#awp conference

[nicholasandriani]

(via Kansas City Chiefs, 2024 AWP and the Writer's and Readers of KC)

Come! Welcome to Kansas City. We’ll stroll down 39th, share a drink and discuss the writer’s life and the Middle West

#kansas city chiefs #kansas city #writers #midwest #kcmo #kcmo chiefs #kc chiefs #chiefs #chiefs game #super bowl #AWP #awp conference #poets #writer

[insaneclownpussi]

gave myself the best worst haircut i’ve ever done (rattail) and it looks pretty hot imo

#will post pics at some point #also :) back from kansas city…i need a shirt that says ‘i got fingered at awp’ #had a very typical ira experience which was that i was really just at the conference to hang out w one of my besties and my crush

[shadowboxerinc]

MidWk Updates: AWP Update

1.3.24 Hello everyone! I promised any updates for the Associations of Writers & Writing Programs annual Conference & Bookfair 2024. I posted important dates for the event taking place at Kansas City February 7-10, 2024. The dates still look the same, but for those interested, I want to make sure that I keep posting these dates or you can go to their website, www.awpwriter.org. Credit source:…

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#Association of Writers & Writing Program #AWP #AWP Conference & Bookfair #January 2024 #Kansas City #Literature #MidWeek Update #news #slider #updates

[bettsfic]

Hi betts! I heard AWP was this past week and I thought, oh! I know what that is! I read about it in Guy in your MFA :))

Did you go to AWP this year? What are your thoughts & experiences from the conference in years past?

i didn't go to AWP this year. it's very expensive if you're paying on your own and not affiliated with a membership organization (like a university).

i don't plan to attend AWP again unless it's free or i'm being paid for it. not to say i'll ever be in a position where that happens, but i find the experience too soul crushing to spend money on it. it's very hard to handle being in an area with 10,000 people who all want the exact same thing you want, and you know barely a fraction of you will ever make it to where you want to be.

AWP also has hundreds of panels to attend. not to mention the book fair part is always the size of an airplane hangar, which is like going to 10 bookstores at once, which means you leave with 10x as many books as you would at a regular store. it's just so overwhelming.

that said, it's usually the place where you can meet up with people you haven't seen in a while or writers/editors you've worked with before. and there are some cool readings to attend and a big party each night. the keynote speaker and other important guest events are also good.

i think every writer should have the opportunity to go at least once. it can be a valuable experience in that, conversely to the point above, being around 10,000 people who want what you want can also be extremely validating. especially if you're in a place where the people closest to you are unsupportive of your writing or you don't know anyone who takes it seriously, it's great to physically see how many people have devoted a significant amount of their lives to the pursuit of writing.

#awp

[kabillieu]

It's that time of year! The annual gigantic writing conference that stresses me out to no end because it forces me to assume people will want to hang out with me.

I'm doing slightly better this year at making this assumption, and in fact have already arranged dinner reservations with one set of friends and another dinner reservation with another person who I have never met but who is on the panel I organized. I've started building my schedule, and I have lots of commitments and events planned. Maybe even too many? Like last year, I did not seek out any off-site events to read at, nor did I ask my press to host me for a signing at the book fair. #1.) I am not currently promoting a project, and I do not particularly enjoy reading in front of people. In fact, I sort of hate it. #2.) My book came out nearly four years ago. No one is going to drop by my press's table and buy it and ask me to sign it. Still, because poets love to post their AWP schedules to social media, I always feel a little bit of FOMO, like I should be trying to be more poetry-famous (lol) than I am. But with a big conference like this one, you can drive yourself mad by comparing yourself to others. I've been to four now, and I find them incredibly useful for general networking and strengthening professional friendships. This is going to be a busy conference for me. I'll be tabling for the journal where I'm a poetry editor and for my university. I have three dinners and one lunch scheduled. And for the first time, I'll be moderating a panel I organized and planned. I do not need to go chasing down reading opportunities. I'll save that for the future when I actually have a new book to promote.

