In-Person Events
These events will take place in person in Baltimore, Maryland, in March 2026. Unless otherwise noted, these events will not be available to watch online.Loading...
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25 Anniversary Etruscan Press Poetry Reading
A reading to celebrate Etruscan Press's 25 years of literary publishing, featuring four Etruscan Readers: Nin Andrews, Philip Brady, Shanta Lee, and Tim Seibles, moderated by Etruscan Press Executive Director Amanda Rabaduex. Etruscan is an independent non-profit press housed at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania, publishing six titles a year in poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, translation, and criticism.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Phil Brady Moderator: Amanda Rabaduex Presenter: Nin Andrews Presenter: Tim Seibles
Poetry Readings
Reading
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40 Years of Joseph Beam's IN THE LIFE
This panel discussion will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the publication of the Joseph Beam anthology, In the Life (Alyson Books, 1986). The panel will bring writers together who have been inspired by and are in conversation with the historic work. The panelists will grapple with the impact of In the Life, how the text has inspired their work, and the meaning of In the Life in our current moment.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Doug Jones Moderator: Johnnie Kornegay Presenter: John Keene Presenter: Steven Fullwood
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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50 Years of Gargoyle: A Celebration of Gargoyle Magazine and Richard Peabody
Since 1976, Gargoyle Magazine and its editor Richard Peabody has been publishing one of the most eclectic and cutting edge journals and supporting writers of all stages of their careers. Gargoyle readers can often expect to find speculative fiction beside beat poetry beside a traditional memoir--each piece of high literary quality. As Peabody retires in 2026, this panel brings together writers and readers whom he has supported over those years to celebrate his years of literary stewardship.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Gerry LaFemina Presenter: Melissa Scholes Young Presenter: Rose Solari Presenter: Rita Dove Presenter: Tim Wendel
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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A Laboratory for Innovative Storytelling: the Goucher MFA in Nonfiction
The Goucher M.F.A. in Nonfiction–one of the only programs nationally to solely focus on nonfiction– teaches students to write with the power and elegance of literature and the depth and clarity of fact. Since its founding in 1997, alumni have published over 300 books, some of which have won awards and been named on national best books lists. One faculty member joins two graduates and a current student to read from past and current work, exploring the depth and importance of the nonfiction genre.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Randon Noble Presenter: Neda Semnani Presenter: Amrita Sengupta Presenter: Sheri Booker
Nonfiction Readings
Reading
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A Lifetime to Write: 50 Years of the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers
How does one create “a lifetime to write?” This panel highlights the MFA Program’s roots in creating the low-residency model, a radical, inclusive means to a creative writing education for caretakers, workers, and people of nontraditional backgrounds. Panelists will speak to program changes decade by decade through writing practices, low-residency teaching, and program policies over the years, as well as new directions, such as the recent launch of the creative non-fiction writing track.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Yanyi - Presenter: Alix Ohlin Presenter: Nina McConigley Presenter: Rita Banerjee Presenter: Christopher Castellani
Program Development
Panel Discussion
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A New Era for Translated Literature: Three Indie Publishers Discuss
From Jon Fosse’s Septology to Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human and Vincenzo Latronico’s Perfection, translated literature that may have been previously categorized as “esoteric” has found increasing commercial success, due at least in part to BookTok and other literary influencer platforms. Editors from three indie publishers will discuss how this era of “viral” book trends may affect literary translators working today, and what they see as the future of translation and translation publishing.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Edwin Frank Presenter: Adam Levy Presenter: Madeleine Nephew
Translation
Panel Discussion
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A Psalm for the Wild Teacher: Building Genre Fiction Workshops that Inspire
Gone are the days of hiding genre writing like kids reading comics under the covers. If creative writing programs are to survive both dwindling enrollment and a robot apocalypse, we must develop workshops of interest to 21st century writers. Genre fiction strategies and knowledge are required in the inclusive teacher’s toolkit. With hopepunk for the future, escape with us to our well-stocked bunker for genre-specific teaching tactics that are resonant, joyful, subversive, swoon-worthy, and fun. Panelists will present workshop tips for fantasy, sci fi, romance, horror, and crime.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Melanie Dusseau Presenter: Dave Essinger Moderator: Jennifer Pullen Presenter: Brooke Wonders Presenter: Snowden Wright
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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A Return to our Senses: Strategies for Hands-on Writing in the Poetry Workshop
Call it an AI antidote, alternative, or even anarchy – this pedagogical panel is shamelessly and fervently “back to the book.” We will offer strategies and writing exercises that incorporate visual arts techniques such as photography, collage, artist’s books ritual, and intervention to galvanize the poetry writing workshop and reconnect students to the sensorial experience of reading and writing poems.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Mia Leonin Presenter: Shara McCallum Presenter: Catherine Bowman
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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A Strange Land & a Peculiar People: Appalachians Writing Against the Stereotypes
Appalachian tropes have persisted since “A Strange Land and a Peculiar People” framed the region with a “poor, helpless old man sitting on a stool,” his lawn “choked with weeds.” In the 150 years since, these images—and their kin—remain, sometimes in real life but always in the expectations of the outside audience. Appalachians across genres ask: How do we write regional complexity when stereotypes loom large? What should we do with Papaw spitting chew out front of the single-wide in our story?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sarah Mullens Presenter: Neema Avashia Presenter: Catherine Moore Presenter: Robert Lynn Presenter: Steven Dunn
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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A Writer's Place Is in a Union
At a moment when arts and education are threatened by censorship and government funding cuts, it has never been more important for writers to organize. In this panel, representatives from faculty unions and the Author’s Guild demonstrate how their organizations provide muscle to advocacy efforts on issues like working conditions, pay and benefits, copyright protection, and curriculum. Panelists will describe concrete actions all writers can take now.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Nicholas Taylor Presenter: Brittany Perham Presenter: Mary Rasenberger Presenter: Tina Ontiveros Presenter: Daniel Felsenthal
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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050 |
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Activating the Experimental Impulse: Prompts & Provocations
The writing prompt is a staple of any writing classroom, but are we tapping its potential to inspire new modes of thinking, seeing, and making? What happens when we orient generative exercises within an expansive interdisciplinary framework? Guided by experimental pedagogies, these five panelists will share material, conceptual, and embodied provocations that honour conceptual thinking, ambiguity, not-knowing, deep attentiveness, and surprise as vital elements of creative practice.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sheryda Warrener Presenter: Danielle Vogel Presenter: Jess Arndt Presenter: Lucy Ives Presenter: Lara Montes
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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ADHD & the Writer: Strategies to Harness Your Superpower
Writing happens to be one of the most challenging tasks for many people with ADHD, and yet, you choose it for a reason—you’re amazing at it! Even still, it’s frustrating to miss deadlines, and it’s tough to find motivation when you feel like you’re lugging a 50 lb backpack. These award-winning authors share strategies that transform their ADHD “deficit” into a super strength. Come to listen, learn, and troubleshoot strategies for success.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Christina Chiu Presenter: Shelly Sanders Presenter: Robin Black Presenter: Marcus Burke
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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060 |
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Adjunct Writers Caucus
Are you an adjunct or part-time instructor at a college or university? Do you support adjuncts, maybe as a former adjunct yourself? Join us! The Adjunct Writers Caucus (est. 2025) provides a space for writers who are also instructors to connect with others to learn and grow in their personal and professional lives. The caucus strives to provide visibility for this large subset of instructors, as well as space for discussion, support, and resources for its members.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Mike Spry Presenter: Cara Diaconoff Presenter: Elizabeth Donald Presenter: Joseph Hess
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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After the Debut: Hope for the best, prepare for the worst
Publishing your first book is an exciting and sometimes daunting process filled with questions: What should you expect? What does the publisher handle? What is your role in promotion? What happens when your expectations aren’t met? Five diverse authors from a variety of genres (memoir, fiction, YA, poetry) and publishers (big 5, independent, Amazon, small press) share their experiences publishing their debuts and offer practical advice on how they navigated the process.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Margaret Lee Moderator: Annabelle Tometich Presenter: Gloria Muñoz Presenter: TOMAS MONIZ Presenter: Rosa Easton
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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AI and the Editor: Redefining Writer-Editor Collaboration
In the AI era, many writers are asking how tools like Grammarly or ChatGPT fit into their creative workflow. What’s the right balance between digital assistance and editorial partnership? This panel brings together four editor-authors to explore the evolving intersection of human editing and artificial intelligence in the writing process. Panelists outline how AI tools can support the writing journey without replacing the human elements of voice, judgment, and emotional nuance.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Katherine Pickett Moderator: Christina M. Frey Presenter: Linda Ruggeri Presenter: Tenesha Curtis
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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Alternative Nation, or Whatever: Gen X Perspectives on the Writing Life
Generally understood as those born between 1965 and 1980, Generation X tends to be ignored or forgotten. When it’s not, it has often been derided and misunderstood by the much larger generations that flank it: Baby Boomers and Millennials. In a media landscape where the dominant voices aren't Generation X, what are the alternative perspectives that are missing? What does the Generation X experience tell us about the larger shifts in literary culture since the turn of the 21st Century?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Michael Mercurio Presenter: Rebecca Faulkner Presenter: Tara Betts Presenter: B. K. Fischer Presenter: Paisley Rekdal
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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080 |
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Anti-Grammar and Other Upside-Down Experiments with Syntax and Usage
In praise of prepositions over verbs, commas over periods, this run-on sentence panel will revel in multiplicities and elisions of meaning. Grammar shares etymological roots with grimoire and indeed words arranged in a particular way can make magic happen. Against order, polish, and control, we choose grammars with distressed finishes that disarrange common sense. We wonder what it means if, instead of verbs, prepositions (which reveal relationships) are the most potent part of speech.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kathryn Nuernberger Presenter: Chaun Webster Presenter: Mai Der Vang Presenter: Douglas Kearney
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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Anti-Racist Pedagogy: Creative Writing Workshops at Community Colleges (Pt. III)
How do panelists center voices of students from underrepresented groups, and teach published work from underrepresented groups. Panelists will share best practices and discuss the mechanics of leading anti-racist discussions within the academy. Discuss the tensions between art for art’s sake and art that’s socially conscious. What are the challenges? What are the rewards? What do panelists consider when creating the course?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Shinelle L. Espaillat Presenter: Gail Upchurch-Mills Presenter: Jeremy Broyles Presenter: Keith O'Neill Presenter: Rashaun Allen
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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Architectures of FuturoPasados & Untouchable Voices: Manoa Reading & Discussion
Manoa Journal’s two most recent issues explore speaking truth to power through writing from the Latinx diaspora spread across the Americas and Dalit (formerly untouchable) literature from India in translation. Though widely separated in historical contexts, both issues highlight experimentation in form and language in writing from the social margins. Through readings and conversation, the event will explore the expression of marginalized identities in creative works.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Subramanian Shankar Presenter: Anthony Cody Presenter: Anushiya Ramaswamy Presenter: Heidi Rhodes
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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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 curricula. This year we welcome new members and guests to an open-forum discussion of topics including pedagogy, technology, and craft. We also seek input concerning the coming year's caucus programming, executive board elections, and the needs of our caucus members and their respective institutions.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Lee Griffith Presenter: Nada Gordon Presenter: Janée Baugher Presenter: Jeanette Eberhardy
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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100 |
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Asian American & Diasporic 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 Asian American and what it means to be a writer?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Devyn Manibo
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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105 |
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Assimilation Blues: Citizenship and Belonging in Indigenous Fiction
Questions of sovereignty, citizenship, and identity permeate Indigenous fiction.Together, five writers of the same tribe (Cherokee) will discuss these themes, among others, in their own work, culture, and the work of the diaspora as a whole. While their set of experiences differ, and they do not seek to answer the questions of one's own identity, this panel will be helpful for any writer seeking to probe these same questions in their own work.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Autumn Fourkiller Presenter: Eliana Ramage Presenter: Kelli Jo Ford Presenter: Vanessa Lillie Presenter: Brandon Hobson
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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110 |
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At the Intersection of Writing and Healing: Writers in Narrative Medicine
Narrative Medicine is a discipline practiced in healthcare, education, and beyond gaining national attention. It engages practitioners with literature and writing, as well as other facets of the arts and humanities. This multi-institutional panel of writers, physicians, poets, and scholars will explore the multifaceted role of the writer in narrative medicine practice, focusing on pedagogy and pathways for writers to utilize their skills in narrative medicine and healthcare.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Bruce Campbell Moderator: Joseph Eveld Presenter: Maya Sorini Presenter: Nicole Robinson Presenter: Sayantani DasGupta
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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115 |
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Auntie, Outsider
What happens when we dare to look beyond the mother-daughter relationship? In this panel we will explore what it means to write an aunt. In particular, we will explore the presence of aunts in Asian American narratives. In “No Name Woman,” Maxine Hong Kingston describes how the word “”aunt” alone “would do my father harm.” What transgressive truths does the character of the aunt convey? And how do these truths speak to Asian America as a whole? This event is sponsored by the Asian American Writers' Workshop (AAWW).
Speaker(s): Moderator: Nina Sharma Presenter: Christina Cha Presenter: Hyeseung Song Presenter: Prachi Gupta
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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120 |
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Authoritarians in the Lusophone World: Models of Opposition for American Writing
At a time when art and free expression are under attack in the U.S. and around the world, writers need to find new ways to make their voices heard. Artists from the Lusophone world offer inspiring models for resistance, and this panel will look at work from Brazil, Portugal and Cabo Verde in search of strategies of defiance, opposition and obstinacy in the face of authoritarianism.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Oona Patrick Moderator: Chris Arnold Presenter: Casey Walker Presenter: Bruna Dantas Lobato Presenter: Lee Santos Silva
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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125 |
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Bad Romance: On Writing Difficult Relationships
There's always more than one side to a story, and particularly when you're in a destructive relationship, it can be hard to know if your side is the "true" one. In this panel, we discuss how to write about difficult relationships in CNF. How can you trust your story enough to tell it? How do you admit to your own shortcomings without causing the reader to lose faith in you? How do you write these stories knowing there are people out there who would object to them?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sam Risak Presenter: Elissa Washuta Presenter: Ira Sukrungruang Presenter: Liz Harmer Presenter: Melissa Febos
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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130 |
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Battle for Authenticity: 2-Year College Strategies to Resist AI in the Classroom
AI poses unique challenges for two-year colleges. Many of our students believe Chat GPT sounds “smarter” than they could ever be, and institutions focused on workforce development see AI as inevitable. In this panel, creative writing instructors from colleges across the country present strategies that move beyond AI policing, building trust and pushing our first-generation, BIPOC, and immigrant students to subvert cultural expectations, and to value their own messy, magnificent voices.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Simone Zelitch Presenter: Kathryn Kysar Presenter: Jessi Lewis Presenter: April Gibson Presenter: Regina Peters
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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135 |
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Beauty vs. Fidelity: The Poetry Translator's Gamble
What makes a great translation of poetry? Is it an accurate transcription of language or transfer of tone, image, and poetic sensibility? In Spring 2025, Silvia Valisa and Barbara Hamby organized a graduate seminar at Florida State University to explore this question. They invited nine experienced translators to share their work. Some of those poet/translators join this panel to examine the tension between accuracy and poetic transcendence and what informed their decisions.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Barbara Hamby Presenter: Andrea Jurjevic Presenter: Ariel Francisco Presenter: Dzvinia Orlowsky Presenter: Silvia Valisa
Translation
Panel Discussion
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140 |
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Beyond “Love’s Austere and Lonely Offices” Exploring Robert Hayden’s Other Poems
While many readers know and love “Those Winter Sundays,” few turn the page to where Robert Hayden’s other remarkable poems not only shed light on the African American experience, but also reveal what it means to be a human concerned about the state of humanity. Five poets will read lesser known favorites from Hayden’s Collected Poems and discuss the impact his work has had on their lives and writing, followed by a Q&A with the audience.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Peter Murphy Presenter: Celeste Doaks Presenter: Cherise Pollard Presenter: Donna Denize Presenter: Joel Dias-Porter
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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145 |
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Beyond Good Intentions: Community-Engaged Teaching and Learning
Community-engaged and service-learning writing courses promise meaningful impact—but do they deliver? This panel of five writer-educators explores the tensions, responsibilities, limitations, and transformative possibilities of community engagement-based writing classes and workshops. They discuss issues of mutuality, hierarchy, and diversity and share insights from collaborations with community partners ranging from literacy nonprofits to correctional facilities.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Lucy Bryan Presenter: Amber West Presenter: Wyatt Bonikowski Presenter: Ann Green Presenter: Raffi Wartanian
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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150 |
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BEYOND PLATFORM: Growing a Writing Career Without Relying on Social Media
Think you need thousands of followers to build a writing career? This diverse panel of successful multi-genre and multi-ethnic writers, editors, and teachers proves otherwise. We’ll discuss strategies for building authentic literary connections, developing our careers through meaningful opportunities, and sharing our work without social media pressure. Learn how literary careers can be built on craft and community, not clicks and shares.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Rebecca Morrison Moderator: Allison Williams Presenter: Tonya Todd Presenter: Darien Gee Presenter: Jane Friedman
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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155 |
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Beyond the Creative-Scholarly Divide: Advocacy in an Era of Academic Scarcity
Student demand for creative writing (CW) courses continues to grow, even as overall enrollment in the humanities declines. Yet, many English departments are reluctant to support CW faculty and programming. How can we, as creative writing teachers, advocate for ourselves, our programs, and our students? How do we articulate the rigor of CW pedagogy? And, where do we turn for resources? Panelists will offer tools and tips gleaned from within their institutions, and beyond, including from AWP.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Kristiana Kahakauwila Presenter: Kiese Laymon Presenter: Katie Peterson Moderator: Sara Schaff Presenter: Sara Schaff
Program Development
Panel Discussion
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160 |
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Beyond the Debut: Writers on the Long Game of Writing
Authors of multiple books will discuss how the writing and publishing journey evolves over time with successive publications. From debut book anxieties to developing a greater sense of confidence and clarity about their goals, the panelists will discuss what they wish they would have known, done, and asked with each major book project. Additional topics will include: craft development, audience building, industry navigation, maintaining creative momentum, and adapting to a changing industry.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jung Yun Presenter: Angie Kim Presenter: Jimin Han Presenter: Mitchell Jackson Presenter: Angie Cruz
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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165 |
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Beyond The Literary Reading: Performance As Possibility and Community
Moving off the page and through the body, five multi-genre writers activate possibilities for witness, solidarity, and transformation through performance. The panel celebrates performance as a vital leap from the public literary reading, a meeting of form and content that builds community through practices of ritual, generative discomfort, and care. Panelists within and outside the academy will share and discuss their work to provoke writers toward expansive, liberatory creative practices.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Crystal Odelle Presenter: Ching-In Chen Presenter: Gabrielle Civil Presenter: Joss Barton Presenter: Ali Gali
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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170 |
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Beyond the Picket Sign: Writer’s Tools to Create Social Change
Writers can act for social change while deepening and expanding their art on and off the page. The panelists will outline their actions (workshops, newsletters, speeches, poems, documentation and protests) that intersect with and grow their writing practices and genres while considering risk. They will share their experiences and offer tools for writers to use their craft to promote the values of democracy, gender justice, LGBTQIA+ rights, peace, climate justice, and human rights.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Chloe Miller Presenter: Hila Ratzabi Presenter: Olga Livshin Presenter: Sara R Burnett Presenter: Sunu Chandy
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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175 |
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Book Design: From Scroll to Codex & Print Production
Book Design can sometimes be confusing and overwhelming for writers, editors, and publishers. The Book Design Panel and Tutorial will detail the history of book design with a slide show and panelists will discuss how they create cover designs, interior design pages, and print production. An overview of manuscript preparation, typesetting for different genres, and proofing will be covered. The panel will cover the process from manuscripts to printed books and answer questions from the audience.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Nicole Baxter Presenter: Lantz Arroyo Presenter: Dede Cummings
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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180 |
