AWP 2016 Conference & Bookfair Schedule of Events.

General Conference Information.

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A Welcome to All.

AWP welcomes diversity and the participation of individuals in its activities regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, socioeconomic status, age, disability, or religious or political belief. AWP encourages the contributions of all of its members and attendees at the conference, and we are proud to create an event that supports such inclusive participation.

About AWP.

Founded in nineteen-sixty-seven, AWP provides support, advocacy, resources, and community to nearly fifty thousand writers, five hundred and fifty college and university creative writing programs, and one hundred and fifty writers' conferences and centers. Our mission is to foster literary achievement, advance the art of writing as essential to a good education, and serve the makers, teachers, students, and readers of contemporary writing.

About the Conference.

AWP's first conference was held in nineteen-seventy-three at the Library of Congress and hosted six events and sixteen presenters. George Garrett, one of AWP's founders, planned the first gathering with help from the National Endowment for the Arts. Presenters included Elliott Coleman, founder of the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University, Paul Engle, founder of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, poets Josephine Jacobsen and Miller Williams, and novelists Ralph Ellison and Wallace Stegner, among others. The conference grew steadily, and with the addition of the bookfair in the mid-eighties it became the foundation for what has become the largest literary conference in North America. This year's conference is host to five hundred and fifty events, two thousand presenters, and more than eight hundred presses, journals, and literary organizations from around the world. Most conference events are organized by their participants and selected through a competitive submission process by AWP's conference subcommittee. Featured events are organized and sponsored by member institutions, affiliated literary organizations, or AWP.

Proposals for Our Twenty-seventeen Fiftieth Anniversary Conference in Washington, D.C.

AWP welcomes proposals for future conference events. Please visit the Event Proposals & Acceptances page for information about proposing an event, literary partnership, or sponsorship for next year's conference in Washington, D.C. The deadline for event proposals is May first, 2016.

Conference Registration & Check-in.

Attendees who have registered in advance and attendees who have not yet registered may pick up their registration materials in the registration area located in the registration area in the West Exhibit Hall Level One of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Please consult the maps in the conference planner or mobile app for location details. Students must present a valid student ID to check in or register at our student rate. Seniors must present a valid ID to check in or register at our senior rate. A fifty dollar fee will be charged for all replacement badges.

Registration & Check-in Hours.

Wednesday, March thirtieth: twelve o'clock noon to seven o'clock p.m.
Thursday, March thirty-first: eight o'clock a.m. to five o'clock p.m.
Friday, April 1: eight o'clock a.m. to five o'clock p.m.
Saturday, April 2: eight o'clock a.m. to two o'clock p.m.

Need Help?

If you have problems registering, require assistance, or have a question about accessibility services, please visit AWP's Help Desk, located in the registration area in the West Exhibit Hall Level One of the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Get Connected.

Stay on top of everything happening at the conference by following AWP on Twitter (@awpwriter) and #AWP16 on all social media. WiFi is available throughout the bookfair.

Replacement Programs.

Every registered conference attendee receives one copy of the AWP conference program. If you lose your program or want to purchase extras, copies are available for ten dollars each (while supplies last) in the registration area in the West Exhibit Hall Level One of the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Conference Mobile App.

The #AWP16 mobile app is available for both Apple and Android. The app features the most up-to-date conference schedule, maps of the conference and surrounding areas, and other pertinent conference information. It will also give you the ability to personalize your conference schedule and keep up with #AWP16 on social media.  

Admission to Events.

Unless otherwise noted in the program, you must present your registration name badge to gain admission to all meetings, panels, readings, and receptions. You must also present your badge to enter the bookfair.

AWP's Bookfair, Sponsored by Hollins University: Jackson Center for Creative Writing.

AWP's bookfair is located in the West Exhibit Hall Level One of the Los Angeles Convention Center. This year's bookfair showcases more than eight hundred presses, journals, and literary organizations from around the world. Please consult the maps in the conference planner or mobile app for location details.

Find Us in the Bookfair.

Learn more about AWP, meet our staff, and get to know our board members at booths number 615 and 617.

Bookfair Concessions, Bar, & Lounge.

Breakfast and lunch concessions are available from eight thirty a.m. to four o'clock p.m. in the Exhibit Hall Level One of the Los Angeles Convention Center. The bookfair will also host a bar from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Cash, debit, and credit cards are accepted at all food and beverage locations. Please consult the maps in the conference planner or mobile app for location details.

Lost & Found.

All found items will be turned over to the Los Angeles Convention Center guest and security services at the close of registration each day. If you have questions, please visit AWP's Help Desk, located in the West Exhibit Hall Level One of the Los Angeles Convention Center.

First-Aid.

First-Aid is located on Exhibit Hall Level One of the Los Angeles Convention Center outside of the AWP registration area, across the hall from Petree Hall.

Lactation Room.

The Lactation Room is located inside the first-aid suite, located on Exhibit Hall Level One of the Los Angeles Convention Center outside of the AWP registration area, across the hall from Petree Hall.

Childcare Services.

Your hotel concierge likely maintains a list of recommended local providers.

Smoking.

Smoking is permitted in designated areas only.

Accessibility Services.

AWP is committed to making all reasonable arrangements that will allow conference attendees to participate in conference events. Please visit the Accessibility Services desk located in the West Exhibit Hall registration area at the Los Angeles Convention Center, directly next to the AWP Help Desk, or email Hannah Landsberger if you: have a question about an accessibility services request made by the January 29 deadline; would like to inquire about an unmade request; or would like to report an accessibility violation by a fellow conference attendee. AWP makes every effort to accommodate late requests.

Meeting Rooms.

All meeting rooms at the conference are wheelchair accessible, and the first row of seating is reserved for individuals with accessibility needs.

Interpreters.

Interpreters, including those for American Sign Language and Cued Speech Transliteration, are available. The deadline to arrange for an interpreter was January twenty-ninth, twenty-sixteen. Late interpreting accommodations may be available depending on interpreters' schedules. To inquire about a request made in advance, or to request interpreting services, please visit the Accessibility Services desk located in the West Exhibit Hall registration area at the Los Angeles Convention Center, directly next to the AWP Help Desk, or email Hannah Landsberger at events@awpwriter.org.

Attendants & Assistants.

Registered attendees requiring an attendant or assistant to facilitate their participation and accessibility needs will be granted one complimentary registration for an attendant/assistant. To register an attendant/assistant, please visit the Accessibility Services desk located in the West Exhibit Hall registration area at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Sessions.

AWP asks presenters to bring at least five copies of their full presentation, in large-print format (boldface fourteen- to sixteen-point font size), for the use of members to follow the written text. Presenters who use optional handouts to supplement their presentations are asked to prepare three copies of these handouts in large-print format (boldface 14- to 16-point font size) and briefly describe or read all handouts to the audience. To help facilitate question-and-answer sessions, AWP asks that the moderator at the podium microphone repeat all audience questions.

Fragrance.

As a courtesy to attendees with chemical sensitivities, please refrain from using scented products to help ensure the comfort of everyone at the conference.

Seating & Quiet Space.

Several lounges throughout the bookfair provide seating options for attendees. Please consult the bookfair map in the conference planner or mobile app for location details. The Emily Dickinson Quiet Space, a dedicated quiet area, is available if you need an escape from the crowds or to just collect your thoughts, unwind, or write. The Dickinson Quiet Space is open from eight o'clock a.m. to five-thirty p.m. and located in Room 507, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.

Hotel Rooms.

All AWP conference hotels are ADA accessible and should be contacted directly for reservations. While hotels offer rooms specifically for those with accessibility needs, there is a limited supply. AWP hotels often sell out months in advance as reservations are made on a first-come, first-served basis. If you have accessibility concerns with a hotel reservation you have made, we encourage you to first contact the hotel directly. If you have trouble getting the hotel to fulfill an accessibility request, please visit the Accessibility Services desk located in the West Exhibit Hall registration area at the Los Angeles Convention Center, directly next to the AWP Help Desk, or email Hannah Landsberger.

Scooter & Wheelchair Rentals.

For rental information, please visit the Accessibility Services desk located in the West Exhibit Hall registration area at the Los Angeles Convention Center, directly next to the AWP Help Desk, or email Hannah Landsberger.

Requests for Assistance at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Attendees requiring onsite assistance during the conference should request it from personnel at the Accessibility Services desk located in the West Exhibit Hall registration area at the Los Angeles Convention Center, directly next to the Help Desk.

Other Services

If you require a service not addressed above, please visit the Accessibility Services desk located in the West Exhibit Hall registration area at the Los Angeles Convention Center, directly next to the AWP Help Desk, or email Hannah Landsberger.

Schedule

Below is a list of events for the #AWP16 Conference & Bookfair in Los Angeles, California. Official AWP events will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center (1201 South Figueroa Street)
and the JW Marriott Los Angeles (900 W Olympic Blvd.). Unless otherwise noted, events offsite from this venue are not produced, moderated, or curated by AWP.

Skip to Wednesday Skip to Thursday Skip to Friday Skip to Saturday

Wednesday, March Thirtieth

Noon to seven o'clock p.m.

W100. Conference Registration.
Registration Area, West Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Attendees who have registered in advance, or who have yet to purchase a registration, may secure their registration materials in AWP's registration area of the West Hall of the L.A. Convention Center. Please consult the bookfair map in the conference planner for location details. Students must present a valid student ID to check-in or register at our student rate. Seniors must present a valid ID to register at our senior rate. A five dollar0 fee will be charged for all replacement badges.

W101. Bookfair Setup, Sponsored by Hollins University: Jackson Center for Creative Writing.
West Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
The West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center will be open for bookfair setup. For safety and security reasons only those wearing an exhibitor access badge, or those accompanied by an individual wearing an exhibitor access badge, will be permitted inside the bookfair during setup hours. Bookfair exhibitors are welcome to pick up their registration materials in AWP's registration area also located in the West Hall.

W102. Lactation Room.
First-Aid Suite, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
The Lactation Room is located inside the first-aid suite, located on Exhibit Hall Level One of the Los Angeles Convention Center outside of West Hall A and the AWP registration area, across the hall from Petree Hall.

Five o'clock p.m. to Six-thirty p.m.

Panel Discussion W103. SPD/CLMP Annual Publisher Meeting. (Brent Cunningham, Ted Dodson, Jeffrey Lependorf, Laura Moriarty)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The staffs of the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) and Small Press Distribution (SPD) discuss issues facing publishers, organizational goals, and upcoming programs. Both new and longstanding members, as well as those contemplating joining either organization, should plan to attend.

 

Thursday, March Thirty-First

Eight o'clock a.m. to Five-thirty p.m.

R100. Conference Registration.
Registration Area, West Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Attendees who have registered in advance, or who have yet to purchase a registration, may secure their registration materials in AWP's registration area of the West Hall of the LA Convention Center. Please consult the bookfair map in the conference planner for location details. Students must present a valid student ID to check-in or register at our student rate. Seniors must present a valid ID to register at our senior rate. A fifty dollar fee will be charged for all replacement badges.

R101. Lactation Room.
First-Aid Suite, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
The Lactation Room is located inside the first-aid suite, located on Exhibit Hall Level One of the Los Angeles Convention Center outside of West Hall A and the AWP registration area, across the hall from Petree Hall.

R102. Dickinson Quiet Space.
Room 507, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
A dedicated quiet space for you to collect your thoughts, unwind, and escape the literary chaos. Please consult the map in the conference planner for detailed location. "There is a solitude of space, / A solitude of sea, / A solitude of death, but these / Society shall be, / Compared with that profounder site, / That polar privacy, / A Soul admitted to Itself: / Finite Infinity." –Emily Dickinson

Eight-thirty a.m. to Five p.m.

R104B. Bookfair Concessions, Bar, & Lounge.
West Hall & West Lobby, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Breakfast and lunch concessions are available from eight-thirty a.m. to four o'clock p.m. on the Exhibit Hall Level One of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Coffee is available inside the bookfair from eight o'clock a.m. to four-thirty p.m., and hot food is available from twelve noon to four o'clock p.m. Food and beverages are also available at the Groundwork West and Galaxy concession stands located outside the bookfair in the West Lobby from eight-thirty a.m. to two o'clock p.m. The bookfair will also host a bar from one o'clock p.m. to five o'clock p.m. Cash, debit, and credit cards are accepted at all food and beverage locations. Please consult the maps in the conference planner or mobile app for location details.

Eight-thirty a.m. to Six-thirty p.m.

R103. Coat Check.
Room 104, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Room Level.
Coat check is open from Eight-thirty a.m. to six-thirty p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Five dollar flat rate per item for a full day; ten dollar flat rate per item for full day with in/out privileges. There is a twenty dollar fee for items left overnight.

Nine o'clock a.m. to Five o'clock p.m.

R104A. AWP Bookfair, Sponsored by Hollins University: Jackson Center for Creative Writing.
West Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
With more than 800 literary exhibitors, the AWP bookfair is the largest of its kind. A great way to meet authors, critics, and peers, the bookfair also provides excellent opportunities to find information about many literary magazines, presses, and organizations. Please consult the bookfair map in the printed conference planner or AWP mobile app for location details.

