discussion, editors and publishers discuss the ways they’re able to create equitable journals as well as how to fund them.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Patricia Caspers Presenter: Alexandra Watson Presenter: Allison Blevins Presenter: Miah Jeffra Milla Presenter: Steve Chang
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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415 |
E26054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Disabled & D/eaf Writers Caucus
The Disabled and D/deaf Writers Caucus brings together writers who are disabled, Deaf, or living with chronic illness, and their allies, to network and discuss shared challenges of identity, craft, teaching, and access while leading a literary life. Meeting annually at AWP, the caucus archives our interests and concerns to increase the visibility of disabled and D/deaf writers and affirm our importance to this organization and to the communities where we live, teach, and work.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jess Silfa Presenter: Cade Leebron Presenter: Rose Zinnia
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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420 |
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Disobedient Futures
“Disobedient Futures” invites the audience into a space of imagination, justice, community, and collaboration. Panelists investigate what the future cultures of America might look like through a diverse, inclusive, and multigenre lens. Panelists will discuss the craft techniques and formal experimentation of the new Disobedient Futures anthology (University Press of Kentucky, spring 2027), which features fiction, poetry, and nonfiction that explores alternative realities, futuristic places, and parallel histories.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Rita Banerjee Presenter: Alyssa Beckitt Presenter: David Weiden Presenter: Jason Schneiderman Presenter: Samuel Kolawole
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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425 |
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Diss Tracks: Voices in a Marginalized Key
What do we talk about when we talk about our own people? When white supremacy/patriarchy/heteronormativity/transphobia/Islamophobia are arrayed against us, it’s only natural to want to protect our communities. But what happens when we have meaningful critiques? Difficult conversations? Can you craft a diss track with love? These four writers will tell how they employ techniques such as humor and pathos to craft critical essays and fiction that gather their people through the power of the pen.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Camille Acker Presenter: Deesha Philyaw Presenter: Lydi Conklin Presenter: Nura Maznavi
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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430 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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DIY Book Publicity: Five Small Press Debuts Talk What Worked (& What Didn’t)
Four fiction debuts from Poets & Writers’ Get the Word Out publicity incubator tell all about what it’s really like to publish books with a small press: pitching letters that land, hiring a freelance publicist, DIY publicity secrets, working with BookTokkers, getting the cover you want, establishing personal boundaries, what to expect financially, pitching bookstore events without being cringey—and what they wish they’d done differently. Bring your questions, leave empowered with practical tips.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Kerry Donoghue Presenter: Daniel Tam-Claiborne Presenter: Shasta Grant Moderator: Yu-Mei Balasingamchow Presenter: Miranda Schmidt
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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435 |
D46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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DIY Marketing for Small Press & Indie Authors: No Publicist? No Problem
While the Big Five count on extensive teams to market books, small presses and indie authors are usually on their own. How can an author get the word out with little marketing experience and no budget? Panelists will show what works to generate visibility and sales at low cost. We’ll cover readings, interviews, blogs, book clubs, social platforms, book reviews, and getting books into stores, libraries, and classrooms. Panelists are publishers and authors with successful marketing strategies.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Linda Kleinbub Presenter: Emil DeAndreis Presenter: Thaddeus Rutkowski Presenter: William Burleson Presenter: Jane LeCroy
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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440 |
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Do I Have to Wait Until They Die? Rewards & Regrets of Writing Real People
The author Anne Lamott wrote, “If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.” If only it were that simple. Panelists will discuss questions to help you find your comfort level on this fraught issue. Are you avoiding writing for fear of upsetting others? What about other people’s privacy? How much are you willing to risk in service to telling your truth? Panelists will also share their own rewards, regrets, and surprises when writing about real-life characters.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Elise McHugh Presenter: Carvell Wallace Presenter: Grant Faulkner Presenter: Joni Cole Presenter: Danielle Bainbridge
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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445 |
DB6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Do the Hustle: Five Debut Poets on Promoting Their Collections
For many debut poets, publication is only the prologue: Much of the work of finding readers falls to the author. Five poets with first collections discuss the realities of literary promotion today, from navigating social media and event planning to working with presses and publicists. How can poets advocate for their books in ways that feel authentic, sustainable, and artistically grounded?
Speaker(s): Moderator: K. T. Landon Presenter: Genevieve DeGuzman Presenter: John Bonanni Presenter: Mckendy Fils-Aimé Presenter: Lisa Low
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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450 |
D46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Docupoetics: Videos Responding to the Moment
Inspired by Gayatri Spivak, Emma Pérez, and others who sought to excavate histories hidden, silenced, erased, or relegated to the margins, four poets/writers/educators share videos and texts that tackle contemporary and historical events from the borderlands of US-Mexico-Canada and South Asia. They will discuss the craft of creating work in response to urgent issues and how they and collaborators blend elements of filmmaking/poetry/prose/research/docupoetics as they target new audiences/youth.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Emmy Pérez Moderator: Sehba Sarwar Presenter: Carolina Monsivais Presenter: Sorayya Khan
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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455 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Don’t Burn the Place Down: How University Lit Mags Manage a Rotating Masthead, Sponsored by CLMP
Literary magazines run by MFA cohorts and undergraduates allow students to collaborate with their peers and experience the publishing world. When a new masthead comes in each fall, how do we make sure the magazine and everything it stands for doesn’t instantly burn to the ground? In this panel, student editors and faculty advisors representing established literary magazines discuss how they ensure their work speaks to the magazine’s mission while also showcasing a personal flare.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sarah Belli Presenter: Diana Towner Presenter: Ellen Litman Presenter: Heather Truett Presenter: Brooke Burns
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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460 |
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“Doubly Invisible”: Asian American Literature of the Midwest
Asian writers in and from the American Midwest often navigate contradictions: belonging and alienation, nostalgia and estrangement, visibility and erasure. Though Asians make up a small share of the region’s population, Asian writers have built a rich Midwestern literary tradition, reimagining home, affinity, and regional identity. In this conversation, poets and prose writers explore life in the so-called “nowhere” of the Midwest, challenging dominant narratives of Asian America.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Marianne Chan Moderator: Maggie Su Presenter: Lisa Low Presenter: Rakesh Satyal Presenter: Su Cho
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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465 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Dream Design: How to Embody Your Book’s Aesthetic & Vision
Directors, editors, and designers from the University of Akron Press, Intradesign, Milkweed Editions, The Missouri Review, Rescue Press, and Trnsfr Books will interrogate historical production practices and explore new strategies for balancing an author’s vision with budgetary reality. Topics include current marketplace trends, licensing images, and the impact of artificial intelligence and the shift from offset to digital printing. The panel will also share triumphs and beautiful mistakes.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kristine Somerville Presenter: Alban Fischer Presenter: Amy Freels Presenter: Mary Austin Speaker Presenter: Sevy Perez
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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470 |
E26054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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East Coast, West Coast, Best Coast: Publishing the Midwest
What does it mean to write a place? As artists, we attempt to craft it; as regional publishers, we aim to define it. The Midwest is home to many small presses who labor every day to honor the diversity and complexity of a region often flattened into a monoculture known as flyover country. In this panel, editors will unpack the ways in which publishing local stories by and for the people of the Midwest asserts the value of the region and its people as worthy of literary and critical exploration.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Megan Stielstra Presenter: Martha Bayne Presenter: Maya Marshall Presenter: Phoebe Mogharei Presenter: Brittany Torres Rivera
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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480 |
E26054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Ecowriters as Conduits of Social Change & Empowerment: It’s Time to Strike Back!
These multigenre writers will share excerpts that explore their relationships with nature and intersections of climate change, ecosystem degradation, population vulnerabilities, and environmental justice. Their readings and discussion will also highlight various approaches to ecowriting and how writers can respond to activism, natural disasters, and social transformation in contemporary society. Attendees will leave with enriched connections to the environment and creative writing strategies.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Amber Thomas Presenter: Dorsía Smith Silva Moderator: S. Salazar Presenter: Dorinda Wegener- RN- CAPA Presenter: Claire Vaye Watkins
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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485 |
DA6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Edging Closer to the Fire: The Brass-Knuckled Poetics of Stuart Dybek
A diverse group of students and colleagues honor beloved Chicago poet, professor, and fiction writer Stuart Dybek. MacArthur fellow, multiple award winner, and native Southsider, Dybek developed an urban lyricism unique to him, a hybrid realism shot through with everyday magic. Panelists will read selections of their favorite Dybek works and offer personal stories highlighting his teaching, mentorship, and generosity, and the writing whose influence has spread far beyond his native Chicago.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kelly Daniels Presenter: Christine Sneed Presenter: Richard Katrovas Presenter: Naeem Murr Presenter: Mark Turcotte
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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490 |
E46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Editing Literary Translations: Should Editors Be Able to Read the Original? Sponsored by ALTA
Is it useful or important for editors of English translations to be able to read the original text, or is it enough for them to be sensitive, perceptive readers familiar with the target readership? Translators often find it valuable to discuss a translation with others who can access the original, but finding such an editor for certain books or languages is a challenge. A panel of editors and translators will share their varied experiences and opinions on these matters.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Kolawole Olatubosun Moderator: Padma Viswanathan Presenter: Bruna Dantas Lobato Presenter: Chad Post Presenter: Geoff Brock
Translation
Panel Discussion
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495 |
E36054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 72E9EC68-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Editors of Color: Structures of Care, Sponsored by CLMP
Literary magazines are immensely capable vehicles for fostering literary community. This panel brings together editors of color to host a conversation about race, journals, and community—for the present moment and ever. We will discuss mission, craft, and literary citizenship, with a particular focus on the theme of “structures of care.” This is a panel for readers, writers, and editors; people of color and allies; and all who care to have journals be a productive place for race matters.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Gerald Maa Presenter: Sasheene Denny Presenter: Emilio Carrero Presenter: Kyla Kupferstein Torres
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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500 |
E26054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 72E9EC68-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Ekphrasis Writ Largely: Art, Revision & Formal Variation
Poets inspired by visual art and music continue to innovate formally in practice and teaching. Drawing from the panelists’ own work on video games like Animal Crossing, the performance art of Ana Mendieta, and more, this panel investigates the farther reaches of ekphrasis. How can writers reflect the methodology of another art form on the written page, using sonic and visual experimentation? How can we encourage others to think critically about formal choices in ekphrastic poetry and beyond?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Reuben Gelley Newman Presenter: Nina Pelaez Presenter: Daniel Barnum Presenter: José Felipe Ozuna Presenter: Ty Raso
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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505 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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El bilingüismo está vivo: Leer y escribir en español en Chicago y en EE. UU.
“Bilingualism Is Alive: Reading & Writing in Spanish in Chicago and the United States” explores how organizations across the US promote Spanish through bookfairs, podcasts, bilingual presses, interviews, anthologies, and community events. Panelists discuss the work behind Spanish-language literary initiatives and the importance of creating spaces where readers, writers, publishers, and communities can connect, collaborate, and sustain bilingual literary culture.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Ofelia Montelongo Presenter: Dejanira Alvarez Cardenas Presenter: Maya Pina Presenter: Alfredo AVALOS Presenter: Adriana Pacheco
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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510 |
E56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F2B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Elizabeth Bishop’s Geography III at 50
This panel celebrates the golden jubilee of Elizabeth Bishop’s final collection, Geography III, an exquisite volume of ten poems, each offering different entry points for the reader: queer self-identity (“Crusoe in England”), form (“One Art”), ekphrastic memoir (“Poem”), narrative (“The Moose”), and many others. The five poets and scholars will discuss the book’s structure, its lasting impact on American poetry, and one poem that affected their own work. A Q&A will follow their discussion.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Derek Mong Presenter: Armen Davoudian Presenter: Christina Pugh Presenter: Katie Peterson Presenter: Miguel Murphy
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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515 |
E46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Essays Performed: This Is Chicago Live Lit!
Chicago Live Lit is a dynamic art form where an author does not only read an essay well, they bring it to life. With an actor’s skill, a comedian’s timing, a preacher’s passion, a politician’s slyness, a slam poet’s heartbeat, and an activist’s call to mobilize, essays can reference pop culture, science, history, politics, philosophy, and the personal, and be braided or take experimental forms. It is mostly performed in bars because, like her people, Chicago’s art is loud, gritty, messy, and glorious.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Amy Eaton Presenter: Corrbette Pasko Presenter: Ian Belknap Presenter: Jasmine Davila Presenter: Lawrence Tolefree
Nonfiction Readings
Reading
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520 |
DC6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Eyes on the Prizes: How & Why to Submit to University Press Book Contests
Since most commercial presses don’t accept unagented submissions, many university presses run contests as pathways to publication for writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translation, and more. Editors from five university presses will describe their book contests, highlight traits of successful works, offer advice, and demystify their selection processes. Too, panelists will discuss the benefits—and any challenges—of working with a university press during and after book publication.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Katie Cortese Presenter: Allison Means Presenter: Courtney Ochsner Presenter: Parneshia Jones Presenter: Sarah Shermyen
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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525 |
D46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Fact Meets Fiction: The Art & Craft of the Biographical Novel
How do novelists balance artistic freedom with respect for the lives of characters based on real people? How do they maintain factual integrity while producing an entertaining narrative? Panelists discuss the challenges and strategies used in achieving balance between accuracy and imaginative storytelling. They will address issues such as creating plausible dialogue, managing complex legacies, and building psychological depth into well-documented figures.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kathleen Collins Presenter: Lauren Willig Presenter: Victoria Murray Presenter: Andrea Schenkel
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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530 |
D86054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Failing Up: How Your Unpublished Manuscript Can Help Your Career
Nearly every writer of long-form fiction has a book in the drawer—literally or metaphorically—but we rarely contemplate their value. Diverse novelists at various career stages will discuss the implications of these projects. What happens if we reframe “failure” as a normal part of practice? What type of change in process or output can an unpublished manuscript engender? Will self-publishing help or hinder future opportunites with traditional publishers? Who decides whether a book “doesn’t work”?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Amy Brill Presenter: Cleyvis Natera Presenter: Courtney Maum Presenter: Diane Brown Presenter: Dionne Ford
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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535 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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50 Years of Resilient Low-Res MFAs: Where They Are Now, What the Future Holds
Fifty years after the first low-res MFA program began, a Poets & Writers feature took an in-depth look at this innovative model. Often seen as lesser alternatives to residential programs, research and interviews show instead that these programs are equally strong. Moderated by the journalist who wrote the article and low-res directors from across the country, this conversation explores the opportunities and obstacles facing low-res MFAs and how they’re well situated to thrive in a tumultuous world.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jessica Goudeau Presenter: Deborah Taffa Presenter: Leta Seletzky Presenter: Rene Steinke Presenter: Robert Johnson
Program Development
Panel Discussion
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540 |
E16054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Finding a Way in: Teaching the Lyric Essay
Authors from Didion to Purpura have written lyric essays. But what, exactly, is this form? Poetic essay or essayistic poem? Their crafting privileges images/ideas over chronicle to sculpt a narrative, contravening long-standing stylistic rules in which students find purchase. Students experience a tough time letting themselves color outside the lines, an inherent skill for writing lyric essays. This panel presents instructors’ varying approaches and perspectives on teaching lyric essay writing.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Lizette Wanzer Presenter: Bronwen Tate Presenter: Erica Trabold Presenter: Harrison Candelaria Fletcher Presenter: Heidi Czerwiec
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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545 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Finding Funny in the Fray: Infusing Humor in Memoir About Trauma
Humor can be a powerful way to connect with readers, empower narrators, and add texture to our work. But when writing a memoir about trauma, how do you find the funny? This panel explores the importance of humor in nonfiction about trauma and provides strategies to craft it. Memoirists who write about grief, mental illness, addiction, and other traumas discuss their craft techniques for finding levity and crafting comedy when the subject matter is dark, difficult, or inherently unfunny.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Maryann Aita Presenter: Natalie Lima Presenter: Natassja Schiel Presenter: Jocelyn Cox
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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550 |
DB6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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For Culture & Craft: Writing Black Chicago
We are Black. We are women. We are queer/straight/allied. We are more than news cycles, crime rates, and the segregated ventricles of this beating landscape. We are Chicago, and it has been a living, breathing entity in literary production since the Great Migration. Four Black writers will read from their work and discuss how their writing speaks to and from Chicago as a setting in fictional work and as a site of Black literary production.
