AWP Conference in a Nutshell
Diana M. Raab -- April 7, 2006
For the past four years, I've attended AWP's (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) National Conference, the largest writing conference in the country. This year's enrollment surpassed 4,500 registrants. Each year, the conference is held in a different city, and this year's city of choice was Austin, Texas.
The conference provides a good forum to meet with literary colleagues who are as enthusiastic about writing as you. For me and many others, the highlight of the four-day event has always been the book fair, which is usually set up in a large exhibition hall in the conference center. Representatives from all the major university presses, literary journals and writing associations attend. It's a fabulous opportunity to get a firsthand view of the latest book releases and the submission preferences of the university and academic presses.
It also offers an opportunity to become acquainted with the editors of the literary journals. If it's quiet at the booth and the press representative (often the editor) looks bored, you can use the time to introduce yourself, and if you're feeling courageous, you might even suggest a verbal query. While making your way up and down the aisles, it's fun to glance through the journals and purchase samples of those you might want to write for. Most of the booths also have submission guidelines available. When you get tired of walking around, you can meander over to the conference rooms where the panel discussions are held.
Some of this year's featured presenters included: Cynthia Banerjee Divakaruni, Mark Doty, Denise Duhamel, Dagoberto Gilb, Donald Hall, Jane Hirschield, Tony Hoagland, David Huddle, Dinty Moore, Antonya Nelson Naomi Shihab Nye, Tim O'Brien, Alberto Rios, and Sue Silverman.
I think this conference was the strongest one yet. Traditionally, AWP has catered to teachers of writing, but this year's panels crossed over into various writing professions, including: fiction writing, poetry, novel writing, journalism, editing and publishing.
Whether it's a coincidence or not, it seems as if each year holds another theme for panel discussions. Similar to a clothing boutique, the panels seem to mimic the writing styles of the times. A couple of years ago, there were many panels addressing the low-residency MFA programs. Last year in Vancouver, I noticed many poetry readings and panelists. This year's focus was directed towards nonfiction writing.
Each panel spans 75 minutes with a fifteen minute break in between. Sometimes the panel of your choice ends up being on opposite end of the conference hall, barely allowing enough time for a bathroom break, so it's a good idea to wear comfortable shoes in case you have to sprint. In every 75 minute block there are at least ten panels to choose from. It's best to have your panels chosen at the beginning of the day, because there's no time between panels to read the descriptions. Sometimes the choice is quite easy, and other times you're torn between great choices. It gets down to your own writing priorities.
Some examples of this year's panels included: Writing for the Health of It, Poets as Nonfiction Writers, When Life Interrupts Memoir, The Art of Teaching Fiction, Writers Connecting With The Literary Community and Beyond, Stop Making Sense: Writing and Teaching With Humor, Pros and Cons of Poetry and Fiction Contests. It seems as if today, more and more writers are working in multiple genres, which probably explains why so many of this year's panels overlapped.
To give you an idea of the magnitude of this conference, this year's catalog spanned 274 pages and included a wealth of information. Within those pages, you can find panel descriptions, panelists' biographies, readings, and book signings, and the book fair layout, in addition to advertising for upcoming conferences. It's a mecca of information and I've saved all my catalogs from past years.
If you haven't yet been to AWP, I suggest checking it out. Their website is http://www.awpwriter.org. According to their website, "The mission of The Association of Writers & Writing Programs is to foster literary talent and achievement, to advance the art of writing as essential to a good education, and to serve the makers, teachers, students, and readers of contemporary literature." Next year's conference will be in Atlanta, February 28th to March 2nd, 2007 and I hope to see you there!