R105. Writer to Writer Mentorship Program Booth.
AWP Booth 1011, AWP Bookfair, West Hall, LA Convention Center.
AWP's Writer to Writer Mentorship Program matches new writers with published authors for a three-month series on the writing life. Writer to Writer is open to all members, but we particularly encourage two underserved segments of our membership to apply—those writers who have never been associated with an MFA program and those writing from regions, backgrounds, and cultures that are typically underrepresented in the literary world. Now in its second year, more than 150 people have taken part in this experience. To learn more, please visit AWP's Bookfair booth, where you will be able to talk with past program mentors and mentees. Diane Zinna, the program's director, will also be there to answer your questions.

Nine o'clock a.m. to Ten-fifteen a.m.

Panel Discussion R106. We Read Joan Didion in Order to Live: Five Writers on Learning from a Master. (Jody Keisner, Kelly Daniels, Anna Redsand, Cody Todd, Stephan Eirik Clark)
Gold Salon 1, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Panelists will pay tribute to “the woman who owns California” while sharing technical and personal lessons gleaned from her essays and memoir. Topics will include the unmasking of received wisdom in Slouching Toward Bethlehem, courting moral ambiguity in her early essays, an exploration of grief in Blue Nights, the idiosyncratic "I" in hybrid true-crime/gonzo journalism, and how place, specifically California, fosters writerly persona in Where I Was From.

Panel Discussion R107. West by Southwest: New and Established Lit Mag Editors on the Political Economy of Place. (Andrew Tonkovich, Dagoberto Gilb, Michelle Franke, Oscar Villalon)
Gold Salon 2, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Starting a new literary arts journal in the West, or maintaining one for three decades, means understanding audience and place, and political and literary expectations. As respected and enduring regional lit magazines ZYZZYVA and Santa Monica Review celebrate three decades, two excellent newer journals, Rattling Wall and Huizache, arrive with their own respective missions to challenge, complement, and re-envision the possibilities of little magazines in a difficult if rewarding literary locale.

Panel Discussion R108. Crashing Through: Confronting Writing Barriers and Rebooting Your Work. (Robin Black, Dylan Landis, Natalie Baszile, Steven Schwartz)
Gold Salon 4, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
We have all faced obstacles in writing. Interference has many sources, both psychological and external: taboo subjects, craft challenges, despair, rejection, constraints in our nonwriting lives, fear of angering others. A diverse group of fiction and essay writers talks about their equally diverse and highly specific techniques for becoming unstuck, from using timers to meditation to writing with partners—and for turning obstacles to opportunity for taking major leaps forward in craft.

Pedagogy R109. Creative Writing for the Underserved: Ideas, Inspiration, Revelation. (Jamie FitzGerald, Leilani Squire, Mike Sonksen, Michael Kearns, Dorothy Randall Gray)
Diamond Salon 6&7, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
Some of the most dedicated practitioners of the art of writing are those who teach writing workshops outside of academia in underserved communities, often for little to no recompense other than the satisfaction of opening minds and hearts to the power of words. This panel brings together writers with collective experience teaching foster youth, seniors, homeless, and veteran populations. Each panelist shares best practices, what motivates them to do what they do, and how it enriches a writing life.

Panel Discussion R110. What's Love Got to Do with It?: Desire in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. (Jessica Alexander, Rachel Levy, Michael Shum, Jaclyn Watterson, Jose De La Garza)
Room 402 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In 1911, E. M. Forster wrote of his weariness of the only subject he could treat—the love of men for women. For a novelist in the Victorian era, it seemed impossible to reconcile the rift between narrative convention and homosexual desire. Discussions of narrative conventions still typically elide considerations of their socially restrictive underpinnings. This panel includes both queer and nonqueer identified writers to promote dialogue about the ways that desire informs our aesthetic choices.

Panel Discussion R111. Poets on Craft: “The Furious and Burning Duende.” (John Murillo, Sandra Beasley, Mahogany Browne, Danielle Barnhart, Jacqueline Jones Lamon)
Room 404 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Lorca tells us that the artist is possessed by duende, a malign spirit that burns the blood like powdered glass. This panel asks if poets can or should summon duende at will. Is it fleeting and ephemeral, or can it be harnessed as an instrument of craft? Five poets who have written about and with duende share their experiences invoking the dark, elusive creative force. We promise fiery exchanges on this evocative subject.

Reading R112. Flash Fiction International: Readings from the Book. (Robert Shapard, Ethel Rohan, Berit Ellingsen, James Claffey, Mónica Lavín)
Room 405, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
These authors from Norway, Mexico, and Ireland read their stories and comment on origins. Flash fiction has become a global phenomenon, and this anthology showcases the diversity of structures, styles, and narrative strategies employed by writers from different cultures. The presentation focuses on unusual character development, the role of scene setting, and the issue of translating metaphor into English. Finally, it reflects on just how large the world of small fiction can be.

Reading R113. The New South: A Reading in Three Genres. (Devin Latham, Dr. David Jamie Poissant, Adam Vines, Carrie Jerrell, Jamie Quatro)
Room 406 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
With Faulkner's South paved into history, what defines Southern literature today? Do contemporary Southern writers still make use of old tropes like familial loyalty, racial tension, and heavy religion set in a humid landscape of live oaks and wisteria? Does the urban and suburban South require new settings and themes? This reading features five Southern writers reading fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that illuminates and redefines Southern literature today.

Reading R114. Land of Upheaval: A Literary Journey Through Haiti's Modern History. (Hector Duarte Jr., M.J. Fievre, Fabienne Josaphat, Katia D. Ulysse)
Room 407, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
It is the destiny of the people of Haiti to suffer, President François Duvalier once said. The panelists share first-person and third-person accounts of the days of Papa Doc Duvalier, the tumultuous times of President-Priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and the 2012 earthquake tragedy. The panel discusses how myths and tales about Haiti have been used for political ends. Three authors. Three voices. Three slices of chaotic Haitian history.

Panel Discussion R115. The Active Politics of Queer/Feminist of Color and Indigenous Feminist Publishing Movements. (Lisa Moore, Felicia Montes, Audrey Castillo, Kim Tran, Casandra Lopez)
Room 408 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Queer/feminist of color and indigenous publisher-activists have historically demonstrated their commitments to amplifying the voices of transgressive artists and writers in the US publishing culture that relentlessly attempts to erase us. This gathering of queer/feminist of color publishers from As/Us, Mujeres de Maiz, RedBone, and Third Woman addresses the politics that undergird our impetus to publish alternative writing/thought and how we understand publishing as a form of activism.

Panel Discussion R116. News from the California Writers' Conferences: Building and Sustaining a Creative Community. (Nan Cohen, Andrea Bewick, Lisa Alvarez, Karen Lewis, Cintia Santana)
Room 408 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Three of California's oldest craft-based conferences, with over one hundred years of combined operating experience, differ in structure but share a vision of a creative community that continues to support writers long after participants go home. The Napa Valley Writers' Conference, Mendocino Coast Writers' Conference, and Community of Writers at Squaw Valley will share strategies for conference participants, alumni, faculty, and staff to build and sustain a writers' community beyond the conference week.

Panel Discussion R117. Welcome to the Party: Asian American Open Mics in Southern California as Sites of Resistance. (Janice Sapigao, Eddy M. Gana, Jr., Myca Tran, Stephanie Sajor, Sean Miura)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
As community organizers of Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) open mics in Southern California—Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Santa Ana—we give brief histories of our respective spaces. We discuss the practical, artistic, and sociopolitical intentions of encouraging and continuing work for our communities and neighborhoods. We share how Los Angeles/Southern California is part of a nationwide network of AAPI artists creating and sharing stories and narratives in collaborative space.

Pedagogy R118. What Our Speech Still Disrupts. (Katharine Haake, Rebbecca Brown, Marjie Stewart, Kate Kostelnik)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Fifteen years have passed since the publication of LA-based writer Katharine Haake's text What Our Speech Disrupts. While the theory wars are over, their impact still resonates. Haake's work—on the intersections of writing, theory, and pedagogy—is unfortunately out of print. Nonetheless, it still illuminates the marginalized spaces occupied by women, minorities, and students. Teachers and writers—among them, Haake's former student and Haake herself—discuss the book's impact on their work.

Panel Discussion R119. Loving the Tug of War: Tales from the Trenches of Collaborative Translation. (Ming Di, Ellen Doré Watson, Gabriela Capraroiu, Mario Bojórquez, Alí Calderón)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What takes precedence in translation—the source language or the target language? How useful is the author as collaborator? What do we need to know to translate well into or out of a language we weren't born to? Can informants give us enough of the guts and taste of the language and culture for us to get a poem or story right? A group of highly diverse translators of Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Romanian, and English share the highs and lows of collaborative translation.

Panel Discussion R120. Printing the Forked Tongue: Bilingual Publishing After Gloria Anzaldúa's Borderlands/La Frontera. (Britt Haraway, elena minor, Diana Lopez, Maria Miranda Maloney, Raina J. León)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Gloria Anzaldúa demanded her freest expression, whether in Spanish, English, and/or the in-between. The literary world had trouble keeping up—and, to an extent, still does. There are contemporary publishers that take up her challenge and seize an opportunity to create open spaces for language. Whereas Anzaldúa was told to wash the linguistic richness off of her tongue, these editors encourage writers to blossom into their natural language palate and create their best words in the best order.

Panel Discussion R121. Book Launch Confidential: Marketing Made Smarter, Not Harder. (Lynne Griffin, Michelle Toth, Eve Bridburg, Michael Blanding, Tasneem Zehra Husain)
Room 502 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Authors—no matter how they are published—must be active players in cultivating an audience using the tools available today. Yet without crystal clear goals and an honest assessment of skills and resources, the path forward can be driven by anxiety, instead of a personal strategy for success. Using a logic model, writers can learn to draw on strengths as they align activities with values and priorities, becoming advocates for their work while finding energy and joy in the process.

Panel Discussion R122. Demystifying the Market: Multiple Paths to the First Book. (Casey Thayer, Nancy Reddy, Bri Cavallaro, Richie Hofmann, Malachi Black)
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In a dizzying poetry marketplace, how do writers determine where to submit? Authors of books from Copper Canyon, Milkweed, Alice James, the Akron Series of Poetry, and the University of New Mexico discuss the three main avenues open to first-book poets: contests, open reading periods, and solicitation from presses. Drawing on a range of personal experience, they talk candidly about the merits of each option, offering advice on manuscript submission, the revision process, and promotion.

Panel Discussion R123. Story by Design: Visual Narratives. (Zach Dodson, Keith McCleary, Alexandra Chasin, Stephen Farrell, Samantha Gorman, Warren Lehrer)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
There is a secret history of designed works in fiction, from Tristram Shandy to House of Leaves. Incorporating the tools of design, authors can create works of visual literature in which typography, image, and visual sequence are integral. Starting from writing and print design, these designers-as-authors, interactive storytellers, professors, and publishers of visual narrative explore the design thinking behind these works. This panel is a writer's bridge to the visual and interactive realms.

Panel Discussion R124. The Science of Story: Creative Nonfiction and Cognitive Science. (Sean Prentiss, Jessica Hendry Nelson, Nancer Ballard, Dave Madden)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
New research in cognitive/neuroscience illuminates how and why creative nonfiction works. Panelists explore why our perception of time slows during crisis and how to replicate crisis on the page (showing) and why the best nonfiction engages the prefrontal cortex through introspection, reflection, and speculation (components of telling). This panel examines elements of creative nonfiction and offers suggestions on how we can use science to improve our writing and writing lives.

Panel Discussion R125. Short Nonfiction: A Genre for Building Literary Careers. (David Weinstein, David Groff, Jabari Asim, Sarah Seltzer, Tim Denevi)
Room 506, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Writers of all genres benefit from publishing short nonfiction. In book reviews and op-eds, countless opportunities exist to be seen and heard—and to pave the way to book publication. Panelists at all stages of their careers discuss how to build authority in today's nonfiction landscape. Along with practical advice on breaking in, they emphasize the nuances of producing, pitching, and promoting different forms within the genre—of value to both the writer and the culture at large.

Panel Discussion R126. Making Monsters: Exploring Otherness in YA/MG Literature. (Jeramey Kraatz, Kirsten Hubbard, Stephanie Kuehn, Micol Ostow, Samantha Mabry)
Room 510, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The recognition and ownership of one's own monstrosity, in terms of being extraordinary, can be powerful and liberating. On the other hand, being labeled as a monster can strip a person of her humanity, the results of which can be devastating. Five young adult and middle grade authors representing sci-fi/fantasy, magical realism, and contemporary fiction discuss the literal and figurative monsters in their stories and how the idea of monstrousness relates to the experience of growing up.

R127. AWP Program Directors Plenary Assembly.
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
All AWP program directors should attend and represent their programs. The trustees of AWP will report on AWP’s new projects and on important statistics and academic trends that pertain to creative writing programs and to writers who teach. The plenary assembly will be followed by regional breakout sessions.