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Book Reviews and Literary Community: Why Criticism Continues to Matter
Book reviews offer writers an opportunity to actively participate within the writing community, and a thriving and supportive literary community has never been more important than it is right now. Panelists experienced in reviewing and editorial work will share their views on why writing criticism is a skill that should be taught and how to do so, how to navigate the current ecosystem for publishing these pieces, and how and why reviews remain important for authors, readers, and publishers.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Elise McHugh Presenter: Alyse Bensel Presenter: Eric Lorberer Presenter: Kathleen Rooney Presenter: Robin Becker
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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185 |
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Books that Refuse to Behave: Readings in Autotheory
Authors published by punctum books read from books that defy traditional literary and scholarly genres, mining the intersections of memoir, critical theory, and fictive-poetic experimentation, leading to literary-scholarly mashups. Each author will also reflect briefly on the construction of their work—why this shape, this voice, this refusal of convention(s)? Join us for a reading of genre-bending, where fragments, chapters, and openings challenge the rules of both literary and scholarly form.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Lauren Samblanet Presenter: Leora Fridman Presenter: Sarah Rosenthal Presenter: Valerie Witte Presenter: Allen Strouse
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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190 |
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Borderlands of the Self: Queer Latinidad Beyond the Binary
Queer Latinx writers chart the shifting terrain of masculinity, femininity, and non-binary presence across multiple genres: poetry, memoir, YA, novels, and performance. We unpack how craft choices (voice, code-switching, form, and myth) both affirm and unsettle Latinidad. Panelists share strategies for writing bodies and borders, confront stereotypes, and imagine liberated futures, offering tools attendees can bring to crafting their own work that holds radical multiplicity and resists erasure.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Chibbi Orduna Presenter: Anel Flores Presenter: Jo Reyes-Boitel Presenter: Gume Laurel Presenter: Diamond Braxton
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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195 |
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Born-Digital Poetry: Planning for the Future of Literary Archives
This panel brings together poets, translators, editors, scholars, and archivists to explore what it means to create, collect, and preserve born-digital poetry. Drawing on the Mellon-funded Born-Digital Poetry project, it addresses the challenges of creation in the digital environment and the urgency of preventing future loss, offering insights on creative process in the digital era, personal curation, ethical considerations, and strategies to protect literary archives for future generations.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Nadia Ghasedi Presenter: Aditi Machado Presenter: Adrian Matejka Presenter: Niki Herd Presenter: Julie Swarstad Johnson
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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200 |
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Bringing Social Justice into the Writing Classroom
Now more than ever, it is important to bring ideals of social justice and human rights into college classrooms. How will scholarship and community come together to shape the academic landscape for our students? This panel gathers a diverse group of lecturers and professors who focus on the moral component of their writing assignments. Panelists will explain how they integrate ethics and equity into their classroom discussions and will share practical knowledge gained from their experiences.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Thaddeus Rutkowski Presenter: Joanna Sit Presenter: Randi Hoffman Presenter: Thomas Kneeland Presenter: Samuel Kolawole
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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210 |
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Building the House: The Importance of A Community for Muslim Writers
House of Amal is in its sixth year of community programming, teaching, mentorship, and publishing. Amidst an uptick in global Islamophobia, it is vital to create spaces centered on both craft and community for aspiring Muslim writers who require a unique kind of mentorship. Bridging the overlap between the spiritual, literary, and artistic identities, House of Amal will share the lessons learned while crafting and re-crafting our 12-month Writing Residency curriculum and membership programming.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Sara Bawany Moderator: Safiya Khan Presenter: Amal Kassir Presenter: Salma Mohammad
Program Development
Panel Discussion
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215 |
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Building Voices and Community: How to Establish a Youth Poet Laureate Program
At the intersection of artistic excellence and civic engagement are Youth Poet Laureates, the founders, and coordinators of these regional programs. Program founders and former Youth Poets Laureate discuss their experiences creating, maintaining, and expanding civic and artistic programs. This panel offers insights into networks of support, provides strategies to build sustainable communities, and offers the opportunity to learn about the impact of lauretship on the lives of young poets.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Rachel Morgan Presenter: Katherine Lamb-Legrand Presenter: Zedeka Poindexter
Program Development
Panel Discussion
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220 |
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"Bullet in the Brain”: Creative Writers on Book Criticism
Tobias Wolff’s story, “Bullet in the Brain,” about a critic’s final moments, is taught as an object lesson in responding to negative reviews by making more art. But what if you see the world as both writer and reviewer? While the relationship between creating and criticizing is both complicated and necessary, who better to review than deeply engaged practitioners? Hear from poets, nonfiction, and fiction writers at different stages of their careers who all engage in book criticism.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Grace Talusan Presenter: Anri Wheeler Presenter: Joanne Diaz Presenter: Rebecca Morgan Frank Presenter: Marie Myung-Ok Lee
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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225 |
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By Hook or By Crook: Communicating Solidarity During Intellectual Suppression
Since the 2025 inauguration, the U.S. has experienced pervasive attacks on intellectual freedom and first amendment rights, with universities firmly in the cross hairs. This diverse panel explores how faculty can support the fight against oppression & perform solidarity with students despite existential and financial threat. As writers we navigate multiple audiences simultaneously, and will discuss a variety of strategies, such as bodily visual rhetoric, coded language, and strategic assignments.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sarah A. Chavez Presenter: Rochelle Hurt Presenter: Siew Hii Presenter: Ever Jones Presenter: Christopher Carmona
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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230 |
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Carrying on the Tradition: University of Maryland MFA Faculty Reading
Founded in the late 80s by Stanley Plumly, the University of Maryland MFA has a rich literary history that is carried on by today's faculty. This reading will feature the program's current poets and fiction writers, reading from recent and new material in celebration of the program, and the Plumly memorial digital archive. Faculty will read and discuss their work, experiences, and history with the program, especially in these challenging times.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Lillian-Yvonne Bertram Presenter: Emily Mitchell Presenter: Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes Presenter: Joshua Weiner Presenter: Rion Scott
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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235 |
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Cartooning at the End of the World
From zines to graphic memoirs, comics have long served as a force for social change. This panel brings together four writer-artists and educators who use the power of graphic storytelling to confront injustice, amplify marginalized voices, and engage readers in critical conversations. We’ll explore the role of comics in resistance and activism in the current cultural climate, and reflect on our own artistic practices in memoir, cultural criticism, and reportage.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Aubrey Hirsch Presenter: Sanika Phawde Presenter: Yifan Luo Presenter: Sarah Mirk
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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240 |
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Caucus for K-12 Creative Writing Education
In this caucus, teachers of creative writing in K-12 schools meet to discuss best practices, share resources, and address areas of concern specific to K-12 teaching. Participants in this caucus are usually a mix of creative writing teachers and teachers of English Language Arts who incorporate creative writing in their lessons. Writers who are curious about teaching in K-12 schools are welcome to attend and collaborate with practicing educators. Speaker(s): Presenter: Molly Sutton Kiefer Moderator: Allison Campbell
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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243 |
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Celebrating 20 Years of Torch Literary Arts
Torch Literary Arts celebrates twenty years of literary excellence by Black women writers. This reading will feature poets and novelists from the DMV area who have contributed works to Torch’s digital publication, Torch Magazine, across two decades. Panelists will be in conversation with Torch’s founder to discuss the importance of preserving the works of Black women writers and sustaining intersectional, Black-led and serving organizations like Torch Literary Arts.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Amanda Johnston Presenter: Saida Agostini Presenter: Mecca Jamilah Sullivan Presenter: Teri Cross Davis
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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245 |
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Celebrating Sinister Wisdom, a Multicultural Lesbian Literary Journal, at 50
Founded in 1976, Sinister Wisdom, a multicultural lesbian literary and art journal, has been publishing consistently since then. Four distinguished writers, editors, and curators reflect on the work of Sinister Wisdom, including its recent Sapphic Classics, reprints of iconic books by lesbian-feminists. By reading from past and forthcoming issues and discussing their significance, Sinister Wisdom's enduring contributions to lesbian and queer women's voices and its future aspirations emerge.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Cavar Sarah Presenter: Mecca Jamilah Sullivan Moderator: Julie Enszer Presenter: Jenny Factor Presenter: JP Howard
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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250 |
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Centering Accessibility: How Virtual Writing Spaces Can Build Strong Communities
Marginalized writers have long been excluded – intentionally and accidentally – from traditional literary organizations, left to make their own accessible spaces to hone a craft and build community. In this panel, leaders from Abode Press, Lambda Literary, Write About Now, and Sundress Publications will discuss how virtual writing spaces can open doors and nurture critical connections within and between marginalized communities, and the importance of designing with accessibility at the center.
Speaker(s): Presenter: CD Eskilson Presenter: Chloe Feffer Presenter: Chibbi Orduna Presenter: Diamond Braxton Moderator: K Angel
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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255 |
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Character Crisis: When the Surreal Becomes Our Reality
In a present defined by war, material precarity, and dehumanization, conflict—traditionally used to structure narrative—no longer serves as a reliable structure for meaningful storytelling. In this reading, four queer women of color come together to ask what stories emerge when crisis is not a passing storm, but our new normal? What aesthetic forms arise when confronting public/private devastation, when we must embrace the surreal to write not only our characters, but ourselves into existence?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Mónica-Ramón Ríos Moderator: Diana Marie Delgado Presenter: Claudia Morales Presenter: Shayla Lawz
Fiction Readings
Reading
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260 |
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Childfree and Childless Women Writers: Writing Against Gender Norms
Most literature and media marketed toward women over thirty revolve around motherhood, but this doesn’t tell the full story of womanhood. This panel is composed of five writers exploring alternative paths toward self-fulfillment and modes of nurturing beyond motherhood. Through poetry and creative nonfiction, this panel will explore the writers' identities as women without children. There will also be a Q & A with a discussion of obstacles to de-centering motherhood in discussions of womanhood.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Stevie Edwards Presenter: Brenna Womer Presenter: Christina Stoddard Presenter: Jane Huffman Presenter: Kai Coggin
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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265 |
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Choice and the Lyric Body
Panelists of diverse backgrounds will engage in a craft-based discussion about how the choice to be child-free informs our art, including what it took to be “successful” at our craft. If choice is a spectrum, how do we write past stereotypes about people without children without stigmatizing other reproductive choices? We will share multi-genre work, along with craft tips about tone, the lyric I, and how to challenge stock narratives of caregiving to include communal and ecological stewardship.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Majda Gama Moderator: Amanda Shaw Presenter: JOANNA FUHRMAN Presenter: Kyoko Mori Presenter: Sandra Beasley
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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270 |
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Choose Your Own Adventure: Debut Authors on the Different Paths to Publication
Behind the fanfare of a debut, most writers experience their path to publication as tentative and unlikely. This panel of ‘25 and ‘26 debut novelists will chart the course from feeling like literary outsiders to finishing, querying, selling, and publishing their first books. With and without an MFA, with and without an agent, with a big press or a small one, with a novel in a drawer—this panel aims to provide helpful, transparent accounts of the winding ways a manuscript becomes a book.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Sonia Feldman Presenter: Ankur Thakkar Presenter: Yu-Mei Balasingamchow Presenter: Lacey Dunham Moderator: Bruna Dantas Lobato
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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275 |
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Chosen Family, Narrative Possibility: The Expansive Literature of Friendship
Friendships rarely appear as central subjects in stories about adult life, though they are often our sturdiest and longest-lasting bonds. To center friendship is an act of resistance to a dominant heteronormative narrative. This panel seeks to investigate these under-written relationships. In novels, poetry, and essays, the panel will discuss friendship as a topic worth centering in our creative lives and work, and will explore the generative possibilities in the territory.
Speaker(s): Presenter: TOMAS MONIZ Moderator: Rachel Richardson Presenter: Kirstin Chen Presenter: Lilly Dancyger Presenter: Paul Lisicky
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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280 |
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Collaborative Translation: Creativity and Praxis, Sponsored by ALTA
This panel takes as its premise that literary translation is inherently collaborative. Four prolific and prize-winning collaborative translators, working in such languages as French, Latin, Ukrainian, and Spanish, will discuss how collaboration has impacted their practice. In addition, they will explore a spectrum of specific practices and collaborative experiences in their work.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Cynthia Hogue Presenter: Katie Farris Presenter: Mary Jo Bang Presenter: Nancy Naomi Carlson Presenter: Khaled Mattawa
Translation
Panel Discussion
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285 |
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Come as You Are: Writers with ADHD
At AWP23, a panel on ADHD and writing drew a huge crowd of curious, excited, brilliant ADHD writers. That conversation sparked Chaos, Creativity, Completion: Essays on Writing and ADHD (University of Chicago Press, 2026). At this reading, contributors will read from their essays, which ask how we can write in ways that embrace rather than mask our neurodifference; tell of diagnoses that can come as mid-life revelations; and go beyond traditional writing advice to find practices that work for us.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Robin Black Moderator: Chloe Martinez Presenter: Kwoya Fagin Maples Presenter: Rebecca Makkai Presenter: Lawrence-Minh Bùi Davis
Nonfiction Readings
Reading
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290 |
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Conjuring Home: Women of Color on Exile, Borders & Belonging
What does it mean to make a home in a world shaped by displacement? These writers tell stories about immigration, exile, colonization & family rupture, while still reaching for hope, joy & wholeness. Our writing travels across borders–literal and imagined–asking: How do we build home when land, memory & language have been taken or lost? We’ll address the complexities of writing through contradictions–grief, beauty, rage & tenderness–while celebrating diasporic voices in American literature.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sabina Khan-Ibarra Presenter: Betty Shamieh Presenter: Eirinie Carson Presenter: Grace Prasad Presenter: TARA DORABJI
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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295 |
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Coworking Communities: Publishing the Literary Magazine with Students
Staples of education promising to offer professional writing and editorial opportunities, many university literary magazines have been shuttered, downsized, or transformed in recent years. This panel gathers editors, advisors, and students to consider the state of literary magazine publishing in the academy. Together we ask how these programs can evolve to meet the needs of students and readers, how publishing might help buttress humanities programs, and how journals might reach our communities.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Karen Babine Presenter: Caroline Laganas Presenter: Veronica Pérez Moderator: Kurt Milberger Presenter: Amanda Ellard
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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300 |
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Crabs in a Pot, Collaborating: Maryland Arts Organizations Sustaining Together
The scalding loss of arts funding is forcing organizations to take measures to maintain their region’s cultural infrastructure, resulting in increased requests for support from local and state organizations. Rather than pull each other down in their scramble for survival, some organizations are gaining new strength through collaboration & community engagement. Learn from an array of Maryland-based arts organizations how they’re defying the “crabs in a pot” metaphor to power forward together.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Annie Marhefka Moderator: Kerry Graham Presenter: Laura Weiss Presenter: Emily Ross Presenter: Tracy Dimond
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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305 |
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Craft Across Borders: Writers with Immigrant Roots Discuss Craft
In this session, five writers with immigrant roots—working across fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, and representing diverse cultural backgrounds—highlight the aesthetic principles and craft theories that shape their writing. More specifically, they explore the craft traditions inherited from their cultures, the strategies they use to navigate and reconcile with mainstream craft expectations, and the importance of readers understanding those craft choices to fully engage with their work.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Hasanthika Sirisena Presenter: Joanna Eleftheriou Presenter: Rajiv Mohabir Presenter: Jennifer Maritza McCauley Moderator: Khem Aryal
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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310 |
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Craft Lessons from Yiddish Poetry
Modern Yiddish poetry is one of the most dynamic, daring, and complex bodies of global literature from the 20th century. Its diasporic perspectives, formal experiments, and ambivalent relationships to its own history offer timely models for poets writing in all languages. Our panelists, all translators and poets, will discuss some of the lessons in poetic craft they have learned from their apprenticeships to great Yiddish poets, in ways accessible to writers without knowledge of Yiddish.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Daniel Kraft Presenter: Pearl Abraham Presenter: Yerra Sugarman Presenter: Zackary Sholem Berger Presenter: Kathryn Hellerstein
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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315 |
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Crafting Trans Horror: Authors on Crossing Gender & Genre
This event will feature trans authors of of horror fiction discussing common themes, craft advice, and political stakes of writing trans horror in an increasingly anti-trans social milieu. Authors will get the opportunity to read excerpts of current and recent projects, discussing their relationships to conventional horror tropes (many of which rely on the specter of transness without regard for trans personhood) and how our work challenges, destabilizes, and reinvents them.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Cavar Sarah Presenter: CD Eskilson Presenter: Luna Rey Hall Presenter: Nic Anstett Presenter: Zefyr Lisowski
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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320 |
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Creative Aging: Writing with Elders
How do we help elders use writing to unearth their own complexities—their pasts, presents, and futures; their thoughts and feelings, their struggles and joys? How to engage them to ask not only “Who was I then?” but “Who am I now?” Working with elders, from those living with Alzheimer’s to those who are cognitively well, panelists will share their diverse approaches to nurture a sense of agency, creativity, and delight.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Andrea Ballou Presenter: Martha Collins Presenter: Glecia Tatum Presenter: Gary Glazner
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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325 |
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Cropping our Lives: Sustaining a private life in a public vocation
In this digital age, writers are often expected to leverage our lives as marketing tools. Must we commodify our lives? To what extent? What are the risks and costs of such transactions? As we cultivate our public writing identities in the name of success and influence, we need boundaries for our own well-being. So, how do we choose what to expose and what to “crop”? Join us in exploring these questions and more as we talk honestly about the pressures and challenges of public life as a writer.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Krissy Kludt Presenter: Michael Kleber-Diggs Presenter: Joseph Lanham Presenter: Annie Wenstrup
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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335 |
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Crying Laughing: Black Authors on Writing Satire, Surrealism, and the Absurd
“Racial satirization…articulates an autonomous selfhood for Black bodies…bodies that are systematically disempowered in other spheres.” (Danielle Fuentes Morgan, Laughing to Keep from Dying). Four Black writers will explore the ways they incorporate and leverage satire, surrealism, and absurdity to address prevailing social justice issues while interrogating the moral imperatives and responsibilities of examining these topics through a humorous or fantastical lens.
Speaker(s): Presenter: John Vercher Moderator: Charles Stephens Presenter: Deesha Philyaw Presenter: Joy Priest Presenter: Maurice Carlos Ruffin
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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340 |
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Cuentistas in Comunidad: Creating Spaces for Stories, Connection and Resistance
In a time of escalating attacks on immigrants and people of color, writing in community is both an act of resistance and a way of building solidarity. This workshop, facilitated by Tintas DC, a collective of Latine storytellers in the Washington, DC metro area, explores how writing can move beyond the solitary and become a communal practice rooted in care, cultural connection, and collective healing. Participants will reflect on the ways shared creative space can help amplify voices.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Adrian Gaston Garcia Presenter: Dahlia Aguilar Presenter: Cynthia Via Presenter: Adriana Martinez Figueroa Presenter: Isabel Roby
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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345 |
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Cultural Realities: Blurring Barriers of Magic Realism and Genre Expectations
Five writers of Indigenous and Asian American and Pacific Islander backgrounds will share their creative work and discuss the erasure labels like “magic realism” spur. Panelists will consider why texts incorporating cultural stories and knowledge are often qualified with adjectives to signify differences in realties. The panel will question the need to create a homogenous reality that aligns with colonial perspectives unless the “fabricated” reality is seen as fresh and profitable.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Mary Leauna Christensen Presenter: Kalilinoe Detwiler Presenter: M.S. RedCherries Presenter: Arielle Lowe Presenter: Chandanie Somwaru
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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350 |
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Debut Poets Speak: Five Writers on Bringing Their First Books Into the World
As poet Brenda Shaughnessey once said, “you only get one first book.” In this panel, five award-winning poets publishing debuts in 2025-2026 discuss the high-stakes process of bringing a first book into the world. Drawing on their individual experiences with five different presses, topics include: working with an in-house editorial team, hiring a publicist, pitching reviews, planning readings and events, initiating collaborations with other debut poets, and more.