Despite all my bellyaching, I actually really enjoy this conference. It's definitely overwhelming, but I've been so surprised over the years to discover how fun it is to meet other writers. I try really hard to ignore perceived or real hierarchies (though I do get star-struck by some poets), and I just talk to anyone who will talk back to me. I'm a very introverted person, but within a writing community context I often become extroverted for extended periods of time. It's like witnessing myself sprout a whole new personality. It's fascinating, and I'm looking forward to it.

[pasitheapowder]

We're at the AWP conference and tomorrow we'll wow all the writers with "It's Just the Radio: Queer Storytelling and Audio Dramas"! Wish us luck!

<3,

J & M

#behind the scenes #The Pasithea Powder

[drdemonprince]

Question for you as someone who’s published books. I want to publish books, but trying to land an agent/sell a manuscript/get through whatever else goes on after that seems insurmountable—all I have to show for my efforts so far are a bunch of rejections. I’m too much of an internet wallflower to self-publish, no one would ever even notice my writing that way. I keep writing, the writing is starting to pile up, but the publishing industry increasingly looks like a soul-crushing grind. I don’t need the money from selling books, but I’d kind of like it. Is it even worth bothering with the publishing industry, and if yes (or if maybe) do you have any strategies for pushing through rejections? How many rejections are “normal” vs how many rejections equal “your work sucks, give up?”

I wouldn't quantify it in number of rejections, so much as in years. I think if you're newly starting out, you can expect to spend about ten years or more in relative obscurity, and by then you'll have a sense of whether it's worth continuing on or not. if you're a really confident and strong writer already with a lot of experience taking feedback and improving your own work based on it, we could maybe say five years instead.

I'm basing this number on my own experience, as well as what other authors have publicly said (Linsday Ellis' video on publishing is a pretty good overview of how long, nonlinear, and messy the process is, even for someone super well known like her.)

If you don't need the money and you don't want to go the conventional publishing route, artisanal publishing may be the right route for you. The book APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur was helpful to me when I was learning to self-publish my own fiction back in the mid 2010's. Smashwords' self publishing guide is helpful for all the formatting-side stuff.

Getting a publication deal typically requires an extensive publishing record (online or in magazines), a large social media following, and securing a killer agent, and each of those steps requires typically many years of effort, and many people fail at it. So I would not recommend one embark on that process unless they actively enjoy it.

I love writing and often it comes easy. though of course some days I hate it, i can't seem to stop doing it. and I love posting, and can't seem to be stopped from doing it. If I didn't love the journey itself, it would have never been worth doing, and I would not have succeeded at it. But even if you love it, you might not ever succeed, so it's best to only do it because it feels worthwhile on its own merits.

another thought that occurred to me is that since you don't like the online posting game, you might enjoy going to authors' conferences like AWP, attending workshops, and courting smaller presses. you can get more of a personal interaction there, especially if there is a local small press you actively like the work of and you can build relationships with the editors and their authors by going to their launches, reading series, submitting work to their edited collections, etc. it will still take years to germinate into something most likely, but that might be more your style.

[ericboyd]

got a piece accepted by a lit journal that’s personally vindicating in a few ways; even when I posted about this on FB the number of people who liked / commented was surprising, heartwarming even. I’ve been really down on myself writing-wise so even the act of liking a post meant a lot; I truthfully thought I was out of the game. I realize how silly that is. 

Then I was asked to give a paid online reading this Sunday evening-- I’m just filling in for someone else who bailed, but who cares? It’ll be good to read again.

I’ve told myself I would get back out there this year and so far things are going well. AWP in March, the story should be out by May, applied for a scholarship to a conference in August. Hopefully somewhere in all of this I get my own space at work, as it’s my hope for all of this to kick myself into actually writing more. Even a post like this is more than I’ve typed in a while. Just need to scrape the rust off, sharpen that knife again.

#writeblr #personal

[into-the-daniverse]

2022 Recap/Update

Hello, I’m not dead! But last year I did start grad school, so, same thing.