Pedagogy R128. Making Connections: Creativity in the Composition Classroom. (Xinqiang Li, Joyce Meier, Leonora Smith, Stephanie Amada, Curtis VanDonkelaar)
Room 512, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel discusses the use of creative content and international writing traditions in the composition classroom. Viewing the classroom as a creative space affords connections to writing for students and instructors who come to the university with differing expectations of what writing is and can be. These moves help to create cultural bridges for domestic and international students and to nourish the creative and scholarly lives of instructors.

Reading R129. Multiple Feminisms: Celebrating Ten Years of Switchback Books. (Hanna Andrews, Stefania Heim, Morgan Parker, Marisa Crawford, Jennifer Tamayo)
Room 513, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Switchback Books was founded with the vision of being an inclusive feminist poetry press, and with a mission to seek out groundbreaking work by woman-identified writers. This tenth-anniversary panel brings together a diverse group of Switchback poets who will speak on the connection between feminist perspective and aesthetic choices, reflect on Switchback's editorial process, consider the evolution of the press within the larger field of contemporary feminist writing, and read/perform from their work.

Panel Discussion R130. Then We Came to the End. (Marie Mockett, Heidi Durrow, Hasanthika Sirisena, Allison Devers, Sunil Yapa)
Room 515 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
How do you know when you are at the end of a story? Western stories are said to finish in one of two ways: a wedding or a funeral. The Japanese psychoanalyst Hayao Kawai has said that the preferred ending to a story in Japan is with a beautiful image. So, is the ending to a story partly a cultural preference? Does every story have one perfect ending?

Panel Discussion R131. Affrilachian Poets: 25 Years of Redefining Appalachia. (Mitchell L. H. Douglas, Ricardo Nazario Colon, Ellen Hagan, Kamilah Aisha Moon, Keith Wilson)
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Central to the purpose of the Affrilachian Poets is redefining what it means to be from Appalachia. To that extent, it has members from the 13 states found within the Appalachian region. This panel explores notions of place and culture within the group, celebrating its 25th anniversary and allies it has made along the way.

Panel Discussion R132. What Does It Mean to Be a Latino? (Maria de Lourdes Victoria, Carmen Bernier-Grand, Donna Miscolta, Teresa Luengo Cid)
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel of Latino authors will explore the question of what it means to be a Latino in the United States. Whether you are an author creating a "Latino character" or a publisher wishing to publish "Latino literature," or a librarian wondering whether a book fits within the "Latino" category of your catalog, this presentation will help you understand more about the rich and unique histories of the various groups of people that have been part of the US landscape for centuries.

Ten-thirty a.m. to Eleven forty-five a.m.

Panel Discussion R133A. Coming-Out Narratives: Beyond Queer 101. (Chelsey Johnson, Justin Torres, James Hannaham, Lucy Corin, Charlie Jane Anders)
Gold Salon 1, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Every queer person has a coming-out story (or several), and queer and straight writers alike have shown an enduring fascination with writing them. As coming out remains the dominant queer narrative in America, by its sheer hegemony this trope often becomes a generic move. Five LGBTQ writers discuss what compels and/or bores us about these stories; why we write them or don't; what distinguishes a great coming-out narrative from a tepid one; and what writers get wrong when they write them.

Panel Discussion R133B. Learning the Craft of Children's Literature in an Adult World. (Eliot Schrefer, Donna Freitas, Rebecca Chace, Patricia McCormick, Kathi Appelt)
Gold Salon 2, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
As more writing programs add children's and YA tracks within larger pools of MFA students, it's not easy to figure out how best to teach—and learn—the craft of writing for younger audiences. Where are the traditional MFA program structures useful to those writing for children, and where are they potentially a challenge? How do we keep the highest standards for writing for children, all while defending it against those who would consider it simpler?

Panel Discussion R134. Creating Opportunities for Writers of Color: A Continued Urgency. (Reginald Flood, Diem Jones, Elmaz Abinader, Angie Chuang, Angela Narciso Torres)
Gold Salon 3, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Willow Books, an award-winning publisher of writers of color, and VONA/Voices, a foundation for writers of color, discuss why their missions have a renewed relevancy. Key writers, editors, and administrators discuss the current climate in publishing, in social media, and in the political world that makes creating these opportunities more vital than ever. They discuss their inspiration, their challenges, and how their work has contributed to the inclusivity of writers of color.

Reading R135. SoCal Magical Realism. (Heather Fowler, Ben Loory, Bonnie ZoBell, Andy Roe, Daniel Olivas)
Gold Salon 4, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Magical realism has trickled up the coast from Latin America to the Golden State. Set in reality with magic introduced matter-of-factly, it's less of a genre than a style. Five SoCal writers mix it up with magical elements, most set in SoCal, some speculative. Each reads a sample of work and discusses what magical realism means in his or her writing, followed by a Q&A.

Panel Discussion R136. From the Margins: Literary Magazines Supporting Writers of Color. (Jyothi Natarajan, Ron Kavanaugh, Melody Nixon, Janice Sapigao)
Diamond Salon 6&7, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
“It isn't hard to find writers of color,” Roxane Gay wrote in a 2012 blog post. “All you have to do is read.” In this panel, editors from five literary magazines dedicated to publishing writers often marginalized by the publishing industry talk about what it looks like to publish voices from the periphery. Topics include where they find new emerging writers of color, where they situate their work in the landscape of literary publishing, and what kinds of writing they're looking for now.

Pedagogy R137. Class Matters: Considering Class in the Classroom. (Adam Penna, Christina Marrocco, Stephanie Lindberg, KateLynn Hibbard, Mary Lannon)
AWP Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
How do we reach out to students with different class backgrounds in our classrooms, welcome them to creative writing workshops, and encourage them to make the literary world their own? Five writers with working-class roots share how their own stories of coming to voice and their own experiences teaching a wide range of students inform their teaching philosophies. Strategies for students, common pedagogical challenges, and best practices applicable to classrooms at all levels are discussed.

Reading R138. Literary Orphans Presents: Burning Down the Walls: The Art and Importance of Writing Essays That Can Change the World. (Anna March, Megan Stielstra, Michele Filgate, Jamia Wilson, Ashley Ford) 
Scott James Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Essays concerned—directly or indirectly—with the social crises of our time are receiving unprecedented readership. In that context, this panel will discuss the role of the essayist as citizen, issues surrounding personal disclosures in the socially conscious essay, their own call to create change, as well as their own recent works confronting topics such as race, feminism, queer identity, and abortion. Handouts will include a reading list, suggested markets/editors and helpful craft suggestions.

Reading R139. The Chapbook Across Genres. (Kate Asche, Allison Linville, Lawrence Lenhart, Leah Maines) 
Robert Muroff Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Though commonly known as a poetic artifact, the chapbook form enjoys increasing recognition for its presentation of fiction, creative nonfiction, and hybrid works. This panel, composed of independent and university presses and journals, will explore the unique and compelling nature of the chapbook form across genres. What are its advantages and limitations over presenting work as single pieces and as book-length collections? Panelists will share resources for engaging with the chapbook form.

Panel Discussion R140. Rewriting the Iconic West: Native and Latino Writers on Crafting Change. (Toni Jensen, Stephen Graham Jones, Tim Hernandez, Erika Wurth, Ito Romo)
Room 402 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
From the cowboy on horseback to the detective on the dark city streets, the fictional icons of the West loom both familiar and large. Their stories have the ease of familiarity, but what if the stories you want to tell shift the vantage point? What if your hero is the one shot by the cowboy, the man turning the corner to avoid the detective? A diverse set of writers discusses strategies for telling the West's iconic stories through a wide range of viewpoints and in diverse cultural contexts.

Panel Discussion R141. In Case You Think You Don't Belong Here: Imposter Syndrome and AWP. (Samantha Dunn, Jessie Carty, Aubrey Hirsch, Margaret LaFleur, Carmen Machado)
Room 403 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
AWP can be an overwhelming event. With so many writers, publishers, presses, literary journals, and academic programs in attendance, it is easy to feel like you don't belong. This feeling has a name: Imposter Syndrome. A panel of writers addresses this phenomenon and discusses ways to overcome it while offering some practical advice and strategies for getting the most out of the conference, no matter your place in the literary landscape.

Reading R142. Raising Lilly Ledbetter: Women Poets Occupy the Workspace—an Anthology Reading and Celebration. (Carolyne Wright, Vandana Khanna, Jacqueline Osherow, Kim Addonizio, Elaine Sexton)
Room 403 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
After President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the editors of this anthology called for women poets of all backgrounds and job descriptions to share their workplace experiences—not just pay and promotion inequity, or workplace harassment and intimidation, but women's ever-widening range of occupations and representation in a globalized world. Join the event to occupy the reading space with five poet contributors to this groundbreaking anthology that celebrates women in the workplace.

Reading R143. Future Tense Books: A 25th Anniversary Reading. (Jamie Iredell, Kevin Sampsell, Chelsea Martin, Myriam Gurba, Wendy C. Ortiz)
Room 404 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Founded in 1990, Future Tense Books continues to publish some of contemporary literature's most diverse and daring voices, many of whom continue to contribute to American letters today, among them three of the panelists. Come hear the bold and eclectic voices from the many years of Future Tense authors, as well as from the publisher.

Panel Discussion R144. Independent Bookselling: Opportunities for Authors. (Dennis Johnson, John Evans, Mary Williams, Dan Graham, Alex Maslansky)
Room 405, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
As bookstore chains disappear and independent bookstores become even more important, what should writers and authors know about working with booksellers? This panel from Los Angeles-area bookstores discusses how writers can work with independent booksellers to market a book. Topics include author events, store placement, joint promotion, and how to spread the word to the book-buying public.

Panel Discussion R145. Managing Digital Formatting and Subscriptions for Literary Magazines. (Ted Dodson, Minna Proctor, Marcia Parlow, Stephanie G'Schwind)
Room 406 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
A variety of tools and challenges exist for literary magazine publishers to both deliver their wares in digital form and build/manage circulation. Join in a discussion with publisher colleagues on various approaches to digital conversion and delivery, as well as the many ways that online and other digital tools can be used to attract new readers, convert submitters, and manage the complexities of subscriptions and renewals.

Pedagogy R146. Poets in the Schools: Empowering K–12 with the Word. (Phyllis Meshalum, Jessica Wilson Cardenas, John Oliver Simon, Tobey Kaplan, Cathy Barber)
Room 407, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
California Poets in the Schools' Panel of Poet Teachers presents lessons in relation to poetry teaching activities, pedagogical principles, mentor-artist philosophy, curriculum context, literacy research, and cross-disciplinary collaborations engaging K–12 students, and the importance of a Poet community. The lessons in Poetry Crossing demonstrate the dedication of our Poet Teacher community on a quest for the empowerment of children. Student excerpts showcase bilingual poetics and creative form.

Panel Discussion R147....But You, Motion Picture Industry, / It's You I Love! (Celeste Gainey, Aaron Smith, Ellen Bass, Patrick Ryan Frank, Maureen Seaton)
Room 408 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In the 50th-anniversary year of the death of seminal New York School poet and major movie fan Frank O'Hara, some of his direct descendants, LGBTQ poets of today, reflect on the resilient vibrancy of his legacy and its impact on their work, and read poems celebrating their own love of cinema, celebrity, and popular culture.

Panel Discussion R148. The Asian Face of War, Gaining Perspectives from Both Sides: A Look at WWII, Vietnam, and Korea. (Gregory Dunne, Lois Jones, Ross Cantalupo, Mong Lan, Kyoko Yoshida)
Room 408 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
How does literature remain conversant with the history of war in Asia? Why does it remain vital and relevant? Seventy years after WWII, and forty years after the fall of Saigon, writers whose work was published in Kyoto Journal and who write out of an awareness of war gather to address questions of war and literature's ongoing response to it. Four writers, some based outside the United States, speak to Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese literature in light of history and war.

Panel Discussion R149. Laugh to Keep from Crying: Using Humor to Write Through Pain. (Lee Griffith, Ariel Felton, Harrison Key, Cal Morgan, Lauren Wolf)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Knock, knock. Who's there? Searing emotional trauma! Emerging and established authors and editors will discuss using humor to explore painful subjects, including racism, mental health, abuse, death, and more, while also looking at what topics, if any, are off limits. A Harper Perennial editor will discuss working with authors going through this funny, yet difficult, and not always fun, process. So go ahead. Let the trauma in. It can't hurt you—if it's hilarious.

Panel Discussion R150. There and Back Again: Writing from the Road. (Erika Krouse, Kai Carlson-Wee, Kim Barnes, Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum, Maggie Shipstead)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Five established and emerging writers who work in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction discuss each of their unique journeys in the world. These travels include train-hopping across the US, marches in Ferguson and Baltimore, the Amtrak Writing Residency, and the Arctic Circle Residency. Panelists address how these endeavors changed their writing in ways they did not expect, including personal research, craft development, and discoveries of larger environmental, social, and racial truths.

