AWP 2017: The C. D. Wright Women Writers Conference and Me

57º ~ super sun, light breezes, nothing winter-like these days


In 10 days, a bazillion writers, okay, 10,000+ writers will descend on Washington, D.C. for the annual Associate of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) conference. We will be swarming through the D.C. convention center and nearby hotels, attending craft and pedagogy panels, participating in discussions of the most pressing topics of the current literary landscape (diversity & inclusion, financial support, activism, and more), and listening to readings, readings, readings. We will learn from one another and celebrate one another. We will experience all of the feels and have to take time outs from one another. We will exhaust ourselves but return home recharged.

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By and large, I will be donning my Director of the C. D. Wright Women Writers Conference hat for much of my time in D.C. Come by the University of Central Arkansas Booth, #569, and get your SWAG. We've got STICKERS! We've got MAGNETS! We've got DONOR FORMS! (wink. nudge.)

AWP Booth 569

We will share the booth with the Arkansas Writers MFA Program at the University of Central Arkansas and with Arkana, our new national literary magazine. Please come by and meet our wonderful grad students and our faculty. If you teach undergrads interested in an MFA, you need to know about our programs in publishing and pedagogy. If you're looking for new places to submit, you need to check out Arkana!

BONUS: There will be a poetree, a tree decorated with lines of poetry written by YOU.

BONUS: There will be a capsule vending machine dispensing line of poetry to you.

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This year, I have two off-site readings for anyone interested in hearing my most recent work.

Wednesday, Feb. 8, 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Tupelo Quarterly Off-site Reading
Buttercream Bakeshop, 1250 9th St. NW

Poetry and bakery goods. Nom Nom!
Kathryn Nuernberger, Karla Kelsey, Ashley M. Jones, Sebastian Matthews, Jesse Lee Kercheval, Virginia Konchan, Sandy Longhorn, Stephanie Schlaifer, Martin Ott, Jennifer Givhan

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Saturday, Feb. 11, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Gold Wake Press and Trio House Press AWP Reading

The Big Hunt, 1345 Connecticut Ave NW

My THP family puts on a good show, and I hear tell that GWP isn't so bad either.

Matt Mauch, Kyle Flak, Iris Jahmal Dunkle, Nick Courtright, Sandy Longhorn, David Wojciechowski, Joe Osterhaus, Adam Crittenden, Tara Betts, Kelly Magee, Steven Riel, Kyle McCord

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If you're attending, please stop by and say hi, even if we've never met in person, and even if saying "hi!" requires calling on extraordinary powers to break out of an introverted cocoon. I promise you'll be well met b/c I've been in that exact same cocoon, and probably will be when we meet.