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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355 |
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Debuting After 50
Writing is a lifelong journey and the path to publication can take years. The phrase “emerging writer” doesn't always correlate with age. Four writers who published debut novels, a story collection, and a memoir will discuss their paths toward publication and the experience of doing so after 50. What do we gain with age and how do life experiences benefit our perspective?What are the challenges of ageism in a mediagenic/platform-oriented culture? And how do we stay committed through the years?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Melanie Faranello Moderator: Sara Lippmann Presenter: Chin-Sun Lee Presenter: Zeeva Bukai Presenter: Nita Noveno
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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360 |
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Democratizing Writing: First-Gen Perspectives on Class, Access, and Academia
This panel gathers first-generation college students, first-generation Americans, writers of color, and cross-genre artists to explore what it means to be “first” in creative writing spaces. Together they will discuss access and class-based barriers in academia and publishing—unspoken rules, inequitable access, and impostor syndrome—and offer tools, strategies, and resource-sharing aimed at supporting first-gen writers and building more inclusive, non-hierarchical literary communities.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Joy Priest Presenter: Rosanna Oh Moderator: Kimberly Grey Presenter: Allison Pitinii Davis Presenter: Jose Hernandez Diaz
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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365 |
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Disabled and D/deaf Writers Caucus
The Disabled & D/deaf Writers Caucus allows for those who are disabled or living with chronic illness, and their allies, to network and discuss common challenges related to identity, writing, and teaching while professionally leading a literary life. By meeting annually at the AWP conference, we aim to archive our interests, challenges, and concerns in order to increase our visibility and emphasize our importance both to this organization and to the communities where we live, teach, and work.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Cade Leebron Presenter: Jess Silfa
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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370 |
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Divergent Writers: A New Bloomsbury Anthology on Disability and Ableism
The newly published Bloomsbury anthology, titled Divergent Writers, comprises essays by 19 impacted writers from across six countries. This panel, which includes the two editors and three contributors, will focus on the anthology and the ways in which writers who are neurodivergent, disabled, and/or suffer from chronic illnesses are marginalized by a field that prizes the neurotypical and the able-bodied. Our panelists will share their lived experiences and provide teaching and writing insights.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Christie Collins Presenter: Celeste Schueler Presenter: Said Shaiye Presenter: Saul Lemerond Presenter: Leigh Rourks
Nonfiction Readings
Reading
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375 |
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Dodge, Duck, & Dazzle: Creative Writing Faculty's DEI Dodgeball Arena in Florida
Florida’s CRW faculty have been handed a thriller-worthy plot twist —new state mandates under the anti-DEI wave rewriting the rules of academia. Join a diverse cast of faculty from across Florida with real-life adventures telling academic tales of pedagogical practices and the occasional “Wait, what?” moment. It's not just a panel—it’s a masterclass in keeping academic discourse alive in a choose-your-own-adventure-novel-gone-wrong landscape that only comes from facing the dreaded policy manual.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Laura McDermott Presenter: David Kirby Presenter: Romeo Oriogun Presenter: Richard Toumey Presenter: Yael Aldana
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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380 |
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Don’t Box Me In! Crossing Genres and Defying Categorization
Buried mere blocks from this year’s convention, Edgar Allan Poe left an indelible mark on mystery, horror, and science fiction. His crossing of genre lines feels prescient today, with an increasing amount of modern fiction breaking the boundaries between forms, blending traditions, disrupting conventions, and thriving in ambiguity. Professors and fiction writers both, the panelists explore the landscape of cross-genre fiction and the possibilities for emerging writers.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Art Taylor Presenter: John Copenhaver Presenter: Richie Narvaez Presenter: SJ Sindu Presenter: Shannon Scott
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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385 |
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Dorothy Allison: Breaking Down Barriers for Women Writers
Writer, Dorothy Allison, recently passed, broke through barriers for all writers, but women writers in particular. She deserves both celebration and remembrance. Through her work, she led the way for us to openly portray living in poverty, owning our sexuality, speaking freely about our desires and sex and discussing, without flinching, abuse. Allison taught us to speak truths in our work about the lives of so many women, the women on this panel included. We owe her thanks and hope to honor her.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Carmen Machado Presenter: Lily Burana Presenter: Connie May Fowler Moderator: Luanne Smith
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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390 |
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Double Exposure: Writing, Submitting & Publishing in Literary/Mainstream Outlets
What separates an essay destined for The Sun, Electric Literature, or Fourth Genre from one accepted at The New York Times or The Cut? In this candid, strategy-driven conversation, a panel of literary and mainstream editors, submissions experts, and hybrid writers break down the gap between these two worlds—and how writers can bridge it. We’ll share real submission examples, pitching tips, and behind-the-scenes intel on what editors rarely say out loud.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Estelle Erasmus Presenter: Dionne Ford Presenter: Dennis Sweeney Presenter: Katie Robinson
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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395 |
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Drawn to Dissent: Graphic Forms as Cultural Critique
Comics juxtapose text and image to clarify complex realities and add emotional depth, making cultural critique accessible and immersive. As dissent grows more vital, our panelists are using graphic forms to challenge dominant narratives, spark conversation, and reach wider audiences. Panelists will share how they research, structure, and craft visual work that documents, disrupts, and reimagines social and political issues.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Aubrey Hirsch Moderator: Robert Russell Presenter: Sharon De La Cruz Presenter: Tom Hart Presenter: Kelcey Ervick
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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400 |
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Editors as Brand Builders: How Lit Mags Use Branding to Express Their Missions, Sponsored by CLMP
Join the editors of five literary magazines for a discussion about scaling and sustaining publications through successful branding. This panel will also explore the reciprocal relationship between how the distinct look and feel of a literary magazine shapes and is shaped by its contributors and readers. Whether you’re a magazine founder, submitter, or reader, you’ll walk away with an understanding of how literary magazines’ branding informs their curation process.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Lexi Rosen Presenter: Aaron Burch Presenter: Jeremy Schraffenberger Presenter: Rita Mookerjee Presenter: Michelle Carrigan
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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410 |
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Editors of Color: the Political and Personal, Sponsored by CLMP
Literary magazines are immensely capable vehicles for fostering literary community. This panel brings together five 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. This is a panel for readers, writers, and editors; people of color and allies; all who care to have journals be a productive place for race matters.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Marcelo Castillo Moderator: Gerald Maa Presenter: George Abraham Presenter: Kyla Kupferstein Torres Presenter: Emilio Carrero
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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415 |
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Enduring Ephemeral Forms: On Poetry Chapbooks & Building Community
Chapbooks have a counter-cultural history & democratizing ethic. This panel of poets, editors, & publishers discuss the challenges & opportunities of this short form. They'll offer insights into contests that support debut authors, chaplets that commemorate reading series, & alternative modes of production, such as letterpress and risograph printing. We’ll consider how chapbooks create enduring connections & contribute to an essential, living archive of work by queer, BIPOC, and feminist authors.
Speaker(s): Presenter: David Haydon Presenter: Zoe Tuck Moderator: Aishvarya Arora Presenter: Brian Teare
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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420 |
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Environment, Locale, Identity: Setting in Contemporary American Literature
Literature with a sense of place stands against the homogenization of American culture and allows writers to address concrete issues of environment and identity. This panel brings together writers from various regions and backgrounds to reflect on the importance of setting and how historical, geographic, cultural, ethnic, and other factors create a vital context for contemporary writing.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Anesa Miller Moderator: Donna Hayes Presenter: Lawrence Coates Presenter: Lee Martin Presenter: Lora Chilton
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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425 |
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Even Strange Ghosts Can Be Shared: A Roundtable on the Legacy of Jack Spicer
A key figure of the San Francisco Renaissance, poet Jack Spicer (1925-1965) forged a poetics of queer resistance, mysticism, and linguistic subversion. This roundtable celebrates the 2025 centenary of Spicer's birth and the recent publication of Even Strange Ghosts Can Be Shared: The Collected Letters of Jack Spicer (Wesleyan, 2025). In a roundtable including critical reflection and dialogue, poets and scholars discuss Spicer’s influence on experimental poetics and queer literary practice.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Daniel Benjamin Presenter: Hoa Nguyen Presenter: Chris Nealon Presenter: Ariana Reines Presenter: Maria Damon
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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430 |
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Failed! Honest Talk About Failure and the Writing Life
Failure shapes the writer’s life, with powerful, surprising results. Whether it's a rejected book, an unfinished draft, a grant or job that won’t materialize, or the failures of genre: disappointment shapes our creative trajectory. In a culture that fetishizes success, how do we metabolize failure? What are the pitfalls and opportunities of creative defeat? Carol Edgarian, Beth Ann Fennelly, Rick Barot and Paisley Rekdal engage in an open conversation about failure within a long career.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Carol Edgarian Presenter: Beth Ann Fennelly Presenter: Rick Barot Moderator: Paisley Rekdal
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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435 |
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Finding New, True Literary Sounds
A timely conversation about breaking ground in nonfiction by working at the intersection of print and audio. Authors and sound artists are joining forces to elbow their ways out of format constraints, creating novel narrative modalities and reaching new audiences in the process. With audiobooks on the rise and documentary podcasts vanishing for lack of funds, a dynamic panel of writers and other nonfiction creators and distributors share how they’re crafting words to ring in our ears.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Lissa Soep Presenter: Sharif Youssef Presenter: DJ Johnson Presenter: Leila Nadir Presenter: Shawn Wen
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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440 |
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Finding Wild Anywhere: Bring Your Writing Workshop Outdoors
Leave the classroom behind and write with the living world. Educators teaching outdoors across the country share inclusive, adaptive approaches that support students of all ages and abilities in connecting with land, community, and self. Through practical strategies and interactive discussion, explore how writing with wind, water, and weeds fosters belonging, builds climate literacy, and anchors creativity in sensory experiences, offering a grounded, AI-proof path to more authentic expression.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Erin Robertson Moderator: Travis Mossotti Presenter: Sheila McMullin Presenter: Genevieve Wall Presenter: Becca Rose Hall
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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445 |
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Flashes of Truth: A Celebration and Examination of the Flash Essay Form
So much more than “short essays,” flash nonfiction has its own conventions, challenges, and advantages—experience compressed into a single white-hot image or moment, with no space to hide in over-explanation or exposition. In this panel, five writers and editors of flash will dig into the particularities of this unique form: how to decide which experiences are best suited to flash, how to get in and out of a story in under 1,000 words, and how to make every one of those words pull its weight.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Ira Sukrungruang Moderator: Rae Pagliarulo Presenter: Jane Wong Presenter: Zoë Bossiere Presenter: Lilly Dancyger
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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450 |
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Foothills, Bays, and Freeways: Mid-Atlantic Poets
The Mid-Atlantic region is uniquely situated at the crossroads of culture, politics, and place. Poets offer perspectives on how the Mid-Atlantic, from the Susquehanna Valley to the Chesapeake Bay, has shaped their creative practices and read from work that showcases this influence.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Jona Colson Presenter: Joseph J. Capista Presenter: Leona Sevick Moderator: Alyse Bensel Presenter: Arden Levine
Poetry Readings
Reading
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455 |
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Fractured Borders: Mapping South Asian Lit in Translation, Sponsored by ALTA
South Asia, home to hundreds of languages, has only recently gained global literary attention. Contemporary political tensions shape which languages and voices are translated and heard. Five translators working in Assamese, Nepali, Urdu, Hindi, and Bengali share their experiences navigating the global publishing world and explore the question: What happens to language when it travels?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Gauri Awasthi Presenter: Aruni Kashyap Presenter: Mahmud Rahman Presenter: Rohan Chhetri Presenter: Sadia Khatri
Translation
Panel Discussion
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460 |
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A Collaborative Book Launch: From Contract to Successful Release
Baltimore publisher, Kevin Atticks, heads up the student-run Apprentice House Press at Loyola University. In this panel, writers get a bird’s eye view of the collaboration between the author, publisher, and publicity team. How are jobs divided up? How much control does the author have over various aspects of the collaboration and what is the publisher’s responsibility? What types of marketing are typically done by an external publicist versus a marketing & events specialist versus a publisher?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Jessie Glenn Moderator: Kevin Atticks Presenter: Deborah Jayne Presenter: Katey Schultz
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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465 |
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From Hard Drive to Big Five: How to Write and Sell a Literary Novel
In a fiction market dominated by romantasy and big-name authors, it’s difficult to get attention as a literary debut. This is especially true for those writing on the margins. This panel brings together 2025-2026 debut writers of color for a candid discussion of writing, revising, and selling a literary novel in today’s risk-averse market. Informed by diverse perspectives, these debut writers share actionable insights for the craft of fiction and the business of writing.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Kat Lewis Moderator: Haili Blassingame Presenter: Alejandro Heredia Presenter: Eshani Surya Presenter: Lai Sanders
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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470 |
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From Isolation to Coalition: Reimagining Literary Arts Centers
Local literary and multidisciplinary arts centers often work in silos, navigating limited resources and funding competition alone. This panel proposes a shift: the beginnings of a national coalition grounded in shared values, collaboration, and mutual support. Panelists from across the country will explore how connection can be not just sustaining—but transformational.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Nina Adel Moderator: Leslie Grover Presenter: Daemond Arrindell Presenter: Masha Shukovich Presenter: Nikkisha Napoleon
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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475 |
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From Page to Podcast: Amplify Your Writing Career on the Mic
In a publishing landscape that requires writers to wear countless hats, podcasting has become one of the most powerful tools authors, journalists, novelists, memoirists, and poets can use to expand their reach and take creative control of their careers. This panel on "podcasting for writers" demystifies how to launch a podcast that empowers writers to promote their work, build an audience, develop valuable professional skills, and even bring in a new income stream.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Amanda Montell Presenter: Andrea Dunlop Presenter: Kate Kennedy Presenter: Nora McInerny Presenter: Melissa Lozada-Oliva
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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480 |
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From Panel to Print: Three Book Projects that Originated at AWP
Bands often test out new material on the road and then head into the studio when the tour ends to record it. What if we approached conference panels with something similar in mind? What if a productive conversation didn’t stop at the sound of polite clapping but instead found new form as a book? Writers and editors from past AWP panels discuss the unique paths that led them from working out ideas in public to collaborative publishing projects including edited collections and coauthored books.
Speaker(s): Moderator: David B. Olsen Presenter: Eric Freeze Presenter: Lisa Hadley Presenter: Lizette Wanzer Presenter: Chloe Martinez
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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485 |
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From Short Story to Novel
Oftentimes, larger narratives begin with smaller ones. The main character in a short story refuses to leave their author alone, and so they become the protagonist of a novel. This panel will focus on drafting these eventual standalone excerpts and giving them satisfactory character and plot arcs while leaving the reader wanting more, as well as assembling a novel from these shorter pieces. All of the panelists have successfully published excerpts in literary journals before publishing novels.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Aaron Aceves Presenter: Bobuq Sayed Presenter: Lucas Schaefer Presenter: Sam Sax Presenter: Santiago Sanchez
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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490 |
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FUSE National Caucus
How do we create, build, and sustain undergraduate literary magazines? How do we garner greater technical, administrative, and financial support? What editorial skill sets are most important, and how do we engage with the larger publishing scene? Come meet other undergraduate writers, editors, and designers, and discuss the many opportunities and resources available to support you and your team.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jess Jelsma Masterton Presenter: Rachel Hall Presenter: Mattie Lugar Presenter: Elizabeth Bartholomay
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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495 |
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Game Changer: Literary Queer Sports Writing
Join four fiction writers in a discussion and celebration of writing queer desire on the field—or in the rink, or in the pool, as it were. Panelists will discuss their treatment of team sports as a theater for gender and sexuality, chosen family, and discipline; the unique implications of unsettling the sports writing landscape; and how to craft the intoxicating, erotic physicality of a good game.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kasey Peters Presenter: Jade Song Presenter: John Fram Presenter: Holly M. Wendt
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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500 |
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Genre Nonconformity: How to Break All the Rules but Still Publish
Despite new developments and excitement about genre nonconforming writing, many publishers, agents, and publicists stay away from this kind of book, leaving writers unsure how to get published and find their readers. Established members of the publishing industry will discuss how to break genre rules while still creating a book that will resonate with readers and find a home. We will discuss current trends in genre play, as well as the steps to getting such adventurous work published.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Caroline Hagood Presenter: Jiwon Choi Presenter: NaBeela Washington Presenter: Tariq Shah Presenter: Anastacia Renee
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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505 |
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"Genre" By Any Other Name: What Literary Writers Can Learn From Genre Fiction
In writing programs, “genre” has come to be defined as opposite to literary fiction. Genre fiction is called formulaic and cheap. In workshops, genre elements may be tolerated, but writers should always strive for literary. Yet genre books consistently outsell literary books. Five authors and teachers of cross-genre fiction (sci-fi, steampunk, romantasy, mystery, and horror) discuss how literary writers can take a page from genre’s book to captivate audiences and compel them to keep turning pages.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Latifa Ayad Presenter: Charli Spier Presenter: Misha Rai Presenter: Laura Roque Presenter: Sophia Khan
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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510 |
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Getting Real in MG and YA Fiction: Writing with Honesty, Nuance, and Heart
How do writers of kidlit offer stories that are hopeful, but also probing and true? Five writers whose books reflect the challenges of growing up in a fractured, sometimes dangerous world share craft advice for exploring sensitive themes with authenticity and care. Panelists will discuss how their identities and experiences shape their work, how they approach research and sensitivity reading, and how they connect with today’s teen and tween readers.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Ona Gritz Moderator: Kimberly Kenna Presenter: Kalela Williams Presenter: Laura Shovan Presenter: Gume Laurel
Children’s & Young Adult Literature
Panel Discussion
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515 |
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Global Words in a Time of Crisis: Guernica, Adi, Aster(ix) and AAWW in dialogue
In uncertain times, how can more inclusive, unconventional and international stories combat fear of the “other” and build community? Four literary organizations share their experiences publishing “global majority” writers over the years, touching on: what writing from the Global South can teach readers in the West; the challenges and rewards of soliciting work from the grassroots; strategies for combining good politics with good prose; and literature's role as a form of political resistance.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Angie Cruz Presenter: Jafreen Uddin Presenter: Nimmi Gowrinathan Presenter: Kiana Karimi Moderator: Genevieve Hartman
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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520 |
F569C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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God-Wrestlers: Jewish Poets on Poetry as Prayer
The lyric voice, through the psalms, is the backbone of all Jewish liturgy, and Jewish poets, like Jacob wrestling with the angel for a blessing, have sought ways to wrestle with their ability to pray to an unseen creator. Five Jewish-identified poets discuss their paths to poetry as prayer through belief and skepticism, as well as through their desire to repair the world (Tikkun olam). Is there something unique and/or universal about the prayer poems that Jewish poets write?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Yerra Sugarman Moderator: Sharon Dolin Presenter: Ava Winter Presenter: Donna Spruijt-Metz Presenter: Elliott BatTzedek
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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525 |
F269C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Going Forward: The Future of Small Presses in America
This panel gathers editors from five prominent small presses—BOA Editions, Tupelo Press, Alice James Books, and Tiger Bark Press —for a frank and forward-looking discussion about how to navigate the changing cultural environment for small presses Moderated by a member of the Black Lawrence Press advisory board, the panel will offer inquiry and practical insight at a time when independent small presses are needing to regroup. We very much welcome audience participation.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Carey Salerno Presenter: Jeffrey Levine Presenter: Peter Conners Presenter: Phil Memmer Moderator: David Rigsbee
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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530 |
F569C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Going It Alone: Paths to a Book Contract Without an Agent
In the literary world, there is so much emphasis on getting an agent: how to write a query letter, when to pitch, how long to wait to follow up. In the changing publishing landscape, authors are finding alternative ways to secure book contracts on their own, from competing in first book contests to cold emailing indie editors to submitting manuscripts through the “slush pile.” Panelists discuss navigating publishing unagented, detailing the process, challenges, and benefits of going it alone.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kristi Osorio Presenter: Bonnie Chau Presenter: Lindsey Webb Presenter: Lisa Factora-Borchers Presenter: Patrycja Humienik
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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535 |
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Gritty and Dirty: Writing Plot
Is plot the bone you throw the dog while you rob the house, or is it the king dying of grief? Is it “entire depravity” or, as Vonnegut tells us, “discovering something wonderful?” In this panel, five Philly writers working across genre talk narrative propulsion, a craft element too often glossed over by MFAs. How can literary fiction import elements of the mystery or heist even as they emphasize character? How can plot tropes be political, even subversive? And what engines exist in nonfiction?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Annie Liontas Presenter: Camille Acker Presenter: Sara Novic Presenter: Liz Moore Presenter: Emma Copley Eisenberg
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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540 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Growth Spurts: How Parenting Changes Poetics
Parenting, like revision, has a way of clarifying what matters. Lucille Clifton, talking about her roles of parent and poet, once said “[h]aving the most spic-and-span house wasn’t that high on the list.” To write and to parent means making choices, often about what to privilege and what to let slide, whether that’s with discipline or chores, but also lineation and imagery. In this panel, five poets will discuss how parenting influences the choices they make in composing their poems and why.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Conor Bracken Presenter: Camille Dungy Presenter: Erika Meitner Presenter: Katie Condon Presenter: Blas Falconer
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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545 |
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Haints, Haunts, & Other Shape Shifters
What calls us to tell tales of spirits made restless by loneliness, passion, and personal or historical grievances and injustices? How, in today’s endangered world, do we find new ways to write speculative fiction about ghosts, the uncanny, haints and haunts, shapeshifters, and the dead who refuse to stay dead? Five fiction writers from varied backgrounds and storytelling traditions share work, literary models, and craft strategies for the fierce and sometimes playful art of writing the uncanny.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sarah Stone Presenter: Beth Alvarado Presenter: Judy Juanita Presenter: Lillian Howan Presenter: Mary Slechta
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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550 |
EB69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Hard to Get: How Queer and BIPOC Poets Use Allusions to (Re)write the Culture
Reginald Shepherd argued that “poetry isn’t hard enough,” listing among other difficulties the use of allusions as integral to the pleasures of being truly engaged by a poem. While we commonly associate allusions as barriers to comprehension (think The Waste Land and The Cantos), this panel considers allusion not as an alienating force, or at its worst another tool of cultural white supremacy, but as a literary device used by queer and BIPOC writers to experiment with exclusion and access.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jennifer Chang Presenter: Brandon Som Presenter: Francine J. Harris Presenter: Jenny Johnson
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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555 |
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Here Goes the Neighborhood: Hyperlocal Literature for Art and Action
The word "neighborhood" is a fertile ground for writing, evoking pavement, stoops, lawns, schools. Family, friends, first loves, the meanie across the street. Skating, bikes, bus stops. Also: segregation, gentrification, NextDoor, "values." We may long to escape our first environs, but we return in poetry, fiction, memoir, and reporting. In exploring hyperlocal writing, we'll share our generative energy with attendees to inspire writing, teaching, and mutual aid on their own fertile home turfs.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Elizabeth Gold Presenter: Asali Solomon Presenter: Ava Chin Presenter: Philipe AbiYouness Presenter: Anne Elizabeth Moore
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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560 |
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Here To Stay: Black YA Novelists Telling the American Story Their Way
This panel features award-winning Black YA novelists, who through a mix of fantasy, contemporary and historical fiction, create authentic spaces for Black youth to shine as multidimensional characters in the American story. By giving voice to young people whose experiences and perspectives have often been undervalued and overlooked, their novels create space for honest conversations and healing. Every child deserves to see themselves in literature, and these authors embody that right. Speaker(s): Presenter: Michelle Coles Presenter: Bethany Morrow Presenter: Kimberly Johnson Moderator: Kayla Rayford
Children’s & Young Adult Literature
Panel Discussion
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565 |
EA69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Home, Belonging, and Agency in Diasporic Fiction
Migration and social upheavals complicate what are already differential perceptions and experiences of home and belonging. This session will feature five writers who will read from their debut fiction. Set in diverse locales from Asia to Africa, Middle East, and North America, their global, diasporic storytelling about identity, including ethnicity, gender, race, and sexuality, showcases their characters’ agency in navigating home/lands and their relationship to un/belonging.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Serkan Görkemli Presenter: Daniel Tam-Claiborne Presenter: Elysha Chang Presenter: Nawaaz Ahmed Presenter: Roohi Choudhry
Fiction Readings
Reading
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570 |
FA69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 15A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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How Form Informs the Form: Received & Original Forms in Manuscript Organization
Experimental and traditional forms shape individual poems, but they can also provide key organizing principles in manuscripts. In this panel, writers will discuss how form (sonnet, underpoem, villanelle, contrapuntal, erasure, and more) played a major role in the creation and organization of recent collections. They will also present ways of generating structural elements that can make a book stand out in a crowded field. After moderated conversation, there will be time for audience questions.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Donna Vorreyer Presenter: Chris Santiago Presenter: Lesley Wheeler Presenter: Rebecca Lehmann Presenter: Taylor Byas
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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575 |
F269C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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How International Writers Can Build Successful Literary Careers Post-MFA
International students in Creative Writing programs face unique challenges: beyond navigating cultural and language barriers, they are faced with issues related to legal status and job uncertainties after the MFA. In this panel, writers from China, Pakistan, and Kashmir share post-MFA career advice focusing on four key areas: applying to Creative Writing PhD programs, residencies and fellowships, securing teaching positions, and building publishing careers.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Hera Naguib Moderator: Li Zhuang Presenter: Li Zhuang Presenter: Farooz Rather Presenter: Weijia Pan
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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580 |
E869C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B35D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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How to Reach and Enable Incarcerated Artists to Speak Their Truths
To reflect the real, lived experience of incarceration, we must hear directly from those entrenched in that reality. Magnifying incarcerated voices through art is a powerful way to educate and illuminate. Panelists (a filmmaker, an editor, and two formerly incarcerated arts facilitators) will discuss various forms of inside/outside collaborations in which students of writing and the arts can gain knowledge and insight that will help them bring the stories of incarcerated people to light.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Lane Michael Stanley Presenter: Dormen Lisby Moderator: Joyce Hinnefeld Presenter: Beth Gylys
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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590 |
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I Could Not Stop for Death: Poets on Addiction and Substance Abuse
The literary world often romanticizes the relationship between writing and substance abuse, but this panel is composed of poets exploring an authentic view of writing about substance abuse and addiction, considering their weighty social and personal tolls. The panel will include poets from a variety of backgrounds exploring their relationships with the topics of addiction and recovery. There will also be a Q and A with a discussion of challenges in writing about substance abuse.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Stevie Edwards Presenter: Edgar Kunz Presenter: Nick Flynn Presenter: K. Iver Presenter: Joan Kwon Glass
Poetry Readings
Reading
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595 |
F369C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 15A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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"I Wish to Speak to the Dead": The Craft of Historical Imagination
Join four celebrated LGBTQ historical & SFF writers for a practicum on historical worldbuilding research and narrative design. This panel focuses on methods: how to find fractures in dominant narratives and see through the expected past, how to locate lost traces and hidden archives, how to enter into the past as an alien country, and how to lure back the ghosts of our queer predecessors to haunt our readers. Vibes cannot replace rigorous methodology. To speak to the dead, you need technique.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Maya Deane Presenter: Clare Sears Presenter: Jeanne Thornton Presenter: M. M. Olivas
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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600 |
EB69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Imagining Literary Futures in Challenging Times
We will discuss how literary organizations and small presses navigate the social and fiscal realities of a destabilizing landscape. What constitutes thriving under anti-mission constraints? What does community-building look like under conditions of scarcity? What can we learn from the past, and how can we imagine a future in which support for the arts flourishes? Professionals from a range of literary and publishing nonprofits discuss strategy, solidarity, hope, and perseverance.