Panel Discussion R151. Crazy Sunday: Preserving Artistic Vision in Hollywood. (Leslie Kreiner Wilson, Jeff Hoffman, Liz Keyishian Wilks, Marilyn Beker, Tom Provost)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The title of F. Scott Fitzgerald's story "Crazy Sunday"—about a screenwriter who embarrasses himself at a producer's party and elsewhere—acts as a compelling metaphor for those who endeavor to maintain artistic vision—as well as moral integrity—within the Hollywood system. In addition to this discussion, the panel also examines the challenges of working in multiple genres—especially genres that seem somewhat hostile to one another, such as poetry and screenwriting.

Panel Discussion R152. Reverberant Silence: Making and Meaning a New Silence. (Jeffrey Levine, Ilya Kaminsky, Ruth Ellen Kocher, Prageeta Sharma, Amaud Johnson)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Referring to the challenge of this remark by Mark Doty—"One ambition of poetry is to create a reverberant silence in its wake, one that means more or differently than the silence that preceded the poem"—four culturally astute poets of highly diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds speak and debate about how and by what means the silence that a poem leaves in its wake is intentionally and irrevocably altered, and how reverberant poetry makes a case for a new approach to reading and listening.

Panel Discussion R153. Networking for Introverts. (Meghan Ward, Alison Singh Gee, Isaac Fitzgerald, Ayesha Mattu, Sophfronia Scott)
Room 502 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
"Networking" is a hated term among writers. Yet more and more we are told that is exactly what we need to do—speak at events, increase friends and followers, make connections, and sell those books. How can writers, who are notoriously introverted, overcome their anxiety to open themselves up to the world? Five authors share their secrets for moving past their insecurities to build vast networks of loyal fans.

Panel Discussion R154. The Tattooed Desert: A Tribute to and Reading from Richard Shelton, Hosted by the University of Arizona Poetry Center. (Alison Deming, Mark Doty, Ken Lamberton, Naomi Shihab Nye, Richard Shelton)
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel/reading celebrates the life of poet, writer, teacher, and literary citizen Richard Shelton. Shelton's 12 collections of poetry include The Tattooed Desert, Selected Poems: 1969–1981, and The Last Person to Hear Your Voice. A critical influence in the twentieth-century American literary landscape and a quintessential voice of the American Southwest, Shelton's work as an educator perseveres, particularly in the Arizona prison-writing program he launched in 1974 that continues today.

R155. AWP Program Directors' Midwest Council.
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
If you are a program director or co-director of an AWP member creative writing program in the following regions, you should attend this session: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Ontario, and Wisconsin. This breakout session begins immediately upon the conclusion of the Program Directors Plenary Assembly, so we recommend that you attend the Plenary Assembly first. Your regional representative on the AWP Board of Trustees will conduct this meeting.

Reading R156. What Are You?: Mixed-Race Writers Find Voice and Community. (Aaron Samuels, Chris Terry, F. Douglas Brown, Suzie F. Garcia, Casey Rocheteau)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
While the mixed-race population explodes in the US, there is no definitive mixed-race/multiracial experience. Mixed identity is varied, and mixed writers often do a form of literary code-switching as they write in multiple communities. In this panel, mixed authors share their work and discuss how mixed writers of different ethnic, economic, and geographic backgrounds find inspiration, form community, and create in conversation with one another.

Panel Discussion R157. Looking Through the Lens of Conflict: Writing Young Adult Literature About Families in Crisis. (Ann Angel, Emily Kokie, Terry Farish, Jessica Powers)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Contemporary young adult literature often contains themes of family crisis in which teen responses to shifts within the family dynamic can shatter a fragile family. Whether caught up in family abuse, war, poverty, surviving a family member's death, or surviving in a family broken by PTSD responses to community or personal tragedy, teens struggle to cope within broken families. Writers discuss the struggle to portray honest teen responses to crisis and the path to hope.

R158. AWP Program Directors' Mid-Atlantic Council.
Room 506, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
If you are a program director or co-director of an AWP member creative writing program in the following regions, you should attend this session: Delaware, District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. This breakout session begins immediately upon the conclusion of the Program Directors Plenary Assembly, so we recommend that you attend the Plenary Assembly first. Your regional representative on the AWP Board of Trustees will conduct this meeting.

R159. AWP Program Directors' Northeast Council.
Room 510, L.A. Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
If you are a program director or co-director of an AWP member creative writing program in the following regions, you should attend this session: Connecticut, Labrador, Massachusetts, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Europe. This breakout session begins immediately upon the conclusion of the Program Directors Plenary Assembly, so we recommend that you attend the Plenary Assembly first. Your regional representative on the AWP Board of Trustees will conduct this meeting.

R160. AWP Program Directors' Western Council.
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
If you are a program director or co-director of an AWP member creative writing program in the following regions, you should attend this session: Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Manitoba, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Washington, Wyoming, and the Pacific Rim. This breakout session begins immediately upon the conclusion of the Program Directors Plenary Assembly, so we recommend that you attend the Plenary Assembly first. Your regional representative on the AWP Board of Trustees will conduct this meeting.

R161. AWP Program Directors' Southwest Council.
Room 512, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
If you are a program director or co-director of an AWP member creative writing program in the following regions, you should attend this session: Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. This breakout session begins immediately upon the conclusion of the Program Directors Plenary Assembly, so we recommend that you attend the Plenary Assembly first. Your regional representative on the AWP Board of Trustees will conduct this meeting.

R162. AWP Program Directors' Southern Council.
Room 513, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
If you are a program director or co-director of an AWP member creative writing program in the following regions, you should attend this session: Alabama, Arkansas, Caribbean Islands, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. This breakout session begins immediately upon the conclusion of the Program Directors Plenary Assembly, so we recommend that you attend the Plenary Assembly first. Your regional representative on the AWP Board of Trustees will conduct this meeting.

Reading R163. Beautifully Broken: A Multilingual Reading of Trauma-Informed Poetry. (Nancy Naomi Carlson, Alex Cigale, Alexis Levitin, Chun Ye, Aliki Barnstone)
Room 515 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Trauma knows no national boundaries and has inspired a diverse body of poetry to inscribe that before which words are powerless. Poetic response to trauma is conditioned by historical context as well as personal character. This panel of poets and translators reads poems from such countries as Brazil, China, Greece, Martinique, and Russia that describe or explore such devastating life experiences as war, exile, natural catastrophes, prison, and unrequited love.

Pedagogy R164. The Life You Save May Be Your Own: Mentors and Mentees. (Michael Croley, Richard Bausch, Robert Bausch, Jill McCorkle, Pam Houston)
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Every young writer craves that one fabulous mentor who will shape his or her work and, thus, shape his or her life. In the best situation, the student(s) shape you too. Four writers with giants for mentors and troves of their own students will discuss what it was like to have been mentored and to have then grown into the role of teacher.

Panel Discussion R165. Write Me Right: Ideas and Resources for Writing Diverse Characters. (Najiyah Maxfield, Yvonne Mesa, Valarie Budayr, Tamara Gray, Brenda Bradshaw)
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
It's true that anyone can write anyone. But doing so with confidence, empathy, and authenticity is another story. Afghani women who don't know how to walk in a burka? Cherokee characters with Kiowa names? Get concrete suggestions on avoiding these kinds of pitfalls and writing characters who will maintain both their cultural integrity and their humanity.

Noon to One-fifteen p.m.

Reading R166. Editing (and Writing) the City. (Aviya Kushner, Colleen Kinder, Curtis Bauer, Jennifer Acker) Gold Salon 1, JW Marriott LA, First Floor
This panel explores cities as sites of rebellion and revolution—personal and communal—as well as regeneration and arrival. How does urban change interweave with memory, politics, tradition, innovation, and mortality? Panelists discuss their experiences editing work about cities that are no longer like what the writer remembers, as well as cities that are inaccessible to most readers; they discuss the myriad ways writing can reveal, interrogate, celebrate, reinvent, and help sustain human life in cities.

Panel Discussion R167. Writing Around the Block: How to Keep the Words Flowing. (Susan Orlean, D. A. Powell, Melissa Stein, Dolen Perkins-Valdez)
Gold Salon 2, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
That blank page has been staring at you for days, weeks, months. How can you pinpoint what's holding you back and jumpstart your creativity? How can you tell a slump from a period of creative incubation? Five award-winning writers of prose and poetry share insights, strategies, and tools for weathering the ups and downs of the creative process—and along the way, they just might challenge your definitions of productivity and success.

Pedagogy R168. Education Isn't an Acronym: Collectives, Pop-ups, and Other Alternatives to the MFA. (Tom Healy, Dorothea Lasky, Adam Fitzgerald, Mónica de la Torre)
Gold Salon 3, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Poetry's relationship to traditional educational spaces needs to be revised to reflect the multidimensional perspective that poets use to create. In this panel, we consider how alternatives to these spaces might provide counterpoints for poets to learn and grow with other artists, thinkers, and members of their greater communities. The panel's five poets discuss their work in building their own spaces, such as the Ashbery Home School, Home School Miami, BOMB magazine, and Cave Canem.

Panel Discussion R169. Brave New Worlds: Writing Science in YA Fiction. (Cecil Castellucci, Eliot Schrefer, Sherri L Smith, Lydia Kang, Jonathan Alexander)
Gold Salon 4, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Whether they take place in the here and now or in imagined far-flung futures, YA novels are often complex and layered with problems. With an ever-increasing focus on STEM in schools, how do we tackle the use of real science in YA novels? What do we learn about our contemporary selves as a result of the use of science in YA fiction, and how does the age of the protagonists influence how one tells the story? Join a group of dynamic YA authors tackling all sides of science in fiction in a discussion.

Panel Discussion R170. Problem Child: Promoting Your First Book of Poetry. (Susannah Nevison, Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum, Hannah Notess, Marcus Wicker, Ron Mitchell)
Diamond Salon 6&7, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
Four poets with successful first collections and a publisher address both expected and unexpected challenges promoting their work, including assuming duties traditionally provided by publishers, a necessity in the current climate of staff cuts and budget reductions. Topics include maximizing social media, booking readings, developing relationships with critics and reviewers, utilizing existing technologies such as Square, and creating unique advertising and marketing campaigns.

Pedagogy R171. We Have Your Interests at Heart: Teaching Memoir in the Era of Mandatory Reporting. (Kathy Flann, Becka James, Glen Retief, Paula Barran)
AWP Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Students seldom submit a draft memoir intending to bring police to their door or to forfeit their agency over reporting harm done to them. Yet broad new state and federal mandatory reporting requirements for child abuse and sexual misconduct make such scenarios increasingly likely. This panel, bringing together student, legal, faculty, and memoirist perspectives, surveys new requirements and shares insights for how today's teachers can balance student trust and creativity with student safety.

Reading R172. Spalding MFA's Celebration of Writing. (Kathleen Driskell, Rebecca Walker, Rachel Harper, Fenton Johnson, Julie Brickman)
Scott James Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Join Spalding's low-residency MFA in Writing program for a reception featuring brief readings by faculty at the bookfair stage. The celebration continues with champagne and cupcakes at the Spalding MFA booth.

Reading R173. Crab Orchard Series in Poetry Reading. (Jon Tribble, Sass Brown, Lisa Fay Coutley, Gregory Kimbrell, Jennifer Richter)
Robert Muroff Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Authors with new collections in the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry will read from their books.

Reading R174. The Art of Medicine: A Reading of Creative Nonfiction by Health Practitioners. (Lee Gutkind, Catherine Musemeche, Thomas Gibbs, Diane Kraynak)
Room 402 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In the past five years, Creative Nonfiction and In Fact Books have published five anthologies of medical narratives, illuminating the professional, personal, and emotional experiences of doctors, nurses, therapists, and patients. Contributors to several of these collections read from their work and, in discussion with the books' editor, reflect on how they approach writing honestly about their professional lives and deal with ethical questions about writing patients' stories.

Reading R175. New-Generation African Women Poets: A Reading from the African Poetry Book Series. (Ladan Osman, Mahtem Shiferraw, Tsitsi Jaji, Warsan Shire, Amy Lukau)
Room 403 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
A reboot of the highly successful panel reading at AWP 2014, the African Poetry Book Series presents five exciting new and established female voices writing in the US and abroad. This reading includes international prize-winning poets and performers who will share their work and discuss craft and process, as well as publishing opportunities for African poets.

Panel Discussion R176. Graywolf Press Emerging Authors: On Publishing First and Second Books. (Jensen Beach, Gretchen Marquette, Solmaz Sharif, Mark Doten, Margaret Dean)
Room 403 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Five new and emerging authors writing in the genres of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction discuss their experiences with publishing their first and second books. What is the process like, from landing that book deal, to working with editors and publicists, to handling the highs and lows of book tours and reviews? How can a first-time author successfully prepare for publishing a book? A group of dynamic Graywolf Press authors talks candidly about the publishing process.  

Panel Discussion R177. To Hell and Back: Trauma and the Transformational Arc in Personal Narrative. (Janice Gary, Sue Silverman, Melissa Febos, Marilyn Bousquin, Laura Bogart)
Room 404 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Great storytelling shows how a character grows and changes. This is true whether in fiction or nonfiction, and yet true stories of personal growth and transformation are often belittled as "navel gazing" in the literary community, especially when it comes to women's stories. Five writers, all of whom have taken the risk to write about difficult life experiences, discuss the transformational arc in personal narrative and what it takes to transcend trauma and turn it into powerful literature.