I’m about to start my second semester in a few days so I just wanted to give a quick update.

I’ve been having so much fun in grad school, it’s so nice to be writing poetry and to be part of a literary community again! I’m the treasurer of my university’s GWA, and I’m going to be attending the AWP conference in March in Seattle, which I’m absolutely thrilled about!

Of course this means I haven’t had much time for blorbos aside from rp but they and this blog are on my mind always, just waiting for me to come back. Maybe during the summer if I’m not working too much I’ll try to do some kind of event!

If you have any interest in following along with my grad school/professional writer journey, you can follow my Instagram @/genderenby or my website.

#dani's thoughts #personal #I am essentially doxxing myself LMAO oops #but anyway #I miss you all

[kitchen-light]

Part of the impetus for this book [“From, From”] came from a panel of fantastic young Korean American female poets at the AWP conference in Los Angeles. There was a similarity among some of their stories: it seemed like only after they got funding to go back to the “homeland” did they feel credentialed to write about racial identity. Incentivized to research identity in order to perform it. I didn’t want to be led down the “authenticity” path. I wanted to be able to write from the perspective of deracination – more a poetics of difference that a poetics of identity. I want to be able to maintain critical distance from Korea and its Confucian hierarchies and its heteropatriarchal hierarchies and its capitalist hierarchies. I have the three Cs going: I was raised Catholic and Confucian and capitalist. Plus Korean, obviously. I want to be able to negotiate among those differences, without having to take  a pose of “rah rah, everything my ancestors did was awesome”.

Monica Youn by Dorothy Wang, Interview in BOMB Magazine, Issue 162, Winter 2023

#monica youn #quotes #interviews #words #found* #on poetry

[nicholasandriani]

Much Ado About Writing: The 2024 AWP Conference, Kansas City Chiefs, and Living the Writer's Life in the Middle West

From the AWP Conference 2024 to the inspirational Kansas City Chiefs, discover what it means to live the writer's life in the Middle West.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Poetry. BBQ and Creative Nonfiction. The Middle West is a hotbed of creativity and sports these days. We just hosted the 2024 AWP Conference and we’re hosting six games during the 2026 World Cup! And who’s to say what’s in store for the Kansas City Royals or the next generation of poets and writers as we thrive in the shadows like a league of supervillains biding our…

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#2024 AWP Conference #AWP #chiefs #chiefs kc #cnf #creative nonfiction #creative writing #freelance writing #frelance writer #Kansas City #kansas city chiefs #KCMO #memoir #middlewest #midwest #narrative consultant #poets #story coach #storyteller #storytelling #super bowl 2024 #superbowl #superbowl 2024 #travel #travel guide #writer #writers #writers and poets #writing coach #writing consultant

[sfsucw]

AWP HBCU Fellowship Program

Thriving creative writing programs exist at most Historically Black Colleges & Universities, but at present, no HBCU has an MFA program. AWP recognizes there is a significant need for new generations of Black writers to be nurtured and encouraged, especially by those with shared cultural experiences.

The #AWP23 HBCU Fellowships will be offered to two faculty members. The fellowships include:

A $4,000 honorarium

Paid travel expenses and lodging for the duration of the conference

Meeting and discussion with special guest author A.J. Verdelle

Publication in The Writer’s Chronicle regarding their #AWP23 experience

In order to be eligible for these fellowships, applicants must be:

Active HBCU faculty (part or full-time)

Available to travel to Seattle for March 7-12, 2023

Willing to serve as a mentor to two student fellowship recipients each for the duration of the conference

Only accepting applications for faculty fellows. Applications for student fellows will open in November 2022.

https://awp.submittable.com/submit/235142/hbcu-faculty-application-awp23-hbcu-fellowship-program

#fellowship #fellowship program

[shadowboxerinc]