Speaker(s): Presenter: M Shelly Conner Moderator: Mikki Kendall Presenter: Cole Lavalais Presenter: Catherine West
Fiction Readings
Reading
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555 |
E76054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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For Our Steps Are Hallowed: Black Women Storytellers Archiving Black Chicago
This panel explores how Black Chicago women writers, poets, journalists, archivists, and cultural historians carry forward the literary tradition of documenting and preserving Black Chicago culture. Following Ida B. Wells, Margaret Burroughs, Gwendolyn Brooks, Vivian G. Harsh, etc., storytelling becomes acts of remembrance, liberation, and communal care. Amid systemic displacement, segregation, and cultural erasure, how does one protect the heritage of Chicago’s Black communities?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Joi' Weathers Presenter: Essence McDowell Presenter: Leslé Honoré Presenter: Nicole J. Johnson Presenter: Tonika Johnson
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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560 |
DA6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Forbidden Fruit: Queer Jews Writing the Tradition Anew
Throughout their history, the Torah, written and oral, has been the lodestar for the People of the Book. But how do LGBTQIA+ Jewish writers grapple with centuries of text, law, and tradition that have marginalized or condemned the queer self? How do we take into account past and ongoing prohibitions while staking new ground for reinvention? And how to do this work in a time of rising antisemitism? In this session, queer writers share how they negotiate with and redefine their Jewish heritage.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Yermiyahu Ahron Taub Moderator: Julie Enszer Presenter: Benjamin Grossberg Presenter: Joy Ladin Presenter: Bonnie Morris
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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565 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F2B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Formal Antagonisms: Experiments in Trans Poetics
Queering poetic form as trans poets is an act of obfuscating directness. There is power in inventing forms that cannot be easily understood, which offer expansive and encrypted interactions. This panel gathers four trans poets engaging in formal antagonism who challenge writers of all experiences to do the same. We will discuss practices around stranging syntax, writing multidirectionally, text-image hybridity, spatial excess, and other experiments. Join us in disarming the trap of palatability.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Ty Raso Presenter: Ching-In Chen Moderator: Temperance Aghamohammadi Presenter: Eleanor Sturm
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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570 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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From Both Sides of the Mirror: The Writer as Editor, the Editor as Writer
Writers who also serve as editors can, from their own daily struggles and explorations on the page, gain insight on how to give advice that might help encourage a newly submitted work of art to its possible best place. Understanding each side of the literary mirror, whether as the edited or the editor, offers insight on how a writer can eventually reveal their own voice on the blank page and find the steady place that could serve one well amid the current shifting changes in publishing.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Kate McCahill Presenter: Thomas Mira Y Lopez Presenter: Ross Barkan Presenter: Thammika Songkaeo Moderator: Philip Graham
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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575 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F2B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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From Chicago to the Southwest: Latinx/e Memoirs in Essays
This panel explores how Latina essayists use memoir in essays and hybrid forms to tell stories shaped by migration, identity, family, and place. Drawing on experiences from across Chicago, Portland, LA, Phoenix, and beyond, participants discuss fragmented narratives that break from traditional memoir structures. They examine the essay as a powerful form of healing, resistance, and personal evolution—portraying the many voices within our lives while engaging in social and political dialogue.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Gionni Ponce Presenter: Erika Sanchez Presenter: Reyna Grande Presenter: Ofelia Montelongo
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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580 |
D86054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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From Pages to Book: Structural Revision in Memoir & Personal Nonfiction
Memoirists and creative nonfiction writers often have strong pages before they have a book. This panel focuses on what comes next: structural revision. How do writers begin to see patterns, test sequence, follow thematic threads, and decide what belongs? How do books emerge from fragments, essays, chapters, and partial drafts? And how can teachers help writers find structure without forcing the material into formula?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Aimee Christian Presenter: Athena Dixon Presenter: Michelle Bowdler Presenter: Theresa Okokon
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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590 |
DB6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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From Query to Book Tour: Self-Care from First Draft to Pub Day & Beyond
From querying agents to going on submission to planning a great book launch, every step of the publication process is marked by excitement but also significant anxiety and stress. Writers on this panel have published across a range of genres and with presses from university and independent presses to the Big Five. Panelists will offer practical strategies for writers to practice self-care and manage mental illness across the ups and downs of writing, publication, promotion, and more.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Nancy Reddy Presenter: Kelly Norman Ellis Presenter: Rachel Mennies Presenter: Rebecca Hazelton Stafford Presenter: Remica Bingham-Risher
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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595 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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From Readings to Relationships: Building Citywide Community
Writing is a solitary act, but you don’t need to do it alone. The panel explores larger trends of writing and living in urban spaces, community building in the Midwest, and interdisciplinary collaborations. Five Chicago-based organizations—StoryStudio Chicago, Chicago Review of Books, Pilsen Community Books, Exhibit B Performance Series, and Newcity—discuss how they’ve contributed to successfully building community for writers in the city, and why it’s vital to do so.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Ananda Lima Presenter: Rachel León Presenter: James Stewart Presenter: Mandy Medley Presenter: Brian Hieggelke
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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600 |
E56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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From the Inside: Instructors on Working for Justice
In this panel, five writing instructors break down the ways their writing and teaching practices overlap within the broader goals of social justice pedagogy. They discuss how they approach teaching with goals beyond content instruction and how they implement sustainable teaching practices. They discuss the ways teaching with more specific goals toward inclusion, abolition, access, liberation, and community development allow them to refine their socially just teaching practices.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kenny Mitchell Presenter: A. Rafael Johnson Presenter: Brando Skyhorse Presenter: Theodora Ziolkowski Presenter: Michael Pontacoloni
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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605 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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From WAC to CWAC: Creative Writing Across the Curriculum
Writers and professors from the US and Europe share how they have embedded creative writing in university curricula beyond traditional English departments, including anthropology, medicine, archeology, computer science, sociology, and various interdisciplinary degrees. This panel will discuss the myriad benefits of such courses to students, instructors, programs, and institutions; how courses can be developed; and how to get buy-in from key stakeholders.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Huan Hsu Presenter: Wade Geary Presenter: Claire Stocks Presenter: Alexander Smith Presenter: Rich Davison
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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610 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Fuel or Friction? Pressures & Desires to Write (or Not Write) Immigrant Identity
Under the current administration’s attempts to silence immigrant voices, writers of color are often at the intersection of pressure and desire to highlight their communities—how does this reality propel or hinder our artistic processes? This panel brings together Malayali, Syrian, Burmese, Mvskoke, Chinese, and Russian poets and fiction writers to discuss how they conceptualize or elude their cultural identities on the page, and how they resist tidy diasporic narratives via craft techniques.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Carolene Kurien Presenter: Elina Katrin Presenter: Key K. Bird Presenter: Mandy Tu Presenter: Elaine Wang
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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615 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Get Paid to Write Books: How to Break Into the World of Ghostwriting
Getting paid to write? That’s the dream, and ghostwriting can make it a reality! Learn how to break into the industry and build a sustainable career, even if you’ve never written a book before. We’ll share how to land clients, set your rates, structure your services, and stay relevant in the age of AI. With the right approach, you can build a strong, steady income from anywhere in the world, on your own terms, all while practicing your craft.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Leslie Hinson Moderator: Becka Oliver Presenter: Heidi Scott Presenter: Kelsey Adams Presenter: Madison Fitzpatrick
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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620 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Get Your Book Noticed: Understanding & Working with University Press Publicity
We know firsthand that promoting books can seem daunting. In this panel we will lay out the strategies, successes, challenges, and limitations that university press marketing and publicity teams face within the trade world and will also provide guidance to authors about what they can and should be doing to promote their own work. The audience will leave the session with a list of strategies they can employ to help market their own books.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sarena Ulibarri Presenter: Sarena Ulibarri Presenter: Anna Zumbahlen Presenter: Kelsey Giffin Presenter: Cameron Quan
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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625 |
D46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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“Getting in the Way”: Tales of Writing Activists (US, Israel & Palestine)
The Palestinian poet Rasha Abdulhadi advises, “Whatever sand you can throw in the gears of genocide, do it now. . . . Get in the way however you can.” Each writer takes different actions that “get in the way” of social injustice, such as work with prisoners and support of Israeli/Palestinian nonviolent co-resistance. We will read from our related writing (nonfiction and poetry) and talk about its impact on our audiences and on ourselves, as well as how activism drives our writing.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Karen Paley Presenter: James Madigan Presenter: Aziz Sarah Presenter: Maoz Inon Presenter: Bill Ayers
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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630 |
DA6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F2B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Give Me a Break: The Craft of Lineation in the Age of Screens
What becomes possible at the end of the line? Five award-winning poets discuss how the line break shapes tension, attention, and meaning, and why—as our phone screens chop everyday language into accidental verse—our moment demands a renewed appreciation of one of poetry’s most powerful elements of craft. Drawing on their diverse bodies of work as well as exemplars of the form, this panel will showcase the possibilities for the line and offer perspectives on the craft that makes the breaks matter.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Rosalie Moffett Presenter: Bernardo Wade Presenter: Edgar Kunz Presenter: Lisa Spaar Presenter: Megan Fernandes
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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635 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Going Toward the Ghost: A Poetry Reading
This reading brings together Asian American poets whose work engages with ghosts, haunting, and the spectral as literary and cultural modes. The poems explore how haunting functions as a way of reckoning with history, diaspora, ancestral memory, and loss. Together, the readers consider how ghosts (as figure, as form, as feeling) illuminate what it means to carry the past in the body and on the page.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Ansley Moon Presenter: Malvika Jolly Presenter: Sally Wen Mao Presenter: Soham Patel Presenter: Serena Chopra
Poetry Readings
Reading
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640 |
E06054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Graphic Narratives as Community Activism: Readings on Identity & Social Critique
YA, memoir, ethnographic, and poetry comix writers and scholars working across anthropology, abolition medicine, and cultural studies read their graphic narratives rooted in personal experience and social critique. Stories of chronic illness, Muslim identity, environmental justice, and anti-capitalist critiques of rest and labor showcase the interplay of text and image to expand literary and community activism and create vocabularies for resistance, collective care, and social imagination.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Sheila McMullin Moderator: Juliet McMullin Presenter: Maureen Burdock Presenter: Sherine Hamdy Presenter: Rocío Pichon-Rivière
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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645 |
DA6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F2B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Great Writers Steal: Teaching Borrowed Form & Imitation
Methods of teaching direct inspiration will guide this panel focused on teaching through imitation and borrowed form. Panelists will discuss the craft of hermit-crab fiction and prompts that challenge students to focus on structure and voice outside of their comfort zones. Influence will also guide this panel with discussions of studying literary lineages and prompts that turn imitation into fresh inspiration.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Gwen Kirby Moderator: Dustin M. Hoffman Presenter: Michael Martone Presenter: Renee Branum
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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650 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Grief Work: Writing Through, Alongside & Away from Pain & Mourning
Writing can be a deeply cathartic act, but often the pressure to make something of our pain can get in the way of living through it. This panel explores the grief we increasingly face in the course of a life, from the micro (relationship ruptures, health crises, bereavements . . .) to the macro (climate change, pandemics, political upheaval . . .), as participants share from personal experience how they have navigated, or surrendered to, the changes grief enacts on creative practice and purpose.
Speaker(s): Moderator: K Angel Presenter: Diamond Braxton Presenter: Monica Ortiz Presenter: Bianca Perez Presenter: Ern Rivera
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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655 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Haunted: Grief, Terror & the Art of Speculative Storytelling
Exploring “haunting” as a metaphor in narratives of violence, loss, and trauma, writers of fiction and nonfiction investigate grief, terror, and the art of speculative storytelling by weaving the real and the speculative as witnesses, storytellers, and survivors haunted by the past. Motivated by the desire to know the unknown as it relates to traumatic experience, we discuss how memories can live in our bodies and how writing about the past gives us agency to shape our present and our future.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Aimee Parkison Presenter: Kristine Ervin Presenter: Lauren Osborn Presenter: Robert Warf Presenter: JungHe Wood
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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660 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Her Eyes Shone like the Moon: Guiding Undergraduates Past Cliché
Given the ease by which undergraduate writing falls into tropes, how can we teach students to develop more interesting and nuanced work? How can we teach students to identify where writing needs to push beyond its set of clichés? How do stereotypes and bias work hand in hand with tropes? Drawing from poetry and prose as well as from individual/collaborative processes in different media, panelists will offer practical, innovative approaches to concept generation, development, and refinement.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Robert Glick Moderator: Rachel Marston Presenter: Natanya Pulley Presenter: Shena McAuliffe
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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665 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Hidden Corner of the Bookstore: Sportswriting as Universal Story
Too often, sportswriting is relegated to back corners of the bookstore, dismissed as unserious projects that won’t sell. But these panelists believe that sports are a vehicle for telling global stories that matter, that cut to the heart of social issues including gender, sexuality, race, and class. They will offer craft tips from their decades of experience writing and selling compelling, humanizing narratives about athletes who take part in running, tennis, basketball, soccer, and more.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Julie Kliegman Moderator: Maggie Mertens Presenter: Maitreyi Anantharaman Presenter: Jessica Luther Presenter: Amira Rose Davis
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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670 |
DB6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Hilarity, Profanity & Sacrilege: Crooked Approaches to Sacred Spaces
Amid ongoing travesties of justice and airbrushed spiritual practice, writers of varying faith traditions make the case for profanity to advance decency, sacrilege that aspires to the sacred, hilarity to loosen rammed earth for the grave. But what hot calculus ought writers to consider when flipping tables as artistic-devotional practice? Through discussion and brief readings, panelists explore strategies, incitements, and consequences of art that risks offense in pursuit of something holy.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jennifer Steinorth Presenter: Donovan McAbee Presenter: Jessica Jacobs Presenter: Sam Sax Presenter: Hayan Charara
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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675 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Horrifying Women: Using Horror to Reflect the Female Gaze
From Shirley Jackson to Carmen Maria Machado, women have consistently used the horrifying to translate their experiences into fiction. Horror’s flexibility allows the exploration of topics like pregnancy, queerness, race, female rage, messy motherhood, and bodily autonomy freed from the male gaze. This panel will explore why women are drawn to horror, how horror tropes are subverted by women writers, and how the transgressive nature of horror can expand the possibilities of feminist expression.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Brigitte Winter Presenter: Erin Roberts Presenter: Zefyr Lisowski Presenter: Elsie Raymond Presenter: Inez Ray
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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680 |
D86054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Horror+: The Blurred Genre Haunting the Literary Market
Horror is having a moment. From the Oscars to the Pulitzer Prize, an overlooked genre seems to finally be getting its due. But many of these recently lauded works cannot be called straight-up “horror.” Instead, they interweave elements of literary realism, sci-fi, fantasy, and other genres. This panel features five diverse fiction writers working in this powerful blurred space we call “horror+”. Panelists reflect on their own negotiations with horror as genre, mode, and market category.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Diana Xin Presenter: Molly Olguin Presenter: Rylan Hynes Presenter: Torsa Ghosal Moderator: Colleen Morrissey
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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685 |
D86054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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How & Why to Develop a Community-Engaged Writing Practice
How can writers engage meaningfully in our communities in moments of repression and violence? While many discussions center the importance of using our platforms for advocacy, this panel explores direct community engagement. Based on our respective work with immigrant communities, with survivors of armed conflict, and in climate advocacy, this panel shares strategies for facilitating community writing workshops in times of distress. We then discuss how such work has helped us rethink our approaches to craft.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kate Vieira Presenter: Kate Vieira Presenter: Dana Maya Presenter: Juana María Echeverri Escobar
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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690 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F2B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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How Book Promotion Actually Works in 2027: What Is Working & What Isn’t, Sponsored by Publishers Marketplace
How do you capture lightning in a bottle? Real talk from marketers and publicists at trade and indie presses about book promo campaigns that took off, what works now, what authors are expected to do, what publishers really do, and the difference between reality and dreams.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Mary Ann Naples Presenter: Morgan LaRocca Presenter: Patrick Davis Presenter: Angela Corpus
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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695 |
D46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 72E9EC68-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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How to Raise the Dead: Translating Old Classics Newly, Sponsored by ALTA
What does it take to make a text translated many times feel alive again? Five translators explore outside voyages that make inner fidelity possible—into landscape, labor, devotional practice, and the body. Dean Rader hiked the Andes; Haleh Liza Gafori breathes and sings Rumi alive. What calls us across time, and what must a translator bring to hear it?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Tess Taylor Presenter: Catherine Ciepiela Presenter: Haleh Gafori Presenter: Anthony Opal Presenter: Dean Rader
Translation
Panel Discussion
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700 |
E36054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 72E9EC68-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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How to Teach Translation When We’re Not Teaching Translation, Sponsored by ALTA
Many translators teach; few translators teach translation classes. Instead, most teacher-translators “smuggle” translation concepts and praxis into other courses: creative writing workshops, first-year seminars, literature surveys, critical theory courses, etc. This panel assembles a group of translators to discuss pedagogy for “non-translation teaching” spaces, sharing strategies, techniques, and assignments that bring translation into every type of classroom.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Derick Mattern Presenter: Conor Bracken Presenter: Jack Jung Presenter: Jesse Lee Kercheval Presenter: Kathleen Maris Paltrineri
Translation
Panel Discussion
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705 |
E36054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 72E9EC68-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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How to Use Beauty as Strategy When Writing the Extreme
This panel examines beauty as deliberate craft strategy in writing about violence, illness, desire, and sex. Panelists may reference writers like Gaitskill, Morrison, and Greenwell, exploring how obsession, precision, and image elevate anecdote to art as much as ethical intent does. Discussion ranges across memoir, fiction, poetry, and hybrid forms, as well as creative and teaching practices. Key elements: sensory juxtaposition, “termite art,” beauty in the quotidian, and form as strategy rather than rule.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Matthew Clark Davison Moderator: Alice LaPlante Presenter: Jennifer Hasegawa Presenter: K.M. Soehnlein Presenter: Randall Mann
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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710 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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How to Win at the Moth & Use Storytelling to Pitch, Promote, Build Your Platform
Live storytelling offers a special brand of magic; people get to know you—maybe even love you—and you get to share your writing and find your voice. Five award-winning storytellers share their secrets for telling (and coaching) winning stories at the Moth, TED, Audible, and First Person Storytelling. We’ll discuss how winning storytellers put together and practice their stories, how to tell your “writer origin story” (even if you’re an introvert), and the story arc you can use for any anecdote.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Dawn Fraser Presenter: Harriett Jernigan Presenter: Laura Davis Presenter: Nichole Hill Moderator: Micaela Blei
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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715 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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I FEEL NOTHING LIKE GOOD: Poets Against Genocide
I FEEL NOTHING LIKE GOOD: Poets Against Genocide began as an anthology opposing the silence surrounding ongoing genocides and grew into a fundraising project supporting relief efforts. Launched at Poets House in May 2026, it has raised over $5,000 for the Sameer Project and SAPA’s emergency response in Sudan. This reading gathers poets from the anthology to present work that resists erasure through elegy, refusal, indictment, and intimacy.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Haleh Gafori Moderator: Tova Greene Presenter: Danez Smith Presenter: Hala Alyan Presenter: Mahogany L. Browne
Poetry Readings
Reading
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720 |
E06054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Immigrant Regret: Writing & Researching from the Diaspora
Writers of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction who draw on family experiences of migration share working questions, challenges, and critical approaches to research and craft issues about writing immigrant experiences and providing alternative narratives of regret, complaint, overburdening, ambivalence, and resentment. Through their lenses as writers, lawyers, teachers, and scholars, they will address approaches to avoiding familiar tropes of assimilation, success, and the American dream.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Grace Talusan Presenter: Marie Myung-Ok Lee Presenter: Rebecca Morgan Frank Presenter: Rishi Reddi
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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725 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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In Conversation: Writing About Art to Write About Self
Ekphrasis—vivid written description of visual art—is most closely associated with poetry, but it’s also a valuable move in memoir and creative nonfiction. On this panel, five writers who use visual art, music, literature, and film as a way into personal narrative will describe their writing process, the role art plays in their understanding of themselves and the world, and how they tap into the ineffable, intangible power of other artists and their work in a text-based medium.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Aisha Sabatini Sloan Moderator: Katie Ellison Presenter: Lilly Dancyger Presenter: Tisa Bryant Presenter: Larissa Pham
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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730 |
DB6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Indigenous Aboriginal American Writers Caucus
Indigenous writers and scholars participate fluidly in AWP by teaching and directing affiliated programs and by working as independent writers/scholars, in language revitalization, and in local community programming. Annually imparting field-related craft, pedagogy, celebrations, and concerns as understood by Indigenous/Native writers from the Americas and surrounding island nations is necessary. Essential program development continues in 2027.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Abigail Chabitnoy Presenter: M.S. RedCherries Presenter: Mary Leauna Christensen
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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735 |
D66054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F2B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Inside Voices: Sharing the Words of Incarcerated Writers
This event is a reading of work by incarcerated writers created either independently, as part of a writing class, or as part of poetic correspondence. Wherever possible, the panel will present audio/video recordings and/or live streams of these writers, but their forced exclusion reflects the continued isolation of this marginalized group. Panelists, all of whom collaborate with incarcerated writers, will introduce each piece and discuss their experiences teaching in carceral facilitates.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Alison Pelegrin Presenter: Adam Clay Presenter: Alex Tretbar Presenter: Melissa Ferrer Civil Presenter: Michael Kleber-Diggs
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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745 |
DA6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Intimate Geopolitics: Reverberations of Empire Across Centuries & Continents
This panel explores the ricocheting of US foreign policies across continents, generations, diasporas, and language. With readings and discussion, prose and poetry panelists discuss how their literary craft responds to the invisibilities, silences, and amnesias of US involvements in Palestine, Afghanistan, Iran, Korea, and the Philippines. Panelists trace how these amnesias haunt American literary history while the memories live on in our bodies, memories, homes, and dreams.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Leila Nadir Presenter: Jen Soriano Presenter: Jung Hae Chae Presenter: Lena Tuffaha Presenter: Sahar Delijani
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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760 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Is the Bird Living or Dead? Truth & Subjectivity in the 21st Century
In this panel, writers of poetry, fiction, plays, essays, and comics explore how they write against dead language and toward genuine speech, in order to, as Toni Morrison said, “expand articulation, rather than to close it.” Questions for the panelists address modern conceptions of subjectivity, the commodification of marginalized narratives, the poetics of attention, digital mass media, AI, the ineffable, and the historically vexed relationship between the imagination, necessity, and freedom.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Noah Zanella Presenter: Christie Valentin-Bati Presenter: Evan Fusco Presenter: Lisa Fishman Presenter: Darya Foroohar
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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765 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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“It Cannot Always Be Night”: Chicago Creative Writing Faculty Against Occupation
Despite a campaign of oppression—from attacks on our universities to mask-wearing officers kidnapping our citizens—Chicago has emerged stronger and more unified. “Come show me another city,” Carl Sandburg writes, “with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong.” This panel celebrates Chicago’s resilience, bringing together renowned faculty from our great academic institutions for a reading in support of the city, its people, and its future.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Colin Pope Presenter: Barrie Jean Borich Presenter: Daniel Borzutzky Presenter: Rachel Galvin Presenter: Daisy Hernandez
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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770 |
DA6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Jewish Writers Caucus
The Jewish Writers Caucus invites writers to meet each other, discuss challenges and opportunities, share resources, and compile suggestions for how AWP can better include and support Jewish writers, all in a space of community welcoming to Jews of all denominations, degrees of religious engagement, races, ethnicities, sexualities, genders, socioeconomic backgrounds, and political affiliations. Organized by Yetzirah: A Hearth for Jewish Poetry, in affiliation with the Jewish Book Council.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jessica Jacobs Presenter: Josh Rolnick Presenter: Lauren Grodstein Presenter: Sara Lippmann
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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775 |
D66054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Jobs in Publishing: How to Find Them, Get Them & Build Your Career in Publishing, Sponsored by Publishers Marketplace
So you grew up a reader, a writer, and now you want to work with books all the time. Hear from publishing executives at indie and trade presses as well as distributors about the publishing career landscape, roles, how to find out about open jobs, and how to ensure your application stands out. From internships to publishing programs, and the varied publishers and other kinds of publishing jobs, including in publishing services and technology, there’s more to publishing than editorial—we promise.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Steph Opitz Presenter: Jackie De Leo Moderator: Sarah Perillo Presenter: Carmen Giménez
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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780 |
D46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 72E9EC68-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Judge-y Face: The Ethics, Logistics & Craft of Judging Writing Contests
Winning a major award can transform a writer overnight, yet the process behind these decisions can feel confusing. Recent judges of the Pulitzer Prize, the PEN/Hemingway, the PEN/Faulkner, and the Giller Prizes consider this as both judges and writers. How do judges come to a consensus? What separates semifinalists? What are the ethical responsibilities of defining merit? This conversation aims to equip writers with an understanding of how books are evaluated and championed.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Rebecca Makkai Moderator: Dionne Bremyer Presenter: Rachel Beanland Presenter: Taymour Soomro Presenter: Tiphanie Yanique
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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785 |
D46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Kicking & Screaming: Writing, Publishing & Promoting Books as a Parent
Someone said, “You lose a book for every child you have,” but what if that’s bullshit? In this panel, established authors with children of all ages debunk the idea that children sabotage the writing life—while acknowledging they may still reschedule it. Panelists will offer tips and wisdom for finishing, publishing, and promoting books as parents, while addressing issues like time management, dealing with grief or guilt, meeting deadlines, and other important aspects of the parent-writer life.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Jimin Han Moderator: Kim Liao Presenter: Brian Gresko Presenter: Matthew Salesses Presenter: Rita Woods
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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790 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Latinx Writers Caucus
Latinx writers are becoming increasingly visible in literary spaces. However, there is still work to be done to address inequalities in access, leadership, and visibility. The Latinx Writers Caucus creates space for new, emerging, and established writers of varied Latinx identities to network, reduce isolation, build community, and discuss urgent topics in Latinx literature, such as war, undocumented migration, and racial/economic/disability/gender/sexual justice.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Sonia Guinansaca Moderator: Breena Nuñez Presenter: Alan Pelaez Lopez Presenter: Amairani Perez Chamu
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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795 |
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Latinx/e Literary Organizations in the United States
This panel brings together leaders of national Latinx/e literary organizations that advocate for the visibility, inclusion, and advancement of Latinx poets and writers in the United States. Rooted in community, cultural heritage, and resistance, these organizations dismantle barriers in publishing and literary spaces through storytelling, mentorship, advocacy, and literary programming while fostering belonging and nurturing future generations of writers.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Anita Huizar-Hernandez Presenter: Francisco Aragón Presenter: Norma Cantú Presenter: Belinda Acosta, PhD Presenter: Toni Kirkpatrick
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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800 |
E56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Launching Literary Ventures: The Author as Industry Entrepreneur
These days, authors must be entrepreneurs to market their work. But what about thinking bigger: launching ventures to benefit the community at large and change the industry? This panel’s authors have created an innovative press, online writing communities focused on social justice and people of the global majority, literary salons, and a biennial in-person conference. They will discuss what motivated them, how they got their start-ups off the ground, and what they have learned in the process.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Anjali Duva Presenter: Milda De Voe Presenter: Minal Hajratwala Presenter: Therese Walsh Moderator: Marina Budhos
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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805 |
E56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Letter to a Stranger: The Magic of the Epistolary Essay
Who is a stranger that haunts you still? “Letter to a Stranger” is an essay prompt that invites writers to explore stories they might otherwise have overlooked. In this panel, four essayists—writing about strangers ranging from an Indian astrologer to a Midwestern bus passenger, from an expat at a Nigerian airport to a baby with a brain freeze—will discuss letters as vessels for storytelling. Attendees will begin their own essays exploring interactions that linger with unresolved mystery.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Aube Rey Lescure Presenter: Ber Anena Presenter: Jai Chakrabarti Presenter: Margo Steines Presenter: Ucheoma Onwutuebe
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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810 |
DB6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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LGBTQ Writers Caucus
The LGBTQ Writers Caucus provides a space for writers who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer to network and discuss common issues and challenges, such as representation and visibility on and off the literary page, and how to incorporate one’s personal identity into their professional and academic lives. The caucus also strives to discuss, develop, and increase queer representation for future AWP Conferences and to serve as a supportive community and resource for its members.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Erin Sharkey Presenter: Davi Gray
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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815 |
D66054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Limits of the Lyric in the Anthropocene
Is it barbaric to write lyric poetry in the Anthropocene? Plenty still gets written. But some poets are responding to the global climate emergency by abandoning or revising the private individual self of the lyric tradition via exciting new documentary, satirical, speculative, conversational, polyvocal, epistolary, and hybrid forms. This panel explores these issues via the work of five US poets who are adapting their poetics to our radically altered present and increasingly precarious future/s.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Tony Trigilio Presenter: Siobhan Scarry Moderator: Matthew Cooperman Presenter: Aby Kaupang Presenter: Joseph Harrington
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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820 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Literary Umbilical Cord: Writing from the Río Bravo/Río Grande
Five Chicanx/e and Latinx writers read from work rooted in the Río Bravo/Río Grande—tracing how one river shapes identity, ecological consciousness, and queer and Brown survival. From Albuquerque’s bosque to South Texas borderlands, the panel examines the river as literary umbilical cord amid climate change, repression, and environmental racism—a living current of grief, resistance, and radical hope.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Anel Flores Presenter: Karen Michelle Otero Presenter: Marisol Cortez Presenter: Alejandra Sánchez Alanís Presenter: Emmy Pérez
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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825 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Literature Between Empire & Liberation
Four anticolonial novelists discuss the craft of writing against empire. Through conversation, they explore how fiction can illuminate systems of power, preserve memory, and imagine liberatory futures. What narrative strategies make empire visible? What responsibilities do writers have when depicting histories of colonization, displacement, and resistance? How can fiction render liberation possible? Attendees will leave with new insights on writing history, power, and liberation on the page.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Lily Rosengard Presenter: Radhika Singh Presenter: Seraj Assi Presenter: Eman Abdelhadi Presenter: Jeff Holmes
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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830 |
D86054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Literature in a Time of Carceral Peril: Writing & Publishing Latinx Lives
In a time when official political rhetoric distorts, erases, and dehumanizes Latinx people, characterizing us as criminals and economic parasites in order to lay the groundwork for our incarceration and expulsion, it feels imperative to document the complex truths and textures of our lives. Four authors whose new personal essays appear in a portfolio of 32 Latinx flash memoirs in Prairie Schooner will discuss with the journal’s new nonfiction editor the political import of their literary work.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Joy Castro Presenter: Marco Fernando Navarro Presenter: Sara Rivera Presenter: John González Presenter: Lorraine Lopez
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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835 |
DB6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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LitNet Meeting
LitNet is a coalition of literary organizations from across the United States that works to promote the importance of the literary arts in American culture, build the capacity of the literary field, and broaden funding for the literary arts. Join us for a meeting from 9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. to learn more about what we do, followed by a breakfast mingle with literary leaders and other advocates from the field.