Pedagogy R178. We Are Your Saviors: Faculty of Color Respond to the MFA vs. POC Debate. (Julie Iromuanya, DeMisty Bellinger, John Chávez, Randall Horton, Iyawó (Kristin) Naca)
Room 405, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Junot Díaz and David Mura critically interrogate the ways that privilege imbues interactions within predominantly white writing workshops. The panelists want to extend this conversation by considering the ways that faculty of color negotiate intersectional identities in these spaces. Their dual perspective as marginalized leaders has positioned them to save the writing workshop. From a position of both power and marginality, how do workshop leaders of color facilitate a fruitful and inclusive writing workshop?

Panel Discussion R179. Ready, Set, Crawl: Taking Literature to the Streets. (Jill Meyers, Suzanne Russo, Sally Shore, Brian McGuigan, Jen Siraganian)
Room 406 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What started in San Francisco in 2004 has grown to be one of the most anticipated literary nights of the year in Los Angeles, New York City, Seattle, Austin, and elsewhere. A literary pub crawl where cerebral meets madcap, Lit Crawl taps into each city's local scene for a night of readings, games, and literary karaoke in venues from tattoo parlors to police stations to cemeteries. Panelists discuss how they organize these free events, build up the local literary community, and bring attention to writers' work.

Panel Discussion R180. Queertopia or Bust: Thoughts on Intersectional Queer Poetics. (Jason Schneiderman, Rickey Laurentiis, Julie Enszer, Viet Le, Trace Peterson)
Room 407, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
“Queer” emerged in the 1990s as an activist formation that challenged liberal politics and became the preferred term in academia for everyone who was not straight or normatively gendered. The inclusivity of “queer” has been contested by those who felt instrumentalized or excluded by the term. Though it continues to be useful as a rubric (and easier to say than “LGBTQIA”), is queer really working, and for whom? Four poet-editors discuss their experience at the intersections of queer identity.

Panel Discussion R181. From the Drudges: Sustaining a Writing Life from Outside of Academia. (Jen Fitzgerald, Rodrigo Toscano, Alyss Dixson, Ashaki Jackson)
Room 408 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The lion's share of prizes, grants, fellowships, and accolades originates in academia and is awarded to academics. Does this mean we have to teach in order to sustain a writing life? Five panelists discuss how a meaningful and successful writing career can be established and sustained from outside of the university cycle.

Panel Discussion R182. Beyond the Poetry Classroom: Serving the Underserved. (Nicole Santalucia, Maria Gillan, Jan Beatty, Abby Murray, Timothy Green)
Room 408 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel discusses what it takes to expand poetry communities beyond the creative writing classroom, and how faculty and students can implement outreach programs in their own communities. The panelists provide examples of how they extend the reach of poetry programs to underserved populations such as veterans, prisoners, senior citizens, children, and at-risk teens. The opportunity to serve fulfills writers as people but also broadens their appeal as future job candidates.

Panel Discussion R183. A Tribute to John Rechy. (Belinda Acosta, John Rechy, Pablo Martinez, Amelia M.L. Montes, Alex Espinoza)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Novelists, poets, and scholars come together to celebrate John Rechy's work and discuss why his voice resonates in the present. Best known for his groundbreaking City of Night (1963), John Rechy's work is a seminal contribution to gay and Latino literature. Transgressive, deeply driven by a classic aesthetic, and profoundly honest, Rechy's work has influenced a wide-range of artists who recognize him as a trailblazer for gay arts and letters while at the same time transcending categorization.

Panel Discussion R184. Dynamic Duos: Art & Words Collaborations, or How Prompted Inspiration Leads to Exhibition. (Bonnie Stufflebeam, Evan Klavon, Laura Madeline Wiseman, Karen Bovenmyer, Bruce Bond)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
"Art is not produced by one artist, but by several," said Max Ernst. Collaborators from the Art & Words Show discuss the collaborative process. How do collaborations shape narrative? How does the vision expand during the process? What are the ways to approach the business side of collaborations? How does the ongoing collaborative dialogue shape the annual show? How do collaborations inspire new work? What do collaborations of art, words, and music teach the collaborators about their own work?

Reading R185. The Poetry of Comics. (Erica Trabold, Bianca Stone, Gabrielle Bates, Alexander Rothman, Catherine Bresner)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The combination of text and image holds the power to create indivisible meaning on the page. Just as poets ground their work in the arrangement of words, ordered by such elements as sound or sense, most cartoonist-poets gravitate toward comics' foundational device of juxtaposition. The tradition of comics has created generous, exciting spaces for the poetic, lyric, and hybrid. In this panel, artists showcase and read from works that live at the intersection of the visual and the poetic.

Panel Discussion R186. From the Inside: Writers of Color on Editing and Diversity. (J.L. Torres, Allen Gee, Duriel Harris, Christine Amezquita, Ravi Shankar)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel, comprised of writers of color with editing experience, discusses topics related to editing with a focus on diversity. Discussion includes soliciting, competing for a limited number of diverse writers, having diverse work approved by colleagues, nurturing writers of color early in their careers, and promoting one's journal as diversity grows. Panelists share their experiences as writers negotiating writing with editorial duties and comment on editing as a career option.

Panel Discussion R187. Literary Heroes, or How Great Writers Fuel the Creative Process: Aeschylus, Dante, Herbert, Larkin, and Rushdie. (Michelle Boisseau, Janet Burroway, Mark Jarman, Chad Davidson, Padma Viswanathan)
Room 502 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
We become the writers we become through the writers we choose to show us what's possible and how to live to make art. Dickinson had George Eliot; Borges had De Quincey. Often our masters come from experiences vastly different from ours. We might not want to have a beer with them, or they with us, but our imaginations are driven, our craft sharpened by their work—for this panel, by Aeschylus's deft motifs, Dante's metatextuality, Herbert's dedication, Larkin's distinctions, and Rushdie's elaborations.

Panel Discussion R188. Out of the Cradle: Writing Our Children. (Leslie Adrienne Miller, Debra Gwartney, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Jon Pineda, Matthew Batt)
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel explores questions writers ask themselves about what or how much we feel free to write about our children. Do we owe them the same or different privacies on the page and online from those we preserve for other family members? Does genre, our gender, or the gender of our children matter in these boundaries? To what extent do or should race and class affect these boundaries? Do we have literary heroes or heroines who have answered these questions with eloquence before us?

Panel Discussion R189. This Ends Now: Fiction in the Time of Crisis. (Martha Southgate, Ravi Howard, Asali Solomon, Brian Gilmore, Sanderia Faye)
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write–Martin Luther. Our communities are in crisis; this is undisputedly true. This panel considers the ways that African American fiction writers respond. Can writing be an instrument of social change? Are we obligated to focus our work on the crisis at hand? Kimbilio Fellows will discuss the demands that these troubled times place on our work, including how/if we have responded. #blacklivesmatter

Reading R190. We Are Theatre: SPEAK-OUT for Gender Parity for Women Playwrights. (Thelma De Castro, Martha Joy Rose, Jennie Webb, Laura Shamas, Aphra Behn)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In 2012, Guerrilla Girls On Tour (GGOT) and the Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative (LAFPI) organized a SPEAK-OUT in NYC, "WE ARE THEATRE"—an evening of plays about sexism in theatre. From 50/50 in 2020 to Little Black Dress, Inc., to the Kilroys, organizations working towards gender parity in theatre are all across the US. Yet the stats remain the same: Less than twenty percent of all plays produced in the US have been written by women. Representatives from LAFPI, San Diego Playwrights, and GGOT share strategies and discuss what else we might do to make gender parity in theatre a reality.

Panel Discussion R191. People Are Afraid to Merge in Los Angeles. (Bridget Hoida, Jenn Rossmann, Reina Prado, Sharon Gelman, Liz Gonzalez)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Literary Los Angeles is often the subject of surface-deep satire, but the focus on zip codes in the Hollywood glare leaves other stories undertold. A panel of Californian authors discuss the other LA (and California) stories, which are diverse, complex, and deserving of literary attention. Panelists discuss authors who have told these undertold Golden State stories, and strategies for bringing the other LA to light in their own fiction and poetry.

Panel Discussion R193. Read the Essay, Buy the Book? (Anna North, Tony Tulathimutte, Eric Sasson, Esme Wang, Marie-Helene Bertino)
Room 510, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In today's publishing climate, writing essays related to a book has become as important a part of promotion as giving readings or interviews. What makes a successful essay of this kind, for the writer and for the reader? How can writers craft and place essays that both are meaningful in their own right and acquaint the reader with them and with their books? The five writers on this panel explore, along with the audience, the place of the book-related essay in a writer's life and career.

Panel Discussion R194. I Got You Babe: The (Dis)Harmonies of Collaboration. (Dean Rader, Matthew Rohrer, Simone Muench, Brittany Cavallaro, Carol Guess)
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What are the perils and pleasures of literary co-play? Collaboration in film, dance, music, and the visual arts is commonplace; however, in literary fields, authorial collaborations are often looked upon with skepticism and incredulity by both readers and publishers. And yet, collaborative projects are on the rise. Five poets who translate, sample, and co-author collaborate here to discuss the innovations, advantages, and artistry of working with other writers—both living and dead.

Pedagogy R195. Furries, Fairies, and Fetuses: When Earnestness Derails the Short Story. (Ivan Rodden, Karen Dwyer, John Fried, Jim Zervanos)
Room 512, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Write what you know. But change the world. When novice writers' sincere desire to express deep belief, dramatize social change, or be provocative dictates the direction of a plot, the story often fails. Talking fetuses! Furry conventions! Fairies (both literal and metaphorical) defying parents and oppressive society! This panel of experienced instructors examines the dilemma and presents ways to offer strong criticism that respects student enthusiasm and creates better art.

Reading R196. The Radioactive Muse: Nuclear Disaster and Poetry. (Mihaela Moscaliuc, Judith Vollmer, April Naoko Heck, Lissa Kiernan, Kathleen Flenniken)
Room 513, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
To commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the fifth anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (as well as the seventith anniversary, in 2015, of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki), four women poets whose lives have been marked by the nuclear industry read from their work and discuss the convergence of research and personal history in the making of their poems.

Panel Discussion R197. Ellen Bryan Voigt as Poet, Mentor, and Community Builder. (charles Baxter, catherine barnett, marianne boruch, Heather McHugh)
Room 515 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Author of ten books, recipient of numerous awards, and Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, Ellen Bryant Voigt has been a central force in American letters for four decades. She also was the founder, in 1976, of the nation's first low-residency MFA program at Warren Wilson College. In conjunction with the program's 40th anniversary, this panel will explicate and pay homage to Voigt's gifts and achievements as poet, teacher, and visionary.

Panel Discussion R198. Writers Editing Writers. (Brigid Hughes, April Wolfe, Yiyun Li, John Haskell, Vanessa Hutchinson)
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Editing is perhaps one of the least glamorous but most necessary aspects of the writing process, and an author's relationship with their editor is one of the most valuable ones they can cultivate. This panel brings together two A Public Space Emerging Writer Fellows to discuss their own processes with their respective mentors, both established authors and A Public Space contributors.

Reading R199. 25 Years of Diversity from Sable and St. Petersburg Review: A Reading. (Elizabeth Hodges, Jeffrey Renard Allen, Kadija Seesay, Thiong'o Ngugi, Christian Campbell)
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
A reading celebrating two journals' combined anniversary: Reading for St. Petersburg Review are Jeffery Renard Allen (The Song of the Shank) and Kadija George, editor of Sable magazine. Reading for Sable are Christian Campbell (Running the Dusk) and TK Ngugi. Elizabeth L. Hodges will moderate.

One-thirty p.m. to Two-forty-five p.m.

Panel Discussion R200. Keeping the Change: Volunteer Recruitment and Retention in Community-Based Writing Programs. (Dare Dukes, Lauren Humphrey, Lisa Roberts, Richard Gold, Mallory Hellman) Gold Salon 1, JW Marriott LA, First Floor
Volunteers are essential to a nonprofit's survival, but passion and talent rarely come for free. How do community-based writing programs attract driven volunteers and keep them committed? Join these panelists from diverse literary outreach organizations—both new and established—as they share successes, discuss challenges, and offer best practices for volunteer recruitment and retention, from identifying potential volunteer pools to recognizing excellent work and rewarding it…all on a nonprofit budget.

Panel Discussion R201. Writing and Trauma. (Richard Hoffman, Suzanne Strempek Shea, Ruthie Rohde, Anthony D'Aries, Helen Elaine Lee)
Gold Salon 3, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Panelists examine the distinction between writing as therapy and writing that is therapeutic, as well as discuss the unique challenges and opportunities of teaching creative writing in various venues—public and private schools; colleges and universities; prisons and juvenile detention centers; hospitals; and other medical and community settings. Members of PEN/New England's Freedom to Write Committee also share the development and implementation of their inaugural Writing & Trauma Conference.

