The Association of Writers & Writing Programs’ (AWP) 2012 Conference & Bookfair—with more than 9,500 participants this year—is in full swing this week (Feb. 29-March 3) with over 400 scheduled events in Chicago. A literary mecca for writers and college and university creative writing faculty and students, CalArtians are represented in a number of panels and readings at the conference.
Among the conference speakers are Critical Studies faculty Christine Wertheim, alumna Janice Lee (Critical Studies MFA 08), Director of the MFA Writing Program Janet Sarbanes, alumnus Harold Abramowitz (Critical Studies MFA 06) and current student Gina Caciolo (Critical Studies MFA 12).
With the AWP’s mission to “provide community, opportunities, ideas, news and advocacy for writers and teachers,” the conference schedule includes presentations and panel discussions from literary scholars around the country. Included on the program are 43 featured presenters and a keynote address by poet and author, Margaret Atwood. In addition, the AWP’s Bookfair includes more than 550 presses, publishers and journals.
Highlighted below are the CalArts alumni and faculty members participating. Registration for the conference has sold out, with an all-time record number of conference attendees.
Today, Friday, March 2
All day: Caciolo has a booth at Table Z of the Bookfair, representing her press Stamped Books.
In both readings below, writers from 32 small presses read simultaneously at the Outer Space Studio, 1474 N. Milwaukee Ave (3rd floor), Wicker Park.
9-9:30 pm: Abramowitz joins Lori Anderson Moseman, Gretchen E. Henderson, Peter Conners, Molly Gaudry, Kathy Fish, Paige Lipari, Amy King, Judith Goldman, Bianca Stone, Philip Metres, Marcus Pactor, Jonathan Stalling, Katie Fowley, Ben Mirov, Lisa Ciccarello, Marina Blitshsteyn, Rodrigo Toscano, Anna Joy Springer, Corina Copp, James Maughn, Amanda Deutch, Lily Ladewig, Jennifer H. Fortin, Kristin Prevallet, Alina Gregorian, Sidebrow reading from White Horse, Alan Gilbert, Nicole Schildkraut, Jennifer Karmin and Miranda Mellis in the Table X/Y Party and Reading Experiment #1.
10-10:30 pm: Lee, Wertheim and Caciolo join Kate Durbin, Laura Goldstein, Matvei Yankelevich, Noel Black, Dana Teen Lomax, Deborah Poe, Adam Peterson, Jeff Alessandrelli, Caroline Crumpacker, Christie Ann Reynolds, Sidebrow reading from White Horse, Joe Elliott, Elizabeth Gentry, Robert Kloss, Ben Segal, BC Edwards, Jennifer Scappettone, E. Tracy Grinnell, Ben Pease, Serena Chopra, Tracy DeBrincat, Giovanni Singleton, Jessica Laser, Brent Cunningham, Tisa Bryant, Erika Jo Brown and Frances Richard in the Table X/Y Party and Reading Experiment #2.
More on the Facebook event.
Friday, March 3
All day: Caciolo has a booth at Table Z of the Bookfair, representing her press Stamped Books.
9-10:30 am: Sarbanes presents as part of the AWP Panel, Building and Surviving an Innovative Writing Program, at the Crystal Room, Palmer House Hilton, 3rd Floor.
9:45 pm: Wertheim reads with Cris Cheek, Laura Goldstein, MC Hyland, Tim Trace Peterson, Michelle Taransky and Edwin Torres as part of Tag Team Reading. The reading is part of Stop The Sentence: A Night of (Inter) Active Readings at the Outer Space Studio, 1474 N. Milwaukee Ave (3rd floor), Wicker Park. More on the Facebook event.