Pro Forma
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837 |
753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0F46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 72E9EC68-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Long & Winding Roads: Embracing a Slow Writing Process
Writers face pressure from all sides to produce and publish quickly: from the marketplace, from academia, from social media, from our own self-expectations. Five writers in different genres who have spent at least some time on the slow path talk about how longer or more circuitous writing processes can deepen and shape individual projects, as well as our writing and research processes generally. What is gained when we embrace slowness? How can we reexamine ideas of artistic “productivity”?
Speaker(s): Presenter: V.V. Ganeshananthan Moderator: Caitlin Horrocks Presenter: Melissa Matthewson Presenter: Sarah Cypher Presenter: W. Todd Kaneko
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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840 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Low-Residency MFA Caucus
The Low-Residency MFA Caucus provides time to share resources, compare trends, and collaborate on initiatives to support the writers who study and work in low-residency programs. In reinstating this caucus, organizers hope to facilitate productive working time for programs to find noncompetitive, collaborative projects that might be mutually beneficial in supporting students, alums, and faculty members, and promote recognition of our significant contributions to American literature.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Tess Barry Presenter: Nicole Ravas Presenter: Jessica Goudeau Presenter: Deborah Taffa Moderator: Sarah Shotland
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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843 |
D66054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Magazine Schools: Literary Publishers with Writing Classes
Writing classes offered by literary publishers are a relatively new enterprise in the publishing world. From building community to bringing in much-needed funds, classes can be a boon to independent magazines and literary organizations. But running educational programming outside of an academic institution comes with its own set of challenges. Five literary publishers discuss their approach to running educational programming and how they tailor their classes to the audiences they serve.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Lena Valencia Presenter: Stephanie Macias Presenter: Susannah Felts Presenter: Kathleen Yale Presenter: Logan Davis
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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845 |
E56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Making It Work: Publishing Successfully Without an MFA
An MFA in creative writing is a traditional, yet often costly, stepping stone into academia and literary circles. However, a lack of an advanced degree is no barrier to publication, landing a book deal, or building a credible writing career. This panel uncovers how successful authors hone their craft, network, and navigate the publishing industry without formal academic credentials.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Amy Thatcher Moderator: Daniel Lassell Presenter: Daisy Fried Presenter: Rajia Hassib Presenter: Brandon Kilbourne
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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850 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Making the List: Black Women, Bestseller Culture & What Gets Left Out
Bestseller lists are not neutral. They reflect marketing spend, retailer relationships, and assumptions about who reads what, forces that often work against Black women writers in specific ways. This panel examines how books by Black women get onto lists and how they fall off them, what mainstream success costs, and what it leaves out. With panelists who have appeared on major bestseller lists alongside writers who have not yet published, the conversation spans arrival and aspiration.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Diane Brown Moderator: Cecilia Rabess Presenter: Carolyn Edgar Presenter: Olga Jobe Presenter: Vanesa Walters
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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855 |
E26054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Making Your Own Audiobook: The DIY Approach
As audiobooks continue to grow in popularity, more authors are choosing to narrate and produce their own work. This panel explores the DIY audiobook process, including recording setups, editing, distribution, rights, costs, accessibility, and whether to narrate yourself or hire a professional. Panelists will discuss the creative and business reasons writers may want greater ownership and control over their audio work, as well as the challenges and rewards of producing audiobooks independently.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Courtney Kocak Presenter: Kelly Lundquist Presenter: Meg Weber Presenter: Kerry Kriseman Presenter: Gayle Kirschenbaum
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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860 |
E26054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Marketing Experimental Nonfiction: Finding Homes for Hybrid Texts
Publishing experimental nonfiction means forging an unconventional path. Small presses, hybrid models, and self-publishing are opportunities for innovation, but how can writers connect genre-defying work with readers unfamiliar with nontraditional forms? By sharing publisher, editor, and writer perspectives, this panel explores commercial strategies for reaching audiences and building readerships. For writers navigating memoir, literary, and creative nonfiction outside traditional models.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Rae Pagliarulo Presenter: Amy Goldmacher Presenter: Darien Gee Presenter: Jane Wong Presenter: Jeff Bogle
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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865 |
DB6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Me dijo que that’s it . . . A Reading by Transcreative Poets
Five critically acclaimed bilingual (English/Spanish) authors share their recent transcreative work, including cyber and performance poetry, translingual poems, translations, or transversal poetic forms. The reading explores a variety of manifestations of bilingualism and its intersection with identity while challenging the boundaries of current dominant linguistic determinisms. The dialogism in their presentations allow the poets to reveal their sense of self and place in the United States.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Carlos Aguasaco Presenter: Jennifer Rathbun Presenter: Kristin Dykstra Presenter: Nidia Baquero Presenter: Tina Escaja
Poetry Readings
Reading
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870 |
E06054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Memoir Dysphoria
The person who completes and publishes a memoir is not the same person who begins it. The act of writing a memoir alters the persona’s relationship to the subject matter and their identity, leading to a disconnection between the author promoting and relating to the book and the persona in the book. Five memoirists draw from personal experience to share how to prepare for and powerfully navigate this dynamic in ways that support generating new work and strengthening your authorial identity.
Speaker(s): Presenter: RAQUEL GUTIERREZ Moderator: Candace Walsh Presenter: Ariel Gore Presenter: Lauren Westerfield Presenter: Shigeko Ito
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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875 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Meno-Pause or Meno-Persist? Women Writing the Second Act
Aging is a privilege and a pain. With the maturity that comes with age, women’s essays and memoirs view healthcare, friendship, parenting, partnership, and work through new lenses. On this panel, boomers, Gen Xers, and geriatric millennials will discuss writing the humility, humor, horror, and joys of aging. From sex to menopause to the “sandwich generation” of duties, we will explore how creative nonfiction illuminates the years during which we allegedly become invisible and yet essential.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Amy Monticello Presenter: Brooke Champagne Presenter: Heather Lanier Presenter: Karen McElmurray Presenter: Sue Silverman
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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880 |
DB6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Mentors & Mentees: Growing as an Editor
This panel focuses on how we uniquely grow as editors in communities that include literary magazines, small presses, and writing programs. Mentors will discuss how they developed their skills in editorial roles, while mentees will share advice on how they found mentors who can help them grow as editors in the literary and publishing community. Mentorship offers a guiding space for many publishing professionals. What creative works can mentors and mentees achieve through collaboration? What does growth look like in a healthy mentorship?
Speaker(s): Presenter: David Groff Presenter: Latifa Ayad Presenter: Misha Rai Presenter: Samantha Hernandez Moderator: Natasha Kane
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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885 |
E26054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Mercy, Mercy, Me: How to Write Poems of Forgiveness
To forgive and be forgiven is explosive, improbable, transcendent, and bittersweet. “Don’t,” as Craig Morgan Teicher writes, “you dare forgive.” But if you dare, is it even possible to write about this profound experience? Maybe. Five poets discuss their own and their favorite poems about, against, and wrestling with forgiveness. Each offers a reading list, a writing prompt, and several writing tips for students, teachers, and writers of poetry. A generous Q&A follows this panel discussion.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jennifer Jean Presenter: Brendan Constantine Presenter: Didi Jackson Presenter: Nick Flynn Presenter: Oliver De La Paz
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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890 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Mic Check: How Writers Working in the Community Support Our Writing Life, Sponsored by WITS Alliance
How can you thrive as a writer while helping young people/community members develop their voices? How do you build and sustain a creative community that helps deepen your own writing life? Panelists will share examples of how their community writing programs inspire their own creativity/writing. Panelists will engage us in a collaborative generative writing activity followed by a dialogue of how we can keep growing as writers who give back to their communities.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Michele Kotler Presenter: Javan Howard Presenter: Jenny Gropp Presenter: Brenda Cardenas Presenter: Jeffrey Kass
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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895 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 72E9EC68-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Migrating Pedagogies: Teaching/Learning Radical Writing in Colleges/Universities
In this panel, diverse college-level writing teachers share and reflect on radical writing about their own teaching/learning. All contributors to the Migrating Pedagogies Anthology (n.p., 2027), panelists reveal how writing honest, urgent accounts of teaching experiences can help teachers process and deepen their pedagogy. Facing heavy workload, xenophobia, rape culture, and more, panelists show how writing about pedagogy documents and instigates new conversations inside and outside of classrooms.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Andrea Quaid Presenter: Alexis Almeida Presenter: Gabrielle Civil Presenter: Jess Arndt Presenter: Allison Yasukawa
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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900 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Mom, What Were You like in the ’90s? Gen X Writers & Reality’s Bite
The 1990s may seem cool now. Pre-iPhones and social media, with cheap rent, and glam magazine jobs. As Gen X writers, we remember that heyday of spoken word, zines, riot grrrl, and conscious hip-hop. But we won't forget the harassment and pushback we faced as Black, Queer, first-gen, and/or third-wave feminist writers. In memoir, poetry, reporting, and fiction, we limn the era between Morning in America and the war on terror. Recalling our roots, we push against our reactionary contemporary.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Elizabeth Gold Presenter: Alissa Quart Presenter: Asali Solomon Presenter: Michelle Tea Presenter: Marie Myung-Ok Lee
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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Mothers, Mother Tongues, Motherlands
Maternal influences shape us long before we realize it. Our mothers, languages, and homelands offer understanding from our earliest days, but demand translation and renewed expression, especially across borders. Bringing together Palestinian, Iranian, and Filipino diasporic authors, this panel explores how multiple genres interpret the ways mothers, mother tongues, and motherlands dwell in us, shape perceptions, and inspire us to preserve origins while inhabiting new languages and landscapes.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Reem Tasyakan Presenter: Farshad Sonboldel Presenter: Nilufar Karimi Presenter: Vyxz Vasquez
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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Nancy Zafris: Indelible Voice
Nancy Zafris (1954–2021) may be best known as Kenyon Review’s longtime fiction editor and series editor for the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction. But she was also a great writer and teacher who cofounded Kenyon Review’s generative workshops and mentored many with a pedagogy all her own. This panel—of acclaimed authors, editors, and teachers who worked with Zafris—will share insights from her distinctive approach, and pay tribute to her indelible voice with brief readings from her books.
Speaker(s): Moderator: EJ Levy Presenter: David Lynn Presenter: Geeta Kothari Presenter: Nick White Presenter: Amina Gautier
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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Native Presence, Migrant Memory: Writing the Americas
Indigenous and migrant writers of the Americas write across borders, languages, nations, and inheritances. Centering Indigenous and migrant writers of the Americas, this panel offers craft-based approaches to history, displacement, language, sovereignty, and belonging while modeling cross-cultural literary exchange. This is a critical time to focus on how Indigenous and migrant writers of the Americas challenge national borders, colonial histories, and literary erasure.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Sonia Guinansaca Presenter: Féi Hernandez Presenter: Violeta Orozco Moderator: Diego Baez
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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Nature as Balm for Burnout in the Creative Writing Classroom
This pedagogy panel provides specific, adaptable writing activities to lead the burnt-out student away from the technoscape and into the physical landscape. Grounded in phenomenology, ecocriticism, and place-based writing, panelists discuss how reengaging with the natural world serves as a lens for processing experience, identity, politics, faith, etc. As students “return to nature,” as Rilke wrote, they will step into being and creativity.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Megan McManama Moderator: Samantha Sorenson Presenter: Brad Aaron Modlin Presenter: Joey Franklin
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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Necessary Strangeness: Translating Beyond Binaries
Five translators of Korean, Chinese, Spanish, Czech, Hebrew, Galician, French, and Portuguese move away from the hierarchical paradigm of binaries between original and target languages by addressing the other languages in the room/on the page/in the translating bodies. We will each read a excerpt exemplifying techniques of necessary strangeness, then converse about how to avoid sanitizing, glossing, colonizing moments of weirdness in the originals.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Marcela Sulak Presenter: Chloe Garcia Roberts Presenter: Hyejung Kook Presenter: Julia Guez Presenter: Sawako Nakayasu
Translation
Panel Discussion
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No Coast Queers: Crafting Character in the Midwest
We’re here and we’re queer and we have no fear! Or, actually, maybe we do—but not the way our coastal readers imagine. How to depict the nuances and diversity of queer life in Milwaukee or Chicago? In the Wisconsin North Woods? In rural Missouri? Five fiction writers whose lives were shaped by the Midwest discuss the work of rendering queer characters (sometimes ourselves) in these social and ecological landscapes, which often seem illegible to coastal and global readers.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kasey Peters Presenter: Caroliena Cabada Presenter: Jennifer Morales Presenter: Melissa Faliveno Presenter: Ryan Van Meter
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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“No Such Thing as an Empty Space”: Silence & Caesura in the Lyric Essay
John Cage wrote that “try as we may to make a silence, we cannot.” Lyric essayists often use silence and white space in the service of musicality, ellipsis, and associational meaning making. Five writers discuss these techniques in lyric prose, discussing such questions as: What can be created within gaps that are neither empty nor silent? How do these areas function as craft elements in lyric prose? What are the technical challenges of incorporating these approaches?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Lee Roripaugh Presenter: Chaun Webster Presenter: Ching-In Chen Presenter: Oliver De La Paz Presenter: Sun Yung Shin
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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“Not a Teacher but an Awakener”: Poets on the Meaning of Mentorship
Writing, among nearly all art forms, is a discipline of lineage. How does Frost’s assertion of being “not a teacher but an awakener” inform our collective understanding of mentorship? Two poets—prominent authors, educators, and literary citizens—join their recently debuted apprentices to discuss everything from mastering poetic craft to professional tact. Offering formative experiences, trusted approaches, and original poems, this panel explores how shared wisdom endures across generations.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Makshya Tolbert Presenter: Natasha Trethewey Presenter: Kira Tucker Moderator: Helene Achanzar Presenter: Brian Teare
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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Not as Flat as Its Landscape: Writing a Nuanced Midwest
Too often in literature the Midwest is caricatured, oversimplified, or outright dismissed, when in actuality Midwestern writing contains just as much (if not more!) diversity and nuance than literature set in, say, New York City or Los Angeles. Learn from five Midwestern poets/essayists/fiction writers who navigate complex identities as they write their lived truths while redefining expectations concerning the Midwest.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Robert Maakestad Presenter: Christina Olson Presenter: Samuel Autman Presenter: Silas Hansen Presenter: Rajpreet Heir
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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Notes, Fragments, Feeds: Strategies for Nonlinear & Serial Writing
Many writers work in fragments: notes, diary entries, lists, images, and short passages that resist traditional forms. This panel explores practical approaches to generating, organizing, revising, and sequencing fragment-based work across genres. Panelists will discuss diaries, notebooks, digital feeds, nonlinear structures, and strategies for shaping accumulative writing into cohesive manuscripts without relying on traditional plot or argument.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kenning García Presenter: Katie Jean Shinkle Presenter: K. Graham Presenter: Rone Shavers Presenter: Stella Corso
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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Nothing Is Inevitable: Teaching Writing in the Age of AI
We’ve all heard that AI will inevitably create a world in which students no longer need to learn to write. But what if the opposite is true? What if writing instruction is more vital than ever? A diverse panel of instructors from universities across the country will share their practical, innovative strategies for managing students’ AI usage, maintaining sanity in grading, and—most importantly—creating classrooms in which students genuinely want to develop their own irreplaceable writing voices.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Bleah Patterson Presenter: Megan Arlett Moderator: Sunny Rosen Presenter: Ariel Francisco Presenter: Becky Tuch
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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Novel Approaches to the Novel Workshop
Fiction classes and workshops have traditionally focused on the short story, but how can we tackle writing and workshopping a novel? Five panelists teaching in a wide variety of academic and nonacademic settings will discuss strategies for teaching novel writing. They will also share overall course structures, sample assignments, and workshop techniques for building a supportive and inclusive novel workshop.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Claire Stanford Presenter: Alexandra Kleeman Presenter: Brandi Wells Presenter: Luis Jaramillo Presenter: Matt Bell
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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Now You See Her, Now You Don’t: The Need to Amplify Women’s Voices
Book bans. Censorship. Disappearing reproductive and voting rights. For writers who feel a responsibility to adopt an activist stance on issues, this panel features a poet, a historian, a journalist, and a biographer whose work includes the stories of women change agents, past and present. In a lively and informative discussion, they reveal the literary choices they make and their methods of reclaiming power and voice when writing across multiple genres.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Arden Levine Moderator: Sharon Spaulding Presenter: Stephanie Gorton Presenter: Mayda Del Valle Presenter: Samira Mehta
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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Nurturing Emerging Talent in Independent Publishing
Amid rising costs of living, declining book sales, and federal funding cuts, literary arts organizations must confront systemic barriers and economic realities to nurturing emerging literary talent. The talent development of the full literary ecosystem—writers, editors, critics, arts administrators—is indispensable. This panel asks literary organizations to share approaches to creating enriching, well-compensated artistic and professional experiences, while balancing organizational needs.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Vayne Ong Presenter: Michael Welch Presenter: Andrea Change Presenter: Cecilia Stelzer
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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Nuts & Bolts: Creating a Community-Based Writing Program, Sponsored by WITS Alliance
Starting and running a writers-in-the-community program at a university can be a daunting task. Focusing on programs that center youth audiences, panelists will address questions like these: What are the logistical nuts and bolts of getting a program started? How do we prepare our college students to teach responsibly? Panelists will also share how they integrate programs into existing areas of study, create new courses, recruit and retain students, and develop and sustain community partnerships.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Mark O'Connor Moderator: Asari Beale Presenter: Kerry Neville Presenter: Piper Whitlatch Presenter: Kelly Krumrie
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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Occupied: Queer Voices from the People’s Minnesota
During Operation Metro Surge, Minnesota’s emerging writers were at the forefront supporting, protecting, and giving voice to their communities. This diverse group of panelists will consider how living under federal occupation changed their careers as they bore witness to the grief of brutality while celebrating collective creative resistance. As Trans, Queer, Disabled, Arab American, and Black writers, they will offer insights on belonging, survival, resilience, and resistance during crisis.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kathryn Kysar Presenter: Alice Paige Presenter: Chavonn Shen Presenter: Luna Rey Hall Presenter: Tarik Dobbs
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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Off the Page: When & Why We Leave the Drama Unwritten
As writers, we are told to skip the boring stuff: bathroom breaks, naps, uneventful commutes. But why might we skip the good, eventful, life-changing stuff, too? Sometimes what remains unwritten can propel narrative and carry momentum just as much as, or even more than, what is written in scene. In this panel, five fiction writers will share how and why some of the major events of their books—from births to deaths to the end of the world as we know it—happened off the page.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Nicole Haroutunian Presenter: Helen Georgas Presenter: Lisa Ko Presenter: Reena Shah Presenter: Shasta Grant
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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“On Being Ill”: The Challenges, & Opportunities, of Writing Illness