Speaker(s): Moderator: KT Herr Presenter: Lisa Willis Presenter: Mary Gannon Presenter: Ryo Yamaguchi Presenter: Stephen Motika
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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605 |
F869C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Improbable Pedagogies: Workshop-Based Approaches to Teaching Speculative Fiction
This panel explores teaching speculative fiction through workshops and exercises. The panel examines how in-class writing and peer feedback foster critical engagement with genre conventions like worldbuilding and characterization. Drawing on their experience as writers and educators, presenters offer new pedagogical frameworks blending genre analysis with creative practice to help students develop their voice and engage with real-world issues through imaginative storytelling.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Benjamin Warner Presenter: Benjamin Warner Presenter: Ron Tanner Presenter: Hannah Eko
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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610 |
F069C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B35D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B55D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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In Their Own Voice: The Student-Centered K-12 Creative Writing Classroom
We spend years working with youth, developing arts programs and facilitating writing workshops, but the core experience remains unchanged: a continual search to connect. The emotions involved—fear, joy, the craving for validation—are universal markers when teaching writing to young people. Amid concerns about the decline of literacy, comprehension, and creativity, many of our youth encounter barriers before they even pick up a pen. This panel explores how all students can own their voice.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Christopher Shipman Presenter: Annell Lopez Presenter: Brad Richard Presenter: Rosalynd Spencer Presenter: Andrea Young
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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620 |
F069C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Indigenous Aboriginal American Writers Caucus
Indigenous writers & scholars participate fluidly in AWP by teaching & directing affiliated programs, working as independent writers/scholars, in language revitalization, & 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 2026.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Mary Leauna Christensen Presenter: M.S. RedCherries Moderator: Abigail Chabitnoy
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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625 |
E969C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B55D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B75D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Infect & Inflame: Intimacies Between Translator & Text, Sponsored by ALTA
Literal translation practices can’t hold our source texts’ texture. The self infects and inflames translation: we must irritate English to create an effective equivalent. Considering our bodies as translation filters, we discard purity and embrace contamination. Five writer-translators will discuss and read translations from Maltese, German, Italian, Polish, and Spanish that approach intimacy and identity, investigating the blur between self and source.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Hannah V Warren Presenter: Magdalena Zurawski Presenter: John Barger Presenter: Miriam Calleja Shaw Presenter: Robert Shoemaker
Translation
Panel Discussion
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630 |
F669C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 E71EF2C9-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Ink Under Siege: Writing for Queer and Trans Teens in the Era of Book Bans
Over half of the ALA’s most-challenged books are LGBTQ-authored. Book bans soar, yet prohibition does not stop queer and trans teens from craving pages that name their presents and futures. How do we negotiate between honest storytelling and the reality of politicized classrooms, libraries, and locker rooms? Five queer and trans authors reveal how they smuggle first kisses, write the body, name gender euphoria, author messy truths, and navigate publishing in the era of outlawed YA literature.
Speaker(s): Moderator: JD Scott Presenter: Naomi Kanakia Presenter: Jen St. Jude Presenter: Tia Clark Presenter: Gloria Muñoz
Children’s & Young Adult Literature
Panel Discussion
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635 |
EA69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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"Inspired by a True Story": Fusing Fact and Fiction From Headlines to History
Long before Law & Order popularized the term “ripped from the headlines,” novelists have been folding real events into their work. This panel will explore how five contemporary novelists, whose works are influenced by real people and historical events, balance facts and fiction. What challenges and opportunities do narratives like this present? And what questions arise as authors sell and promote these books?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Julia Dahl Presenter: Sarah Seltzer Presenter: Steph Cha Presenter: Asha Lemmie Presenter: Elizabeth L. Silver
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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640 |
EB69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Is My Book Too Much? Publishing and Marketing Queasy Literature
The publishing world has a low risk tolerance. It likes books it knows will sell, because other books like it have sold. But what if there are no books out there like yours? And worse, what if your book is about things that just plain freak some people out? In this panel, four authors and publishers whose books involve tough subjects like autopsies, cannibalism, the afterlife, and depraved sexual fantasy will share their experiences writing, selling, and marketing difficult, original books.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Samuel Ashworth Presenter: Daria Lavelle Presenter: Monica Prince Presenter: Catherine Dang
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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645 |
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It Takes 2 to Make a Poem Go Right: Collaboration in Poetry
Collaborative poetry grew out of word games played by French surrealists in the 1920s. It was taken up a decade later by Japan’s Vou Club and then by Charles Henri Ford. After WWII, the Beat writers’ collaborative experiments resulted in the famous Pull My Daisy. In honor of this 100+ year tradition, panelists will discuss collaborative techniques and craft used to co-write a single poem to writing an entire book, and they'll share how collaboration has impacted their own writing.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Dustin Brookshire Presenter: Ben Kline Presenter: Caridad Moro-Gronlier Presenter: Denise Duhamel Presenter: Nicole Tallman
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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650 |
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It’s More Than the Pencils: How Baltimore Writer-Educators Protect Literacy
Literacy is a life skill and human right long denied to Black, Brown, and low-income communities. In Baltimore, where literacy rates fall below the national average, youth are criticized and criminalized for systemic failures beyond their control. Hear lessons learned by four Baltimore-based secondary educators and writers working to strengthen literacy in their classrooms and beyond.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Ashley Elizabeth Moderator: Kerry Graham Presenter: Wallace Lane Presenter: Katia Ulysse
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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655 |
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It’s Political, But It's Not Political Art
The act of writing is often political. But whereas “political art” aims to be prescriptive and morally assured, the strength of fiction remains in its ability to explore and complicate our long held beliefs, to muddy truths that once felt clear. The authors of this panel have wrestled with overtly political topics in their work—from immigration policy to state-enacted violence to the lasting damage of colonial history—but with approaches that focus on narrative and character.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Kevin Nguyen Moderator: Terry Nguyen Presenter: Jon Hickey Presenter: Karissa Chen Presenter: Alejandro Varela
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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660 |
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Jewish Writers Caucus
The Jewish Writers Caucus will invite 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: Margot Singer
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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665 |
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Joy Hellbent and Necessary: Poets Rising Up with Humor, Jubilation, and Delight
At such a joy-stealing—even joy-killing—time, what better resistance than, well, joy? We’ll discuss joy that doesn’t deny pain but engages with it—a moment of delight relished despite the news, an effervescent justice bubbling up in this heavy darkness, or else satire that turns toward the worst to poke fun at it. So, yes, come celebrate. Because joy—like poetry—can be a transgressive act of justice, of solidarity and survival, a downright refusal to surrender what makes life most worth living.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Joseph Lanham Presenter: Aimee Nezhukumatathil Presenter: CMarie Fuhrman Moderator: Nickole Brown Presenter: Douglas Kearney
Poetry Readings
Reading
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670 |
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Keeping Stories Safe: Holding Space for Appalachian Voices in the Efficiency Era
What happens in marginalized communities when austerity and the war on ideas threaten our literary traditions? Creatives and educators step up. In this panel, five Appalachian writers share how they cultivate opportunities for regional storytelling through higher education, literary series, community writing spaces, prison writing programs, and grassroots anthologies. The panel explores the urgency and impact of making space for Appalachian voices and offers tangible ways others can do the same.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Neema Avashia Moderator: Natalie Sypolt Presenter: Kari Gunter-Seymour Presenter: Amy Le Ann Richardson Presenter: Laura Leigh Morris
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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680 |
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Keeping the Love Alive: Tips & Tricks for Editing the nth Draft of your Novel.
You’ve finished your novel, but it needs at least one more edit to make sure your characters, plot and dialog are dynamic, and your prose sings. However, catching your writing tics, plot holes, trite descriptions, or other problems requires forcing yourself to see your work anew – or sometimes hiring an editor to help you do so. Five novelists discuss what they do when tackling a manuscript for the nth time, so they can edit it with fresh eyes and make it the best it can be.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Elysha Chang Moderator: Sally Wiener Grotta Presenter: R.L. Maizes Presenter: Lisa Rosenberg Presenter: Ruth Setton
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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685 |
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Kithship: A dialogue with Asian diasporic poet-scholars
This panel of Asian diasporic scholar-artists invites cross-genre possibilities of intimacy and kithship between Asia and the Asian diaspora. Panelists explore how poets theorize through poetry, and how Asian diasporic poets challenge the distinction between 'poet' and 'scholar' by crossing genre and geographic borders. We ask: How do Asian diasporic poet-scholars explore relationships to genre? How do such poet-scholars reconfigure dialogues around Asia America through their hybrid work?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Carlina Duan Moderator: Jasmine An Presenter: Jennifer S. Cheng Presenter: Sumita Chakraborty Presenter: Jeddie Sophronius
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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690 |
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Latinx 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: Ruben Quesada Moderator: Claudia Castro Luna Presenter: Alan Pelaez Lopez Presenter: Breena Nuñez Presenter: Sonia Guinansaca
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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700 |
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Launch Your Dream: Get That Lit Org Off the Ground
Every literary arts organization begins with an idea. We know what we know. But how to learn the rest? Large and small, new and longtime organization founders will talk about how they conceptualized their initiative, what they didn't know they didn't know, and how collaboration and community shaped their literary center along the way.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Karen Schubert Presenter: Michael Khandelwal Presenter: Joel Lesses Presenter: Phil Memmer Presenter: Trish Hopkinson
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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710 |
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Lessons Learned: What the Short Story Can Do for the Novel
We often find ourselves drawn to the novel, which, in its expansiveness, can offer endless possibilities for character development and plot. However, the short story's conciseness, velocity, and depth can be invaluable. This panel explores what the short story form can do for the novel from the perspectives of short story writers navigating long-form fiction.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Lydi Conklin Presenter: Marguerite Sheffer Presenter: Camille Acker Presenter: Deesha Philyaw Moderator: Annell Lopez
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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715 |
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LGBTQ Publishing Professionals on Queer Books
In this panel, two editors, an agent, a publicist, and a bookstore owner will examine the state of queer and trans books in 2026. In the wake of the recent proliferation of LGBTQ books released by mainstream publishers—and the attendant rise of book bans targeting many of those same titles—panelists will discuss the market for queer books, explore the the ecosystem of trade and independent presses publishing the work of LGBTQ writers, and offer takeaways for writers telling queer stories.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Maggie Cooper Presenter: Ezra Kupor Presenter: Jules Wernersbach Presenter: Amelia Possanza Presenter: Alicia Kroell
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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720 |
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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 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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723 |
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Liberated Spaces: Black-Owned Publishers and Booksellers Speak!
This panel brings together founders of legendary Black presses to discuss the archival impulse and struggle for self-determination connecting the work of Black publishing and bookselling of the past half century. Reflecting on institutional resilience and collaboration in the face of surveillance, censorship, and state repression, panelists offer the next generation of writers, publishers, and booksellers a blueprint for independence in turbulent times.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Haki Madhubuti Presenter: W Paul Coates Presenter: Kassahun Checole Presenter: Char Adams Moderator: Mikael Awake
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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725 |
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Lightning Strikes Twice: Writing and Editing Flash Fiction
Flash fiction has become a more preeminent form in recent history. As with all genres, it is primarily edited and published by the same people who write it. As flash is still a relatively new form, its current participants are defining what the form is and what it will be. This panel's participants, all successful flash fiction editors and writers, will discuss the challenges of paving the way for flash, while at the same time, succeeding with their own work, and how they balance both endeavors.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Michael Czyzniejewski Presenter: Kim Chinquee Presenter: Michelle Ross Presenter: Christopher Allen Presenter: Kim Magowan
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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730 |
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Literary Afterlives: Estates, Archives, and Stewardship
This panel explores the afterlives of literary work through the distinct lenses of executors, scholars, agents, and editors. How do we curate, care for, publish, and contextualize an author’s legacy? Panelists will share strategies for stewarding literature beyond the writer's life, including how to establish estates and archives, how to manage rights, and how to address the ethical and cultural questions that may arise when stewarding an author’s work after death.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Suzanna Tamminen Presenter: Lauri Scheyer Presenter: Sarah Sawyer Presenter: Sarah Yake Presenter: Peter Gizzi
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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735 |
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Literary Influence: Is it Homage or Theft?