Wknd Update: Association of Writers & Writing Program Conference & Bookfair 2024

12.23.2023 Good evening, everyone, Happy Holidays. We are getting things ready for y’all. First, the last weekend update for 2023. I’m keeping watch at the Association of Writers & Writers Program‘s upcoming conference and bookfair. Thank you to AWP for the update information about the conference. Take a look at the key dates they have listed so far. Credit source: AWP (Association of Writers &…

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#Association of Writers &amp; Writing Program #AWP #conference #Conference &amp; Bookfair #literary event #Literature #Weekend Upate

[em-dash-press]

2022 Creative Writing Workshops

Workshops are great resources for writers. They introduce you to industry leaders, other writers and potential agents, depending on the event. If you haven't attended one yet, I highly recommend them.

The Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) is an excellent source for industry events, including workshops. Here is is the link to their calendar and here's a general overview of their upcoming workshops (as of June 2022):

Elk River Writers Workshop (Pray, Montana): $1,500. Applications due 7/1/22 for the 8/7-8/12 conference. Scholarships available via the workshop link. What you'll experience: five days of creative writing classes on poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

Kaz Conference Writing Workshop (Blue Point, New York): $375. Occurs year round, both in-person and virtually. What you'll experience: a class of 4-8 other people and personal feedback on fiction, nonfiction, screenplays, playwriting, and poetry.

The Writer's Hotel Virtual Summer Fiction Workshop: $3,500. Applications due 7/1/22 for the 8/6-8/28 conference. What you'll experience: four weeks of workshops, lectures, one-on-one agent pitching sessions and personal work readings in groups of 14 people each. Genres: fiction only.

Your Personal Odyssey Writing Workshop: $2,450. Occurs year round, in-person. Scholarships available via the workshop link. Known for producing great writers in fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Involves readings, critiques, and writing exercises. Published authors and editors get personal feedback. Guest lectures will also be scheduled.

National/international, in-person and virtual workshops can also be found here, at The Writer magazine.

#writeblr #writing workshops #writing resources #events for writers #writing community #writing help

[kabillieu]

I made the very deliberate choice not to try to chase down any journals to sponsor me for readings or book signings or what-have-you at AWP this year. I am not promoting a book. I don't particularly like reading my work. I'm proud of the book I have, but I'm very confident that everyone who is going to buy it has already bought it. Etc. I just don't need the spotlight to be on me this time. I have concrete plans for Thursday and Friday evening, and I'm going to put in a few hours manning my journal's table at the book fair, and I'll probably go to a couple panels. That's ENOUGH, especially since I'm sure I'll run into friends and do things on the fly that I haven't planned. I'm also rooming with someone for the first time ever, so I will have plenty of opportunities to be social.

I just want to wander around and chat and meet new people. I don't want to hustle to promote myself or my work. I'm just not in that part of the cycle of publishing right now.

But social media is making me feel left out and like maybe I should have tried to book a reading or table signing. Usually I'm so dang level-headed about social media and FOMO and not getting dragged under by comparing myself to others, so I guess I'm surprised by any feelings of jealousy I have. But I know, I know, I'm doing the right thing by attempting to have a mellow time at the conference this year. I am going to be pumping constantly and relearning how to be a social being in large crowds again. I do not need to be running around trying to give readings that I actually dislike doing. I do not need to sit at a table for an hour while no one shows up to buy my poor little book.

I need to wander around the book fair and bump into people and have nice little chats. I need to drink a really good cocktail. I need to eat dim sum with friends. I need get to know the other staff at the journal I volunteer for. I need to not wear myself out chasing the parts of being a poet that I find corny and unbearable.

[eamonnp]

Association of Writers & Writing Programs Convention, Kansas City, Missouri, 2024

Very late with this blog about my visit in February to the AWP yearly conference, this time held in Kansas City, Missouri. But better late than never. The city was in a fevered state with the Kansas City Chiefs about to go for their second title in a row in the American Football Championship, so the atmosphere was warm and welcoming for all out-of-staters. You HAD to be coming for the game, yes?…

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