In the throes of illness, language can be elusive. And yet, as Emily Dickinson noted, “After great pain, a formal feeling comes –.” Four writers who live with chronic pain and/or have experienced life-limiting illness explore the transgressive act of writing the ailing body––not only as a form of witness to the stigmatized experience of (often invisible) pain and disability prone to erasure, but also as a catalyst for formal innovation, embodied aesthetics, play, and even pleasure.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Therese Gleason Moderator: Ann Wallace Presenter: Sarah Sala Presenter: Tzynya Pinchback
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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On the Mic: Reading Your Writing Aloud
Reading our work aloud is part of being a writer, yet most of us are never taught how. Neither, this panel argues, are we taught to listen. Public reading is a symbiotic craft: choices about pacing, breath, and editing on the writer’s side, met by attention, generosity, and patience on the audience’s. Four writers across prose, poetry, and storytelling discuss reading aloud, what it asks of the room, and how that mutual practice is what literary community is made of.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Theresa Okokon Moderator: Alexis Wright Presenter: Crystal Valentine Presenter: Ines Bellina Presenter: Nora Meiners
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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On the Night Of: Craft, Responsibility & the Lyric Alibi in Poetry of Witness
In moments of public crisis, poets often feel urgently compelled to bear witness—but what does that really mean? This panel examines how poems of witness can respond to power and atrocity not just in subject matter but in method. We also think through lyric alibis (subconscious craft choices) that allow poems to appear responsive to the moment but avoid the full demands of witness. Through readings/discussion, we explore ethically alert ways of writing that resist spectacle and sentimentality.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Issam Zineh Presenter: Carolina Ebeid Presenter: John Murillo Presenter: Matthew Olzmann
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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Opening Access: Building Literary Community at Two-Year Colleges
This panel explores approaches to building literary community at two-year colleges. Panelists discuss their efforts in advising publications, organizing events, teaching workshops, and running reading series. Topics also include the diversity of the overall student population and their unique needs, and how an engaging literary community can lead to students’ overall self-efficacy and persistence. Panelists reflect on obstacles—some common, some unique—as well as solutions and opportunities.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jamie De Monte Presenter: Joee Goheen Presenter: Trina Sotira Presenter: Joshua Thusat
Program Development
Panel Discussion
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Opening the Gate: Building a Successful Author-Agent Relationship
Information abounds about landing an agent, crafting the perfect query, and polishing those opening pages. But what happens once an author actually signs with an agent? Our panel will explore the agent-author working relationship from the POV of both agents and authors. What do agents actually do? And how can authors best manage their relationships with their agents? We’ll cover everything from preparing a project to submission to supporting an author’s next project and beyond.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Tommy Dean Presenter: Aaron Hamburger Presenter: Paula Munier Presenter: Jennifer Gordon Presenter: Lauren Grodstein
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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Other Legacies: The Great Unsung Poets
Why do brilliant poets disappear from literary memory? Why do some writers become central to our understanding of American poetry while others, equally innovative and influential, fade from anthologies, classrooms, and public conversation? Four contemporary poets each introduce an overlooked American precursor, explore the cultural and institutional forces that shaped that poet’s disappearance, and read selections from their work, asking how literary histories are made, preserved, and revised.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kevin Prufer Presenter: Dana Levin Presenter: Kazim Ali Presenter: Robin Coste Lewis Presenter: Paul Tran
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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Our Stories Will Remain: Afrofuturism & the Legacy of Black Storytelling
Poets and writers from the Black Arts Movement (BAM) poets to Octavia Butler reimagined Black futures and the power of storytelling through their words. BAM poets issued a call for Black power and a reaffirmation of self. Butler’s prose set the foundation for Afrofuturism through her prophetic words. Drawing from an Afrofuturist lens, the panelists—poets, scholars, and prose writers—come together to read their works and reflect on the future of Black storytelling. Q&A will follow the panel.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Remica Bingham-Risher Moderator: DuEwa Frazier Presenter: Sarah RudeWalker Presenter: Curtis Crisler
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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Out of the Wasteland: Reading Eliot’s Work from an Ecofeminist Perspective
In The Wasteland Eliot describes a world ravaged by the effects of industrialization, war, and increasing isolation and selfishness. A hundred years later we are still grappling with these issues. However, more people seem to be ready for a shift. In this panel we will discuss the factors that influenced Eliot’s work and how his work has influenced modern writers, especially ecofeminists, to reconsider and reenvision the world we want to create out of the “waste” of the past.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Tresha Haefner-Rubinstein Presenter: Brenda Hillman Presenter: Heidi Seaborn Presenter: Lorna Dee Cervantes
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1030 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Outside the Classroom: Nature, Attention & the Pedagogy of Place
Gathering writers and educators across genres and institutions, this panel examines what becomes possible in our classrooms and on the page when we invite students into sustained, mindful attention with the natural world. What makes nature writing work? What craft elements resonate with readers? We discuss practical/institutional barriers: urban campuses, limited course time, and screens. We discuss how sitting with a landscape unlocks mindfulness and voice, which translates to the page.
Speaker(s): Moderator: katie annarino Presenter: Brock Jones Presenter: Hannah Kroonblawd Presenter: Marissa Landrigan Presenter: Matthew Rossi
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1035 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Pan-African Diaspora Caucus Meeting
The African Diaspora Caucus is a safe gathering space for Black writers who are creating and advocating for excellence, craft, and the overall future of Black writing. We strive to unite and uplift any Black writer who is feeling creatively isolated or unsupported by grounding them in a feeling of collective imagination and artistic exchange.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Olivia Springer Presenter: Shakira Smith
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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1040 |
D66054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Pass the Mic: How Literary Orgs Help Young Writers Find Their People & Shine, Sponsored by WITS Alliance
How do we open the door for young writers, make room for their talent to grow and voices to be heard? In this panel, program directors discuss ways to create programs that are youth-centered, where young writers not only publish their work, but have true agency in the process. Learn how to build and sustain communities through public readings, writing and publishing opportunities, fellowships, mentorships, and other activities that help young writers find a seat at the table.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Nancy Weber Presenter: Emanuelee Bean Presenter: Shawntai Brown Presenter: Jessica Grace Kelley Presenter: Elly Leman
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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1045 |
E56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 72E9EC68-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Pedagogical Uses of Translation
This panel brings together five educators in secondary schools and higher education, all practicing literary translators, who use works in translation to model the craft of creative writing, foster close reading through reading multiple translations of the same text, and nurture language acquisition in the world language classroom. Panelists will share examples of class activities and discuss their text selection process for a wide range of educational environments.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Laura Nagle Presenter: Aruni Kashyap Presenter: Calvin Olsen Presenter: Jamie Banks Presenter: Maja Teref
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1050 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Picture This: Memory & Hybridity in Graphic Literature
This panel explores the complexity of storytelling in graphic literature by examining memory (fictional and nonfictional). As graphic literature moves into memoir, nostalgia, and autofiction, these stories can literally illustrate the past, moving us through trauma and building social connections. How do writers grapple with the intersection of social expectations, race, gender, history, and the emotional spectrum of the human condition . . . and fit it all into a series of four-color panels?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Stacie Evans Presenter: Quincy Scott Jones Presenter: Emily Yamauchi Presenter: Dickson Lam Presenter: Grisel Acosta
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1055 |
D86054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Podcasting as a Generative Medium for Nonfiction Writers
This panel explores how different nonfiction writers use podcasting as a medium for the genre itself, creating narrative or essay-driven podcasts born out of writing projects or that resulted in writing projects. Discussions include the reasons why they chose podcasting for their topics, how it expanded their creative possibilities, the difference between writing for the page and writing for the ear, and the kind of opportunities podcasting opened up for them in the wider literary world.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Ines Bellina Presenter: Matthew King Presenter: Miriam Perez Presenter: Willy Nast
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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1060 |
E26054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Poetic Fatherhood Across Diasporas
Poets of color explore how fatherhood reshapes writing across diaspora, migration, and family life. Through prepared remarks, readings, and conversation, panelists examine parenting as a poetic practice of witnessing, care, protection, and cultural transmission. The panel considers gender, masculinity, lineage, vulnerability, and domestic and artistic labor while imagining more expansive futures for families and communities through poetry.
Speaker(s): Moderator: David Maduli Presenter: Faisal Mohyuddin Presenter: Hari Alluri Presenter: Kevin Dublin Presenter: Michal Jones
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1065 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Poetic Injustice: Weighing the Costs of Disclosing & Publishing Sexual Trauma
Stories of sexual trauma are vulnerable, harrowing, and difficult to listen to, and the process of drafting trauma stories and then putting them out into the world can be fraught with worry over how they will be received by the individuals connected to those stories as well as general audiences. Coming from unique experiences and perspectives, five poets will share what it cost them to break the silence about their assault, write the poems of assault, and publish books that tell these stories.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kimberly Priest Presenter: Connie Post Presenter: Elisa Karbin Presenter: Elizabeth Mercurio Presenter: Phil Goldstein
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1070 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Poetic Justice: How to Win a First Union Contract When the University Says No
Award-winning poets and writers discuss NYU’s contract faculty union as a model for organizing precarious academic labor. Learn strategies behind organizing nearly 1,000 continuing contract faculty and executing a two-day strike, culminating in a first contract win, with gains in compensation, job security, academic freedom, and shared governance. This panel provides vital guidance for writers and faculty seeking solidarity, institutional change, and power through collective action.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Susanna Horng Presenter: Carley Moore Presenter: Jasmine Reid Presenter: Matthew Rohrer Presenter: Noel Sikorski
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1075 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Poetry & Play in the Age of AI: Why Novels in Verse are Vital for Young Readers
This panel explores the importance of writing novels in verse for young readers in the age of generative AI. Join expert panelists, including authors, poets, MFAs, and educators, as they discuss the power of narrative poetry to be both playful and profound, why reaching young readers matters now more than ever, and writing stories that engage readers. Whether you write narrative poetry or not, learn why playing with the words on the page is vital for both writers and readers of all ages.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Brianna Jett Presenter: Christine Derr Presenter: Evan Griffith Presenter: Kaua Adams Presenter: Laura Shovan
Children’s & Young Adult Literature
Panel Discussion
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1080 |
D76054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Poetry Across Genres, Forms & Influences
Poetry is most commonly associated with the written word or oral readings. But poetry can cross genres and influence other forms, including narrative nonfiction, visual art, video games, journalism, music, composition, performance, and more. Four poets will discuss how poetry shapes and influences other genres and vice versa, as well as their careers outside of poetry in journalism, game design, education, and publishing.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Amy Yee Moderator: Virginia Bell Presenter: Keith Wilson Presenter: avery r. young
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1085 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Poetry and/as Faith
If poetry is, or is a form of, prayer, then what petitions, laments, and exultations do we need it to voice right now? In an era of invigorated Christian nationalism, what alternative spiritual possibilities can contemporary poetry offer? In this panel, four poets explore how diverse faith traditions inform their approach to the craft and purpose of poetry. Together, we discuss how poets can productively engage faith, not as dabblers or dogmatists, but as committed artists.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Faisal Mohyuddin Moderator: Alex Mouw Presenter: Kimberly Johnson Presenter: Tacey Atsitty
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1090 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Poetry & Public Truth: Writing Against Misinformation & Manufactured Narratives
Poets and interdisciplinary writers discuss how poetry engages public truth in an era shaped by misinformation, surveillance, war, media manipulation, and algorithmic culture. The panel explores documentary poetics, archival practice, political witness, and the ethical responsibilities of writers working across personal testimony, history, technology, and public memory. Panelists consider how poetry can test dominant narratives while making new spaces for collective understanding and resistance.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Nate Marshall Presenter: Susan Rich Presenter: Buku Sarkar Moderator: Katerina Canyon Presenter: Jose Medina
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1095 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Poetry as Rehearsal for the Revolution: Improvisation on the Page & the Body
Augusto Boal posits that “theatre is not revolutionary in itself, but it is surely a rehearsal for the revolution.” In this panel, four poets offer embodied performances based on improvisational methods in their written work to push the boundaries of what is possible. Using multimedia, vocal experiments, improvisation, looping tech, and more, these poets pursue collective freedom in the face of the silence. How can lyric operate as a ritual? What emerges in repetitions when looping toward freedom?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Alison Rollins Presenter: Franny Choi Presenter: Joy Priest Moderator: Diana Khoi Nguyen
Poetry Readings
Reading
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1100 |
E06054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Poetry Can Be Music in Verse Novels for Young Readers
With the literacy crisis affecting children more than ever, reading has been a hard sell. But are children still into music? The answer is a resounding yes! Something about repetition and rhythm is especially soothing to young people who are living in a fast and loud world. Verse novel authors for young people will discuss the way poetry can mirror music for young readers—through format, playfulness, rhythm, and structure—and help them fall back in love with reading.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Shifa Saltagi Safadi Moderator: Betsy Bird Presenter: Nicole M. Hewitt Presenter: Arriel Vinson Presenter: Colby Cedar Smith
Children’s & Young Adult Literature
Panel Discussion
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1105 |
D76054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Poetry for Young People: Pedagogy, Politics & Transformation
In this panel, experienced poet-educators of color from across the US will discuss the philosophies that inform their youth-centered poetry pedagogy in middle schools, high schools, community-engaged arts spaces, and writing-intensive summer camps. As a call to action, they’ll offer insights into the political urgency of youth-work, especially with queer youth and youth of color. We’ll close by discussing how being a teacher has transformed their own writing practices as poets.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Noah Arhm Choi Moderator: Aishvarya Arora Presenter: Carlina Duan Presenter: Marlin M Jenkins
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1110 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Poets & the Public: Four Poets Laureate Read & Discuss Their Work
Many communities now appoint a poet laureate, acknowledging the important role poetry can play in public life. Four recently selected official poets—from Chicago, the states of Illinois and New York, and the small city of Saratoga Springs, New York—read from their work and discuss the laureate’s practical and poetic responsibilities, including how, in addition to celebrating a city or state, poets can serve as ambassadors for poetry while offering valuable social criticism and aesthetic truths.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Mayda Del Valle Moderator: Jay Rogoff Presenter: Kimiko Hahn Presenter: Mark Turcotte
Poetry Readings
Reading
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1115 |
E06054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Post-Debut: Five Poets on Maximizing Opportunities After Publication
Marie Howe said, “I’m a ten-year kind of girl.” Indeed, poets spend years, even decades, working on a poetry book—let alone their debut. In this panel, five award-winning poets with debuts published in 2025–2026 discuss maximizing opportunities in the first year post-publication. Drawing on their experiences and successes, topics include: pursuing publicity opportunities and events, submitting to post-publication prizes, seeking teaching jobs, taking up new writing, and being in community.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Avia Tadmor Presenter: Arielle Hebert Presenter: Carlene Kucharczyk Presenter: Chelsea Krieg Presenter: Isabella DeSendi
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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1120 |
D46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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POV: A Day in the Life of a Literary Agent
The publishing industry can seem impossibly opaque—literary agents especially. We joke that the job is 20% reading, 80% emails—plus editing, networking, negotiating contracts, attending conferences, scouting writers, selling rights for translation, film/TV, audio, and more. Five agents with diverse backgrounds and workflows will share snapshots of an “average” day in a job where every day is different, helping writers understand on a practical level what it takes to be an author advocate.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Amy Bishop-Wycisk Moderator: Roma Panganiban Presenter: Kayla Lightner Presenter: Mina Hamedi Presenter: Jade Wong-Baxter
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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1125 |
D46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Publisher Math: Where Money Goes in the Sale of a Book & Why You Don’t Have It, Sponsored by CLMP
A $24 book sold through a distributor returns roughly $4.50 to the publisher, who must then pay the author, the printer, the editor, the designer, the publicist, and the warehouse. Where does the rest go, and why? Five independent publishers break down the real cost structure of a book from acquisition to remainder, walking attendees through P&Ls, royalty statements, and return rates. A clear-eyed, numbers-on-the-table conversation for writers tired of guessing.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Christina Ward Presenter: Casey Plett Presenter: Christine Neulieb Presenter: Diane Goettel Presenter: Janaka Stucky
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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1135 |
E26054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 72E9EC68-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Publishing the Short Story Collection: From Submission to Promoting Your Work
These authors, who have also published or produced other long forms—novels, novellas, plays, essay collections, academic books—will discuss the learning curve of publishing a story collection. From submitting to university presses or to competitions, or to indies or the Big Five, we’ll explore strategies of putting together and pitching your collection, as well as promoting a form often undervalued. We’ll compare notes on our journeys and ask, What did we learn? What do wish we’d known?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Abby Manzella Presenter: Andrew Bertaina Presenter: Jessie Marshall Presenter: Patricia Grace King Presenter: Megan Giddings
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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1140 |
E26054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Publishing While Indigenous & Female: From Newbies to Elders
Indigenous women publish poetry and memoir despite challenges in an industry with mostly white editors and audiences. Challenges include age, geography, small press woes, demanding day jobs, and lack of retirement funds, in addition to family/tribal community responsibilities and healing from historical trauma. From soon-to-be published to posthumously published authors, ages early 30s to 65 and beyond, we share war stories, old-time Indian wisdom, and communal practices that benefit BIPOC writers.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Arielle Lowe Presenter: Mary Leauna Christensen Moderator: Deborah Miranda Presenter: Casandra Lopez Presenter: Mimi Wheatwind
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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1145 |
E26054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Pull a Card: Three Poets on Tarot, Divination & Wonder in Creative Practice
James Merrill’s experiments with Ouija, CAConrad’s Somatic Rituals, Lucie Brock-Broido’s atmospheric arrangements . . . Poets have long practiced forms of divination as a way of communing with the muse and channeling inspiration. This panel explores the use of divination—and in particular, tarot—in the work of three contemporary poets as a way of tapping the numinous. Presenters will discuss the role of divination in their creative process and demonstrate their method through readings of poems.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Travis Helms Presenter: Leila Chatti Presenter: Maya Popa Presenter: Roger Reeves
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1150 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Pulling Back the Curtain: What Every New Writer Should Know About Publishing
This panel covers the most important intel that every new writer should know (but isn’t told). Whether workshopping a manuscript, querying agents, going on submission, working with editors, or promoting a first book, these seasoned industry professionals will help you think strategically about your career from the earliest stages: equipping you with relevant data, explaining how you fit into a complex industry, and empowering you to ask the right questions so you can be your own best advocate.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Randy Winston Moderator: Laura McGrath Presenter: Yahdon Israel Presenter: A.L. Major Presenter: Adam Vitcavage
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1155 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Horror Authors Are Coming for Your Kids: Come Play with Us . . . Forever . . .