Panel Discussion R202. Art of the Literary Interview. (Tony Leuzzi, Tod Marshall, Allie Larkin, Joseph Salvatore, Catherine LaSota)
Gold Salon 4, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
The interview is a prime medium for exploring and promoting literary conversations. Five panelists with vast creative and critical experience discuss the interview as a genre that honors certain conventions and traditions. They explore wide-ranging expressions of the genre as a dialogic bridge between critic and imaginative writer. They also articulate examples where interviews help build community and set standards for discourse among poets and fiction writers, respectively.  

Panel Discussion R203. The Literary Genius of Kendrick Lamar. (Rion Scott, Mensah Demary, Nathaniel Marshall, Kiese Laymon, Natalie Graham)
Diamond Salon 6&7, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
Hip-hop and literature have always intersected, but the genres find an even greater connection in the work of Compton, California's Kendrick Lamar, who has released three albums that rival the greatest works of fiction and creative nonfiction in depth of theme, imagery, and storytelling complexity. In this panel, writers influenced by Lamar's work discuss what writers can learn about storytelling from the rapper's albums, which are novelistic in both scope and structure.

Reading R204. Poetry, Politics, and Place: A Reading and Conversation with Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Luis J. Rodriguez, Sponsored by Poets House. (Stephen Motika, Naomi Shihab Nye, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Luis J. Rodriguez)
Petree Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
These leading poets read their poems and discuss their poetry-activism in New York, San Antonio, Los Angeles, and around the country. Each engages poetic practice and community building with projects that expand poetry's place in our lives and culture: Griffiths through photography, Nye through writing for children, and Rodriguez through publishing projects and political organizing. The transformative power of poetry brings these three together to talk about how we can make a better world.

Panel Discussion R205. Turning into Dwelling: A Tribute to Christopher Gilbert. (Ed Pavlic, Terrance Hayes, Kevin Young, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Elizabeth Alexander)
AWP Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Christopher Gilbert published one book in his lifetime, the remarkable collection Across the Mutual Landscape, but his unique music and style have influenced an extraordinary range of contemporary American poets. Join the panel for readings and appreciations of Gilbert's singular work, now available for discovery again in the new book Turning into Dwelling. "Let's be simultaneous!" is Gilbert's great imploring for our mutuality. Come and find out what it means.

Reading R206. The Perfect Self-Released Book: What Elements Are Essential, and Will All This Money and Work Pay Off in the End? (Jessica Glenn, Kristin Thiel, Vinnie Kinsella, Mary Bisbee-Beek, Laura Garwood) 
Scott James Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Many AWP participants plan to self-publish. However, a tidal wave of subpar books into the public sphere remains a damning criticism of the practice, making it difficult for readers to sort through new releases for quality, particularly from emerging writers. Self-published books need to be perfected to be part of the literary conversation. However, the reality of poor sales and high expenses needs to be discussed openly so that authors do not get stuck releasing an inferior product.

Reading R207. ASU & HFR: A Celebratory Reading. (Cynthia Hogue, Hugh Martin, Matt Bell, Brian Oliu, Josh Rathkamp)
Robert Muroff Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
In celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Arizona State University, alumni and contributors from Hayden's Ferry Review read selections of fiction and poetry. Matt Bell, author of Scrapper, emcees.

Reading R208. An FC2 Reading. (Michael Mejia, Melanie Rae Thon, Marc Anthony Richardson, Jessica Richardson, Angela Woodward)
Room 402 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
FC2 has been a leading publisher of experimental writing for over forty years, hosting a continually dynamic and diverse conversation about what constitutes the innovative. Their authors include, among many others, Samuel Delaney, Leslie Scalapino, Lidia Yuknavitch, Stephen Graham Jones, Diane WIlliams, Lance Olsen, Raymond Federman, and Vanessa Place. This event features readings by authors of their latest releases, followed by a Q&A.

Reading R209. A Sarabande Books Reading. (Kathleen Ossip, Rick Barot, Kerry Howley, John McManus, Wendy S. Walters)
Room 403 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
As the winner of the inaugural AWP Small Press Award for excellence, creativity, and innovation, Sarabande Books has been one of the most distinguished of the small independent presses for over twenty years, praised for its wide-ranging taste and inspired editing. We celebrate some of the press's recent offerings with a reading by five outstanding writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. A question-and-answer period will follow.

Panel Discussion R210. The Violence of the Page. (Lucy Corin, Maggie Nelson, Brian Evenson, Ben Weissman)
Room 403 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel explores the various tones, reasons, genealogies, and methodologies writers might choose to employ when representing violence, cruelty, and bodies on the page. The writers on this panel have explored these issues in a variety of genres (fiction, scholarship, and poetry) and in a variety of registers (comedic, elegiac, outrageous, conceptual, documentary, and more), and are uniquely capable of discussing the aesthetic, political, and metabolic effects of such writing.

Panel Discussion R211. The Queer Writer's Dilemma: LGBTQ Writers on Identity and Representation. (Tiffany Ferentini, Brian Kornell, Kim van Alkemade, Garth Greenwell, Lauren Espinoza)
Room 404 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Is there a difference between being a queer writer and a writer who “happens to be” queer? Is there a social obligation for LGBTQ writers to write exclusively queer pieces, or is their identity alone enough to establish themselves in the queer writing community? In this panel, LGBTQ writers who have established themselves as editors, translators, and academics debate what it means to identify as a queer writer, and how their writing identity transcends the written page.

Panel Discussion R212. Women Who Edit: Literary Journals. (Mary Flinn, Lindsay Garbutt, Sumita Chakraborty, Corinne Manning, Emily Nemens)
Room 405, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
With a focus on the particular challenges to and accomplishments by women literary magazine editors, the panelists discuss their roles as editors-in-chief, founders, and genre editors at their respective magazines. Additionally, they consider the idea that gender parity in editorial positions promotes parity among contributors, and explore potential opportunities to cultivate a new generation of women editors through mentorship and example.

Panel Discussion R213. An Office of One's Own: Literary Agents on Equality, Gender, and the Business of Creating Books. (Duvall Osteen, Sarah Smith, Monika Woods, Melissa Flashman, Lisa Lucas)
Room 406 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Four literary agents discuss the current publishing industry landscape through the lens of being women. With a spotlight on critical and commercial success of books by women, the marketplace is a thriving environment for women writers, editors, and agents. Topics include getting published without being pigeonholed, approaching the business of publishing as a woman, the online environment as a place of opportunity, and the role agents play in collaborating with and supporting women writers.

Reading R214. SMC MFA Twentieth Anniversary Reading. (Sara Mumolo, Erin McCabe, Yuska Lutfi, Brett Fletcher Lauer, Jason Bayani)
Room 407, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Saint Mary's College of California's MFA Program in Creative Writing celebrates its twentieth anniversary with readings from a diverse group of alumni. This reading is comprised of California writers in different stages of their careers, representing various aesthetic conversations in creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry.

Panel Discussion R215. Iraq Veteran-Writers 10 Years Later: Words After Words After War. (Peter Molin, Colby Buzzell, Kayla Williams, Maurice DeCaul, Ron Capps)
Room 408 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel features four accomplished veteran-writers who each served in Iraq between 2003 and 2005, in conversation about the long-lasting consequences of their experience of war. Looking back, the panel asks its participants to reflect on their service and their writing about war. Looking forward, it asks them about current writing projects that directly or indirectly address the ongoing importance of the Iraq War in their own lives, the lives of other veterans, and the life of the nation.

Panel Discussion R216. Extinction, Erasure, and the Living Practices of W. S. Merwin. (Stanley Plumly, David Baker, Rosanna Warren, Meghan O'Rourke)
Room 408 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
W. S. Merwin may be our greatest living poet—a poet of absence and erasure, whose 65-year poetic vocation traces words on a journey, he says, not the inscriptions of a settled people. Four poet-critics look at Merwin's life and art to discuss this fruitful paradox—how grappling with the conditions of both linguistic erasure and natural extinction have led him to unparalleled works of presence and preservation in his poetry, his bountiful translations, and his devoted nature-conservancy.

Pedagogy R217. From Tetrameter to Terza Rima: Prosody as a Catalyst for Discovery in the Workshop. (Anna Lena Phillips, Kim Addonizio, Annie Finch, Timothy Steele)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Formal poetics can enliven workshops and offer students access to a rich set of traditions, replete with potential for new work. As teachers and authors of guides to poetic craft, the panelists have introduced students to formal prosody in college courses and in community settings. How can craft guides be used to encourage experimentation with meter, fixed forms, and procedural work? Their titles offer a wide range of strategies; they will discuss these as well as other possibilities.

Panel Discussion R218. Brave New Voices. (James Kass, Alise Alousi, Ellen Hagan, Deborah Mouton)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Performance poetry inspires diverse youth populations to produce dynamic writing influenced by rap, hip hop, popular culture, and oral cultures. Today, spoken-word and written-word poetries share more in common than they once did. Panelists explore the sociopolitical history of spoken word, the complexities unique to teaching performance poetry in schools and communities, and expanding opportunities for young performance poets, including slam competitions and Youth Poet Laureate programs.

Panel Discussion R219. The Black Jazz Poetic in the Twenty-first Century: Ancient to the Future? (Tyehimba Jess, Duriel Harris, Geoffrey Jacques, Harmony Holiday, Jerriod Avant)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
As jazz approaches its centennial, a multigenerational panel of Black poets analyzes how its influence has shaped their understanding of craft and what that influence will look and sound like in the Twenty-first century. In an age where jazz has been reported to be Americans' least favorite music genre, how do younger Black poets access a jazz aesthetic to reclaim, reimagine, and regenerate it for themselves? How do mid-career poets relate and regenerate a jazz aesthetic in their practice and praxis?

Pedagogy R220. How Gay Is This Book?: Twenty-first Century Approaches to the LGBTQ Classroom. (Sarah A. Chavez, Clarence Harlan Orsi, Stacey Waite, Timothy Schaffert, Jennifer Perrine)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Students and instructors often differ in their interpretation of what constitutes a queer text. Considering the varieties of gender identification and the spectrum of sexual orientation, as well as what it means to enact a queer pedagogy in both form and content of the classroom, panelists explore the contemporary pitfalls and joys of helping to shape students' engagement with LGBTQ literature. Panelists read from potentially contested queer texts as well as discuss pedagogical practices.

Panel Discussion R221. The Life of the Poet in the World. (Samuel Ace, R. Erica Doyle, CA Conrad, Sueyeun Juliette Lee, Saeed Jones)
Room 502 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Only recent history has put poets into universities. In the past, poets have traveled, begged, and worked in insurance companies or as lawyers, surveyors, merchants, doctors, census takers. Although some of us now teach in universities, this is a gathering of poets who have worked outside of the academy—by choice, chance, struggle, and/or luck, surviving through audacity, guile, starvation, and love. Come hear the reasons, histories, work, and trajectories of these writing lives in the world.

Panel Discussion R222. Grove Atlantic Writers Question Race: What Difference Does It Make? (Margaret Wrinkle, Sarah Broom, Roxane Gay, Mitchell Jackson, Emily Raboteau)
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Critically acclaimed and award-winning writers Roxane Gay, Mitchell Jackson, Emily Raboteau, Sarah Broom, and Margaret Wrinkle come together to discuss race in literature and the literary world.

Panel Discussion R223. Book Pushers: Blasting Past the Gatekeepers. (Dana Walwrath, Sarah Aronson, Tami Lewis Brown, Zu Vincent, Catherine Linka)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Issues of white slavery, gay pride, and genocide can stop your book at the gate. Five published authors for young adult, middle grade, and picture book readers face pressure from parents, librarians, and other mentors who are often wary of controversial subjects presented to a young audience. But form and structure can help break down the barriers that writers of difficult political and social issues confront and can get books with diverse themes and characters into the hands of kids who need them.

Panel Discussion R224. Writing the Hyphen: How to Explore, Not Exploit, Your Background. (Allison Amend, Carter Sickels, Pauls Toutonghi, Mira Jacob, Danielle Evans)
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Writers of diverse backgrounds serve as ambassadors to unfamiliar cultures and underheard voices. But if you are speaking for your culture or race, do you have an obligation to portray it in a positive light? And will you be forced, as a “hyphenated author,” to repeatedly relive your autobiography? Panelists speak frankly about their success and ambivalence as spokespeople, and discuss how to successfully explore, not exploit, their ethnic, nationalist, and gender identities.

Reading R225. From New Wave to Punk: Musical Influences on Latino Literary Aesthetics. (Vickie Vertiz, Daniel Chacon, Carribean Fragoza, Marlen Rios-Hernandez)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
From all corners of Los Angeles and across this country, punk and New Wave music have influenced Latino writers for decades. This multigenre panel is equal parts reading, discussion, and listening party. Through poems, essays, and stories, the panelists highlight how, as listeners, they blend literary aesthetics with New Wave and punk sounds to tell new stories.