In this panel, acclaimed writers whose fiction responds to other works will discuss their process, and the benefits, joys, and complexity of the practice of being in conversation with another writer. Both short and long fiction will be discussed. We’ll examine the grey area between homage and plagiarism and also discuss the relationship between two works and their interwoven connections, as one writer talks to another, sometimes across great spans of time, cultures, and distances.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Laura Spence-Ash Presenter: Caroline Kim Presenter: Jai Chakrabarti Presenter: Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry Presenter: A Bucak
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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740 |
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Literary Magazine Editing in Uncertain Times
Recent years have brought unsettling changes to the world of literary magazines, including turmoil in public arts funding. Given the complex landscape of rising costs, shifting values, and new forms of reader/contributor engagement, how can literary magazines respond? Editors from publications which regularly place work in the Best-of anthologies discuss how our current moment is impacting what they do. How do we serve readers, writers and the larger literary community in these uncertain times?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Emily Mitchell Presenter: Chinaecherem Obor Presenter: Elizabeth Kadetsky Presenter: Kyla Kupferstein Torres Presenter: Amy Bonnaffons
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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745 |
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Literary Podcasting and the Critical Conversation
The literary podcast offers a critical experience unlike the essay or the review. A dialectic form that rewards debate, the podcast allows writers and readers a framework for civil, even friendly critical disagreement, something of a lost art in 2025. The creators, hosts, and producers of five literary podcasts will discuss how they launched their shows, the nuts and bolts of production and distribution, and how the podcast form has affected their literary sensibility.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Dan Kois Presenter: Michele Moses Presenter: Matthew Smith Presenter: Lauren Wethers
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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750 |
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Literary Podcasting: A New Sonic Space
As audiobooks and streaming grow, podcasts about writing and reading are vital to literary communities. Blending literature, music, criticism, and sound design, many go beyond author interviews to explore hybrid audio forms. Seasoned as well as novice producers explore the following: What are the creative and logistical possibilities of the literary podcast, especially in collaboration with media, publishers, and journals? What do audiences want? Why podcasting, and what does its future hold?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jessica Nelson Presenter: Bethanne Patrick Presenter: Dawnie Walton Presenter: Elena Passarello Presenter: Trey Burnart Hall
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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755 |
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Little Magazines in Urgent Times: Editing for Community and Change
As literary publishing evolves with indie presses and online magazines, editors are now more focused than ever on crafting a publication that stands out. This panel explores literary publishing as a means to community building, sustaining artistic practice, and engaging with communities across cultures and digital spaces. Editors from The Georgia Review, The Hopkins Review, Brink Literary, Small Orange, and Poetry Northwest will discuss curation, editorial life, and how to start a journal.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Carlie Hoffman Presenter: Keetje Kuipers Presenter: Hannah Bonner Presenter: Gerald Maa
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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760 |
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Living Truth: The Life and Legacy of Nikki Giovanni, a Tribute Reading
A tribute reading to honor and celebrate the living legacy of literary luminary, Nikki Giovanni, the peerless poet, who died in December 2024. Giovanni transformed our creative culture for decades. In 2019, Furious Flower Poetry Center (JMU) convened a seminar to study and celebrate the work of Nikki Giovanni – with Giovanni attending. Poets who attended the seminar where Giovanni spoke, will read her poems and excerpts from commencement speeches and lectures, testifying to her living legacy.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Nikki Fragala Barnes Presenter: Amy Alvarez Presenter: Britny Cordera Presenter: KENDRA AYA Presenter: Dominique Wilson
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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765 |
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Magics, Myths, and Realities in the Mississippi Delta
Ryan Coogler’s cinematic masterpiece, Sinners, brought the history and mythology of the Mississippi Delta to life on the big screen through a celebration of Black culture as well as a critique of whiteness. In this multi-genre panel, five writers will read from their respective works to highlight the myths, magic, struggles, as well as celebrations of Black culture and critiques of the continuation of whiteness and its violence, within the landscape of the Mississippi Delta.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Michael Copperman Presenter: Sheree Renée Thomas Presenter: W. Ralph Eubanks Moderator: Katherine Moore Presenter: Danian Jerry
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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770 |
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Making An Old Thing New: Research, Relics and Resurrection in Poetry and Fiction
The five Black writers here craft works that engage in radical re-imagining and re-visioning. Helping to restore the humanity of the missing and barely known, these poets and novelists are tending history as they know it to be, not as it has been handed to them. Through docupoetics, lyrical research, and creative counter-narratives, they will illuminate craft and research processes, help expand the canon, and sharpen our understanding of the value of the personal linked to the historical.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Remica Bingham-Risher Presenter: Dolen Perkins-Valdez Presenter: Afaa M. Weaver Presenter: Princess Perry Presenter: Tim Seibles
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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775 |
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Making Tactile Literary Devices
How do tactile activities enliven a creative writing classroom? Zine-inspired book formats that serve as tactile literary devices invite undergraduate students and community workshop participants to engage in multimodal thinking about their stories and poems beyond the written word, particularly during the revision process. Three ‘zinesters share their mini book-making practices in this hands-on and participatory panel. Attendees will receive a take-home toolkit for classroom application.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Ebony Flowers Presenter: KC Councilor Presenter: Dawn Wing
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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780 |
F069C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Marketing Your Book on a Shoestring
How can you get the word out on a new book when you have a limited budget? Small-press publishers explain how to generate visibility at low cost. This discussion covers setting up readings and interviews; finding book reviewers; and getting books into stores, libraries, and classrooms. Also on the agenda are new-media options such as blogs and social platforms, as well as digital retailers and book clubs. Panelists are independent publishers who have developed successful marketing strategies.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Diane Goettel Presenter: Linda Kleinbub Presenter: William Burleson Moderator: Thaddeus Rutkowski Presenter: Gloria Mindock
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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785 |
E769C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Material Encounters: On teaching the multimodal
This panel explores the relationship between multimodal writing and pedagogy. We gather writers who explore book arts; materiality; and digital, sonic, and visual textures in their teaching, in addition to their creative practices. Panelists explore questions such as: What are the pedagogical possibilities of teaching multimodal genres in the creative writing workshop? What offerings and/or productive tensions might emerge from teaching lyric genres in dialogue with image, collage, and sound?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Kathy Wu Presenter: Kelly Hoffer Presenter: Sarah Minor Presenter: Anna Lena Phillips Bell Moderator: Carlina Duan
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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790 |
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Memory as Borderland in Immigrant Narratives: The Refuge & Burden of Remembering
This panel explores memory as a borderland in immigrant narratives, across both fiction and creative nonfiction, focusing on how personal, familial, and collective memory shapes identity across geographies. Writers from Bosnia, China, Nepal, the Philippines, and Russia examine memory as both refuge and burden, with some also reimagining ways of being through the interplay of memory, migration, and queerness.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Lana Spendl Presenter: Marianne Villanueva Presenter: Olga Zilberbourg Presenter: Yang Huang Presenter: Samrat Upadhyay
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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795 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Mic Drop: Tips on Performance from Page to Stage
So focused on the craft of writing, many of us forget that the reading of one’s own work is also a skill that can be practiced and strengthened. The experienced poets on this panel will discuss how they utilize the stage as a space to create and deepen community as well as offer practical suggestions for incorporating simple performance techniques that poets and writers can use to increase engagement and the reach of their work.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Rosa Castellano Presenter: Diamond Forde Presenter: Ysabel Gonzalez Presenter: Joshua Nguyen Presenter: Junious Ward
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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800 |
E869C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Mining the Past: Creative Nonfiction in the Archives
Deep inside libraries, museums, and historical societies, boxes of delicately preserved letters, manuscripts, and objects hold intimate stories that can breathe life into investigations of the past. But accessing archives can be intimidating for writers who aren’t academics or historians. Five authors who have conducted archival research for diverse creative nonfiction works will discuss how they entered these esoteric spaces and explored the archives in their writing.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Kristen Martin Moderator: Heather Radke Presenter: Sasha Bonét Presenter: Jordan Kisner Presenter: Harrison Hill
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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805 |
EE69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Mizna Presents: “HUNA – Writing Resistance in the Now”
To write resistively from the US is to reckon with many colonial presents: how imperialism abroad is connected to domestic oppression, how resisting fascism requires both urgency & slow thinking. As SWANA writers, how might disrupting normative western expectations around craft & form, in turn, confront imperialism’s un/conscious? We explore how literature can invite interrogation of one’s positionality and confront present horrors, guiding us to a collective future beyond imperial domination.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Issam Zineh Presenter: Jameelah Lang Presenter: Sarah Aziza Presenter: Abdelrahman ElGendy Moderator: George Abraham
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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810 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B35D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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More Than Memory: the Art of Jewish Storytelling in Creative Nonfiction
Jewish storytelling, despite its extensive history, is often misunderstood, even by those who practice it. We will explore past and current dynamics of this art form and how to develop it as contemporary creative non-fiction. Panelists will exhibit examples of Jewish creative non-fiction and consider how these works have fortified our writing. We will explore the multifaceted nature of Jewish identity, and discuss bringing the layers of our Jewishness to a broad audience, Jewish and otherwise.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Jonathan Penton Moderator: Kenning JP Garcia Presenter: Hannah Cohen Presenter: Jessie Askinazi Presenter: Michael Black
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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815 |
EE69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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More than Ourselves: Re-Organizing Publishers after NEA Cuts, Sponsored by CLMP
The recent cancellation of NEA grants amounts to a potential loss of over $1 million for more than 50 literary publishers in the coming years. What do such shortfalls mean for independent publishing? How can literary organizations recover and galvanize community support? This group of publishers will share concrete strategies—from grant research and fundraising initiatives to collaborative projects and joint programming—for organizing anew as the publishing industry grows more precarious.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Neelanjana Banerjee Presenter: Moheb Soliman Presenter: Jennifer Acker Presenter: Stephen Motika
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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820 |
F569C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 E71EF2C9-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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More Than the Sum of Its Parts: Crafting and Revising Your Poetry Manuscript
What makes a poetry manuscript more than a collection of recent work? Four poets and a poetry editor discuss the craft of the full-length book, from structure and organization to thematic and narrative throughlines. How do you decide what poems belong, which to cut, and what’s missing? How do projects evolve over time? Panelists share insights from writing and publishing collections with presses big and small, also describing the role of peers, mentors, and editors in the revision process.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Rosanna Oh Moderator: Emily Polson Presenter: C.T. Salazar Presenter: David Groff Presenter: Maria Zoccola
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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825 |
F269C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Narrative Constellations: Exploring the Boundaries of the Novel-in-Stories
Novels-in-stories create layered, novelistic worlds through linkages ranging from traditional to experimental. This panel explores the novel-in-stories as constellation, from building classic connections among stories through character, theme, object, and setting to yield a unified whole, to pushing the boundaries of bridging “pieces” that may or may not stand alone. Panelists discuss how the novel-in-stories differs from a story collection or novel, and unravel the form’s many possibilities.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Cynthia Reeves Presenter: Michael Martone Presenter: Rachel Cantor Presenter: Laura Bonazzoli Presenter: Sidik Fofana
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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835 |
EB69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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No Más Promesas: Protest & Power
This multigenre reading by acclaimed writers with Puerto Rican connections focuses on writing in these precarious times and protests against oppression and US colonialism. What does the path of protest writing look like as a transformative experience and collective action? How can writers develop literary strategies to reframe resistance? How do we teach protest writing and craft? Our reading will explore how our words galvanize communities and address the relationship between protest and power.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Jennifer Maritza McCauley Moderator: Dorsía Smith Silva Presenter: Vincent Toro Presenter: Kimberly Reyes
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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840 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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No Pants? No Problem: "Planners" Share Their Outlining Processes
Legend says there are two types of writers: "Pantsers" (who write by the seat of their pants), and us, the "Planners." Our outline-loving presenters, with a collective fifteen published books, work in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, playwriting, anthology, and translation. We'll share the details of our diverse, self-honed processes, including: drawing, diagramming, plot "highways" that allow for "offroading," and open first drafts leading to beat sheets. Plus our love of art supplies!
Speaker(s): Presenter: Miranda Beverly-Whittemore Moderator: Brian Gresko Presenter: Lina Ferreira Presenter: Melissa Febos Presenter: Sakinah Hofler
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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845 |
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Not an MFA 2.0: Navigating Scholar-Writer Identity in the Creative Writing PhD
The creative writing PhD is often misunderstood as MFA 2.0. More than a space to grow creatively, the PhD demands fluency in academic language and critical theory. These pressures can intensify impostor syndrome, particularly for students navigating institutional definitions of ‘rigor’ and 'critical studies' which are shaped by race, class, and cultural assumptions. This panel invites a candid conversation about the realities of the CW PhD and how we might redefine the scholar-writer identity.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jane Kalu Presenter: Ariel Katz Presenter: Clancy Tripp Presenter: Arah Ko Presenter: Daniel Barnum
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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850 |
E869C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Not Even Past: teaching the personal essay using old texts
Although writers like Sappho and Shakespeare lived centuries ago, their works remain vibrant. Yet, in an age of digital media and declining literature enrollments, proving the relevance of “old books” is challenging, especially to undergraduates. This panel proposes a personal approach—inviting scholars and writers to reflect on intimate encounters with pre-Industrial texts. Topics may include Shakespeare and divorce, Dante and gender, Hippocrates and health care, and St. Agatha and embodiment.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Anastasia Nikolis Presenter: Maud McInerney Presenter: Ben Pladek Presenter: Julia Mueller Presenter: Lisa Cunningham
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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855 |
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Nourishing Our Cities with Poetry: PNW city laureates on programs and engagement
City poet laureates are charged with creating inclusive programming that engages a wide swath of people. Mery, Jenni, and Marie will share their outreach and implementation processes for their most successful events in the role of city poet laureate. Participants will learn about this unique civic role, along with creative strategies for successful outreach and implementation that they can take back to their local communities. Participants will learn how to champion this important civic role.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Marie Marchand Presenter: Marie Marchand Presenter: Mery Smith Presenter: Jennifer Passaro
Program Development
Panel Discussion
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860 |
F469C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Now More Than Ever: cultivating and sustaining writing communities
Creating and sustaining creative communities is crucial for the success and well-being of writers, but forming and maintaining such communities can be challenging. Writing communities provide opportunities for writers to connect, forge new friendships, and provide resources for support, positive activism, and inspiration. This panel of experienced organizers will discuss and offer practical tips for building successful live and virtual writing-focused events, reading series, and writing groups.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Rebecca Aronson Presenter: Emmy Pérez Presenter: Lorna Dee Cervantes Presenter: Guadalupe Mendez Presenter: Lisa Hase-Jackson
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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865 |
E869C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Now More Than Ever: The Vital Need for Literary Centers in These Uncertain Times
Literary centers play an increasingly vital role in the literary community, in the age of massive cuts in universities & arts funding and writers everywhere struggling to find a stable community. Directors from four prominent centers discuss the innovative programming accessible to both established writers & those without traditional access to literary programs & education, including at-risk populations, all while providing teaching & mentorship opportunities for MFA program graduates.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Karen Schubert Moderator: Michael Khandelwal Presenter: Arleta Little Presenter: Shawn Girvan Presenter: Marceline White
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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870 |
F869C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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On Our Own Terms: First-Generation Immigrants Writing about Asia
Writers from China, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Singapore share how their perspectives as first-generation Asian immigrants inform their novels, short stories, and poetry. How do they write about home and diaspora, especially when some cultures and political worlds are very different from the US? What stories “travel well,” and which meet resistance? How much do they translate, linguistically and culturally? Panelist will discuss how to challenge prevailing Western ideas about Asia and navigate the publishing industry while hewing to their voices and vision.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Shubha Sunder Presenter: M Lin Presenter: Grace Liew Presenter: Dur E Aziz Amna Presenter: Yu-Mei Balasingamchow
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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875 |
EB69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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On the Ethics of Writing Violence: A Roundtable Discussion
Four writers of nonfiction speak from experience to reflect on: *how to write ethically about abjection, humiliation, self-harm and suicide *accepting the risks of exposure to disturbing images and documents *ways of contending with the difficulties and ethics of writing about violence against children *weathering familial and community fallout from truth-telling, such as disclosing domestic violence *remaining vigilant regarding the dangers of appropriating or exploiting tragedy and the dead
Speaker(s): Moderator: Julija Sukys Presenter: David Griffith Presenter: Krystal Sital Presenter: Wes Jamison
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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880 |
EE69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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On the Up and UP: Debut Authors Publishing with University Presses
Publishing with a university press isn’t just for scholarly books. For many creative writers, university presses offer opportunities to break into an increasingly competitive literary landscape, especially when publishing a debut book. Bringing together voices from across genres, this panel explores their motivations for taking this path, the unique opportunities and challenges working with university presses present, and how their experiences illuminate the changes in the publishing landscape.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Ashley Anderson Presenter: Sebastián Páramo Presenter: Laura Chow Reeve Presenter: Bailey Moore Presenter: Samantha Edmonds
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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885 |
E769C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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One Hundred Faces of the Beloved: Forms and Features of the Ghazal
Agha Shahid Ali likens the ghazal to a necklace strung with “Ravishing DisUnities,” of which each stone is an autonomous couplet that shines in “vivid isolation.” This panel explores the distinct features of the ghazal: the rhyme-refrain scheme, poet’s signature, independent couplets, playful yet profound “ghazal spirit”, while tracking the evolution of the form from ancient to contemporary. It also pays a tribute, on the 25th anniversary of his death, to Shahid who brought the ghazal to the US.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Samyak Shertok Presenter: Eman Hassan Presenter: Jacqueline Osherow Presenter: Raena Shirali
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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890 |
F269C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Our Brave Stories: Writing Diverse Mental Health Narratives
Five diverse traditionally published authors—Latina, Black, Indian American, Native American, and Appalachian—share how they write mental health with truth and care, challenging harmful tropes and honoring their own lived experience. This panel offers tools for writers, teachers, and publishers to craft nuanced, culturally rooted narratives that break stigma and reflect the full complexity of mental health, particularly in young adult and children’s fiction.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Rocky Callen Presenter: Alechia Dow Presenter: Nora Shalaway Carpenter Presenter: Sonia Patel Presenter: James Bird
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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900 |
EB69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B55D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Our Unique Brains: Neurodivergent Writers Share Strategies
Approximately 20% of the population identifies as neurodivergent. If you’re among this group, you’ve likely seen your writing benefit from your unique brain through hyperfocus, attention to detail, memory retention, thinking outside the box, and more. You’ve also probably experienced challenges to process and craft around these same skills and qualities. In this panel, genre-diverse writers with ADHD, ASD, OCD, and dyslexia share their strategies and routines, their wisdom and reflections.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Eshani Surya Presenter: KRISTINE ESSER SLENTZ Presenter: Emily Farris Presenter: Alex Alberto Moderator: Samantha Paige Rosen
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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905 |
E869C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Penning Resistance from Empire's Margins: DMV writers on radical art's power
Emerging writers living at the margins of empire, both physically and positionally, in conversation with acclaimed fiction author and Maryland native Rion Scott on radical art's possibilities in these times. Panelists will discuss the current social and political context near the heart of an increasingly authoritarian political system, their work concerned with racial, gender, economic and labor justice, the legacy of radical writers before them, and the power and possibility in radical fiction.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Arielle Heiman Presenter: Kivel Carson Presenter: Taina Patmore Presenter: Christiana McClain Moderator: Rion Scott
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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910 |
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Permission to Play: Toward a Creatively Limber Writing Practice
Play isn’t frivolous, nor is it antithetical to serious and complex work. Rather, it can be an essential part of the creative process. This panel explores how play—through form, subject, voice, the line, and more—can help us stay nimble in our writing, address complicated subject matter, and challenge ourselves and our readers. Panelists will offer concrete strategies to help attendees approach their own work with a fresh and open perspective.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Catherine Pierce Presenter: Michael Kardos Presenter: Nicky Beer Presenter: Derrick Harriell Presenter: A Bucak
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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915 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Picture Writing Inside Out: Four Women on Making Comics
How do words and pictures interact to make something new? Call it sequential arts, graphic novels, cartoons or comics, four accomplished women authors of books that explore family and friends, women's sports, immigration, and AI, discuss how experimentation with words and pictures transforms storytelling practices, with a focus on the possibilities for writers with little to no training in the visual arts. Panelists will share their work, career path, and possible futures for graphic narrative.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Ebony Flowers Moderator: Jesse Lee Kercheval Presenter: AMY KURZWEIL Presenter: Kelcey Ervick
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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920 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Pigeon Goes to College: Picture Books as a Framework for Lifelong Learning
From circle time to college (and beyond), this panel of educators, writers, and kidlit professionals discusses how picture books serve as tools for teaching and learning craft and content throughout life. Young learners discover their own world and the world of others while developing reading skills and social-emotional awareness. But picture books also enable readers and writers of all ages to grapple with complex subjects and craft compelling stories.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Sylvia Whitman Moderator: Sylvie Shaffer Presenter: Sylvie Shaffer Presenter: Emily Rosenthal Presenter: Venise Duchesne
Children’s & Young Adult Literature
Panel Discussion
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925 |
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Playful Critique: Classroom Games for Teaching How to Give Feedback
Research has confirmed the critical role of play in the teaching of writing—but what about playful feedback? Five professors of creative writing will share play-based strategies for teaching students how to offer compassionate yet constructive feedback to their peers. You’ll leave with practical new ways to integrate feedback games into your classroom, including revision labs, generation stations, small-group contracts, and ungrading.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Brooke Wonders Presenter: Bronwen Tate Presenter: Ellen Kombiyil Presenter: Jenni Moody Presenter: Annah Browning
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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930 |
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Playing the Comps Game: How Agents & Editors Use Them & How to Choose Them
Comparative titles (aka comp titles) are often a point of frustration and often confusion, for querying authors. So why do they matter? In this panel, two editors & two literary agents will break down how they use comps, what they look for, & share real-life examples of what has and hasn't worked in the past. They’ll also address some common comps questions: Can I use other media as a comp? How old should they be? What if I feel my book has no comps? We’ll finish with a Q&A session.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Amy Bishop-Wycisk Presenter: Annie Hwang Presenter: Caroline Bleeke Presenter: Elizabeth DeMeo Presenter: Mina Hamedi
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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935 |
E769C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Poetics, Politics, and Ethics of Memory, Imagination, and Mourning in the Elegy
The conventional (pastoral) elegy opens with lament, rises to praise, and concludes in consolation. But what happens when we’re unable to grieve or there's no closure? When the traditional form fails to reflect our grieving experiences, how can we reinvent it? This panel considers the limitations and possibilities of the elegy by exploring the politics of memory and mourning, radical empathy for the problematic loved ones, anticipatory grief, and memory and imagination as the door to the dead.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Samyak Shertok Presenter: Prageeta Sharma Presenter: Saddiq Dzukogi Presenter: Victoria Chang Presenter: Diana Khoi Nguyen
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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940 |
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Poetry & Revolution: How Black and Brown Oral Tradition Creates Active Literacy
This panel will explore Youth Speaks' approach to Active Literacy. We will outline how to create learning environments where young people can rely on and develop their voice, identity, power, and imagination through poetry and spoken word. Panelists will share pedagogical antidotes, ground in Black and Brown poetic histories, and dream around the future of the oral tradition as working artists and educators.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Vania Gutierrez Presenter: Aleah Bradshaw Presenter: Julissa Moolenaar Presenter: Sainey Ceesay
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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945 |
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Poetry and Poetics of War
What does it mean to write a war poem and how does poetry of war relate to poetry of witness? How are traumatic experiences represented on the page, including both personal and generational trauma? Our panel explores these questions from a number of different perspectives in an attempt to illuminate different approaches to war poetry. We also discuss the poetics and ethics of writing about war, including the role that a poet’s relationship to language plays in how they conceive of their work.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Alen Hamza Presenter: Armen Davoudian Presenter: Valzhyna Mort Presenter: Julia Kolchinsky (formerly Dasbach) Presenter: S Kim
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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950 |
F269C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Poetry and the Sacred
Daily, news reports and think-pieces describe how institutions are under attack and how things that were once considered sacred are no longer revered. The profane seems to be threatening both secular and religious ideals ranging from habeas corpus to empathy. For as long as we’ve had notions of the sacred, we’ve turned to poetry to help us find and define it. In this panel, poets from multiple religious and secular perspectives will discuss how their work connects to the sacred.