Why write horror for kids? While reading spooky helps kids cope with horrors of the real world, the truth is that kids are clamoring for scary stories, so let’s not deprive them of the very thing we most love writing? “Scary” is highly subjective, though, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that authors of spooky kidlit have varied approaches to writing and illustrating these books. In this panel of PB, MG, and YA authors and illustrators, we’ll discuss how we each approach writing horror for children.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Kathleen Palm Presenter: Christine Virnig Presenter: Stan Yan Moderator: Wendy Parris Presenter: Mel Hammond
Children’s & Young Adult Literature
Panel Discussion
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1160 |
D76054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Queer Place-Making: Resiliency, Imagination & Resistance
Queerness can never be untangled from place. Where we are determines not just our comfort, but our safety and ability to live full lives. Yet place is also capacious, multifaceted: text, mind, body, gathering, group chat. Place can be created and reforged on the page. This multigenre reading gathers queer writers from red, blue, and purple states to ask: Where and how does queer place-making happen on the page? And what might it have to teach us about resiliency, imagination, and resistance?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Matty Glasgow Presenter: Chekwube Danladi Presenter: Jessica Tanck Presenter: Kieron Walquist Presenter: Luna Andujar
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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1165 |
DA6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Queer Writing Pedagogy
As we celebrate queer voices in writing, workshops beg a different question: how—and can—queer writing be taught? In this panel, university-level author-teachers consider how—and if—to define queer writing; a capacious understanding of queer literary vision and sensibilities; and why and how dedicated space for queer writing in creative writing programs might lead to greater visibility and legibility. What are our duties and goals as college instructors and workshop leaders of queer writing?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Lydi Conklin Presenter: Brendan Bowles Moderator: JP Solheim Presenter: Melissa Febos Presenter: Serena Chopra
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1170 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Queering Family Matters: Kinship, Intimacy & Belonging in Creative Nonfiction
On this panel, we offer a behind-the-scenes look into how to queer our personal essays and memoirs about family and subvert heternormative models for kinship and intimacy. Through showcasing literary techniques—like strange juxtapositions, gender-play, joyous embodiment, and creating narrative distance—we encapsulate both the tenderness and grief with which we render alive on the page our parents, siblings, romantic partners, and our own children, niblings, and others in our chosen families.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Cara Stoddard Moderator: Kira Cordova Presenter: Ana Maria Spagna Presenter: KB Brookins Presenter: Zoë Bossiere
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1175 |
DB6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Radiant Testimony: Multidisciplinary Poems of Resistance
This panel explores embodied text as multidisciplinary poets move beyond the page through art, sound, video, performance, and collage to engage difficult subjects. Panelists examine interdisciplinary practices as new points of access to histories of revolution, systemic racism, archival silences, erasure, and personal or collective voice. The discussion considers artists’ responsibilities when working with trauma and how hybridity can amplify marginalized voices while resisting generalization.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Nick Flynn Presenter: Jonah Mixon-Webster Presenter: Alison Rollins Moderator: Tina Chang Presenter: Suji Kwock Kim
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1180 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Reaching Readers, One Way or Another, Sponsored by the Authors Guild
Authors are asked to do so many things that are both outside their wheelhouse and, unfortunately, not guaranteed to sell books: edit videos, master Canva, be charming on social, manage the logistics of a launch. This panel will discuss what writers have control over, the importance of playing to your strengths, navigating what your publisher should be doing for you, and knowing how much promo work is reasonable to do. We will also share time-tested and inventive new ways to reach readers these days.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Courtney Maum Moderator: Lupita Aquino Presenter: Will Roth Presenter: Teddy Wayne
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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1183 |
D46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 71E9EC68-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Reclaiming Creative Critical Writing Ancestors
In this reading, Gloria Anzaldúa, Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich, Harryette Mullen, bell hooks, Charles Ludlam, and Francisco X. Alarcón, among others, are reimagined as critical and creative literary ancestors that teach us how to combat systemic oppression through innovative writing, research, editing, and teaching methodologies. A diverse panel of creative critical writers will read original work and reflect on how these writers inspired their practices through genre-troubling methods.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Nathan Osorio Moderator: Thaïs Miller Presenter: Mecca Jamilah Sullivan Presenter: micah perks Presenter: Jonathan Goldberg
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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1185 |
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Reclaiming Native/Indigenous Aesthetics
As Indigenous writers we discuss challenges and strategies of foregrounding distinct Indigenous aesthetics rooted in our languages, homelands, and cultures in a market shaped by stereotypes and artificial expectations. We address (1) the weight of anthropological discourses on poetics and effects of “pretendianism” and stereotypes, (2) historical narratives that efface Alaska Native geographies, practices, and aesthetics, and (3) effects of “nature writing” on Native expressions of relationality.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Abigail Chabitnoy Moderator: Beth Piatote Presenter: Beth Piatote Presenter: Esther Belin Presenter: Matthew Skeets
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1190 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Red Ink & Revision: How to Edit a Poetry Collection
Poetry can be a Pandora’s box of challenges: Changing a word increases musicality but throws off the line, new lineation fixes a stanza yet disrupts the overall poem. Editing a collection magnifies this issue: How do you find a bird’s-eye view while tackling individual poems? This panel offers insights on balancing cohesion and dissonance in a collection, the push and pull of editing, and how to prepare manuscripts for publication. Presented by Milkweed Editions and the National Poetry Series.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Daniel Slager Presenter: Camille Dungy Presenter: Campbell McGrath Presenter: Keetje Kuipers Presenter: Dan Chiasson
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1195 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Refusing Despair: Women Poets Writing Through the Anthropocene
Five women poets read original poems that speak to the environmental moment—one marked by deregulation, protection rollbacks, and research defunding. These feminist perspectives examine intersections between threats to our lands and those endured by women and gender-expansive people. Inspired by nature’s resilience and often returning to their matrilineages, primal landscapes, and lived experiences, these writers ultimately refuse despair, choosing courage and hope—even as we enter a new era of our climate-changed world.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Arielle Hebert Presenter: Chelsea Krieg Presenter: Kai Coggin Presenter: Kira Tucker Presenter: Monica Ferrell
Poetry Readings
Reading
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1200 |
E06054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Research for Making Stuff Up: Strategies & Surprises in Research for Fiction
Research can inspire a plot, ground a character, or enrich a setting. But what does “research for fiction” mean in practice? Panelists will share stories, surprises, and learnings from their journeys deep into historical archives and interviewing OnlyFans models. We’ll discuss beginning research, finding vivid sources, balancing research with generation, tracking and weaving in learnings, pitfalls to avoid, and when to stop researching and get down to making stuff up.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Marguerite Sheffer Presenter: Clare Beams Presenter: Rufi Thorpe Presenter: Senaa Ahmad Presenter: Kangkang Kovacs
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1205 |
D86054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Research in Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
In narrative nonfiction, including memoir, research can take many forms: archival investigation, interviews, transpacific travel, hours down a Reddit rabbit hole, sifting through boxes of pictures and keepsakes, transcribing old letters, searching county records, sifting images on Google Earth, even watching vacation videos on YouTube. Five nonfiction writers talk about the particulars of their varied research processes and how they were able to make that work come alive on the page.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Taylor Brorby Moderator: Michael Copperman Presenter: Jessica Johnson Presenter: Jessica Nelson Presenter: Carvell Wallace
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1210 |
DB6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Resistance Is Not Futile: Anti-Carceral Approaches to Refusing AI
As writing instructors scramble to address AI, many seem to be either teaching students how to integrate it, or banning it, using methods to surveil, detect, and punish students who do. This panel is composed of writing instructors who chart a different course: resisting the use of AI without reverting to restrictive or punitive policies. Attendees will leave with new ideas for lessons, activities, writing prompts, and assignments for every phase of the writing process to deter and avoid AI.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Marissa Landrigan Presenter: Emrys Donaldson Presenter: Maddox Pennington Presenter: Melanie Dusseau Presenter: Mikayla Davis
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1215 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Return to Memoria: A Tribute to Xavier Navarro Aquino
Xavier Navarro Aquino, author of the acclaimed novel Velorio, passed away suddenly this year. A stalwart of Caribbean literature, dedicated creative writing professor and mentor at Notre Dame, and fierce advocate for an anti-colonial Puerto Rico, his legacy is in the way his work will continue to shape conversations about the possibilities of art and collective remembrance. Friends and colleagues will gather “in memoria” of Xavier and celebrate his lasting impact.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Dionne Bremyer Moderator: Gabriela Garcia Presenter: Derek Nnuro Presenter: Irvin Weathersby
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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1220 |
E46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Rise & Fall of a Midwest Princess: Place-Based Writing from the Ozarks
The Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas have inspired authors like Charles Portis and Frank Stanford to write tales of rugged people living rough lives. Despite paradoxical features—incredible wealth, extreme poverty, natural beauty, and ugly history—the region still struggles to be represented as anything but violent and broken. How can we tell stories about a place area at once nascent and entrenched? What does it mean to root one’s writing in a political and cultural crossroads?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Lillian Durr Presenter: James McWilliams Presenter: Bria Winfree Moderator: Mariya Kurbatova Presenter: Laurie Marshall
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1225 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Ronald Johnson’s Radi os: 50 Years of Influence
This panel will explore Ronald Johnson (1935–1998) and the lasting influence of Radi os (1977), his best-known poem. A book-length erasure of Milton’s Paradise Lost, Radi os is among the first erasures in English, a technique that, although once avant-garde, now appears in debut collections and undergrad classrooms. This panel’s five members, which include Johnson’s literary executor and publisher, will reintroduce Radi os and track its influence in poetry. A Q&A will follow the discussion.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Devin Johnston Presenter: Kirsten "Kai" Ihns Presenter: Jonathan Moore Presenter: Peter O'Leary Moderator: Derek Mong
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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1230 |
E46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Sacred Science, Rational Spirit: Scripted Medicine-Writing as Healing Technology
Across African, African American, Indigenous, and Afro-Latino traditions, writing has always been medicinal; the word carries Asé, the page holds ceremony, the story is the cure. Building upon our 2026 panel, this interactive session invites writers across all genres to experience writing as ancient healing technology through focused presentations, embodied prompts, and facilitated reflection. These traditions never separated art from healing. Come as a writer. Leave with medicine.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Veronique MacRae Moderator: David Johnson Presenter: Masha Dowell Presenter: Jordan Mims
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1235 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Sak Pase? A Tribute to Haitian Poet Laureate Danielle Legros Georges
This #AWP27 panel is timely in its cultural alignment with Haitian founder of Chicago, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. Legros Georges served as Boston poet laureate from 2014 to 2019, and her papers are newly archived at Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. These poets, who knew her as fellow poet laureate, member of the Dark Room Collective, and collaborator, will discuss her work and opportunities for future scholars.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Tisa Bryant Moderator: Artress White Presenter: Porsha Olayiwola Presenter: Rosamond King Presenter: Patrick Sylvain
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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1240 |
E46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Same Page, Different Rooms: Teaching Writing Online
When writing workshops moved online in 2020, something unexpected happened: Participation surged. Writers once excluded by geography, disability, caregiving, or work schedules suddenly found community and craft instruction within reach. This panel brings together teaching artists and literary program leaders to discuss what online workshops have revealed about teaching craft across distance: how to foster trust, build community, increase access, and preserve the best of the workshop model.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Erin Weiss Presenter: Andrea Dupree Presenter: Jami Attenberg Presenter: Kayla Degala-Paraiso
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1245 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Saving Our Ships: Keeping Creative Writing Programs Afloat in Rough Times
Faced with rip currents of the demographic enrollment cliff, budget cuts, politically fueled distrust of high ed, and federal/state policies that restrict content and reduce access to grant funding, student visas, and student loans, directors of creative writing programs—public and private, residential and low-res, and Midwest, West Coast, and East Coast—will describe strategies to navigate the storm, reflect on what’s working and what’s not, and suggest inventive ways to update our programs.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sean Bernard Presenter: Anna Leahy Presenter: Kevin Clouther Presenter: Lillian-Yvonne Bertram Presenter: Marcus Jackson
Program Development
Panel Discussion
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1250 |
E16054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Say Cheese: Celebrating 40 Years of the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, this multigenre reading features former fellows in poetry and fiction across decades. Since 1986, the WICW has provided emerging writers with time, space, teaching experience, and an intellectual community while they develop first and second books. The event highlights the Institute’s literary legacy and showcases new work by writers whose careers have been shaped by this nationally recognized fellowship program.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Jaquira Díaz Moderator: Erika Meitner Presenter: Claire Luchette Presenter: Tiana Clark Presenter: Sasha Debevec-McKenney
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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1255 |
DA6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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School of the Art Institute of Chicago: 30 Years Writing in the Heart of Chicago
The MFA program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago—in downtown Chicago near “The Bean”—celebrates its 30th anniversary with readings and insights from a professor and three alumni: Sara Levine, Cynthia Pelayo, Lindsay Hunter, and Sisel Gelman. These award-winning writers will share how their success was inspired and guided by the city of Chicago, its literary opportunities, and the SAIC community. The reading and Q&A will showcase the work they have published across the genres of comedy, thriller, horror, literary fiction, and more.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sisel Gelman Presenter: Sara Levine Presenter: Lindsay Hunter Presenter: Cynthia Pelayo
Fiction Readings
Reading
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1260 |
E76054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Screaming into New Worlds: The Poetry & Craft of Haki Madhubuti
The writing life of Chicago poet Haki Madhubuti includes an impressive number of timeless poems, books, and writing styles. From his period of shorter, more stark poetry to poetry in the modern era that is longer, more personal, and never in retreat from the moment, four panelists present their favorite Madhubuti poem along with their reasons for its selection. The panel will demonstrate how Madhubuti has carved out a special space in American poetry and the world, not to mention Chicago.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Brian Gilmore Presenter: LeConte Dill Presenter: Toni Asante Lightfoot Presenter: Bayo Ojikutu
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1265 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Screenwriting Unlocked: The Smarter (Not Harder) Method for Writing Your Script
Why start from scratch when you can build on success? This dynamic workshop teaches the “scaffolding method”—using existing, successful projects as structural templates for original screenplays. We’ll demonstrate the technique, then lead participants through breaking a TV pilot in real time as a group! Last year’s workshop was a hit, so we’d like to do it again!
Speaker(s): Moderator: Adrienne Carter Presenter: Taylor Vaughn Lasley
Playwriting & Screenwriting
Panel Discussion
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1270 |
DE6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Serious Fun in the Creative Writing Workshop
Writers having fun in workshop are cocreators in learning. They’re engaged, their attention is focused, and they work harder. They don’t use AI or overvalue grades. They’re more comfortable and less anxious. Panelists will present arguments and practices for fun in different workshop modes and levels, from graduate to introductory to community. We’ll share perspectives from liberal arts colleges, large universities, and public events to present the value of fun in academics, art, and life.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Barney Haney Presenter: Christopher Coake Presenter: Phong Nguyen Presenter: Shonda Buchanan Presenter: Kayleb Candrilli
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1275 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Sex, Slurs & Swear Words: Translating Sensitive Language
“Sensitive language” reveals so much about place, culture, and beliefs. Translating these terms requires significant human expertise in varying cultural subtext, and translators must confront censorship from editors, publishers, and readers, as well as self-censorship due to their own cultural circumstances. This panel of translators of Arabic, French, Korean, and Spanish will discuss creative approaches to successfully handling language that is visceral, emotional, and weighted by taboo.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Nancy Naomi Carlson Presenter: Liza Tripp Presenter: Anne Willborn Moderator: Anjali Duva Presenter: Joon-Li Kim
Translation
Panel Discussion
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1280 |
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Shattering the Portrait: South Asian Writers on the Cost of Cultural Inheritance
Every family has a portrait—carefully composed, maintained across generations through the grammar of silence. This panel brings together South Asian women writers working across memoir, poetry, and hybrid prose to explore how cultural inheritance shapes what we write, how we write it, and at what cost. Topics include craft across genres, gender, ethics of immigrant family narrative, and spiritual and cultural inheritance.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Dimple Dhabalia Presenter: Dimple Dhabalia Presenter: Rabia Chaudry Presenter: Sara Surani
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1285 |
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Silence(d) in Translation, Sponsored by ALTA
Translators from Catalan, Ch’ol, French, Polish, and Braj Bhasha consider the role that silence as understatement and white space, and as the political dimension of being silenced, plays in their work. What are the choices a translator has to make when a poem is minimalist on the page? How does white space function in the original and in the translation? Is there a connection between the silence on the page and the poet grappling with and resisting being silenced within the culture at large?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Nancy Naomi Carlson Moderator: Sharon Dolin Presenter: Charlotte Friedman Presenter: Chloe Martinez Presenter: Piotr Florczyk
Translation
Panel Discussion
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1290 |
E36054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 72E9EC68-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Sister Is a Verb: Building Trust & Longevity in Black Literary Organizations
Representatives from Torch Literary Arts, Callaloo, and Wintergreen Women Writers Collective discuss how trust, conflict navigation, leadership succession, and collaborative infrastructure shape the longevity of Black arts institutions. Drawing on experiences from founder-led and intergenerational organizations, panelists explore building community trust, sharing resources, and sustaining Black women-led literary spaces amid structural inequities in publishing and arts funding.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Amanda Johnston Moderator: Opal Moore Presenter: Kyla Kupferstein Torres Presenter: Joanne Gabbin
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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1295 |
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Stanzas on Screen? How to Write for the Video Essay & the Cine-Poem
Call them video essays, cine-poems, writing-forward mini documentaries, stanzas interrupting a social feed: Video today is everywhere, and writers are taking advantage of the form on both small and large screens. On this panel, five writers will describe the ways they incorporate video in their written work. Afterward panelists will offer prompts and tools for writers interested in using video to generate new writing, get unstuck, and borrow cinematic strategies for the page.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sarah Minor Presenter: Kathy Wu Presenter: Tracie Morris Presenter: Hannah Bonner
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1300 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Start a Literary Thing! How to Build a Lit Organization That Lasts
If you’ve been dreaming of building something literary but don’t know where to start, this panel is for you! Five founders from lit mags, presses, retreats, and festivals come together to provide tips and share insights from launching their own. From incorporation to fundraising to building a team, we’ll cover the basics of putting an organization together—and share things we wish we knew along the way.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Melissa Hung Presenter: Diamond Braxton Moderator: Steph Liberatore Presenter: NaBeela Washington Presenter: Will Evans
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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1305 |
E56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Starting & Growing Literary Organizations: Evolving with Your Community
Literary organizations create and nurture vibrant and diverse literary communities across the US, bringing together both writers and readers inside and outside academia, some without traditional access to the literary arts. In this interactive panel, directors from literary organizations in urban and rural areas will explore how their organizations have evolved to fit the needs of their communities, including how programming (workshops, events, and outreach) has changed over time.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Michael Khandelwal Presenter: Rob Arnold Presenter: Asari Beale Presenter: Karen Schubert Presenter: Zach Powers
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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1310 |
E56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Stethoscope to Pen: Writing From the Front Lines of Reproductive Healthcare
In a post-Roe era, clinicians are vital frontline voices. This panel brings together two physicians and a registered nurse who move from “Stethoscope to Pen,” sharing a literary tool kit for translating reproductive care into narrative. Through moderated discussion and readings, these storytellers explore the craft of writing through stigma toward dismantling systems of harm. Attendees learn how to use memoirs and workbooks to shift discourse and advance reproductive justice with purpose.