Panel Discussion R226. Publishing Translations: University Presses. (Russell Valentino, Gary Dunham)
Room 506, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
University presses have long been at the forefront of translation publishing in the US, and today is no exception. Through long traditions of curating scholarly and artistic works and a variety of new initiatives, today's university presses continue to lead the way in bringing to light new voices from around the world, forgotten classics, and newly unearthed masterpieces from the past. This panel features editors from leading university presses committed to translated literature.

Pedagogy R227. Visual Arts in Creative Writing, Literature, and Composition Classrooms. (Margaret Luongo, Zackary Hill, David Ebenbach, Jody Bates, Brian Roley)
Room 510, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Writers and teachers of poetry, fiction, plays, and screenplays discuss their use of visual arts in creative writing, literature, and composition classrooms. Moving beyond ekphrasis, these educators and writers describe assignments that promote parallel thinking, metacognition, and creative problem-solving via various mediums and games at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Reading R228. In Celebration of Poetry of Resistance: A Multicultural Response to Arizona SB 1070, Xenophobia, and Injustice. (Francisco Alarcón, Odilia Galván Rodríguez, Iris De Anda, Sonia Gutiérrez, Edward Vidaurre)
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
From more than 3,000 poems posted on Poets Responding to SB 1070, a Facebook page created in 2010 in response to a controversial law in Arizona, a groundbreaking response featuring the works of 88 poets from different backgrounds is coming together as an anthology. Five poets read from their own works that reflect a resurgent multicultural civil rights movement in the US. Come and see accomplished poets read some cutting edge poems included in this anthology as well as from their acclaimed works.

Panel Discussion R229. What to Expect When You're Expecting a Redline. (Mia Lipman, Kjerstin Johnson, Nadxieli Nieto, Olivia Taylor Smith, Annie Tucker)
Room 512, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Your work has been accepted—congratulations! So what happens next? How come it takes so long between that coveted “yes” and seeing your name in print? Why do editors want to change your words after you worked like crazy to make them perfect? And what's a redline, anyway? This panel pulls back the curtain on the book and magazine editing process: the order of business, typical timeframes, what the red marks mean, and why your editor wants to be your partner in crime (and isn't out to get you).

Panel Discussion R230. The Translator as Coauthor: Collaborative Translation. (Edward Gauvin, Shabnam Nadiya, Kareem James Abu-Zeid, Karen Emmerich, Susan Harris)
Room 513, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
When translators and authors collaborate, we often assume that the translation replicates the original. Yet the results often differ not only in the obvious linguistic ways, but also in content, organization, and even plot, as writers take opportunities to revise and translators both render and rewrite the evolving text. Four translators discuss their experiences in working with their authors to bring their works into English, and the creative strategies involved in collaboration.

Reading R231. Adaptation: Bringing the Novel to the Big Screen. (Graham Moore, Nick Kazan, Mel Toltz, Amber Tamblyn, Robert Nelson Jacobs)
Room 515 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
"If the integrity of a film adaptation is measured by the degree to which the novelist's intent is preserved, Mr. Foote's screenplay should be studied as a classic.” —Harper Lee on the movie To Kill A Mockingbird. What makes a novel worthy of adaptation? How should we measure the success of an adaptation? How faithful should a screenwriter remain to a novel? Is the author's intent relevant? In this panel we explore these questions from the perspective of prominent screenwriters.

Panel Discussion R232. Women Write Los Angeles. (Tatyana Branham, Lisa Glatt, Helena Viramontes, Katrina Prow, Dana Johnson)
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The city of Los Angeles and the women who write about it are often subjected to stereotypical categorization. Being one of the most diverse artistic regions in the country, the city is home to female writers who come from different neighborhoods and backgrounds and offer unique perspectives on the city of angels. Panelists discuss the challenges and joys of writing about the city of Los Angeles in their fiction, as well as how their works have contributed to the landscape of literary Los Angeles.

Panel Discussion R233. So You Think You Want to Start a Lit Mag: Straight Talk from Editors About Launching Mags and Keeping Them Afloat. (Jennifer Acker, Benjamin Samuel, Jonathan Lee, Natalie Eilbert, Paul Legault)
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
You want to start a literary magazine, or recover an old one. Why? And now what? How do you communicate your vision, and what do you need to spend your nights and weekends doing to realize it? Founders and editors from A Public Space, Atlas, The Common, and Electric Literature share their experiences and advise how to balance the idealism and realism necessary to gain fame and fortune—or at least some fun, excellent writing, and great community—through running lit mags.

Three o'clock p.m. to Four-fifteen p.m.

R233B. Official #AWP16 Tweetup
Tweet Wall, West Lobby Nearest the Bookfair Entrance, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level
A gathering for attendees tweeting at the AWP Conference & Bookfair to meet face-to-face. Come for a few minutes to say hello or stick around to chat with Twitter users and the AWP Webmaster. Use the hashtags: #AWP16 and #AWPTweetup.

Panel Discussion R234. Women Writers Confront Violence and Its Aftermath. (Inara Verzemniek, Lina Maria Ferreira Cabeza-Vanegas, Laurel Fantauzzo, Catina Bacote)
Gold Salon 1, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
For memoirists and essayists, there are risks––emotional, social, and spiritual––in delving into events like child abuse, war, and murder, but there is an even greater risk in remaining silent. Panelists will discuss how they work up the courage to face brutality on the page and the ethics that guide them. How can our narratives move beyond sensationalism? What can we do to ensure that our writing does not succumb to a narrative of female victimhood and captures the complications of real lives?

Panel Discussion R235. A Place of Our Own: Literary Organizations that Foster Creative Community. (Elizabeth Hughey, Guy Pettit, A.M. O'Malley, Bob Snead, Susannah Felts)
Gold Salon 3, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
A new style of literary center is emerging. These centers not only provide resources for writers, but also serve as an incubation space for ideas, collaborations, events, and publications. Representatives from the Desert Island Supply Co. (Birmingham, Alabama), Flying Object (Hadley, Massachusetts), The Porch (Nashville), Press Street (New Orleans), and the Independent Publishing Resource Center (Portland, Oregon) discuss how their organizations have evolved to meet the needs of their creative communities.

Panel Discussion R236. Planning and Running a University Literary Center. (Lauri Ramey, Marisela Norte, Mike Soldatenko, William A. Covino, Jamie Tice) 
Gold Salon 4, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
University literary centers promote community connections, cultural values, diverse voices, writer opportunities, service learning, and mutually rewarding partnerships. The Center for Contemporary Poetry and Poetics (CCPP) at Cal State LA, now celebrating its tenth anniversary, provides an example of how to establish and run a flourishing site-specific university literary center. All panelists are CCPP participants, who will provide practical advice and discuss the benefits of such a center.

Pedagogy R237. What's Form Got to Do With It? Focusing on Form in the Creative Nonfiction Classroom. (Cassandra Kircher, Jeremy Jones, Tim Bascom, Ned Stuckey-French, Jessie van Eerden)
Diamond Salon 6&7, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
In this panel, writers and teachers discuss the pros and cons of making essay “forms” the center of their own CNF classes. What is lost and gained by focusing on the traditional conventions of subgenres—or forms—in CNF? For instance, are the conventions of travel writing or literary journalism flexible enough to allow for narrative or disjunctive or lyrical forms, or some combo of them all? And how can form-based assignments help students move toward inventing their own apt forms?

Reading R238. The National Book Critics Circle Celebrates Award-Winning Authors Phil Klay, Héctor Tobar, and Amy Wilentz. (Phil Klay, Hector Tobar, Amy Wilentz, Jane Ciabattari)
Petree Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Three National Book Critics Circle award-honored authors—Phil Klay, Hector Tobar, and Amy Wilentz—read from their work and talk with NBCC Vice President/Online Jane Ciabattari about inspiration, research, readers, awards, the unique challenges of writing from international material (Iraq, Chile, Haiti), and the imaginative process that gives their work originality. The National Book Critics Circle awards have honored the best literature published in English for forty years.

Reading R239. Sex & Love &: A Poetry Reading and Discussion. (Elaina Ellis, Deborah Landau, Bob Hicok, Jericho Brown)
AWP Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Copper Canyon Press presents a celebration of sex, ardor, and the body: What are the rewards and risks of writing and publishing poetry that smolders? Who are our role models and predecessors when it comes to writing sex? Do cultural expectations and taboos inhibit or encourage vulnerability? Revered poets—queer and straight, male and female, at various points in their careers—read from recent publications, followed by a discussion on the fine art of revealing a poem's wants and excesses.

Reading R240. New Books from Dos Madres Press. (Owen Lewis, Paul Pines, Keith Holyoak, Burt Kimmelman, Grace Curtis)
Scott James Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Dos Madres Press, founded in 2004 by poet Robert Murphy, is dedicated to the belief that the small press is essential to the vitality of contemporary literature. This year is Dos Madres' debut appearance as a press at the conference, and five of their authors will read from new work.

Reading R241. CRUX Nonfiction Series Reading: Sonja Livingston and Debra Monroe. (Sonja Livingston, Debra Monroe)
Robert Muroff Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Named for intersections, and for the heart of the matter, this series will publish literary nonfiction by diverse writers working in a variety of modes, including personal and lyric essay, memoir, cultural meditation, and literary journalism. Books are intended for general readers, including writers, teachers of writing, and students, and will be both intelligent and accessible. Engagement with the world, dedication to craft, precision, and playfulness with form and language are valued.

Panel Discussion R242. Octavia Butler and Her Legacy. (Katharine Beutner, Walidah Imarisha, adrienne maree brown, Ayana Jamieson, Monica Drake)
Room 402 AB, L.A. Convention Center, Meeting Room Level
Octavia Butler, a Pasadena native and MacArthur Fellow, is one of the best-known women writers of science fiction. By imagining worlds altered by alien encounters, vampirism, or ecological ruin, her writing addresses questions of race, gender, and class fundamental to our society. The editors of the new anthology, Octavia's Brood, the head of the Octavia Butler Legacy Network, and two writers will discuss Butler's engagement with Afrofuturism and how she inspires writers and artists today.

Panel Discussion R243. The Changing Face(s) of Publishing. (Jane Friedman, Erin Belieu, Daniel José Older, Roberto Tejada, Kevin Prufer)
Room 403 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Digital innovation, the VIDA count, #WeNeedDiverseBooks, a seeming explosion of translations—the face of publishing, tools for publishing, and reasons for being a publisher are all changing at a disorienting speed. In this panel, editors and contributors to the recently released Literary Publishing in the Twenty-first Century debate and interrogate issues of success, power, diversity, and politics (among others) as literary publishing—and authors—look to the next thirty years.

Panel Discussion R244. The Garden of Forking Paths: Journals Focusing on Translation. (Martin Rock, Daniel Simon, Wayne Miller, Elizabeth Clark Wessel, CJ Evans)
Room 403 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Access to writing in translation is essential to all writers, and a growing number of literary journals are focusing heavily on publishing translated works. In this panel, editors of journals that focus on translation engage in a discussion on the necessity of translation to a robust and diverse literary community. We also focus on the practice of translation, ranging from ethics to accuracy to the process of obtaining rights and paying translators for their work.

Pedagogy R245. Pedagogy's Next Wave: Alternatives to the Whole-Class Workshop. (Lacy Johnson, Marissa Landrigan, Laura Leigh Morris, Darin Ciccotelli)
Room 404 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
For nearly a century, workshop pedagogy has undergone few, if any, changes. Is it finally time to reimagine it? This panel offers radical alternatives to the traditional whole-class workshop, moving past the “one poem, one story” expectation, as well as small-class and manuscript variations. Not only do we explore “guided” workshops, multimedia workshops, and microworkshops for nontraditional populations, but we challenge the primacy that student texts have in our pedagogy.

Reading R246. Raising Our Voices. (Alice Crow, Sable Sweetgrass, Milton Blue House, b: william bearheart, Velma Craig)
Room 405, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Spread the word! Eclectic works rise up from sea to shining sea; from snow and tundra, desert sand, and city streets. Join Institute of American Indian Art MFA recent graduates and emerging students as they read from new works of poetry, essay, genre fiction, and screenplay. Literary writers will ditch the kitschy; de-cowboy the West; and celebrate connections, place and belonging, and migrations of meaning.

Panel Discussion R247. Let's Go Make Some Books: A Tribute to Coffee House Press Founder Allan Kornblum. (Chris Fischbach, Tree Swenson, Anne Waldman, Karen Yamashita, Bao Phi)
Room 406 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Allan Kornblum (1949–2014) founded Toothpaste Press in 1972, which became Coffee House Press in 1984. He ran Coffee House as publisher until 2011, after which he served as an editor and consultant until he passed away in November 2014. Allan was a hugely important figure in the small press movement that helped pave the way for the emergence of the field of small to midsize nonprofit literary publishers. Panelists pay tribute to him and talk about his accomplishments and influence.

Panel Discussion R248. Diversity Integrated: The Literary Art of Inclusion. (Lillie Teeters, Anjali Enjeti, Soniah Kamal, Valerie Boyd, Matthew Salesses)
Room 407, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
A diverse panel (Pakistani, African American, mixed race, lesbian, Korean adoptee) reviews problems of unconscious segregation in literary communities, offering tips on seeking writers from marginalized populations to contribute to, participate in, and enhance critique groups, workshops, creative writing programs, conferences, and organizations. Panelists discuss benefits and risks of identity-based writers' groups and a need for inclusion at all levels of professional and creative writing.