Speaker(s): Moderator: James Davis May Presenter: Jared Harél Presenter: Megan Pinto Presenter: Hayan Charara Presenter: Philip Metres
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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955 |
F269C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Poetry at the Intersection of Science, Ethics, and Care
This panel brings together poets who work in the sciences to explore how their practice shapes the ethical commitments and imaginative possibilities of their craft—particularly around embodiment, ethics, and care. Panelists reflect on writing within and against the systems they inhabit, how interdisciplinary thinking informs poetic precision and complexity, and what poetry reveals about the possibilities and limits of scientific understanding.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Issam Zineh Moderator: Nina Pelaez Presenter: Randall Mann Presenter: M. Cynthia Cheung
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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960 |
F269C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Poetry from Nosotros: Bilingual Poetry Craft & Criticism
Poetry, bilingualism, and identity converge as they resist hegemonic notions and reveal cultural cartographies and collective memories. The bilingual writers on this panel explore how they write, translate, and share their translingual work. The dialogue will shed light on how language constructs identity and a sense of belonging. They will share opportunities and challenges of bilingualism and reflect upon their experiences in the current cultural environment of the United States.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Manuel Iris Presenter: Jennifer Rathbun Presenter: Cristian Gomez Presenter: Mauricio Espinoza
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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965 |
F269C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Poetry in Translation: Sound and Musicality Around the World, Sponsored by ALTA
Can sound and musicality be translated? Taking cues from their translations of poetry from India, Chile, Cuba, and Argentina, and Spain, the participants will consider: What happens to sound and musicality as it travels in and through translation? What is the relationship between sound, musicality, voice and memory, identity, race, and gender & sexuality in the translation of poetry?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sergio Waisman Presenter: Kristin Dykstra Presenter: Anna Deeny Morales Presenter: Karen Bishop Presenter: Vivek Narayanan
Translation
Panel Discussion
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970 |
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Poets Containing Multitudes: The Benefits of Cross-Genre Influence
Poets “and” writers? How about just “writers”! In this panel, five poets will discuss how writing in more than one genre—from fiction to criticism to essays—has impacted craft and literary trajectory. They’ll share why they choose to approach certain types of work in a particular genre, what each genre gives to the other, and whether they feel certain genres encompass built-in constraints—or lack thereof—to break down genre bias and inspire more possibilities in a writing life.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Rob Arnold Presenter: Sasha LaPointe Presenter: Erin McCoy Moderator: Abi Pollokoff Presenter: Cody Stetzel
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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975 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Poets Duel with AI: LLMS VS. POETS
When LLMs (Large Language Models) threaten the pen as sword, light, and saber, poets must unmodel, dueling with computers. This poet panel contends with AI in recent work either as a subject or practice, engaging in its ethics as well as the vexed histories and states of computationally generated (poetic) output. We view this liminal moment (full of limits/bias) as the very site of poetic engagement, where poetry might reveal and transgress the now ever-haunting boundaries of the AI generation.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Vincent Cellucci Presenter: Annelyse Gelman Presenter: Ronaldo Wilson Presenter: Ian Hatcher Moderator: Angeliki Sioli
Poetry Readings
Reading
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980 |
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"Pop Quiz, Hot Shot: Why Pop Culture Matters in Our Writing”
Writers are often dissuaded from including pop culture in their work; many internalize the notion that incorporating it excludes readers and keeps their work from being timeless. But often the opposite is true—pop culture connects us, gives us shared experiences. The movies, shows, music, sports, and books we grow up with are how we learn to understand ourselves and the world. As for the timeless argument, isn’t it better to root our stories in a time and place? For our work to be time capsules?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Melissa Fite Johnson Presenter: Gary Jackson Presenter: Leah Umansky Presenter: W. Todd Kaneko Presenter: Maria Zoccola
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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985 |
F269C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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POV Sluts
Has creative usage of the first person plural ever gotten you hot and bothered? Find yourself sweating in the presence of a second person narrator? Are you having naughty dreams about that unexpected third person omniscient you stumbled upon? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you might be a Point of View Slut! Join five fiction writers for a discussion on POV and how bucking traditional perspectives can elevate your fiction and drive yourself (and your readers) wild.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Nic Anstett Presenter: Jeffrey Xiong Presenter: Mariah Rigg Presenter: Ploi Pirapokin Presenter: Megan Milks
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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990 |
EB69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Prose, Poetry, and Play: Game Design as a Literary Practice
The world of narrative games is a site of rich literary possibility, expanding notions of genre and inspiring the invention of new storytelling forms. In this panel, writers who have also published tabletop “story games,” narrative video games, and interactive fiction will explore the practice of writing games. Is there a narrative games canon? How might a writer of “traditional” prose find pathways into games? What stories are best told through interactive, collaborative experiences of play?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Nat Mesnard Presenter: Brigitte Winter Presenter: Erin Roberts Presenter: Sharang Biswas Presenter: David Ring
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1000 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Publishing as Community Care and Creative Practice: Beyond the Corporate Gates
Writers face a publishing landscape dominated by five major publishers, but thriving community-centered alternatives offer meaningful pathways that prioritize relationships over corporate metrics. This panel brings together outlaw writers and grassroots-oriented industry professionals who've navigated diverse publishing—from zines to university presses—showing how community approaches can be more fulfilling and financially sustainable than traditional corporate publishing.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Ariel Gore Presenter: Muffy Bolding Presenter: Ayun Halliday Presenter: Adrian Shirk Presenter: China Martens
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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1005 |
E769C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Publishing Reimagined: Fresh Models for a Changing Industry
It’s often said lately that the publishing industry is “broken”. But that oversimplification deserves a closer look–not only at what’s currently not working but also and especially at organizations and companies that are finding success through real innovation. Our panel brings together thought leaders from various areas of the industry–publishers, editors, a publicist, and a reporter– to shine a light on who is bringing fresh new ideas and methods to publishing, and how well they are working.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Henriette Lazaridis Presenter: Anne Trubek Presenter: Kathleen Schmidt Presenter: Jane Friedman Presenter: Anjali Mitter Duva
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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1015 |
F569C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Queer Nostalgia in Fiction
Nostalgia can be a powerful inspiration for fiction writers, yet for LGBTQ+ authors looking to the past can prove paradoxical. On the one hand, nostalgia can be a source of queer joy, a celebration of unique communities and their cultural contributions. On the other, traumatic aspects of our history can make it difficult to look back. The four novelists on this panel tangle with the paradox of queer nostalgia, redeeming the joyful aspects of LGBTQ+ history without ignoring its hard truths.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Christopher Tradowsky Presenter: Greg Hewett Presenter: Raki Kopernik Presenter: David Crouse
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1020 |
EB69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Queer+ Ekphrasis: Investigations and Celebrations
Is ekphrasis a uniquely queer-friendly genre? With intimacy, rage, eros, sublimity, transgression, and disruption, such poems are often at their best when they defy boundaries and categories. We will explore and celebrate together the ways that ekphrasis and queerness interact in our writing, as well as how such work is necessary for our futures. Note: “Queer+” indicates that our discussion will make space for other intersectionalities at play in our writerly encounters with art.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Nicky Beer Presenter: Blas Falconer Presenter: Ava Winter Presenter: Brenda Shaughnessy Presenter: jason b. crawford
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1025 |
F269C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B35D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Reading and Writing in Times of Political Upheaval
Political upheaval creates challenges for writers: how do we teach controversial topics, share work when traditional channels feel restrictive, and maintain our voices during tense times? This panel examines how writers throughout history have adapted—journalists creating theater, poets launching zines, educators developing new approaches. Our panelists explore how these strategies can guide today's writers seeking innovative ways to reach audiences and navigate challenging environments.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Neda Semnani Presenter: Maggie Messitt Moderator: Sheri Booker Presenter: Mila Sanina Presenter: Purvi Shah
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1035 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B35D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B75D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Resourcing Resilience: Strategies for Navigating Organizational Change
Octavia Butler wrote that “the only lasting truth is change.” Hear from three leaders who are navigating this truth within the lives of their organizations by using cultural, creative, and spiritual practices that help them to cultivate stability, root in wisdom, activate joy, metabolize stress and pain, and to find strength and courage in connection amidst pervasive uncertainties and the realities of accelerating and ongoing organizational change.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Arleta Little Presenter: Lisa Willis Presenter: Kimberly A.C. Wilson
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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1040 |
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Rewriting Stories that History Forgot
This panel considers how historical fiction can reimagine familiar narratives, giving agency to voices often silenced or overlooked. How can this genre intervene to retell history from new and exciting angles? What responsibilities do writers face when fictionalizing real people and events? Panelists will discuss the creative and ethical dimensions of rewriting the past, share their experience working with archival materials, and offer insights into the power—and limits—of narrative reinvention.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Maurice Carlos Ruffin Presenter: Rebecca Lehmann Moderator: Sandra Simonds Presenter: Matt Bell
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1045 |
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Rooted and Rising: Comunidad Latina Literary Kinship in the DC/Maryland Scene
Rooted in the DC/Maryland literary scene, this panel brings together Latina writers who’ve built a creative kinship through mutual aid, mentorship, and craft. We explore how the local community sustains us in a field that often isolates us, and how editing each other’s work, amplifying platforms, and sharing cultural language have helped us survive and thrive. This is a conversation about radical literary care, place-based solidarity, and writing beyond competition.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Ofelia Montelongo Presenter: Lupita Aquino Presenter: Patricia Coral Presenter: Lorena Ortiz Presenter: Anna Lapera
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1050 |
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Sacred Science & Rational Spirit: Black Knowledge Systems in Contemporary Drama
This panel explores how Black American playwrights and screenwriters engage science and spirituality as distinct yet powerful frameworks for storytelling. Panelists will share craft strategies for authentic representation, examine audience reception across communities, and reflect on how dramatic writing can illuminate these ways of knowing. Rooted in Black cultural traditions, the session honors both empirical and intuitive approaches to truth with integrity and depth.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Veronique MacRae Moderator: David Johnson Presenter: Masha Dowell Presenter: Jordan Mims
Playwriting & Screenwriting
Panel Discussion
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1055 |
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Said and Unsaid: Crafting Silence in Poetry
Of the poet’s tools, Li-Young Lee praises the “different colors and shades” of silence, while Jane Hirshfield calls intersections of language and silence “thresholds” for the “marriage of said and unsaid.” This panel explores the craft of silences: pauses, line breaks, blank space, hesitation, disruption, and implication. Using models from their own and others’ work, panelists reveal how silences shape poems, heighten consciousness, manage risks of miscommunication, and counteract daily chatter.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Randall Mann Moderator: Allison Adair Presenter: Gabrielle Bates Presenter: Sandra Lim
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1060 |
F269C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Say My Name, Say My Name: Reclaiming Identity in the Face of Violence
Five writers across genres explore the power and problem of naming as an act of craft—how names inform identity, claim space, and carry histories. Panelists will explore nuances of choosing whether and how to name. They confront and complicate the power structures of familial naming, indigenous naming, multilingual naming, queer naming, trans naming, and the empowerment of naming perpetrators of violence. They navigate how naming, as artistic tool and cultural terrain, can resist erasure.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jenny Molberg Presenter: Jameelah Lang Presenter: Courtney Faye Taylor Presenter: Felicia Zamora Presenter: Meg Day
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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1065 |
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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!
Playwriting & Screenwriting
Panel Discussion
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1070 |
F169C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B35D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B75D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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SCRIPT CURIOUS: How Book Writers Can ‘Beat Their Own Path’ into Screenwriting
Shields & Searle—co-writers on the feature film I’ll Show You Mine (Duplass Bros.) – discuss seguing into scripts & analyze popular scriptwriting templates. Searle cracks open the ‘Nutshell Technique’ & McKee’s STORY (a book that Shields finds ‘useless’). Shields deconstructs Freytag’s pyramid (7 beats), Aristotle’s 3-acts (14 beats) & Syd Field's 7 beats (5 in Shields’ version). Learn how two book writers 'beat the odds' into feature film writing & how they find ways to ‘beat the beats.’
Speaker(s): Presenter: Elizabeth Searle Presenter: David Shields
Playwriting & Screenwriting
Panel Discussion
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1075 |
F169C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B35D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Sea Creatures, Space, and Words: Discovering New Subject Matter While Parenting
Writing takes both time and brain-space. So does caring for children—and while, as any parent-writer will tell you, finding balance can feel impossible, spending time with kids can also yield surprising discoveries and writerly obsessions, even for those who aren’t writing about children. Panelists will share their experiences finding fruitful new subject matter through interactions with children and offer strategies for staying attuned to potential material (and making time to write it down).
Speaker(s): Moderator: Catherine Pierce Presenter: Derrick Harriell Presenter: Beth Kander-Dauphin Presenter: Charity Yoro Presenter: Catherine Gray
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1080 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Selling Your Essay Without Selling Yourself: Leveraging Identity in Publishing
Five writers spanning multiple sexualities, ethnicities, disability statuses, and generations explore the difference between authentically reflecting on personal experiences and oversharing for publication. We ask questions at the heart of writing personal essays: What does it mean to write your truth? How will future you feel about what you shared with the world? How can you write about your identities without exploiting the parts of yourself that editors find timely–or shrinking to fit a mold?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Alyson Pomerantz Presenter: Mark Williams Moderator: Jacqueline LeKachman Presenter: Damon Colquhoun Presenter: Emillio Mesa
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1085 |
EE69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Shapeshifting: Visions of Resurgence in Indigenous Art-Poetry
Five Indigenous writers highlight the dynamic shapes that empower Native poetry. From clay to camera; pictograph to performance; installations to experimental forms—Indigenous poets construct poetic models inspired by tribal epistemologies, models that sustain their community, knowledge, and sovereignty. Working in collaboration with or beyond the page, words are embodied, staged, touched, and reimagined to open possibilities for resurgence and remembrance. Forms and roles of poetry shapeshift.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Kimberly Blaeser Presenter: Heid Erdrich Moderator: Kalilinoe Detwiler Presenter: Kenzie Allen Presenter: Abigail Chabitnoy
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
|
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1090 |
F269C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B35D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Shaping the Narrative—African Literature for a Global Audience.
African literature is surging onto global prize lists and bestseller charts, yet fresh visibility brings hard choices. This conversation examines how contemporary African writers honour local textures while engaging readers worldwide, how stories shift in translation—of language and of life—and how author-led magazines and prizes guard against commodified ‘Africa’. Through this event, attendees join the conversations about sustaining authenticity amid borderless readerships.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Adedayo Agarau Presenter: Mubanga Kalimamukwento Presenter: Tramaine Suubi Presenter: Romeo Oriogun
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1095 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Sifting Through Book Promotion Channels: What Do Emerging Authors Actually Need?
Plenty of PR discussions teach particular skills and tools, but this panel takes a step back by helping authors figure out what techniques will be the best use of their resources. For example, do you need blog reviewers? Influencers? Are book tours still worth it? Podcasts and libraries? Paid online advertising? Our panel contains book publicists, a digital marketer, a publisher, and public relations experts who offer suggestions on what might work well for different sorts of authors and books.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Jacqueline Karma Bennett Presenter: Terena Elizabeth Bell Presenter: NATALIE OBANDO Presenter: Joe Biel Moderator: Cristina Deptula
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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1100 |
E769C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B55D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Slow Down: Patience, Poetry, & Poets
Poems reward patience. Reading one deepens with time. Writing one may take weeks, months; publishing even longer. Yet poets feel intense pressure to rush--deadlines, professional reviews, a hyperactive scrutiny on social media. Our panel considers the paradox of colliding tempos, relating poetry the art to poetry the career. (Is it a career?) We offer professional guidance, publishing strategies, and our own testimony in examining how we read, how we write, how we work alone and in community.
Speaker(s): Moderator: David Baker Presenter: Kimiko Hahn Presenter: Linda Gregerson Presenter: Philip Metres
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1105 |
F269C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Small Presses Getting Big Attention, Sponsored by CLMP
Small presses publish stellar work, but their titles don’t often receive the recognition that books from bigger presses do. But what happens when a small press title does cut through the noise? How do publishers build on the attention of well-reviewed and award-winning titles? What benefits does this recognition provide authors and publishers? Editors of small presses will address these questions and share stories of their titles’ successes in a challenging literary ecosystem.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Xander Gershberg Presenter: Caleb Tankersley Presenter: Natasha Kane Presenter: Rebecca Olander Presenter: Sara Arnold
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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1110 |
F569C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 E71EF2C9-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Smart, Scintillating, and Unapologetic: Badass B*tches over 60
Five women in their 60s-80s explore their writing careers as acts of resistance, resilience, and reflection. We will consider the liberations and barriers of aging and how they are exacerbated or enhanced by the intersectionality of identities from Asian, Black, Queer, and Indigenous perspectives, how our (in)visibility affects publishing, and how the current political climate impacts our work in this culture that celebrates the new and the now. Audience involvement included in conversation.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kathryn Kysar Presenter: Denise Low Presenter: Mary Moore Easter Presenter: Lynette D'Amico Presenter: Susan Kiyo Ito
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1115 |
E869C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Smiling at The End of the World: Why Dystopian Fiction Gives Us Hope
For many, “dystopian” fiction conjures inherently grim images of nuclear holocaust and white Handmaid’s bonnets. But what if dystopian fiction is actually a path toward hope? In this panel, five writers who have explored dystopian narratives discuss what the genre means to them, including the ways it allows us to put voice to resistance, articulate our fears, highlight human resilience, affirm shared values, and see literature as a force to catalyze change.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Ciera McElroy Presenter: Brenda Peynado Presenter: Sequoia Nagamatsu Presenter: Joy Baglio Presenter: Michelle Sterling
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1120 |
EB69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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So Many Writing Contests, So Little Time: Demystifying the Contest Experience
This session will explore all aspects of the contest submission process: how to find them, guidance for deciding which to apply to, submission prep, monitoring and communication, & how to build a good relationship with your publisher. Although there will be a special focus on maximizing a successful submission, attendees need not have won a contest to find the session useful. The panel consists of five contest winners and a judge, and will appeal to both new & mid-career prose writers and poets.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Mubanga Kalimamukwento Moderator: Kelly Sather Presenter: Nate Marshall Presenter: Bobby Elliott Presenter: Bill Gaythwaite
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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1125 |
E769C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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"So What’s Your Book About?”: A Branding Mini-Clinic
Your book might be brilliant, but can you explain the gist of it to a stranger in one sentence? This mini-clinic will help writers clarify their message to better position their work for media and public attention. Publicist Nanda Dyssou and four authors who have effectively branded and pitched their books, generating lots of media, event, and public interest, will guide attendees in inventing a tagline and an elevator pitch for their books to strengthen their author brand.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Nanda Dyssou Presenter: Wylin Wilson Presenter: Marion Orr Presenter: Avgi Saketopoulou Presenter: Marlene Daut
Agents, Contracts, Contests & Marketing
Panel Discussion
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1130 |
E769C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Somos Xicanas - Échale Tu Canto
The X in Xicana is the vital confluence of past with future marked by our present voices. 80 contemporary Xicana writers make up “Somos Xicanas,” an anthology that connects those represented with future generations in a call to liberate all. “Échale tu canto al viento, pa’ que llega más lejos” editor, Luz Schweig writes in the introduction. Join this panel with the anthology’s editor, publisher, and contributors to discuss from where those songs derive and just how far they can go.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo Presenter: Brenda Vaca Presenter: Luz Schweig Presenter: Angela C Trudell Vasquez Presenter: Dahlia Aguilar
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1140 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Speculating the Machine: How Fiction Writers are Rendering a New AI Reality
As AI and emerging technologies become widespread, fiction writers are tasked with imagining - and questioning - the future possibilities and implications through narrative. From monitoring systems to algorithmic consciousness, robotic companions to AI-run cities, this panel brings together fiction writers who have thought and written deeply about these topics. We’ll discuss the reasons we portray AI and other technologies in fiction and the challenges of doing so in a quickly-changing world.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Sequoia Nagamatsu Moderator: Joy Baglio Presenter: Allegra Hyde Presenter: Erika Swyler Presenter: Jane Pek
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1145 |
EB69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Spoiler Alert: I Know How This Story Ends
What makes the ending of a story resonate long after the final page? These published novelists and short story writers will dissect the mechanics of endings in fiction. From tying up loose ends to letting questions linger, we’ll explore the choices writers face when reaching their narrative destinations. Join for an intimate look at the elusive craft of transforming good endings into unforgettable ones.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Lydi Conklin Presenter: Brenda Peynado Moderator: Danielle Harms Presenter: Gene Kwak Presenter: Sakinah Hofler
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1150 |
EB69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Staging Resistance: Black Social Justice Novels from Page to Stage
It is imperative that our social justice novels live anew on stage. This panel explores the stage adaptation of Keenan Norris’ award-winning novel The Confession of Copeland Cane, examining social realism as an enduring genre and the systemic inequities limiting such works by Black authors. Featuring authors, playwrights, and educators and casting audience members as "spect-actors," this panel will model the transformative power of collective performance in bringing social justice narratives from page to stage.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Tommy Mouton Presenter: Deborah Mouton Presenter: Keenan Norris Presenter: Toni Ann Johnson Presenter: Timmia DeRoy
Playwriting & Screenwriting
Panel Discussion
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1155 |
F169C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Startup Literary Centers on Campus: Years 1 and 5
Join representatives from the Literary Arts Bridge at Dartmouth College and Watershed Lit: Center for Literary Engagement and Publishing Practice at George Mason University for a discussion on the challenges and opportunities in starting a campus literary center. The Bridge is in its first year of operation while Watershed Lit will be entering its fifth year. Join both organizations as they talk about securing funding, finding space, building partnerships, and the impact on their communities.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Alice Magelssen-Green Moderator: Kara Oakleaf Presenter: Alexander Chee Presenter: Laura Jean Gilloux
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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1160 |
F869C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Story Game Presses: Pitching, Submissions, and Publishing
In the world of tabletop “story games,” a growing set of small press publishers champion innovative, literary game writing work—and some are even open for submissions. In this panel, independent game publishers will discuss the tabletop game publishing landscape, sharing tips and opportunities for aspiring story game writers. What are the submission conventions? Where can writers meet and build relationships with publishers? Do you need an agent to publish a game? Do you even need a publisher?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Brigitte Winter Presenter: Dominique Dickey Presenter: Justin Sirois Presenter: C. J. Linton Presenter: Nat Mesnard
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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1165 |
F569C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Strange Estrangement: SWANA Writers on Family, Home and Belonging
This panel of SWANA nonfiction writers explores family estrangement: from going “no contact” with relatives to forced separation from ancestral homelands. As U.S. discourse normalizes cutting ties, we examine how war, occupation, and colonialism uniquely impact our region. Spanning Palestine, the Persian Gulf, and Afghanistan, panelists ground their personal stories in broader cultural and political contexts to illuminate the complex forces of colonialism and empire driving familial rupture.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Leila Nadir Moderator: Barrak Alzaid Presenter: Sarah Aziza
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1175 |
EE69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Succession: the Drama of Lit Nonprofit Leadership Change
The work of running a literary arts nonprofit is complex in the all-consuming now. Strategic planning may focus more on funding streams and program development than leadership. However, preparing for succession will help a new director, and the organization, smoothly transition. Even so, not every organization survives, and there is much to learn from those experiences, as well.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Janine Harrison Presenter: Jan Beatty Presenter: Holly Brians Ragusa Presenter: Erin Elizabeth Smith
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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1180 |
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Sustaining and building robust literary partnerships
In celebration of their tenth year anniversary, Chicago Review of Books will sponsor a panel on building literary partnerships. Their robust partnership with StoryStudio Chicago has allowed for their growth and sustainability as a publication, and in an era of disruption in the literary arts, they invite representatives from Haymarket Books, Periplus, and Kundiman to join in a discussion about how organizations can partner together to build networks, foster community, and build resilience.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Michael Welch Presenter: Gina Chung Presenter: Maya Marshall Presenter: Taylor McTootle Presenter: Rebecca Makkai
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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1185 |
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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: Pinar Banu Yasar Presenter: Aliah Lavonne Tigh Presenter: Sophia Babai Presenter: Tariq Luthun Presenter: Rabha Ashry
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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1190 |
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Swirl & Vortex: A Celebration of Larry Levis
The poetry of Larry Levis increasingly occupies a legendary place among poets, teachers, and readers. Over his career, his poetic lines broadened to accommodate the cinematic aperture of his observations on American empire, poverty, landscape, migrant workers, political violence, addiction, and art. Five contemporary poets will celebrate and read from Levis's poetry to mark Levis's eightieth year, thirty years since his death, and the long-awaited publication of his collected poems.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Mai Der Vang Moderator: David St. John Presenter: Carolyn Forche Presenter: John Murillo Presenter: Kevin Young
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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1195 |
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Teaching Writing Despite "AI": The non-coercive rearranging of desire
Here, experienced teachers respond to ethical, artistic, and human questions that the normalization of LLMs brings to writing education. How can we prioritize process over product, and center human creativity and engagement with the world? How can we design work away from the screen, or help our students move away from it? We will detail strategies for reminding our students that process is the aim of education, and writing invites the full presence of ourselves in the world.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Shana Youngdahl Presenter: Arisa White Presenter: Kate Schapira Presenter: Eireann Lorsung
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1205 |
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The Anthony Hecht Prize: A Twentieth Anniversary Reading
Waywiser fills a vibrant niche in the poetry publishing ecosystem. After launching The Waywiser Press in 2001, publisher Philip Hoy partnered with editor Joseph Harrison in 2005 to found the Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize, hailed as the poetry world’s “new plum.” Since then, Waywiser Press has run twenty Hecht Prize contests, with winners receiving numerous accolades. In celebration, five poets, spanning the two decades of the prize, will read from their books, to be followed by a Q&A.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Geoffrey Brock Moderator: Anna Lena Phillips Bell Presenter: Austin Allen Presenter: Erica Dawson Presenter: Julia Thacker
Poetry Readings
Reading
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1215 |
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The Art and Craft of the Craft Book
While we often think of craft books as dry, didactic documents, they can be provocative, engaging, and even fun. Five writers from across genres will discuss their experiences writing such texts and address questions like: How might craft essays and lectures evolve into book-length projects? How do you develop an imaginative thesis and a creative structure? How do you overcome self-doubt and trust in the authority of your voice? And how do you make craft appealing to the reader?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jehanne Dubrow Presenter: Gayle Brandeis Presenter: Heidi Czerwiec Presenter: Jason Schneiderman Presenter: Matt Bell
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1220 |
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The Art of Editing Translations: Exploration and Guidance, Sponsored by CLMP
This panel explores the work of editing translations, highlighting the editor’s role in bringing global literature to new audiences. Panelists will discuss the creative and ethical negotiations at the heart of editing translations. How can editors select work from different cultures with care? How can translations be framed with awareness and enthusiasm? How much play is there in shaping a translation? The panel will share diverse approaches that support cross-cultural exchange and connection.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jennifer Kronovet Presenter: JD Pluecker Presenter: Michelle Gil-Montero Presenter: Johannes Goransson Presenter: Aditi Machado
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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1225 |
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The Beautiful Room is Emptier Now: A Tribute to Edmund White
This panel celebrates the groundbreaking career of the late Edmund White. His provocative works of fiction, biography, memoir and criticism have sparked dialogues on the nature of desire and the self. They also illuminate the history of queer life over the last fifty years, from early gay liberation to the AIDS crisis and its aftermath. As mentor and model, White inspired generations. Five authors—peers, colleagues, and those he mentored—join to discuss his work, life, and enduring influence.