Speaker(s): Presenter: DeShawn Taylor Moderator: Kaitlyn Joshua Presenter: Willie Parker Presenter: Jamilla Webb
Nonfiction Readings
Reading
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1315 |
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“Strike Sparks: I Will Tell About It”: Writing the Difficult Family Poem
Five panelists will discuss craft as well as the complexities of writing challenging poems about family (family of origin/chosen family/ancestors) that are difficult in a myriad of ways, including the political. Each award-winning poet will discuss the ethical issues surrounding writing about family and way they employ craft to address these thorny but relevant topics in their own work as well as examples from writers who have informed their practice. Our panel takes its title from Sharon Olds.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jennifer Franklin Presenter: Iain Pollock Presenter: Jessica Cuello Presenter: Justin Wymer Presenter: Simone Muench
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1320 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Subtext—What Lies Beyond the Page
As writers, we always try to mean more than we say. Dialogue should reveal character, setting must convey mood and propel the action, clothing or food can indicate politics or social status, and gesture often betrays thought. Five diverse award-winning authors of realistic and speculative fiction will discuss types and placements of subtext, underscoring various principles that can effectively improve/sharpen the technique and make fictional narratives as charged and complex as possible.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry Presenter: Jemimah Wei Presenter: Maria Kuznetsova Presenter: Edward Falco Presenter: Raul Palma
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1325 |
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Super Gay True Love Stories: Queering the Shape of Memoir
Join writers Richard Siken, Kelly Foster Lundquist, Nicole Tallman, Charles Jensen, and J.D. Isip for a craft discussion about how one might shape a memoir, particularly one with a queer bent. Each panelist’s work presents the memoir in a unique way with a unique shape, and attendees will have the opportunity to tap into the creative processes for each writer. Attendees can look forward to finding many perspectives on finding the right slant for telling their truth.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jomar Isip Presenter: Kelly Lundquist Presenter: Charles Jensen Presenter: Nicole Tallman Presenter: Richard Siken
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1330 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Surviving Censorship: Junior Faculty on Creative Writing in the University Today
As academic freedom is corroded across the US, the university is in crisis. Yet for its underrepresented communities, it has always been a site of precarity. Ironically, the university is built upon a promise of creative freedom that continues to attract writers from diverse backgrounds. As a cohort of junior creative writing faculty, we ask, How did we get here? What historical and communal resources do we call upon to survive this paradox? And how do we make it tenable for those who come next?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Cindy Juyoung Ok Presenter: Claire Jimenez Presenter: Nicholas Goodly Presenter: SJ Sindu Moderator: Nathan Osorio
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1335 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Sustaining a Literary Magazine Under Austerity & Unrest
The publishing landscape has always been challenging for independent literary magazines and presses, but the second Trump administration has been especially brutal. In this panel, lit mag leaders will discuss methods for seeking funding, maintaining autonomy, and fostering resilience in an environment that reveres austerity, homogeneity, and control. Attendees will hear from veterans whose experience and wisdom are some of the literary community’s most valuable resources.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Maureen Langloss Presenter: Aaron Burch Presenter: Denne Michele Norris Presenter: Roxane Gay Presenter: Sarah Leonard
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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1340 |
E56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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SWANA Poets Against Genocide & Imperialism: A Solidarity Reading
This reading is an act of solidarity between poets with ties to Armenia, Lebanon, Iran, and Palestine. As W. H. Auden is famously misquoted, “poetry makes nothing happen.” The full quotation, which each of these writers embodies in their work, says: “For poetry makes nothing happen: it survives / . . . a way of happening, a mouth.” This reading will honor the entangled histories of these conflicts, and offer ways into survival via a continued envisioning of a future, under threat.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Alexa Luborsky Presenter: Arthur Kayzakian Presenter: Perla Kantarjian Presenter: Saba Keramati Presenter: Lena Tuffaha
Poetry Readings
Reading
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1345 |
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SWANA Writers Caucus
This will be a town hall–style meeting, creating a much-needed space for SWANA writers to build and connect within AWP. We invite established and emerging writers, editors, students, scholars, and organizers, and aim for the caucus to facilitate networking and exchange on literary endeavors, craft, publishing, poetics, and praxis. Our caucus seeks to empower and center the voices of underrepresented Americans with roots in SWANA cultures and communities.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sophia Babai Presenter: Pinar Banu Yasar Presenter: Tariq Luthun Presenter: Rabha Ashry
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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1350 |
D66054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Switching Back, Going Forward: 20 Years of Switchback Books
For over 20 years, Switchback Books has been publishing women, trans, and gender nonconforming poets using a unique rotating leadership model. This panel of former and current editors will discuss how a volunteer-run independent press stays relevant, agile, and sustainable. What pitfalls can come with switching editors and passing the baton? How can mission-driven presses persist in this era of censorship? And how can like-minded communities come together to publish poetry for the future?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Marina Blitshteyn Presenter: Alyse Knorr Presenter: Mackenzie Carignan Presenter: Brandi Homan Presenter: Becca Klaver
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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1355 |
E26054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Switching It Up: Code-Meshing as Resistance in Classrooms & Community Spaces
This panel will focus on code-meshing, a term coined by Vershawn Ashanti Young. Not switching back and forth but bringing it all together in one breath. Letting language move the way jazz moves, letting it riff, letting country talk sit next to academic talk. We will talk about the labor we carry when we are made to feel like we have to translate ourselves before we can begin to speak our truths. We will discuss strategies to eliminate the need to check our languages at the door.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Steven Dunn Presenter: Zainab Karim Presenter: Curtis Crisler Presenter: L. Renée Moderator: Angela Jackson-Brown
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1360 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Teaching Creative Writing at Liberal Arts Institutions Today
Not often included in national coverage, liberal arts institutions serve as bellwethers for higher education and spaces for creating innovative pedagogy. This panel creates a place for open, frank dialogue between creative writing faculty members at liberal arts institutions of different types in a variety of states about how our experiences have shaped what opportunities and challenges we see in higher ed, what strategies have worked and failed in our classes, and where we see our work going from here.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jeremy Reed Presenter: Jeremy Reed Presenter: Avni Vyas Presenter: John Linstrom Presenter: Tacey Atsitty
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1365 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Teaching Presses: The Pedagogy of Book Publishing
Students crave book publishing experience, whether to pursue jobs, to amplify new voices, or to gain insight into publishing their own work. Representatives from four college and university teaching presses, where students learn to play key roles in the book publication process, will discuss topics such as creating curricular and extracurricular experiential learning opportunities, the logistics of sustaining a press, and how to meet pedagogical aims while doing right by authors’ work.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Caitlin Horrocks Presenter: Carol Mitchell Presenter: Rachael Price Presenter: Ross Tangedal Presenter: Karlie Harpold
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1370 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Teaching Teen Writers
Teaching teen writers requires a distinct kind of trust. Unlike adults who self-select into workshops, teens often arrive through schools, caregivers, scholarships, or community programs. This panel brings together experienced educators and program leaders to discuss teaching craft in an AI- and social media–saturated landscape, gaining support for your program, fostering creative risk-taking and literary community, and building programs that are accessible, safe, and exciting for young writers.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Chukwuma Ndulue Presenter: Jamie Lyn Smith Presenter: Maria Pinto Presenter: Rebecca Wallace-Segall Moderator: Kerri Bowen-Balejko
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1375 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Teaching the Novel: Guiding Writers Through a Book-Length Project
Novel writing is a daunting process that often takes years, but traditional writing programs aren’t structured to support a full book-length manuscript. So what teaching methods help writers get drafts across the finish line? This panel of expert novel instructors and authors will discuss the nuances of intensive, long-term novel workshops. We’ll cover drafting and revision; teaching craft across subgenres and styles; how to keep momentum going; and the value of community in long-form projects.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Michelle Hoover Presenter: Michael Zapata Presenter: Rowan Beaird Presenter: Alice Kuipers
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1380 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Terms of Submission: What Editors & Writers Expect, Tolerate & Owe
Literary publishing runs on an unwritten contract—part etiquette, part ethics, learned by trial, error, and the occasional bruised ego. How should writers think about sim-subs, reading fees, solicitations, submission windows, and the AI question now hovering over the slush? Editors from Bennington Review, Copper Nickel, Missouri Review, Shenandoah, and swamp pink pull back the curtain on best practices, pet peeves, and the harder questions of fairness, transparency, and access. Bring your questions and gripes.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Emily Rosko Presenter: Lesley Wheeler Presenter: Manuel Gonzales Presenter: Marc McKee Presenter: Joanna Luloff
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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1385 |
E26054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Text as Performance / Performative Writing / Scripts & Scores Beyond the Stage
As Suzan-Lori Parks reminds us, “Words are spells in our mouths.” Resisting the binary between script and performance, panelists discuss experimental approaches to hybrid forms that activate the physicality of language. With intersectional feminist perspectives on multimedia projects including performance poem-cycles, fieldwork compositions, literary performance personae, conceptual scores, and embodied participatory rituals, panelists explore possibilities for writing as a transformative act.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Katie Schaag Presenter: Anne Lesley Selcer Presenter: Monica Mody Presenter: Meghan Lamb Presenter: Téa Jones-Yelvington
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1390 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F2B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The (Administrative) Grim Reaper May Be Coming for Your MFA Program: What Now?
MFA programs across the country are facing an existential threat from upper administrators who’ve devalued the humanities and believe cutting creativity is a simple way to save money. Hamline University endured a dean’s misguided efforts to end its beloved, community-based program. Purdue University saw its esteemed, thirty-six-year-old program discontinued. West Virginia University’s program was put on the chopping block, but its advocates had the chance to save it via an appeals process.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Mark Brazaitis Presenter: Angela Pelster-Wiebe Presenter: Brian Leung Presenter: Mary Ann Samyn Presenter: Brian Ballentine
Program Development
Panel Discussion
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1395 |
E16054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Anatomy of a Chapbook: A Lab, Sponsored by CLMP
This hands-on lab explores the chapbook as a distinct editorial form in small press publishing, covering how chapbooks are shaped through theme, sequencing, and visual identity, and how editors evaluate manuscripts for selection. Panelists will discuss editorial approaches to chapbook development, including challenges, submission considerations, and the role chapbooks play in press catalogs. The session includes a generative exercise where attendees will map the conceptual arc of a chapbook.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Nancy Simat Presenter: Alix Klingenberg Presenter: Jeff Alessandrelli Presenter: Josh Roark Presenter: Natalie Axton
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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1400 |
E26054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 72E9EC68-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Audio Edit: The Literary Craft of Podcast
Podcast editing is so much more than the software you use to remove background noise. Should your podcast be scripted or not? Should you add audio effects? How do you find the narrative arc of an interview? In this discussion, podcast producers and editors will offer their insights on transforming raw audio into captivating stories by sharing practical tips about how to structure episodes and leverage editing software, and creative insights for weaving compelling audio narratives.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Laura Rensing Presenter: Mellinda Hensley Presenter: Ramona Pilar Presenter: Rebecca Luxton
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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1410 |
E26054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Blackprint: Creating the first MFA Program Centered on Black Literature
This panel will discuss the institutional challenges and practical strategies involved in developing and sustaining Chicago State University’s MFA program at a public, predominantly Black university for 25 years. Topics will include curriculum design, institutional roadblocks, community engagement, funding and resource navigation, and creating pathways for students beyond the degree.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Haki Madhubuti Presenter: Kelly Norman Ellis Presenter: Sandra Jackson-Opoku Moderator: Cole Lavalais
Program Development
Panel Discussion
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1415 |
E16054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Blurb Industrial Complex: Waste of Time or Valuable PR?
How do we manage the discomfort involved in soliciting endorsements for our forthcoming books? Whom do we ask and how, especially if we’re faced with cultural taboos against requesting such favors? How do authors and small presses leverage blurbs for publicity? Five writers—including an indie press publisher and a bookseller—will discuss blurb etiquette and successful blurb queries with real examples, followed by a lively debate about the pros and cons of the “blurb industrial complex.”
Speaker(s): Moderator: Magda Bartkowska Presenter: Gayle Brandeis Presenter: Kate Gale Presenter: Leslie Pietrzyk Presenter: Olga Zilberbourg
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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1420 |
D46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Creative Writing PhD: Applying, Surviving & Thriving
The creative writing PhD asks writers to apply critical theory and academic research to their own work, as well as the work of others. Far from a continuation of the MFA, CW PhD programs encourage a deep consideration of craft, theory, and critique. This panel will discuss how to thrive in CW PhD programs, as well as the application process, preparation for the degree, and what to expect once you’re admitted.
Speaker(s): Moderator: A. Rafael Johnson Presenter: Julia Brown Presenter: Julie Iromuanya Presenter: Ravi Howard Presenter: Vince Omni
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1425 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Editorial Classroom: Teaching Literary Magazine Publishing
In literary magazine practicums, students gain invaluable skills that give them a serious leg up in future publishing and editing jobs, while literary magazines gain invaluable assistance. In this panel, instructors in these classrooms dissect best practices and pitfalls in teaching students to evaluate submissions, correspond with writers, tackle layout issues, navigate ethical challenges, and more. New and experienced literary magazine instructors alike will leave with a wealth of ideas.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Laura Biagi Presenter: Jeremy Schraffenberger Presenter: Jessie Van Rheenen Presenter: Laura Bylenok Presenter: Marc McKee
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1430 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Ethical Representation of Trauma in Poetry
How do we ethically represent trauma and grief in poetry? How do we do this without retraumatizing the reader or ourselves? Or should the experience gesture toward traumatizing the reader? As Black writers, how do we avoid the media’s titillation of Black trauma? It is also important to engage with the enterprise of the monetization of suffering and the locus of our attention as craftspeople when we choose who to center and decide on our primary audience—whether or not to ignore outside gazes.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Ladan Osman Moderator: Hope Wabuke Presenter: Saddiq Dzukogi Presenter: Mahtem Shiferraw
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1435 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Ghosts of History
“Now I know what a ghost is,” wrote Salman Rushdie. “Unfinished business.” In this panel, four historical novelists will explore the ghosts that haunt their work. Drawing inspiration from classic “ghost stories” like Beloved, Dictee, and Pedro Páramo, we’ll dig into questions of craft and technique, asking what’s at stake in writing about painful and often overlooked histories like the Japanese occupation of Malaysia, the Palestinian Nakba, and queer survival under dictatorship in Uruguay.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Michael Lukas Moderator: Hannah Bae Presenter: Caro De Robertis Presenter: Hannah Assadi Presenter: Vanessa Chan
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1440 |
D86054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Infinite Game: Writing Our Lives Through Video Games
For essayists, video games can serve not only as objects of criticism and inquiry, but also as sites of lived experience, containers for reflection, and conduits of memory excavation. Their immersive settings, sprawling forms, rich image systems, and strange blends of agency and received narrative offer new ways of thinking about selfhood, embodiment, place, and time. This panel explores the pleasures and pains—or the dopamine hits and craft challenges—of writing from within these virtual worlds.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Elissa Washuta Presenter: Ander Monson Presenter: Danielle Geller Presenter: Megan Jones
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1445 |
DB6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Joy & Purpose of Literary Awards
Literary awards are celebratory, but they also inspire both curiosity and contention. Why do we need them? What purpose do they serve in the contemporary literary ecosystem? This panel of representatives with expertise and experience from premiere prize-granting organizations will offer a look behind the scenes, a demystification of the awards process, and a deep dive into the missions that drive the work.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Joseph Legaspi Presenter: Dante Micheaux Presenter: Ruth Dickey Presenter: Kortney Morrow Presenter: Gwydion Suilebhan
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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1450 |
D46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Life of the Literary Party: Programs, Partnerships & Literary Community
Writers work in solitude, yet here we are at the largest literary covening in North America. Literary programs like this generate connections, conversations, and opportunities—elements as essential to sustaining a life in writing as writing itself. This panel brings together four writers and programming professionals to consider what it takes to bring people together, build partnerships and programs that matter, and throw really good parties—and how all this, too, is part of a creative life.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Randy Winston Presenter: Gina Chung Presenter: Chelsea Kern Moderator: Jean Yoon Presenter: Leslie Shipman
Program Development
Panel Discussion
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1455 |
E16054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Life, Literature & Legacy of Luis J. Rodriguez—In the Long Run
The panelists will focus on the unique relevance and impact of The Life, Literature, and Legacy of Luis J. Rodriguez—In the Long Run in the literary world and the multitude of communities that the renowned poet, essayist, journalist, editor, publisher, and activist has traversed and influenced for more than 50 years. How does living a life in which he has literally and continuously crossed local and global borders influence Rodriguez’s interpretation of a world overwhelmed by crisis while erupting with revolutionary potential?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Sheilah Garland-Olaniran Moderator: Michael Warr Presenter: Michael Warr Presenter: Luis Rodriguez
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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1460 |
E46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Iambs & Arias: Connecting Poetry & Opera
Although thought of on very different scales, opera and poetry have a long history of cocreation and engagement, with many notable poets (e.g., Auden, Stein, Hughes) contributing libretti to the canon of 20th-century opera. Both art forms are textual yet vocal, visceral yet conspicuously made—and reports of both of their demise are frequent and misinformed. This panel brings together aficionados and creators to discuss opera and poetry’s connected pleasures and overlaps, both large and small.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Elaine Sexton Presenter: Janine Joseph Moderator: Gabriel Fried Presenter: Ricky Gordon
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1465 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Missouri Review’s 50th-Anniversary Reading
Join The Missouri Review in celebrating its 50th year of literary publishing with readings by award-winning contributors in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Since its founding in 1978 at the University of Missouri, The Missouri Review has been a magazine of discovery, seeking to publish the best writers first. We are serious about supporting our authors throughout their careers and training the next generation of writers, readers, and editors through our long-running internship.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Heidi Seaborn Presenter: Tiana Clark Presenter: CHAUN BALLARD Presenter: Keya Mitra Presenter: Ann-Marie Blanchard
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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1470 |
DA6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Murky Middle: Sustaining a Story’s Narrative Momentum
The middle is where a story can take off, but it’s also where the energy of a promising plot can grind to a halt. Published novelists and short story writers dissect the forces that keep the middle of a narrative alive, escalating, and humming with possibility. From raising stakes to creating forward propulsion, we explore strategies for resisting narrative slack: approaches that deepen conflict, generate surprise, keep you excited as a writer, and sustain the fictional dream through the murky middle stretch of a story. Speaker(s): Presenter: Gene Kwak Presenter: Sakinah Hofler Moderator: Danielle Harms Presenter: Brenda Peynado Presenter: Ananda Lima
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1475 |
D86054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Museum Is a Verb: Ekphrasis at the Art Institute of Chicago & Beyond
How can a single painting ignite a semester of writing? Five panelists—including four poets and an art historian—share field-tested strategies for teaching ekphrasis in museums and beyond. Drawing on their experience at the Art Institute of Chicago and elsewhere, they demonstrate how to use gallery spaces to overcome student resistance and build creative partnerships. Attendees will leave with assignments, prompts, and poems to transform any museum visit into a catalyst for original writing.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Robyn Schiff Presenter: Nathan Hoks Presenter: Jim Whiteside Presenter: Victoria Chang Moderator: David Raskin
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1480 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The New Ekphrasis: Writing Across Image, Sound & Performance
Ekphrastic techniques engage with other art forms—film, music, visual art, television, and pop culture—to make new writing. In this expanded practice, contemporary writers such as Hanif Abdurraqib, Hilton Als, and Olivia Laing move attention, structure, and voice across media, creating unexpected transformations. Drawing on their own recent books, five panelists offer practical approaches to writing through these methods, so that writing becomes both encounter and invention.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Julie Marie Wade Presenter: Caridad Moro-Gronlier Presenter: Paul Lisicky Presenter: Jericho Parms Presenter: Ander Monson
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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1485 |
DA6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Novel/istic Story Collection: How It Links Up
Peering at linked collections and novels through their critical story links—character, plot, time, theme, and place. Each writer will address how they conceived the structure of freestanding chapters or stories that build on each other to offer the scope, resonance, complexity, and resolution of a novel, or a novelistic collection.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Monona Wali Moderator: Anne Horowitz Presenter: Dylan Landis Presenter: Toni Ann Johnson
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1490 |
D86054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Obsessive Writer: Craft & Stereotype
Obsession is romanticized as the engine of genius, but OCD is often stigmatized. Join novelists, memoirists, and poets in discussing how obsession and compulsion intersect with writing. Learn how to use OCD strategies to get unstuck from common writing and editing issues. Discover ways to write obsessive characters with nuance, build narratives driven by fixation and repetition, and navigate the blurred line between artistic discipline, perfectionism, and compulsion in your creative practice.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Cynthia Marie Hoffman Presenter: Elissa Bassist Presenter: Eshani Surya Presenter: M. L. Rio Moderator: Sisel Gelman
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1495 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Other Side of the Coin: Hidden Costs & Joys of Writing a Memoir
Writers from varied personal backgrounds and aesthetic inclinations speak about their memoir-writing journeys and the personal cost of tackling emotionally and psychically difficult material that includes war, intergenerational trauma, rural poverty, addiction, and reclaiming heritages and identities. The discussion includes: retriggering of past traumas, family dynamics (mothering/divorce/separation/abuse), bodily impacts, AND how to establish boundaries and safe writing spaces in order to strike a healthier writing/life balance.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Claudia Castro Luna Presenter: Kristen Millares Young Presenter: Maya Jewell Zeller Presenter: Tina Ontiveros
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1500 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Past Is Personal: Weaving Jewish History into Prose & Poetry
Writers are often drawn to stories of individuals at an individual moment in time—but what if that moment was a long, long time ago? Four writers who have set books in eras ranging from antiquity to the 17th century to the Holocaust discuss how to weave history into art without being didactic or academic. We’ll explore how to make characters from another era seem real, how to enter mindsets different from ours, how to connect past and present, and how to fact-check writing inspired by history.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Aviya Kushner Presenter: Elizabeth Poliner Presenter: Rachel Kadish Presenter: Richard Michelson Presenter: Yerra Sugarman
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1505 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Poetics of Queer Friendship
This event will feature poets discussing how queer friendship and platonic love shapes their writing. Poets will get the opportunity to read excerpts of current and/or recent projects, discussing the art of platonic love poems, how queer friendship/platonic love manifests in their own writing, the collaborative process, and how friendships have strengthened their literary citizenship.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Luna Rey Hall Presenter: Danez Smith Presenter: Adrienne Novy Presenter: Ally Ang Presenter: Topaz Winters
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1510 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Power of the Elegy: Loss & Renewal in Jewish Poetry
Jewish poets often thread loss and grief through their poetry: from Allen Ginsberg’s Kaddish to Gerald Stern’s “animal sorrow” in “Behaving Like a Jew,” to Adrienne Rich’s “Tattered Kaddish,” to Edward Hirsch’s Gabriel: A Poem. Five contemporary Jewish American poets explore the use of elegy in their own poems and in others. What is salient about the Jewish elegy now and in the past? Do poetic expressions of grief provide a path toward renewal, community, and even joy?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Dan Rosenberg Presenter: Donna Spruijt-Metz Presenter: Patty Seyburn Presenter: Shamar Hill Moderator: Sharon Dolin
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1515 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Problem/Child: Writing the Family Body Through a Narrative Medicine Lens
Across genres, the “problem child” writer is tasked with parsing complex family dynamics: generational trauma, toxic cycles, physical and mental illness, and the ways stories of sickness and survival are passed from one generation to the next. How do we write the family body? Explore disease as both lived experience and legacy? Write as cycle-breakers in stubborn systems? Panelists draw on diverse professional experiences to discuss the ethical and artistic challenges of writing the family body.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Karie Fugett Moderator: Kyler Koons Presenter: Julia Schneider Presenter: Kate Brubeck Presenter: Alya Ahmad
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1520 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Process of Teaching Process: Creative Writing Pedagogies for Student Success
A foundational tenet of Writing Center pedagogy is a focus on creating better writers, not better writing: teaching students to develop a process that will serve them far beyond one project. This panel discusses the advantages of orienting creative writing pedagogy toward process in undergraduate classrooms as well as in community writing spaces. Panelists share how they have reshaped their assignments, classroom activities, and grading practices to help students develop individual processes.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Rebecca Entel Presenter: Rebecca Entel Presenter: Cathy Day Presenter: Ryan Collins Presenter: SUJASH PURNA
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1525 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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The Race to Write: Dreaming Up Creative, Equitable & Inclusive Spaces
Toni Morrison once wrote, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” Although Morrison was referring to the act of writing, her idea can be applied to writing organizations we wish to see in the world. In this panel, writers of color will discuss how they developed and funded equitable opportunities for writers—from national writing organizations and publishing houses to poet laureate positions, magazines, writing collectives, and more.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Victoria Banales Presenter: Adela Najarro Presenter: Brenda Vaca Presenter: Scott Duncan Presenter: Shizue Seigel
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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1530 |
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The Role of BookTok/Bookstagram in Publishing & Literary Criticism
As venues for literary criticism are dwindling and publishing houses are increasingly scrutinizing digital followings, social media has never been more important for writers. This panel provides a nuanced analysis of how BookTok and Bookstagram fits within the literary ecosystem while also imparting practical advice for writers and book reviewers on how to successfully use these platforms.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kristen Brida Presenter: Johnny Chinnici Presenter: Natalka Burian Presenter: Ebony Santos
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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1535 |
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The Sonnet Is Trans!