Speaker(s): Moderator: ALYSIA ABBOTT Presenter: Alden Jones Presenter: Brian Alessandro Presenter: Rakesh Satyal Presenter: Alexander Chee
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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1230 |
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The Blue Pen or the Red Pen?: Using Feedback (or Not) to Awaken Your Best Work
You've just received feedback on your work-in-progress. Now the discernment begins. Which suggestions should you take? Do you weigh all feedback equally: workshop peers, beta readers, a mentor, an agent, an editor? When is changing your vision “compromising,” and when is it evolution? Four writers who have published books (and an agent who has sold many)—all with different approaches to revision—discuss practical tips for using feedback to move your draft toward its strongest and truest version.
Speaker(s): Moderator: June Gervais Presenter: Albert Abonado Presenter: Chad Luibl Presenter: Michelle Whittaker Presenter: Tara Propper
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1235 |
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The Classroom as a Site of Freedom: Emergent Strategy, Transgressive Possibility
In a time of authoritarianism and repression, even and especially within the university, how can we hold the writing classroom apart as a site of freedom, a respite, and a source of practical re-imagining, where students might rehearse alternative ways of being? In this interactive panel, writers teaching nonfiction, fiction, and poetry share strategies for cultivating students' interpersonal and creative freedom, including collaborative play, decentering power, & resisting censorship & capture.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Helen Betya Rubinstein Presenter: Bureen Ruffin Presenter: Catina Bacote Presenter: Sonya Bilocerkowycz Presenter: Alejandro Heredia
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1240 |
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The Doctor Is In: Creative Writers on Healing and Medical Humanities
We are doctors and medical editors who write poetry and prose, and believe in the power of creative writing to promote healing. We teach Medical and Health Humanities classes across the country in English and Ethics departments and in medical schools, hospitals, and treatment centers to people of all ages. Panelists will discuss best practices for teaching creative writing with a medical focus to promote empathy and healing for students, patients, doctors, and writers of all levels and genres.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Hadara Bar-Nadav Presenter: Kate Daniels Presenter: Owen Lewis Presenter: Yael Shinar Presenter: Jude Okonkwo
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1245 |
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The Essay for Writers Who Work in Multiple Genres
As with the genres of poetry and fiction, the history of the essay is rich with writers who specialize in the essay. But the contemporary landscape is also full with writers working in multiple genres, whose practice might achieve a kind of cross-fertilization capable of enriching the essay. The essayists on our panel have also been working in the story, the novel, journalism, poetry, screenwriting, film editing, and playwriting. They have much to say about what one genre brings to the other.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Kyle Minor Presenter: Joe O Presenter: Phong Nguyen Presenter: Dini Parayitam Presenter: Bailey Moore
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1250 |
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The Flash Nonfiction Editors Roundtable: Advice from the EICs
Thanks to the accessibility of the form, flash nonfiction has grown in popularity in recent years. This panel brings together editors from Beautiful Things, Short Reads, Lucky Jefferson, The Offing, and In Short to discuss trends and provide tips for those who want to craft and publish such work. What makes a flash piece shine? How can writers navigate publication? In this roundtable, editors will provide frank advice about the editorial process and a look at where the form might be headed.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Steph Liberatore Presenter: Hattie Fletcher Presenter: Jill Christman Presenter: Vonetta Young Presenter: NaBeela Washington
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1255 |
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The Hidden Life of Chapbooks
A chapbook is not just a small book. The chapbook form is a unique tool for exploring marginal experience, allowing a greater range of voices into print and enabling an intensity of focus which might overwhelm in a full-length collection. Though rarely given their due, chapbooks are a vehicle for experimentation, thematic dives, long-poem publication and more. Join this panel of authors and editors as they read from their chapbooks and discuss the art of creating and publishing at this length.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Allison Blevins Presenter: Benjamin Grossberg Presenter: Emily Hockaday Presenter: Sarah Cedeno Presenter: Jennifer Rouse
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1260 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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The Inheritance We Carry: Memory, Lyric, and Making in Diasporic Poetics
The Inheritance We Carry gathers poets whose work traverses diaspora, queerness, and ancestral memory—writers who blend lyricism, performance, and cultural critique to confront what we inherit and what we choose to break. Through genre-defying poetics and community-rooted pedagogy, this panel explores how lineage, language, and liberation shape both craft and teaching, offering a powerful meditation on writing beyond survival and into joy, resistance, and transformation.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Darius Phelps Presenter: Chiwan Choi Presenter: Dorothy Chan Presenter: R. A. Villanueva Presenter: Aiden Heung
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1265 |
F069C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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The Lost Art of Book Reviewing: How to Revive Literary Criticism
An engaging, intelligent book review has the power to support a writer in today’s overcrowded, structurally unequal marketplace. It’s also a genre of its own that offers a writer the chance to establish their credibility and try out analytical skills they otherwise don’t use in their creative work. Five widely published writers/critics/editors/professors discuss the art, craft and practice of book reviewing for literary venues.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Rajpreet Heir Presenter: Brooke Champagne Presenter: Ellie Eberlee Presenter: Laurie Muchnick Presenter: Susan Shapiro
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1270 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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The Lyric We
Poets will read and discuss different forms of the first-person plural voice, exploring how the porousness of an individual voice can expand into, and expand, history. Placing Eleanor Wilner’s idea of the transpersonal at the center of our conversation, we will consider the juncture between singular and communal selves as it surfaces in our poetry and often leads to engagement beyond the page. Examining the plural voice, we will celebrate how friendship shapes and sustains both words and worlds.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Taije Silverman Presenter: Eleanor Wilner Presenter: Ilya Kaminsky Presenter: Reginald Dwayne Betts
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1275 |
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The New Bioregional “Feel Guides”: Integrating Art, Ecology, and Poetry
Cascadia, Alaska, the Rocky Mountains, the Gulf of Maine: editors are bringing a new generation of anthologies into the world that foster connections of mind and heart, people and place, Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Western science, urban spaces and designated Wilderness Areas. Editors from these four anthologies (some published, some under contract) will share readings, ethos, and process in shaping these "feel guides" that strengthen relationships between humans and the worlds we walk.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Kamella Cruz Presenter: IAN-ROB RAMSEY Moderator: Elizabeth Bradfield Presenter: CMarie Fuhrman Presenter: Kate Rogers
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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1280 |
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The New Embodied Lyrics of Wild Wild Tech
Digital networks, IT and computational technologies riddle 21st century experience, yet these paradigms are largely absent from contemporary poetry. What do we miss ignoring the clicks that make hearts race, when algorithmic hegemonies go unchecked? How can we leverage evolving technologies for more embodied poetries? Through discussion, brief readings, and speculative prompts, our motley crew will explore IT’s mercurial presence in contemporary lyric genres–the better to grasp IRL entanglements.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jennifer Steinorth Presenter: Katherine Yang Presenter: Urayoan Noel Presenter: Kathy Wu Presenter: Erika Meitner
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1285 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B35D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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The New Literary Salon: Substacks and Podcasts for Writers
Five authors discuss their diverse experiences with literary Substacks and podcasts. Topics include using these tools as author platforms, teaching resources, literary salons, or as potential careers in themselves. Panelists will offer technical tips, problems to be avoided, and best practices for getting started. With audiences growing each year, opportunities abound in these booming media—for individual authors, literary journals, publishing companies, writing programs, and more.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Kelly Daniels Moderator: Christine Sneed Presenter: B. Sharise Moore Presenter: John Paul Scotto Presenter: Katie Gee Salisbury
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1290 |
E869C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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The Overturning Anthology: A Reading of Fiction, Creative Nonfiction and Poetry
Erratics Books, a new imprint of Hypertext Magazine, announces the publication of The Overturning with a reading of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry in response to the repeal of Roe v. Wade. The thirty-six writers in this anthology address the question of agency with nuance, personal testimony, and imagination through an intersectional lens. They remind us that much more is being overturned, from ecological care to civil and human rights—and more—giving us courage at the crossroads.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Christine Rice Presenter: Anne-Marie Oomen Presenter: Faisal Mohyuddin Presenter: Maya Marshall Presenter: Mary Jo Bang
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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1295 |
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The Role of Art in Shifting Political Landscapes
What role does writing play in a shifting political landscape? How has writing captured such moments historically in the US? What role do arts organizations and arts funders play in this hyper-pressurized moment? What is the importance of a federal agency devoted to supporting art and what do we lose without it? Join us for a wide ranging discussion on the state of the arts today. We'll also talk about the urgency of storytelling, the importance of bearing witness, and where we can find hope.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Rachel Louise Snyder Presenter: David Taylor Presenter: Amy Stolls Presenter: Lawrence-Minh Bùi Davis Presenter: Tope Folarin
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1300 |
E869C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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The Sacred and the True: An Interreligious Panel on Spirituality and Nonfiction
Religion is often seen as a source of destruction rather than creation. And yet, in this age of apocalyptic politics and algorithms, many of us find ourselves reaching toward what we might call “ultimate reality”--the truths that transcend the secular materialism of our times. Panelists with their feet in several religious traditions–Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam–explore how their spiritual traditions and practices inform their essays, memoirs, and hybrid nonfiction writing.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Heather Lanier Presenter: Marco Wilkinson Presenter: Sofia Ali-Khan Presenter: Courtney Zoffness Presenter: Joanna Eleftheriou
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1305 |
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The Tenderness of Truth: Writing About Loved Ones in Memoir
Is writing about loved ones always a venture into ethically compromised territory? In this panel, five memoirists question this common assumption as we explore how conjuring a loved one on the page can be, in contrast, an act of profound devotion. Drawing from our own writing about parents, partners, friends, and children, we’ll illuminate how working to see a loved one fully, and to render them faithfully in words, is a form of love--and how this love, in turn, can guide one's craft decisions.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Jill Bialosky Moderator: Nicole Graev Lipson Presenter: Nina Sharma Presenter: Hyeseung Song Presenter: Joel Daniels
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1310 |
EE69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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The Third Book of Poetry
What is the third book’s role in the arc of a poet’s development? While first books can be uneven explorations heralding a new voice’s arrival and second books may distill that voice or radically break from it, in a third collection the trajectory of a poet’s work becomes clearer. Third books can be more polished and confident, or may offer space where a poet truly finds their subject, engaging in experiment and play. Five poets read from their work and discuss their experience of writing a third book.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Monica Ferrell Presenter: Donika Kelly Presenter: Natalie Eilbert Presenter: Phillip Williams Presenter: Megan Fernandes
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1315 |
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The Watering Hole Poetry Reading
This reading celebrates the Southern written and oral traditions of poets of color. Featuring Fellows of The Watering Hole, this reading showcases the depth and range of TWH’s vibrant community, which has over 300 fellows and more than 1,000 program participants. Founded in 2013, TWH is transforming the literary landscape of the U.S. South.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Candace Wiley Presenter: Ajanae Dawkins Presenter: Brittany Rogers Presenter: Edward Mabrey Presenter: Gabriel Ramirez
Poetry Readings
Reading
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1320 |
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The Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University: An 80th Anniversary Reading
The Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University is the second-oldest degree granting creative writing program; established in 1947, John Barth was among its first graduates; its founder Elliott Coleman presented at the first AWP conference in 1973. Generations of literary luminaries have shaped and been shaped by the Sems, as its alumni call it. This reading celebrates both the undergraduate and graduate alumni of the program, as well as their influential writing professors and classmates.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Dora Malech Presenter: Gina Apostol Presenter: Jalen Eutsey Presenter: Michael Dumanis
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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1325 |
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Thinking With and At Scale: A Poetics for Planetary Crisis
While close looking will always matter to craft, we are living in an era of massive and multiple crises that necessitate a wider lens to include other geographies, other timelines, and other experiences of living. How do we write towards that immensity? How can our poems address what we cannot see? Four poets working in different modes will discuss how their work attempts to contend with large-scale environmental change and explore how language can attend to the wild, entangled, and expansive.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Julie Choffel Presenter: Julie Choffel Presenter: Henk Rossouw Presenter: Judy Halebsky Presenter: Sueyeun Juliette Lee
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1335 |
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"This Is a Time for Mistral”: 80 Years Since Gabriela Mistral’s Nobel Prize
Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral (1889–1957) won the Nobel Prize in Literature 80 years ago in 1945, but she remains mostly unread in English. This panel will engage with her rise from a rural educator to a poet, diplomat, and public intellectual; dictatorship propaganda about her and the reclamation of her image; archival evidence of her sexuality; the difficulties and rewards of translating her; and why more English readers—especially those interested in women’s and queer history—should know her.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Emilia Phillips Presenter: Claudia Cabello Hutt Presenter: M. Soledad Caballero Presenter: Anna Deeny Morales
Tributes
Panel Discussion
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1340 |
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Tickled Pink: Humor in Queer Poetry
For decades, queer poets have used humor as a cutting rhetorical tool. Humor as survival, seduction, subversion. Throwing jokes like bricks in the face of oppression. This panel will explore humor as a serious element of craft—often overlooked but central to queer poetics. Wit, camp, sarcasm, raunch, gallows humor: what do they do on the page? Pulling from their own work, this panel will explore humor as shield, scalpel, and sucker punch.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Mickie Kennedy Presenter: Kemi Alabi Presenter: Topaz Winters Presenter: James Hall
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1345 |
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Towards Text: Film, Painting and Performance As Routes into Writing
Writer’s block is a perpetual problem. Confronted with an ominous blank page, what is a writer to do? This craft panel explores the ways in which creative practices outside of writing – film, painting, dance, and performance – can bring us deeper into writing. Books are not born from vacuum. The panel seeks to uncover how engagement with media outside of text can, in fact, be a powerful gateway into writing books and beyond. A presentation of each writer's work concludes the craft panel.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Cathy Linh Che Moderator: Elisabeth Houston Presenter: Serena Chopra Presenter: Jackie Wang Presenter: Gabrielle Civil
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1350 |
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Trans Publishers, Then and Now
Recent years have seen a trans literary renaissance. What's it like to be an indie trans publisher working behind-the-scenes to make that renaissance? This panel will speak to the literary and logistical trials and joys of trans publishing, with representatives from trans publishers new and old from the US, UK, and Canada. We will share wisdom, horror stories, triumph stories, and strategies for successfully publishing trans books in 2026 and beyond.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Casey Plett Presenter: Luke Sutherland Presenter: Emily Zhou Presenter: Oliver Fugler
Publishing, Editing & Technology
Panel Discussion
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1355 |
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Translating the Dead, Sponsored by ALTA
Translators are anxious—about authorial intention, accuracy, misrepresenting the work. And that’s even when the author is alive! In this panel, we will discuss translating the writing of the dead, and the hard-earned lessons we have learned, including how to avoid exploiting common tropes (eg. “the brilliant dead author”). We will also give practical advice on acquiring translation rights and engaging with estates—often essential elements of translating a non-living writer’s work.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Diana Arterian Presenter: Aaron Coleman Presenter: Chloe Garcia Roberts Presenter: C. Francis Fisher Presenter: Umair Kazi
Translation
Panel Discussion
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1360 |
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Twenty Years of PoemoftheWeek.com
Founded in 2006 by Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum, PoemoftheWeek.com was one of the first online anthologies dedicated to sharing and promoting the best in contemporary poetry. Now, after 20 years, POW is coming to print. Twenty Years of PoemoftheWeek.com will be the first major collection to showcase the evolving voice of 21st-Century American poetry. Join us for a special celebration of POW’s 20-year legacy with a reading by a diverse and dynamic lineup of award-winning and emerging poets.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Monica Prince Moderator: Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum Presenter: Brian Turner Presenter: Lee Herrick Presenter: Lauren Camp
Poetry Readings
Reading
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1365 |
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Twist!: New Directions for Teaching Poetic Turns
Turns, significant shifts in rhetorical and/or dramatic trajectory, are vital elements in poetry. As poetry writing pedagogy has only recently begun to systematically focus on volta-like turning, new techniques and materials for teaching turns are still emerging. “Twist!” offers workshop-tested lessons, prompts, and activities that will help developing writers engage the turn as invention exercise, drafting tool, revision strategy, and performance feature. Advanced undergraduate and above.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Michael Theune Presenter: Alexis Sears Presenter: Kim Addonizio Presenter: Kim Noriega Presenter: Matthew Olzmann
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1370 |
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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: Regina Peters Moderator: Stephanie M. Lindberg Presenter: Magin LaSov Gregg Presenter: Mary Lannon
Caucus
Panel Discussion
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1375 |
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U.S.-México Borderlands Reimagined: New Literary Perspectives
Four writers read from their recently published and republished books in various genres that engage with the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. The panel offers a range of literary representations of this region. This event highlights work that challenges dominant portrayals and brings attention to the complexities of the border in contemporary literature.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Seth Horton Presenter: Jose Skinner Moderator: Elise McHugh Presenter: Ito Romo Presenter: Stephanie Elizondo Griest
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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1380 |
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Un/Holy Acts: Religious Violence, Sacred Texts, and Religious Poetry
How do religious poets navigate the violence in their sacred texts? From mythical tales, historical battles, and imagined apocalypses, the rhetoric and even divine command to commit violence is a problematic feature of sacred texts. In this panel Jewish, Christian, and Muslim poets gather to discuss and demonstrate the ways that poetry helps them to wrestle with, contradict, and transfigure the violence of their religious traditions in ways that serve a nonviolent understanding of the sacred.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Faisal Mohyuddin Moderator: Donovan McAbee Presenter: Tess Taylor Presenter: Jessica Jacobs Presenter: James Davis May
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1385 |
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Unearthed Verse: Lineage Based Literary Projects as Critical Black Archive
This panel, comprised of multi-generational Black women poets/scholars, explores the use of personal family history and genealogical research as inspiration, motivation, and foundation for published writing. Panelists will discuss the critical importance of this work at this time as part of a growing body of literature across the Diaspora that “unearths” archives and venerates ancestry. Panelists will also discuss their process and read excerpts of such work sharing the research and family history that support it.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Remica Bingham-Risher Moderator: Tamara Madison Presenter: L. Renée Presenter: .CHISARAOKWU. . Presenter: JP Howard
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1390 |
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Unsilenced: Poetic Testimonies of Domestic Violence
Domestic violence, an international crisis, is often overlooked in literary discourse–compounded by the historical and political marginalization of women, queer writers, and writers of color. How can poetic form act as a critical site for resistance and healing? The poets on this panel engage in the nuanced, dangerous, and often isolating craft of unsilencing, offering work that confronts and illuminates the frequently misunderstood and stigmatized epidemic of domestic violence.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Jenny Molberg Moderator: Erin Hoover Presenter: Iliana Rocha Presenter: Michelle Menting Presenter: Lisa Fay Coutley
Poetry Readings
Reading
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1395 |
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Unsung Voices: Developing Reading Series and Inclusive Events in Libraries
As vibrant hubs of academic and creative communities, libraries are often the perfect place to host readings and other literary events. With book bans and censorship on the rise, such programs can be both haven and inspiration for marginalized groups. Writers and library professionals will discuss how they built literary programs from the ground up, prioritizing various underserved populations in academic and public libraries.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jonathan Wittmaier Presenter: Nari Kirk Presenter: Sophia Tarin Presenter: Gabriella Reznowski Presenter: Allison McFarlane
Program Development
Panel Discussion
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1400 |
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Use Your Outside Voice! Why We Write for Children in the Era of Book Challenges
PEN has tracked more than 16k book bans since 2021. The American Library Association saw 821 censorship attempts in 2024. With the fraught side of children’s lit in the news, this panel of middle grade authors will tell a different story: the joyful, intriguing, and artistically energizing side of writing for kids. They’ll share ways to apply literary craft to the children’s market—and vice versa—and make the case that writing for young people is worth it despite (or because of?) the challenges.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Erin Becker Moderator: Ali Terese Presenter: Ashley Granillo Presenter: Nashae Jones Presenter: MEG KUYATT
Children’s & Young Adult Literature
Panel Discussion
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1405 |
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Visible and Invisible Baltimores
Crabs, John Waters, and The Wire, right? There's much more to Baltimore: its central place in African American and Jewish American history; its role as a port city, a place of transit and passage; its wildly diverse working class communities; its radical disparities of wealth, influence, and power. On this panel, five writers with Baltimore roots will discuss how their work speaks to the city's complicated and often-misunderstood nature.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jess Row Presenter: Rachel Webster Presenter: Susan Muaddi Darraj Presenter: Susan Steinberg Presenter: Kate Crane
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1410 |
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Walking as Motif, Method, and Resistance: Reimagining a New Genre
Walking—as both act and subject—has inspired writers across genres for generations. From Thoreau and Basho to Sebald, Cole, and Strayed, walking as motif marked the intersection of memory, identity, history, and place. This panel explores the language of walking: why we do it, what it brings to our art, and how it connects to our story and form. In our polarizing world, how might art, language, and movement converge—as a possible new genre—where minds traverse forks our feet alone cannot?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jung Hae Chae Presenter: Aube Rey Lescure Presenter: Hua Xi Presenter: Keya Mitra
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1415 |
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We Inherit Each Other: Inspiration and Disruption in Asian American Poetry
The term “Asian American” has been a site of coalition as well as scrutiny since its origin in the 60s. But how does today’s Asian American poetry landscape reflect the ambivalences of this created community? This panel accompanies Poetry Northwest’s print folio on this topic in order to create in-person conversation about the creative possibilities and difficulties of writing in response to our histories, our artistic lineages, and other Asian/Asian American artists.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Joshua Nguyen Presenter: Megan Pinto Moderator: Ashleigh Kennedy Presenter: Anni Liu Presenter: Noreen Ocampo
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1420 |
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What Stuns, Unsettles, Compels: Experiments from The Lab
This generative panel explores how obsession, not genre, should shape a writer’s formal choices. Drawing from The Lab: Experiments in Writing Across Genre, panelists share strategies for working within the traditional containers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry—or inventing new ones—depending on what the material demands. The focus is on aesthetic force, emotional urgency, and letting form arise from the pressure of the content itself.