What is the sonnet capable of, and who is it for? Although no written form can hold the embodied experience of transness, sonnets are built to house change. From Millay to Coleman, this 14-line container has been used to deconstruct gender, race, and desire. The volta, or the turn, is a defiant movement that sets the stage for trans writers to shape-shift with and against tradition. Join trans and nonbinary poets as they read sonnets, share how they engage with this form, and constellate literary kinship across time.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Aishvarya Arora Moderator: Alexis Garcia Presenter: E.R. Pulgar Presenter: k tiao Presenter: plum.e champlin
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1540 |
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The Soul Selects Her Own: Preparing & Publishing a Selected Poems
In recent years, Selected Poems collections have won or been finalists for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize. But even books that garner less attention can be major milestones in a poet’s career. This panel attempts to demystify the Selected Poems process. Topics discussed will include: deciding when you’re ready, criteria for choosing poems from previous collections, to revise or not, including new poems or not, securing permissions, and more.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Grace Bauer Presenter: Julie Kane Presenter: Patricia Jabbeh Wesley Presenter: Kimiko Hahn Presenter: Erin Belieu
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1545 |
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The Speculative Detective Agency (SDA): A Multiethnic, Multigenre Anthology
The Speculative Detective Agency (SDA) is a multiethnic, multigenre anthology of interconnected short stories (Diversion Books, 2026). The panel participants, composed of two editors and two authors, will explore the way in which the anthology plays with the border between the real and the imaginary and expresses the fantastic through various cultural lenses, including Latinx, Muslim, West African, Singaporean, and more. The discussion will be followed by brief fiction readings from the book.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Matthew Goodwin Presenter: Monique Laban Presenter: Richie Narvaez Presenter: Nadia Rabbani Moderator: Michael Zapata
Fiction Readings
Reading
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1550 |
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The Stories We Swore We’d Never Tell: Writing the Unguarded Truth of Parenting
Most parents have a story they have sworn not to tell. Yet there is power in disclosing the darker sides of parenting. A diverse panel of writer-parents will share the low-stakes strategies they’ve used to approach their own difficult stories with honesty and compassion. Through candid conversation and guided writing prompts, attendees will leave with new tools for turning private experience into meaningful narratives—extending the conversation about what it means to parent in the 21st century.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Jody Keisner Presenter: Tomás Q. Morín Presenter: Tyrese Coleman Presenter: Meg Weber Moderator: Melissa Fraterrigo
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1555 |
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The Surreal Memoir: Writing the Self Beyond Realism
What if your life story doesn’t fit neatly within the boundaries of American realism? Four BIPOC authors describe their strategies for writing autobiographical works that make use of surreal, magical, mythical, and speculative elements. Whether unpacking Diasporic family histories and migration, resisting imperialist or racist narratives, unearthing queer ancestors, exploring mental health and disability, or healing from grief, these writers will discuss mining the surreal in prose and poetry.
Speaker(s): Presenter: May-lee Chai Moderator: Ruben Quesada Presenter: Shakeema Smalls Presenter: Zito Madu
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1560 |
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The Underage Body: Sexualization of Girls in Gabriel García Márquez’s Novels
Gabriel García Márquez is celebrated as a master of world literature, yet his work repeatedly eroticizes girls and young women, transforming their bodies into symbols of purity, temptation, or sacrifice. Rather than fully dismissing García Márquez, panelists interrogate how magical realism and the male gaze intersect to normalize the sexualization of underage bodies. This conversation invites a necessary reevaluation of a beloved author through a feminist lens.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Adriana PARAMO Presenter: Andrea Cote Botero Presenter: Victoria Buitron Moderator: Ana Maria Spagna Presenter: Ana Maria Spagna
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1565 |
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The Violence of Form: Black Lives Writing Against Violence
This panel brings together a diverse group of Black authors who work across various genres (poetry, memoir, CNF, academic, and ficton) to discuss how the grammars of form, evidence, archive, narrative, and argumentation inflict violence on Black thought, memory, and being. From there we will discuss how the anti-Black violence of these grammars impacts anyone who either in their work or in their body deviates from the normative subject and its enforced standards of the written word.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Matthieu Chapman Presenter: Said Shaiye Presenter: Troy Wilderson Presenter: nicholas brady Presenter: Chaun Webster
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1570 |
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The Weirding: We Want to Believe; Sincerity & the Supernatural
Poetry and storytelling often emerge from encounters that resist rational explanation. Drawing on Mark Fisher’s concept of the weird as an intrusion of what does not belong, this panel explores folklore, superstition, UFOs, and visitations through poetry, experimental prose, and hybrid forms, engaging the strange not as aesthetic material but as a mode of perception that makes space for contradiction, intuition, and the possibility that reality exceeds our frameworks.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Cat Ingrid Leeches Presenter: Anthony Sutton Presenter: Julia Coursey Presenter: Randall Tyrone Presenter: Jane Morton
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1575 |
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The Writer’s Task in a Climate-Changed World: (Re)defining Nature Poetry
With the growing crisis of the biosphere, many feel compelled to protect and repair our climate-changed world, but writing such can be daunting, especially if “nature”—and the writing about it—is unfamiliar territory. We’ll discuss how all of us—no matter our range of knowledge—might find during this critical time a point of access and enter ecological writing through curiosity, attention, uncertainty, and learning—expanding what nature poetry can hold and who feels invited to write it.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Elizabeth Bradfield Moderator: Nickole Brown Presenter: CMarie Fuhrman Presenter: David Baker Presenter: Camille Dungy
Poetry Readings
Reading
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1580 |
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There Is No Planet B (or Is There?): Why We Read & Write Cli-Fi
Journalist and activist Dan Bloom may have coined the phrase “cli-fi” in 2007, but novelists like Octavia Butler, J. G. Ballard, and even Jules Verne were writing (and warning) about our changing climate long before that. Climate fiction often shares the speculative vision and/or futuristic settings of sci-fi, but its themes trend darker, and its outcomes tend to whittle any hope that survives the plot into a thin, brittle shard. What do readers want from cli-fi? What do writers seek to deliver?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Allegra Hyde Presenter: Eiren Caffall Presenter: Sequoia Nagamatsu Presenter: Muriel Leung Moderator: Katie Cortese
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1585 |
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There’s a Website for That: Resources to Find the Right Agent for You
You’ve written your book. You’ve taken your time to edit and revise. And now you’re ready to query. But where the heck do you even start? Not to mention, how do you determine which literary agent will have the taste, communication style, workflow, and overall vibes that you need in a creative partner? Join a panel of agents as they discuss tried-and-true resources and best practices from using trade publications, industry websites, social media, and more.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Roma Panganiban Moderator: Shelly Romero Presenter: Donovan Levine Presenter: Hannah Teachout Presenter: CeCe Lyra
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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1590 |
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This Is It, Audre, You’re on Your Own: Writers & Breast Cancer
In The Cancer Journals, first published in 1980, poet and activist Audre Lorde describes the isolation of her diagnosis: “This is it Audre,” she writes, “you’re on your own.” Nearly 50 years later, four award-winning poets and essayists find community as they read from their work and discuss how their cancer experiences changed not only their lives but also their writing.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Allison Blevins Presenter: Felicia Zamora Presenter: Meg Day Presenter: Nicole Callihan
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1595 |
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Threading the Needle: The Craft of a Perfect Ending
Finding the right ending for your story or novel can feel like a magic trick—we have to thread the needle of theme, character, and metaphor without being too heavy-handed. In this discussion with fiction writers of diverse perspectives and backgrounds at the top of their field, we’ll discuss how we fit resonant images and character choices into story endings, sharing our own triumphs and missteps. An open discussion with audience questions, we’ll help attendees find radical new endings.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Blair Hurley Presenter: Joy Baglio Presenter: RICKEY Fayne Presenter: Vu Tran Presenter: JAMIL KOCHAI
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1600 |
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TikTok Tool Kit: How to Use TikTok to Build Your Writer Brand
On TikTok readers are able to share their favorite books in a way that feels raw and intimate. It is also a space many writers use to document their writing journey—something that can lead to connection with other writers, early readers, and potentially even book deals. But how should you engage with BookTok as a writer? And if you want to produce content yourself, where should you start? This panel, which includes writers who have successfully built an online following as well as two BookTokers, will help you learn the basics of TikTok for writers.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kim Narby Presenter: Marines Alvarez Presenter: Iman Hariri-kia Presenter: Nina Haines Presenter: Natalia Hernandez
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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1605 |
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Transforming Vision at the Art Institute of Chicago: A Revisitation
In the early 1990s, Edward Hirsch invited a range of authors to write about a specific work of art from the Art Institute of Chicago. The result, Transforming Vision: Writers on Art, was a groundbreaking and influential work of ekphrasis that expanded how writers encountered, engaged, interpreted, and translated visual art. This panel celebrates Transforming Vision three decades later by revisiting pieces from the book and offering new takes on works from the Art Institute’s collection.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Robyn Schiff Presenter: Rita Dove Presenter: Edward Hirsch Presenter: Elise Paschen Moderator: Dean Rader
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1610 |
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Translation as Creation, Critique, Community: The Case of Korean Poetry
Korean poetry is a fruitful case study for exploring the relationship between poetry and translation. How has translation served as a (trans)formative site for creation, critique, and community for poets, from colonial Korea to the contemporary United States? Five award-winning poet-translators and scholars examine this question through their varied experiences and knowledge on collaborative translation, self-translation, and the history and current practice of translation as a creative process.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Jack Jung Moderator: Emily Jungmin Yoon Presenter: Hedgie Choi Presenter: Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello Presenter: David Krolikoski
Translation
Panel Discussion
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1615 |
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Trash Can Energy: Writers on Class, Access & Getting Through the Door
Do you ever feel like you were “born trash . . . in a land of aristocrats?” This intersectional roundtable offers a praxis for how to navigate the publishing industry and literary world as an outsider. Participants leave with practical advice on agents, contacts, contracts, editorial relationships, and how to seek out others who are similarly marginalized as we build community. Show up late to the party, make them all know you belong there.
Speaker(s): Moderator: D/ANNIE LIONTAS Presenter: Chet'la Sebree Presenter: Dantiel Moniz Presenter: Marie-Helene Bertino Presenter: Sara Novic
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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1620 |
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Truth & Testimony in Comics Storytelling: Graphic Journalism, Biography & Memoir
Comics can tell more than just far-fetched tales. They can also be powerful agents of truth. Join us for a discussion between Dana Mashoian Walrath, author of The Book of Genocides, and Sharmila Sen, editorial director of Harvard University Press. Speaker(s): Moderator: Sharmila Sen Presenter: Dana Walrath
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1625 |
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“Turning Out to Greet You”: 100 Years of John Ashbery
John Ashbery (1927–2017) is widely considered one of the most influential American poets of our time. A member of the New York School of poets, Ashbery published 26 collections of poetry during his lifetime, along with books of criticism and translations from French. To mark Ashbery’s centennial year, this multigenerational tribute gathers poets, editors, teachers, and scholars who have been influenced by his wide-ranging work, illuminating why Ashbery will be read for decades to come.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Emily Skillings Presenter: Eric Lorberer Presenter: John Yau Presenter: Maggie Millner Presenter: Oli Hazzard
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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1630 |
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Two Places at Once: Contemporary Fiction & the Shifting Nature of Home
An acclaimed group of authors with ties to the Midwest discuss writing fiction about characters who are pulled between sometimes vastly different places—on the map, between generations, and between supernatural forces. The conversation will cover what goes into writing characters of depth in contemporary fiction, including research, drawing from personal experience, and what the expatriate experience means in the present day when definitions of what we call home are ever evolving.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Julie Iromuanya Presenter: Raul Palma Moderator: Theodore Wheeler Presenter: Amina Gautier Presenter: Juan Martinez
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1640 |
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Two-Year College Creative Writing Caucus
Do you teach at a two-year college? Interested in job opportunities at two-year colleges? Join us for our annual networking meeting. With almost half of all students starting at two-year colleges, and increasing numbers of MFAs landing two-year college teaching jobs, the future of creative writing courses and programs at our campuses looks bright. We will discuss teaching creative writing at the two-year college, hold a short business meeting, and provide tangible resources.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Mary Lannon Presenter: Christine Guaragno Moderator: Regina Peters Presenter: Gabrielle Myers
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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1645 |
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Understanding Agents: Researching, Querying, Choosing & Working with an Agent, Sponsored by Publishers Marketplace
What exactly is a literary agent, and what the heck do they do? Get the real talk from literary agents and industry experts about how to find the best representative for your work, how to read between the lines of a Publishers Marketplace Deal announcement, and how to navigate rights/permissions, red flags, and developing a productive partnership. We’ll share resources from agency websites, interviews, QueryTracker, book acknowledgments, and more.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Eric Smith Presenter: Heather Carr Presenter: Mariah Stovall Moderator: Mollie Weisenfeld
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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1650 |
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Variations on a Theme: How Subject-Focused Magazines Build Literary Movements
What does it take to build a literary magazine around a single, animating subject—not just as an issue theme, but as an enduring editorial identity? This panel brings together editors of niche literary magazines built entirely around music, feminist horror, place, and sex and the body, respectively. Panelists discuss submission guidelines, design, financial sustainability, and community building within a specific editorial focus, examining the ongoing negotiation between depth and discoverability to ask how a magazine stays legible without losing its individuality.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Andy Brown Presenter: Ariel McCleese Presenter: Kelly Dugan Moderator: Topaz Winters
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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1655 |
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Walking Away from the Empire of Other People’s Expertise
Poets inherit expectations from teachers, traditions, peers, identities, and now algorithms. While these influences can nurture artistic growth, they can also limit a poet’s sense of what is possible. This panel examines how poets distinguish guidance from restriction and seek to make work that feels distinctly their own. Through readings and discussion, panelists will explore influence, permission, experimentation, failure, and the risks of trusting their own artistic instincts.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Ben Gucciardi Presenter: Camille Rankine Presenter: Margaret Ray Presenter: Michael Bazzett Presenter: Preeti Vangani
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1660 |
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“We Already Have an Asian Story”: Navigating Publishing as an Asian Writer
Four writers of Asian heritage share how they found their footing in a literary landscape where gatekeepers (teachers, agents, editors) are overwhelmingly white. How did they navigate barriers and racialized expectations in classes, conferences, and MFA programs, and in querying, selling, publishing, and marketing their books? Panelists offer candid reflections on what’s changed and what hasn’t, and strategies for surviving and flourishing while holding true to one’s artistic and political vision.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Nina McConigley Presenter: Yu-Mei Balasingamchow Moderator: Lenika Cruz Presenter: Sindya Bhanoo Presenter: Sequoia Nagamatsu
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1665 |
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We Care: Understanding, Managing & Making the Most of Writing & Caregiving
Many writers are also caregivers for family members and others with physical, developmental, or other challenges. This impacts the focus, energy, and emotional tenor of our work, and shapes the work itself—how much do we say? How do we say it? How do we set boundaries that respect our needs as writers and those for whom we care? These writers will talk about practical, aesthetic, and ethical questions, explore strategies for writing while/about caregiving, and share their own writing on the topic.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Eugenia Leigh Presenter: Jennifer Franklin Presenter: Amy Dryansky Moderator: Marjorie Tesser Presenter: Alafia Sessions
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1670 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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We Melt Fascists: Voices from Minnesota’s ICE Out Movement
As fascism continues to spread, it’s increasingly clear that poetry—with its anti-capitalist framing, its use of metaphor, its compression and shareability—is a site of both resilience and resistance. In this reading, Minnesota authors from Latinx, Asian, Palestinian American, and Black identities will share poetry written in direct response to Operation Metro Surge. We will speak to the terror, fury, and grief—but also to the joy and humanization—of this moment.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Claire Wahmanholm Presenter: Ash Wynter Presenter: Michael Prior Presenter: Michael Torres Presenter: Sana Wazwaz
Poetry Readings
Reading
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1675 |
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What Is YA Today?
In this panel, YA novelists will discuss trends in YA literature. We will address not only the genres and content that define YA, but the impact of press closures, editorial layoffs, book bans, and our peers switching to writing for adults. We will explore the impact of this on our own creative processes and writing decision-making. Attendees can expect to learn about the changing face of YA today and how knowing industry trends can coexist with creative nourishment.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Shana Youngdahl Presenter: Aimee Phan Presenter: Gloria Muñoz Presenter: Michelle Falkoff Presenter: Nova Ren Suma
Children’s & Young Adult Literature
Panel Discussion
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1680 |
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What Mother Couldn’t Teach Us: Restriction, Possibility & Black Motherhood
Societal expectations state that all mothers are nurturing, emotionally available; that they will fulfill the role of confidante, protector, nurturer, and teacher. The writers in this panel use fiction, nonfiction, poetry, collage, and theory to explore what happens when Black mothers are unwilling or unable to inhabit the role of the “perfect mother.” What does it look like to mother the collective? What do we learn about love, sexuality, and self-possession when we have to teach ourselves?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Courtney Taylor Moderator: Brittany Rogers Presenter: Tianna Bratcher Presenter: WJ Lofton
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1685 |
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What the Archive Cannot Hold
How do writers narrate histories marked by silence, displacement, and archival absence? This panel examines literary nonfiction, fiction, and hybrid forms that emerge when official records fail lived experience. Through conversations on fragmentation, inherited memory, family secrecy, migration, and historical rupture, panelists explore how writers create narrative structures for what the archive cannot hold, and how silence itself reshapes narrative, memory, and literary form.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Gauri Awasthi Presenter: Suzi Tucker Moderator: Roksana Badruddoja Presenter: Roksana Badruddoja
Nonfiction Readings
Reading
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1690 |
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What Time Is It Now? Everyday Dystopias & the Displacement of the Present
How often have you had the disorienting experience of writing or reading something that appears to be an unreal projected world (dystopia, fantasy, or otherwise) and then realizing it’s really a description of the present? Or reading historical fiction and realizing our historical moment is a repetition of all the worst mistakes and most brutal policies of the past? On this panel five novelists confront the challenge of writing about our disordered, disorienting, sometimes-elusive present.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jess Row Presenter: Eugene Lim Presenter: Matt Bell Presenter: Mattilda Sycamore Presenter: Morgan Thomas
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1695 |
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What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About War
If you want to research current military warfare, consider interviewing a veteran and note what is left out. Veterans are trained in honor code, military bearing, and keeping calm under fire. What is often aired in media shapes into a juxtaposition against boots-in-the-sand experiences. These five veterans, a variety of literary artists, bring an important roundtable with the less-discussed perspectives of war. They’ll also share research and resource tips for writers regarding conflict.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Rebecca Evans Presenter: Ken Rodgers Presenter: Brian Turner Presenter: Jerri Bell Presenter: Benjamin Busch
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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1700 |
E26054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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What Writers Can Learn from BookTok: Understanding the Online Reader
Online communities are an essential part of the modern reader’s experience, and BookTok and Bookstagram are more important than ever. Hear from a panel of successful literary influencers with an amassed viewership of over 100 million views on TikTok/Instagram. They’ll discuss what BookTok actually is, the future of literary criticism online, and how authors can foster meaningful relationships with content creators to connect with readers and promote their work. Q&A to follow with @balloonbreath, @daniasbooktique2, @ladies_who_lit, @sabrinaendsley, and @sincerelyjennifergrace. Speaker(s): Moderator: Simone Siew Presenter: Sabrina Siew Presenter: Dania Amora Presenter: Jennifer Grace Presenter: Kaylen Ralph
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1705 |
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What’s Allowed Here? Teaching at the Boundaries of Content
Across educational contexts, both formal policies and unspoken norms influence which texts and ideas can be introduced into a writing classroom without institutional, governmental, or even student resistance. Drawing on their experiences as faculty at international and religious universities and college-in-prison programs, panelists will discuss approaches to navigating these boundaries while fostering open inquiry and encouraging freedom of expression in their classrooms and creative work.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sarah Snider Presenter: Katherine Payne Presenter: Marcos L. Martínez Presenter: Spencer Hunt Presenter: Marion Wrenn
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1710 |
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When the Draft Is Done, the Real Work Begins: Revising & Editing Strategies
To become a better writer is often to appreciate the value of revising and editing. But it can be difficult to keep the act of revision (plot, structure, character, voice) separate from the act of editing (line). The writers and editors on this panel will present their strategies for revising and editing their manuscripts; they will also talk about guiding other writers through this process and how to incorporate feedback. A handout with suggested resources on revising/editing will be provided.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Laura Spence-Ash Presenter: Kirstin Chen Presenter: S. Kirk Walsh Presenter: Will Allison Presenter: Yoojin Grace Wuertz
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1715 |
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Where Is My Place? Navigating the Classroom as a Noncitizen
In this panel, a group of noncitizens (from Nigeria, India, Mexico) will discuss their experiences in the classroom, both as graduate students and as educators. The discussion will focus on microaggressions faced by noncitizens of color, targeted behaviors, and institutional gaslighting. We will discuss possible solutions—nontraditional pedagogical approaches, alternative workshop models, orientation for new teachers, and building community, especially outside of academia.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Shlagha Borah Presenter: Sandra Dolores Gómez Amador Presenter: Kanchi Sharma Presenter: Adedayo Agarau
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1725 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Where Is the Weird? Black Authors on Transgressive & Experimental Fiction
Experimental, transgressive, and “taboo” fiction is often lauded as groundbreaking and brilliant . . . except when written by Black authors, who frequently see that work overlooked, ignored, or even assailed. Four Black authors and educators will address this current disparity while examining this notion through the lens of past works by pioneering writers including Nettie Jones, George Schuyler, Fran Ross, Hal Bennett, and Toni Morrison.
Speaker(s): Presenter: John Vercher Moderator: Charles Stephens Presenter: Destiny Birdsong Presenter: Giada Scodellaro Presenter: Joseph Thomas
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1730 |
D86054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Where Our Souls Live: An Anniversary Reading
Wintergreen Women Writers Collective will hold its second in-person multigenre reading at #AWP27 commemorating its 40-year anniversary. The event will feature Chicago poet and editor Parneshia Jones; scholar and founder of the History of Black Writing, Maryemma Graham; also members of Wintergreen, Mahogany L. Browne and National Book Award winner Patricia Smith.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Patricia Smith Presenter: Mahogany L. Browne Moderator: Opal Moore Presenter: Maryemma Graham Presenter: Parneshia Jones
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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1735 |
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Who Is Poetry For? In Defense of Poetry You Can Understand
In a literary culture where opacity is often equated with seriousness, poets discuss how writing can invite rather than exclude readers by embracing semantic clarity and empathic connection without sacrificing depth or rigor. We suggest that poetry’s potential to be understood is an ethical and artistic stance rooted in clarity, musicality, and emotional precision—one that widens audiences, challenges gatekeeping, and makes difficult conversations possible.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Luisa Muradyan Presenter: Matthew Olzmann Moderator: Julia Kolchinsky Presenter: Jose Olivarez Presenter: Kelly Grace Thomas
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1745 |
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Who Reviews Books Anymore? The New Landscape of Literary Coverage
For indie, small press, and debut authors and publishers, the path to review coverage is opaque and shrinking. Major venues—like The Washington Post’s “Book World”—have disappeared, so where can serious attention come from? How can authors and presses pursue reviews realistically, particularly amid the rise of sponsored, pay-to-play coverage, comment sections, and social media? Panel experts from Booklist, the National Book Critics Circle, independent publishing, and publicity will discuss the current review landscape and what new outlets exist that move the needle.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Laura Hawbaker Presenter: Donna Seaman Presenter: J. Howard Rosier Presenter: Sheryl Johnston Presenter: Grace Talusan
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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1750 |
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Why Can’t We All Get Along? Writing Personal Conflict in Middle Grade
In our increasingly divided world, it’s more important than ever for kids to see characters working past differences toward common ground. But how do we write realistic character conflict that acknowledges that differences can sometimes feel insurmountable? Conversely, how do we demonstrate that, in certain circumstances, distancing yourself from an unhealthy relationship is an equally valid choice? A panel of middle grade authors discusses navigating this delicate balance in their writing.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Alby C. Williams Presenter: Sarah J. Mendonca Presenter: Shifa Saltagi Safadi Moderator: Nicole M. Hewitt Presenter: Stan Yan
Children’s & Young Adult Literature
Panel Discussion
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1755 |
D76054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Why This Book, Why You, Why Now? The Five Types of Pitches Every Writer Needs
How do you open doors for your book and yourself? Journalists, editors, producers, hosts, booksellers, and event organizers all need to know why this book, why this author, why now, and why for their audience. A seasoned publicist and four authors break down five pitch types writers can use to secure reviews, interviews, events, and speaking opportunities. Using real, successful pitches as examples, this panel shows you what gets a yes and leaves you with ready-to-send drafts. This session will be especially useful for writers who know their work matters but hate selling themselves.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Nanda Dyssou Presenter: Valena Beety Presenter: Keri Mangis Presenter: Decoteau Irby Presenter: Lamont Jones
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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1760 |
D46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Within Us an Orchard: A Tribute to Li-Young Lee
This panel will pay tribute to Li-Young Lee, beloved poet and longtime Chicago resident who has inspired generations of writers with his lyrical innovations, spiritual inquiry, and intimate meditations on family, migration, memory, and the body. Poets Eugenia Leigh, Bao Phi, Tina Chang, Helene Achanzar, and Chris Santiago will read from Lee’s work and discuss his profound impact on the Asian American writing community and on their own writing and teaching. Lee will join briefly at the panel’s end.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Chris Santiago Presenter: Bao Phi Presenter: Eugenia Leigh Presenter: Tina Chang Presenter: Helene Achanzar
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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1765 |
E46054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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WITS Alliance Annual Meeting: All Together Now!
Join other teaching writers and writers-in-the-schools programs to discuss the rewards and challenges of the field at this moment. In this open-forum meeting, participants are invited to weigh in on topics from the nuts and bolts of managing a writers-in-the-schools program to broader issues that impact our work, like mental health and well-being. This meeting is open to anyone interested in the work of writers-in-the-schools teaching artists, programs, and organizations.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Michele Kotler Presenter: Javan Howard Presenter: Nancy Weber
Pro Forma
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1770 |
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Women Writing the Body: Multigenerational Voices on Age & Embodiment
How does time shape stories women tell about their bodies, and how do our bodies reshape our understanding of time? Multigenerational women writers, spanning seven decades of life, confront the body as archive, battleground, and inheritance. In poetry, prose, and multimedia forms, panelists read work on rites of passage, systemic silencing, infertility, the ancestral body, intimacy, and aging to explore how literary form helps make meaning from our achingly limited and ever-expansive bodies.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Margaret Grundstein Presenter: JoAnn Balingit Presenter: Iris Kim Presenter: Isabella Suarez Presenter: Sheila McMullin
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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1775 |
DA6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0C46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Women’s Caucus: Building Literary Community for Women & Nonbinary Writers
Join the Women’s Caucus for a bring-your-own lunch conversation on publishing, access, advocacy, and community. Literary professionals will discuss opportunities and challenges facing women and nonbinary writers, followed by audience conversation and participant-led breakout groups that encourage networking, mentorship, and the exchange of ideas and resources. These conversations will also generate ideas that will help shape future Women’s Caucus programming and advocacy efforts.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Karin Fazio Littlefield Presenter: Elise Collins Presenter: Kristen E Nelson Presenter: Sheree Renée Thomas Presenter: Linda Kleinbub
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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1780 |
D66054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Words from the Ashes: Jewish Poets Writing Peace & Liberation
Writing in the face of the annihilation of Gaza and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, in the aftermath of October 7, is a struggle to describe the indescribable, to weave grief and shame with yearning for justice and peace. Five Jewish poets, three Israeli and one who translates poetry from Gaza, will read poems that bear witness to our collective traumas—both those we’ve experienced and those we’ve inflicted—to lift up the shards of destruction and ask: What can we build from the ashes?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Philip Terman Presenter: Charlene Fix Presenter: Hila Ratzabi Presenter: Maya Pindyck Presenter: Michal Rubin
Poetry Readings
Reading
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1785 |
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Working-Class Fiction from Flyover Country
This panel of Midwest-Rust Belt novelists develop a sense of place in liminal space, working class characters in the trenches of America’s class war, and plot revolutions in flyover country. Our characters work, love, struggle, and rebel paycheck to paycheck, in and against the backdrop of cornfields, factories, boarded-up businesses, foreclosed homes, and the crumbling American dream. Don’t fear the flatline of empire; these panelists demonstrate America’s literary heartland beats on.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Amy Fladeboe Presenter: Nora Lange Presenter: Thomas Maltman Presenter: Denne Michele Norris Presenter: Bonnie Campbell
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1790 |
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Write like a Mother: Writing With & Through Motherhood
Motherhood changes everything, including the way writers approach both craft and publishing. The muse doesn’t always strike during naptime, and book tours aren’t baby friendly. Five moms will share how they’ve written and published through pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond. The time compression of parenting can feel like the end of a creative life, but it can also sharpen priorities and open new possibilities, allowing motherhood to reframe the writing process in surprising ways.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Maggie Su Moderator: Emma Hudelson Presenter: Adrienne Celt Presenter: Janet McNally Presenter: Sakinah Hofler
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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1795 |
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Write Weirder Fiction: On Leaning into Your Own Strangeness
Publishers often ask for new, original work they’ve “never seen before.” But how is that done, exactly? Given marketplace pressure to write sellable fiction with comps and the homogenizing traditions of many MFA workshops, it is difficult to find the courage and tools to make work confident in its uniqueness. By excavating strategies of writers whose style is unquestionably their own, this panel will demonstrate ways to evoke surprise and to invite our own strangeness onto the page.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Brandon Haffner Presenter: Kirsten Kaschock Presenter: Molly Gaudry Presenter: Rone Shavers Presenter: Caitlin Cass
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1800 |
D86054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Writers Need Writers: Growing Community in the Heartland
Writers in underserved areas often lack established venues to showcase their work and interact with other writers. In rural areas and small towns, the task of making connections often falls to the creators themselves. In this session, writers from the Midwest share their toolboxes for creating and growing grassroots groups, both virtual and in-person, and their successes, challenges, and models for developing community-based organizations that support and amplify the voices of rural writers.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Lisa Henner Presenter: Angela Jackson-Brown Presenter: Bonnie Campbell Presenter: Dawn Burns Presenter: Melissa Fraterrigo
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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1805 |
E56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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House of Amal: Writers of the Muslim Diaspora
Through centuries of peace and harmony, war and migration, as well as praise and lament, poetry and its oral recitation have remained essential practices for the Muslim world. In this panel, spoken word poets and storytelling artists from Syria, Morocco, and Pakistan will continue this tradition, sharing formidable pieces inspired by personal, familial, and ancestral experiences of genocide, colonization, and forced migration. Panelists will then discuss how the ongoing politicization of their identities impacts their writing, and how it influences their pedagogy at House of Amal.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Sara Bawany Presenter: Amal Kassir Presenter: Sara Filali Moderator: Oliver Khan
Poetry Readings
Reading
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1810 |
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Writing a Game: Narrative Design & the Craft of Play
Game writing is a dynamic creative practice that draws on and transforms the craft of fiction. In this panel, writers who have also published “story games” will connect fiction concepts like narrative structure, pacing, and POV with game design ideas like interactivity, collaboration, and nonlinearity. How can players take turns building narrative tension? How can writers offer choices while assuring key scenes play out? What is sacrificed and what is gained by staging a story as a game?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Brigitte Winter Presenter: Erin Roberts Presenter: Nat Mesnard Presenter: Sharang Biswas Presenter: Yeonsoo Kim
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1815 |
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Writing Across Mental States: Mental Health, Medication & Neurodivergence
Have you experienced a change in your mental state during your writing career? Whether you started a medication, adjusted, or tapered off, this panel is for you. We explore what it means for your art when your mental state changes. We interrogate harmful stereotypes like the “tortured genius” and talk about getting un-tortured. From artistic drive to self-belief to the work itself: How do chemicals that change our brains change our creative process, and what to do about it?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Tierney Oberhammer Presenter: Elena Dudum Presenter: Josh Nicolaisen Presenter: Rachel Robinson
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1820 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Writing & Publishing the First Book of Poems
Much weight is put on a poet’s first book, but how do we take our poems from early drafts or MFA theses to the bookshelf? Five poets with recently released debut collections discuss the process of editing, developing, and arranging their poems into a completed book project. Panelists will discuss their journeys toward the first book, working in the contest model versus sending to presses directly, as well as the production process after acceptance. All five will read from their books as well.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Ellie Black Moderator: Jim Whiteside Presenter: DeeSoul Carson Presenter: Noel Quiñones Presenter: Colby Cotton
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1825 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Writing Back: Creative Writers Respond to Threats to Academic Freedom
Academic freedom is under attack at public universities across the US, with courses being censored, surveilled, and even canceled altogether. As creative writing and literature curricula are being targeted, this panel centers the experiences of faculty and graduate students whose teaching, research, and creative productions are subject to such policies. Panelists discuss the state of academic freedom for writers in academia and offer practical strategies for building community and fighting back.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kristi Osorio Presenter: Brendan Stephens Presenter: Lucy Schiller Presenter: Nabila Lovelace Presenter: Monica Ortiz
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1830 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Writing the Dead: Historical Fiction as Tribute . . . or Trespass?
Historical fiction asks writers to take real risks: to speak for the dead, write across cultural and racial lines, and fill spaces the “formal” record leaves blank. This panel will push past the form’s surface pleasures into deeper ethical questions: What do we owe those we rewrite into being? Who has the right to claim another community’s history? And what happens when record and narrative diverge? Four novelists writing across time, race, and culture will wrestle with these questions and more.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jennifer Epstein Presenter: Denny S. Bryce Presenter: Nikesha Williams Presenter: Rilla Askew
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1845 |
D86054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Writing the Kinetic: From Field to Page
“By the time you find the word for it,” Joyce Carol Oates wrote, “the sweat has flown, and the moment is gone.” Diverse novelists at various career stages will explore the draw—and the challenges—of writing the body in motion. How are language, syntax, and cadence deployed to capture fluidity and grace? Are there “rules” for writing about sport? Can a spectator’s gaze recount an athlete’s embodied experience? What are the practical and artistic considerations for writing the kinetic?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Amy Brill Presenter: Rita Bullwinkel Presenter: Mitchell Jackson Presenter: Emily Nemens Presenter: Tom Vellner
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1850 |
D86054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Writing Toward Home: Capturing the Truth, Beauty & Urgency of Place
Some places we call home we have never fully lived in; they reach us inherited, remembered, or carried across distance, and yet are no less real. Four memoirists write home across Palestine, Antarctica, Guam, and Kentucky—places that exist for most readers as myth or blank space, and for the writer as something far more intimate. They explore how to render such a place for a reader who has never been, and how to write without romanticizing, flattening, or letting grief overtake the page.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Jenisha Watts Presenter: Stephanie Krzywonos Presenter: Lenika Cruz Presenter: Elena Dudum Moderator: Tanvi Misra
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1855 |
DB6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Writing Wayward Mothers: When Mothers Do the Unexpected
How do we make sense of mothers who choose differently, who upend expectations of what a mother looks and feels and performs like? In this mixed-genre panel, authors discuss how they write mothers and mothering outside of the norms. From an emotional and technical perspective, authors will discuss the challenges of crafting these mothers, and how their process is shaped by the constraints and opportunities of their genres—the novel, poetry, and memoir.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Uche Okonkwo Presenter: Camille Adams Presenter: Maria Zoccola Presenter: Esther Okonkwo
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1860 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Writing What You Don’t Know: Research in Fiction Writing
The adage “Write what you know” serves at times, but it can limit fiction writers interested in exploring their unknown. To expand their writing, fiction writers must use a skill rarely taught in the classroom: ethical research. How do we intertwine research with imagination? How can we use interviews, primary sources, academic papers, and on-the-ground experiences to enhance our writing? And how can we find the time and funds for all this labor? This panel answers these questions and more.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Alysandra Dutton Moderator: Emily Mirengoff Presenter: Brittany Cavallaro Presenter: Eshani Surya Presenter: Vanessa Chan
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1865 |
D86054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Writing Where We Are: Building Literary Community Beyond the Major Hubs
Community writing organizations outside major cities face unique challenges: limited funding, fewer publishing connections, and geographic barriers to literary opportunity. This panel brings together leaders of community-based literary nonprofits from across the country to discuss programming models, funding strategies, community partnerships, and the philosophy behind creating accessible, inclusive spaces where writers feel seen, supported, and connected to a larger creative community.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Michael Khandelwal Presenter: Jennifer Chauhan Moderator: Elizabeth Jannuzzi Presenter: Matt Weinkam
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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1870 |
E56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Writing with Ancestors & Archives
Authors will share from works that summon ancestors and that attend to archives—that listen carefully for voices that historically have been hard to hear, either because those voices were silenced, or just kind of quiet, or because they spoke in languages that have died, or that haven’t been invented yet. Each author will also reflect briefly on the construction of their work and their processes. Join us for a reading of poetry and prose that challenges us to hear the past.
Speaker(s): Moderator: A.W. Strouse Presenter: Katelin Kelly Presenter: Amanda Scott Presenter: Dez Brown
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1875 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Writing With & About Disability
Disability is often either romanticized or erased. As writers, how do we craft radically truthful narratives and write ourselves into existence in a capitalist society? How do we legitimize our own experiences without the validation of a prejudiced medical system, living in a world that demands productivity as a marker of self-worth? How do we build sustainable writing practices? What impact does writing about the body have on the writer and reader?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Sophia Babai Moderator: Rabha Ashry Presenter: Laura Waltje Presenter: Pinar Banu Yasar Presenter: Krista Hanson
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1880 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Writing with Distraction: Authoring with Kids, a Day Job, ADHD & a Smartphone
How do you make time for writing when you have SO. MANY. DISTRACTIONS? Whether that’s caretaking, parenting, ADHD, a full-time job, or all of the above, some days it can feel impossible to focus on writing. Get real-life tips to incorporate more writing time into your already-packed schedule. Discover the power of timeblocking, find out which internet blockers help, chat about the importance of self-forgiveness, and discuss why you should always carry a few pages of your manuscript with you.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Kerry Donoghue Presenter: Miranda Schmidt Moderator: Daniel Tam-Claiborne Presenter: Jessica Johnson
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1885 |
D56054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Writing Work: Activating Your Day Job for Art
The idea that creative writing should be escapism, separated from the mundanities of labor, is a lie this panel seeks to counter. The dramas and details behind the “Employees Only” door can be even more fascinating than speculative worlds. This panel of writing teachers will share their approaches to activate the artistic potential of students’ work experiences, from the tension-driven plots of hourly shifts to the unique poetry of occupational jargon to found families.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Toni Jensen Presenter: RS Deeren Presenter: Katie Burpo Presenter: Stephanie Dugger Moderator: Dustin M. Hoffman
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1890 |
DD6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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You Don’t Know What Work Is: Poems of Bodily Labor
What poems do we make out of the jobs we do when we come home dirty and sore, or steal a few minutes from diapering and spooning puree? What pressures do these jobs create on our minds and time, and to what forms of poetry do they give rise? Former subsistence farmers, an electrician, a wildfire fighter, fathers and mothers will explore how we give shape and voice to the work of our bodies, and what kinds of silence we struggle against to do so.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Dan Alter Moderator: Rebecca Gayle Howell Presenter: Debora Kuan Presenter: Geffrey Davis Presenter: Kevin Goodan
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1900 |
DF6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Your Name in Lights: Adapting Literary Work for TV & Film
How exactly do you take a short story and shape it into a movie? And how might a writer go about structuring a novel into, say, a three-season TV show? As the entertainment industry’s appetite for IP continues to grow, this panel provides writers of all genres with insight into the creative and business considerations of adapting stories, journalism, novels, and poems for TV and film, with input from professionals with industry experience.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Rachel Yoder Presenter: Dean Bakopoulos Presenter: Kerry Howley Presenter: Emily Yoshida Presenter: Mamadou Yattassaye
Playwriting & Screenwriting
Panel Discussion
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1905 |
DE6054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F0B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F8B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F1B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |
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Your Rage Is Showing: Black Women Writers on Characters Who Choose Violence
Like their real-life counterparts, Black women characters in contemporary literature must navigate racism, gender-based violence, and economic disparities, all while under the watchful eye of folks eager to dismiss them as irrational, unruly, and enraged. But what happens when those same characters lean into that rage as a last resort when justice and/or legal retribution are not available? Five multigenre writers discuss how they use Black women’s righteous rage in their work.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Deesha Philyaw Presenter: Roxane Gay Moderator: Destiny Birdsong Presenter: Dantiel Moniz
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1910 |
D96054D5-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 753384DD-D44A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 0B46AF5A-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 F9B24589-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 DCBD1FA4-D54A-F111-8104-DAE5E73D7F08 |