Please note: Matthew Clark Davison is both the Organizer and Presenter. Speaker(s): Moderator: Alice LaPlante Presenter: Stewart Shaw Presenter: Cindy Tran Presenter: W.S. Gong Presenter: Matthew Davison
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1430 |
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What Would Really Happen? Crafting Scenes Your Readers Believe
Have you ever read a story you just didn't believe? Readers will accept almost anything if you're able to craft a scene that comes to life, but they'll quit a book that feels like a lie. In this panel, we'll explore how we can connect with readers, create vibrant scenes, and bring a story from "fine" to "unforgettable" by asking what a character would actually do if they had a falling out with their uncle, fell in love with their boss, or stole a backpack full of dynamite.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Shannon Sanders Moderator: Sophie Stern Presenter: Dan Hoyt Presenter: Gene Kwak
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1445 |
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When "Normal" is Overrated: Writing About Disability and Chronic Illness
Disability studies might be a newish genre, but it has an unfortunate currency today, given proposed cuts to Medicaid and systemic ableism. But what are the ethics and politics of such writing? How do we manage the public appetite for narratives about "overcoming?" How do we allow our narrators and characters the same complexity, ambiguity, and humor that literature about non-disabled people enjoys? This panel features writers who have created work from both inside and outside the disabled body.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Lisa Levy Presenter: Greg Marshall Presenter: Carter Sickels Presenter: Emily Black Presenter: Sara Novic
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1450 |
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Where the Story Happened: Embodied Reading and Literary Pilgrimage
This panel explores a decade of immersive literary travel programs in Egypt, Morocco, and Ireland, where participants read books in the places they’re set. We’ll discuss how place-based pedagogy fosters deep engagement with literature, supports diverse student voices, and complicates narratives of culture, identity, and belonging. Former students, now writers and educators, reflect on how these journeys shaped their creative and critical lives.
Speaker(s): Moderator: J.M. Schmidt Presenter: Solomon Brager Presenter: Zein El-Amine Presenter: Aiyah Sibay Presenter: Janine Hernandez-Diaz
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1455 |
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Where Ya At?: "Home" in BIPOC Graphic Novels
On a distant planet, on a mythical island, in the shadows of the great city. When it comes to the graphic novel, world-building is paramount, but what happens when your main character lives on the margins of this world? How do we fold multiple identities into this world? Through words and images, how can BIPOC artist paint pictures of displacement, dystopia, and gentrification? And what does it take to get these narratives published and read by those that need these stories the most?
Speaker(s): Moderator: Quincy Scott Jones Presenter: Evan Narcisse Presenter: Barbara Perez Marquez Presenter: Kiara Valdez Presenter: Stephen Majors
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1460 |
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Whose story is it anyway? A framework for writing (or not writing) the "other"
Increasingly, literature written about marginalized groups to which the author does not belong, is called out as inauthentic and exploitative. This backlash is often justified. But what do we lose if authors (both of minority and majority groups) write only from the lens of their public positionality? On this panel, authors, editors, and critics explore these issues and discuss a framework for writing (or not writing) experiences stemming from an identity that is not the author’s own.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Carol Mitchell Presenter: Miranda Schmidt Presenter: Rebecca Burke Presenter: Rone Shavers Presenter: Carole Bell
Fiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1465 |
EB69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Why Do We Write?: A Multi-Disciplinary Exploration of Our Initial Drive to Write
From literary, psychological, and interdisciplinary perspectives, this panel explores the impulses that drive writers to the page. Contributors reflect on how their desire to write took shape across different life stages—childhood, education, and professional experiences—and how these origins continue to shape their craft and purpose today. Drawing on memoir, fiction, poetry, psychoanalytic and critical work, this conversation interrogates the complex forces behind our creative beginnings.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Elisa Gabbert Presenter: Kerry Malawista
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1470 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Widening the Bridge of Ekphrasis: Writing the Saturation Poem
Do you love music? Ekphrasis? Immersive experiences? Do you want to dive into the vast potential of sound to free memory and language? Or help your students do so? Learn about the saturation–a poem written after or about an obsessive audio encounter. Five poets discuss this vital bridge between artistic mediums and their poetry adventures with classical, folk, rap, rock, pop, blues, funk, and jazz. Attendees will gain a grasp of the form, reading lists, and prompts for amazing music filled work.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Michelle Whittaker Moderator: Jennifer Jean Presenter: Melissa Studdard Presenter: Cornelius Eady Presenter: Kelli Russell Agodon
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1475 |
F269C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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1483 |
E969C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B35D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Words from the Deep, Dark, Woods: Using Fairy Tales as Foil and Fuse
As cultural touchstones, fairy tales and myths provide fertile creative ground. Leveraging their known settings, characters, and story arcs, writers can slip into ekphrasis, persona, narrative, and more. This panel will offer examples and prompts from poets and prose writers of diverse cultural backgrounds who have used tales and myths to process grief, explore emigration and culture, question gender, power, and neurodivergence, while using the familiar as a palimpsest to write something new.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Elline Lipkin Presenter: Emily Perez Presenter: Kate Bernheimer Presenter: Oliver de la Paz Presenter: Jessica Stark
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1485 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Writer Seeks Mentor: Finding and Fostering Mentorships Beyond Academia
In this panel, three “generations” of mentors and mentees will examine the formation of mentorships and discuss their roles within them. The conversation will illuminate ways to establish and sustain mentorships within and beyond academic programs. Panelists will answer questions such as: How does a writer find a mentor? How can mentors set boundaries? How can we view our peers as mentors? The panelists will offer advice for making the most of generational wisdom as both a mentor and mentee.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Shara McCallum Moderator: Lauren Fath Presenter: EJ Levy Presenter: Tyler Mills Presenter: Crystal Ortiz
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1490 |
E869C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Writer, Interrupted: Writing Through and About Illness
While writing involves the life of the mind, we live in bodies that influence and challenge our art—the most able-bodied among us may find ourselves in Susan Sontag’s “Kingdom of the Sick.” Fiction and memoir authors discuss writing through and about long COVID, chronic pain, and autoimmune issues; craft techniques for capturing illnesses that defy conventional narrative structures; recommended reading; and strategies for keeping up a practice, staying connected, and thriving professionally.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jung Yun Presenter: Hannah Bae Presenter: Jessie Chaffee Presenter: Krys Lee Presenter: Yoojin Grace Wuertz
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1495 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Writers of Bilad Al-Sham: A Reading for Palestine and Syria
Writing has remained an essential practice for Levantine peoples, even during times of war. Spoken word poets from Syria and Palestine will perform powerful political poems inspired by their personal and familial experiences with loss through war, genocide, and settler colonialism. They discuss the intersection of their Muslim and Levant identities and the impact of the diaspora on their poetry, and further, how this influences their teaching of both craft and writing identity at House of Amal.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Sara Bawany Presenter: Amal Kassir Presenter: Salma Mohammad
Poetry Readings
Reading
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1500 |
F369C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 15A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B75D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Writing Abortion: What Stories Can Accomplish When Rights Are Taken Away
What can writers accomplish in this perilous moment, as rights are taken away? Panelists will share their experiences of writing about abortion and reproductive justice in our post-Dobbs world, from the perspectives of an advocate, a reporter, an academic, and a physician. We will explore what we hope our writing will do in the world, whether that be changing hearts and minds, galvanizing a movement, or chronicling the dangers of this moment.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Gretchen Sisson Moderator: Tina Vasquez Presenter: Amy Littlefield Presenter: Renee Bracey Sherman Presenter: Shelley Sella
Nonfiction Readings
Reading
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1505 |
EF69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 15A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Writing Beyond the Mother Tongue
International writers in the US work in a liminal space between at least two cultures and languages even if they write in English. They face a question: How to represent, or “translate,” the culture that’s familiar to them but not to most of their readers? What does it mean to be a writer from an “alien” culture in an insular society? The panelists, with backgrounds rife with experiences of colonialism, war, and migration, will discuss how existing in the interstices has shaped their fiction.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Karol Lagodzki Presenter: Ali Araghi Moderator: Samuel Kolawole Presenter: Roohi Choudhry
Multiple Literary Genres Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1515 |
EC69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Writing from the Big Brain: Somatic, Spiritual & Visionary Writing Pedagogies
Writing involves not just the “little brain” in the skull but the “big brain” of the body: somatic knowledge, memory, and spiritual experience. Yet conventional teaching approaches emphasize intellectual analysis, rarely engaging with these expansive ways of knowing. In this panel, writers who employ psychological, somatic, spiritual, and visionary techniques will share practices including dreamwork, weaving, and song, and discuss how to cultivate holistic writing pedagogies.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Helen Betya Rubinstein Moderator: Amy Bonnaffons Presenter: Sofia Thanhauser Presenter: Daniella Toosie-Watson Presenter: Bureen Ruffin
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1520 |
F069C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Writing Gender-based Sexual Violence Is Difficult Enough, So How Do We Teach It?
Excavating the gritty literary landscape of sexual violence is scary. By sharing how we write our dark emotional terrains, this diverse panel of women will discuss how we create safe spaces to teach students ways to approach trauma such as rape, sexual harassment, and incest. What role do content warnings play? While acknowledging potential triggers and navigating Title IX requirements, how do we equip our students with the tools they need to overcome resistance, shame, and silence?
Speaker(s): Presenter: Jill Christman Moderator: Sue William Silverman Presenter: Karen Michelle Otero Presenter: Nicole Walker Presenter: Brooke Champagne
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1525 |
EE69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Writing Humor for an Online Audience with McSweeney's Internet Tendency
A panel of McSweeney's contributors and a McSweeney's editor discuss the writing and submission process of humor and satire for an online audience. The panel of writers will discuss their writing process, how they approach writing satire and humor, and how they got their first McSweeney's acceptance.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Lucy Huber Presenter: Kristen Mulrooney Presenter: JiJi Lee Presenter: Carlos Greaves
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1530 |
E869C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Writing Impermanence
Writing about place at a time of rapid ecological and sociopolitical change can serve as archive, as elegy, and as resistance. Panelists will explore how forces and conditions including climate change, gentrification, and political upheaval reshape the places we write, informing the choices we make in writing them. We will examine impermanence as both subject and structural guide, and consider how our work allows a vanished past to gain permanence on the page.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Erica Watson Presenter: Anna Cabe Presenter: Bathsheba Demuth Presenter: Monica Macansantos Presenter: Sean Enfield
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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1535 |
ED69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 15A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Writing In Circles: Nurturing the Art in Teaching Artists, Sponsored by WITS Alliance
Writing is considered to be a lonely art form most often practiced in isolation. Writers who teach are no different, adding curriculum development and facilitation to the load of drafting, research and revision. This panel proposes a more holistic and beneficial alternative: where Literary Teaching Artists maintain their writing practice in community with and amongst other writers.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Daemond Arrindell Moderator: Michele Kotler Presenter: Javan Howard Presenter: Ellen Hagan
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1540 |
E869C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 E71EF2C9-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Writing in Community: Lessons from a Literary Hub
Writing gets depicted as a lonely pursuit--but writers thrive in scenes, building organizations where we connect, launch new writers, and cultivate readers. Panelists representing one of the country’s foremost community-based teaching organizations (Grubstreet), a community-minded literary magazine (Pangyrus), a bookstore and creative gathering space in the inner city (Just Bookish), and a respected youth writing and publishing program (826Boston) discuss what it takes to sustain a literary hub.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Greg Harris Presenter: Carolyn Navikonis Presenter: Eson Kim Moderator: Virginia Pye Presenter: Porsha Olayiwola
Writing Organizations
Panel Discussion
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1545 |
F869C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Writing Into Our Ancestors’ Voices for a 21st-Century America
This panel brings together poets who craft verse from the perspective of their ancestors and their homeplaces—whether historical, spiritual, or imagined—to explore how ancestral history can speak urgently into today’s American landscape. In an era shaped by cultural reckoning, inherited trauma, and the reimagining of identity, many contemporary poets are turning to and exploring ancestral history as sources of resistance, recovery, and revelation.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Jill Bialosky Presenter: Elise Paschen Presenter: Major Jackson Presenter: Sophie Cabot Black
Poetry Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1550 |
F269C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Writing Local: Complicating Place and Perceptions of Hawai’i
Although much has changed since the publication of James Michener's Hawaii, Hawai'i is still treated by mainstream media as a one-dimensional paradise while the communities here are depicted as caricatures or ignored entirely. In this event, panelists from a variety of backgrounds will discuss the ways in which they engage with Hawai'i as more than setting and complicate perceptions of the islands through their work, challenging stereotypes and stigmas.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Donald Carreira Ching Moderator: Misty-Lynn Sanico Presenter: Christy Passion Presenter: Scott Kikkawa Presenter: Wing Tek Lum
Multiple Literary Genres Readings
Reading
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1555 |
ED69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 15A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Writing Long in the Age of the Quick Take: The Art of the Expansive Essay
In a time of fragmented attention, how do essayists claim room to roam? Once an essay surpasses most literary journals’ max lengths (4-5K words), how do we resist the urge to cut–and potentially cut off–more expansive thinking? How do long essays resist the trend of hot takes? Or the pressure to be prolific? We'll explore the risks, rewards, strategies, and secrets of writing long essays: how writers embrace length, place such essays in longform-friendly journals, and hold readers’ attention.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Heather Lanier Presenter: Nicole Graev Lipson Moderator: Amy Monticello Presenter: Melissa Faliveno Presenter: Sejal Shah
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1560 |
EE69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Writing Solutions When the World is On Fire
Our world is full of problems: economic uncertainty, governments rescinding rights, rising authoritarianism, and accelerating climate disasters. How can we, as writers, tell these stories without succumbing to despair? Four writers discuss how the concepts of solutions journalism can be applied across genres to tell stories that are relevant, grounded, and empowering. They explore how to use this emotional and narrative shift to center pressing issues we face while offering pathways forward.
Speaker(s): Moderator: K. R. Gaddy Presenter: Saumya Roy Presenter: Jaisal Noor Presenter: Maggie Messitt
Nonfiction Craft & Criticism
Panel Discussion
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1565 |
EE69C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Writing Through the Lens: Documentary Filmmaking and Non-fiction Storytelling
Whether crafting a logline, structuring a narrative, arranging footage through the edit, or composing narration, writing plays a profound role in all aspects of documentary filmmaking. Because so much of the writing for nonfiction film involves multimodal forms of communication, documentary filmmakers must also be cognizant of the interplay between words, images, and sound. In this panel, two documentary filmmakers explore what it means to write for, with, and through the lens.
Speaker(s): Presenter: Jodie Childers Presenter: Daniel Messina
Playwriting & Screenwriting
Panel Discussion
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1575 |
F169C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B35D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Writing to Rehumanize: Collaborative Classroom Creativity in the AI Age
As AI infiltrates every facet of higher education, instructors report record levels of student disengagement and difficulty with advanced literacy. In this panel, writing professors from various disciplines discuss how collaborative writing can foster the curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, community building, and conflict navigation skills necessary for a functioning democracy and a joyful quality of life. Attendees will leave with example exercises and ideas for their own classrooms.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Julie Gard Presenter: Darci Schummer Presenter: Emily August Presenter: Sara Sowers-Wills Presenter: Anna Davis
Pedagogy
Panel Discussion
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1580 |
F069C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6107CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B15D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 B35D320F-8061-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |
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Writing Unashamed: On Resisting Shame & Silencing
Many of us write nonfiction to fight the internal and external shame that’s suppressed our stories, telling us not to write–or sometimes not to be. Now our stories must be braver than ever against forces seeking to silence us for good. This panel will share our personal stories, and practical tips and strategies, for crafting, sharing, organizing and refusing to be shamed. Telling the truth helps us become stronger, braver, and kinder as we resist waves of misinformation, violence, and hate.
Speaker(s): Moderator: Alison Kinney Presenter: Edgar Gomez Presenter: Marcos Gonsalez Presenter: Nicole Walker Presenter: Annabelle Tometich
Artistic & Professional Development
Panel Discussion
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1585 |
E869C2B6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 14A276C3-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 6307CF98-7F61-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 097DE2F6-0F3B-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 0E6B5A79-D160-F011-8101-8147A53E1DD0 |