Panel Discussion R249. Rhyme Gone Radical, or Beyond the Hallmark Card. (David J. Daniels, Mary Austin Speaker, Marilyn Nelson, Quraysh Ali Lansana, Richie Hofmann)
Room 408 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Rhyme (particularly end rhyme) sparked a heated debate among poets recently. One poet called it the worst thing still haunting us. Others dismissed it as hokey, antiquated, mawkish, and naive. But rhyme has gone fairly radical in recent poetry, and plenty of poets use rhyme in varied and unpredictable ways. Five poets, from diverse aesthetic and cultural backgrounds, discuss rhyme's ongoing potency in their own work while arguing for its vital and inventive place in contemporary verse.

Panel Discussion R250. Old Neighborhoods, New Locales: How Place Shapes Our Writing and Our Literary Identities. (Michael Steinberg, Phillip Lopate, Renee D'Aoust, Mimi Schwartz, Karen Babine)
Room 408 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Place, where we've grown up and/or have lived, informs who we are and how we perceive ourselves in the world. As nonfiction writers, it also influences the work we produce. A new locale can, in fact, be a catalyst for writing about a place we thought we knew. By examining their own works and the works of others, five writer/teachers from different locales, both here and abroad, discuss and illustrate how specific places they've inhabited have helped shape their personal and literary selves.

Panel Discussion R251. Writing and "the Racial Imaginary". (Stephanie Grant, Hanna Plyvainen, Chet'la Sebree, Kyle Dargan)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In The Racial Imaginary: Writers on Race in the Life of the Mind, Claudia Rankine and Beth Loffreda assert: “Many writers of all backgrounds see the imagination as ahistorical, as a generative place where race... shouldn't enter, a place of bodies that... transcend the stuff that doesn't lend itself much poetry.” Poets and fiction writers consider their own work in light of the present historical moment, focusing on where race does and doesn't enter and whether transcendence remains a meaningful goal.

Reading R252. Mistaking Planes for Stars: Los Angeles Writing from Freeways to Flight Paths. (Vickie Vertiz, Aida Salazar, Steve Gutierrez, Melinda Palacio)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
From Bukowski to Viramontes, working-class writing in Los Angeles is a longstanding tradition. Latinos are the largest ethnic group in the county, bringing avant-garde aesthetics to literature. However, many of our stories have yet to be told. This reading highlights cutting edge poetry, story, and performance by working-class and queer Latinos from a little-known part of Los Angeles: the southeast. From railroad yards to factory floors, writers share their work of grit and heart.

Panel Discussion R253. Writing LA: City as Character. (Leslie Kreiner Wilson, Jeff Hoffman, Liz Keyishian Wilks, Beverly Graf, Peter Russell)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
More and more screen and television writers are getting the note to “make the city a character.” In this panel, writers, script consultants, and executives provide examples of how Los Angeles has functioned as a character in such scripts as Blade Runner, Chinatown, The Big Lebowski, and L.A. Confidential. The panel also offers strategies for transforming the setting of any screenplay—or work in another genre—into a character.

Panel Discussion R254. Literary Awards and Prizes: Help or Hindrance? (Paul Morris, Catherine Chung)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Literary awards and prizes excite regular interest; writers, editors, publishers, and readers all pay attention to them. What roles do awards and prizes play in our literary culture? Who judges them, and for what constituencies? How are individual writers and groups of writers helped or hindered by them? What role can and should money play? Writers who have judged or received literary awards and prizes discuss the pros, cons, implications, and complications.

Panel Discussion R255. Just Saying: A Tribute to Rae Armantrout. (Stephen Burt, Amy Catanzano, Catherine Wagner, Monica Youn, Rae Armantrout)
Room 502 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Four author-critics approach Armantrout's work from a variety of angles, including her association with Language poetry, her exploration of science through verse, her treatment of pop culture and current events, and her merging of everyday experience with epistemological questions about perception.

Panel Discussion R256. Writer as Editor/Editor as Writer. (Jill Bialosky, Rob Spillman, Hannah Tinti, Major Jackson, James Yeh)
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Prominent writer-editors talk about the challenges of wearing two very different hats. How does editing other writers' work help or hinder their own writing? How do these writers turn off their editorial brain to let their creativity flow without letting in unhelpful self-criticism? What do editors learn from being edited themselves? The panel shares wisdom gleaned from being on both sides of the creative process.

Panel Discussion R257. Does America Still Dream?: Depictions of Class, Poverty, and Social Im/mobility in Literature. (Dawn Dorland Perry, Jennifer Haigh, Brando Skyhorse, Jodi Angel, Teka-Lark Fleming)
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Authors writing across genre and form hold a transracial conversation about rendering poverty—child hunger, homelessness, upheavals of industry, prostitution, and incarceration—on the page. At stake is the easy conflation of class with ethnicity, the challenge of writing beyond experience, and the invisible, emotional costs of class ascendance. Can stories, novels, essays, poems, or memoirs galvanize these otherwise disconnected struggles? This is a report, via literature, on the state of the American dream.

Panel Discussion R258. The Special Relationship: Transatlantic Literary Alliances. (Emma Claire Sweeney, Elizabeth L. Silver, Ifeona Fulani, Wendy Vaizey, Tim Tomlinson)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What are the similarities and differences between creative writing programs in the US and the UK? This panel explores this topic in relation to students' writing and future careers. Familiarity with both education systems can open up professional opportunities and networks while also broadening creative and intellectual horizons. But how can we ensure that our cross-cultural exchange enhances rather than hampers our writing, academic resumes, and publication trajectories?

Panel Discussion R259. Revolutionary Voices: The Queering of Young Adult/Teen Literature. (Andrew Demcak, Michelle Tea, Skye Allen, Kaya Oakes)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What do we mean by “queering” young adult literature? Is it a process? Can any writer do it? What are the challenges of bringing LGBTQI2-S characters/topics to a largely heterogeneous (read: heterosexual) literary genre? How does the intended reader's age determine what topics are explored? How is diversity represented by LGBTQI2-S characters/subjects? Four authors that have published books in the genre share the lessons they have learned from writing “queer” literature for a YA/teen readership.

Pedagogy R260. Janus-Faced: The Writing MFA in Art School and the University. (Mairead Byrne, Amaranth Borsuk, John Cayley, Peter Gadol, Tracie Morris)
Room 506, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In the university, creative writing is a discipline and art form, traditionally housed in, or near, departments of English. In art and design schools, MFA​ writing programs are newer, and more contested, developments. Today, as material/digital/performative commitments re-shape writing, do art school and the university meet in the writing program? This panel invites discussion from a range of positions, disciplinary and interdisciplinary, in both university and art and design school.

Reading R261. A Reading in Two Languages by Students of UTEP's Bilingual Creative Writing MFA of the Americas. (Katherine Seltzer, Andrea Castillo, Fatima Masoud, Aaron Romano-Meade, Oscar Zapata)
Room 510, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The Bilingual Creative Writing MFA Program at the University of Texas at El Paso offers students the cultural and linguistic resources to work and write in English, Spanish, or a mixture of the two. This reading showcases work, some of which is in translation, by a group of UTEP's MFA students from North America, the Borderland, and Latin America.

Panel Discussion R262. Limited Resources, Big Dreams: How to Mine the Rush of Online Lit Journals. (Heather Lefebvre, Ralph Pennel, Cynthia Plascencia, Eric Blankenburg, Christopher Allen)
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Desktop publishing software has made producing an online literary journal easier than ever. But with limited staff and funding, how does one create a journal of the highest caliber? How does one establish an ethos, stay relevant, and grow their reader base in a sea of journals with similar offerings? And how can these journals compete with more established presses? Five journal editors—some connected to universities, others indie—explore these questions and discuss their publication processes.

Panel Discussion R263. University, Community. (Genevieve Kaplan, Nik De Dominic, Renee Angler, Sean Nevin, David Welch)
Room 512, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
How can university-affiliated writing programs and reading series best extend into the community? Writing program administrators and outreach coordinators discuss how we've successfully brought creative writing courses, literary activities, workshops, and guest writers to diverse and underserved communities. We partner with nonprofits and community organizations; affiliate with K-12 classrooms, correctional facilities, and local libraries; and invite the community into the academy.

Panel Discussion R264. Mandelstam in America. (Martha Kelly, Alex Cigale, Matvei Yankelevich, Philip Nikolayev, Val Vinokur)
Room 513, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Despite the relative difficulty of his poetry, Russian modernist Osip Mandelstam has enjoyed enduring attention from North American and other English-speaking translators and poets. At least part of this attention is due to the civic concerns that inform his work and to his explorations of the construct of the free self in Western society. In this panel translators of Mandelstam join with poets, scholars, and an editor to discuss why Mandelstam continues to matter in America.

Panel Discussion R265. Smooth Criminals: What's at Stake When We Break the Rules? (Juan Martinez, Susan Hubbard, Robin Rozanski, Julie Iromuanya)
Room 515 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What writing rule do you hate? Love? We all break a few: We switch POV halfway through a story, we use too many exclamation marks, we don't write what we know, or we use the wrong form, the wrong genre. The panelists balance the costs and benefits of these misdemeanors. They explore how rules hinge on cultural, ethnic, and social backgrounds. They provide rule-breaking exercises that have helped generate exciting material and talk about how rule-breaking has helped them publish and teach.

Reading R266. Beyond Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll: Far Out Poets Read Poems About the '60s. (Patricia Smith, Wendy Barker, Alicia Ostriker, Dave Parsons, Tim Seibles)
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This is a reading by poets featured in Far Out: Poems of the '60s, an anthology including poems by more than seventy poets who reflect on personal experiences in the United States during the culturally explosive period between 1958 and 1972. Coeditors Wendy Barker and David Parsons also discuss the process of creating the collection and read from other selections in the anthology.

Panel Discussion R267. Genre-Crossing and Poetic Truth: Lyric Nonfictions, Reported Poems. (Tess Taylor, Camille Dungy, Robert Polito, Tom Sleigh, Brian Turner)
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel examines the places where genres collide and inform one another. What happens when the poet takes up the memoirist's work, the reporter's notebook, the essayist's pen? What do poets learn about poetry by pushing its boundaries? By what means does documentary poetry emerge, and what can poets teach documentarians? Five skilled practitioners of both poetry and nonfiction explore the productive sites where genres overlap.

Four-thirty p.m. to Five-forty-five p.m.

Panel Discussion R268. Never on Your Own: Creating Community When Writing Is Done. (Waverly Fitzgerald, Kathleen Alcala, Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo, Josephine Ensign, Kelli Russell Agodon) Gold Salon 1, JW Marriott LA, First Floor
What happens when the writing group says the writing is ready to send? How can writers support each other, foster accountability, and share resources pre- and postpublication? Members of Booklift, Los Norteños, Seattle 7 Writers, the Shipping Group, and Women Who Submit—groups that focus on promotion, networking, and sending work out—share strategies on how to start and run such a group, how to partner with local bookstores and writing centers, and how to foster community both online and offline.

Panel Discussion R269. "Joy Is So Exhausting": The Contemporary Poetics of Motherhood. (Callista Buchen, Molly Sutton Kiefer, Jennifer Givhan, Martha Silano, Rachel Richardson) Gold Salon 2, JW Marriott LA, First Floor
As Rachel Blau DuPlessis points out, “motherhood leads to, demands, provokes, and excites innovations in poetry.” This panel explores these innovations, studying contemporary poetry that takes motherhood as its subject. From the motherhood in poetry as myth-making and myth-destroying to poets conceptualizing their writing as mothers to the inherent tensions at work, including how the lens of motherhood reshapes external landscapes, this panel finds a poetics full of possibility and insight.

Panel Discussion R270. The Print Journal in a Digital Age. (Michael Dumanis, John Freeman, Brigid Hughes, Uzoamaka Maduka, Wayne Miller)
Gold Salon 3, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Five editors of print literary journals founded in the past ten years discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by print publishing in an era when internet publishing may seem a less risky choice due to its low cost and universal distribution. Why make a commitment to print in the Twenty-first century? Has the role of the magazine changed? Who still reads print journals these days, and why? How can print literary culture be reinvigorated? Might this be a favorable time for a print renaissance?

Panel Discussion R271. The New Nature Writing. (Laura Pritchett, Sarah Gilman, Meera Subramanian, Christine Woodside, Elizabeth Rush) 
Gold Salon 4, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
What is the impact of climate change on contemporary literature and creative nonfiction in particular? How do you write creatively about climate change? And how can we engage new audiences about a deeply polemic issue? Through a sustained discussion of craft, best practices, and theory, this panel explores the ways in which climate change has destabilized and redefined our literary interaction with nature.

Pedagogy R272. Incarcerated Juvenile? Veteran? Senior? Teaching and Reaching the Writer Hidden Within the Underserved. (Monona Wali, Robert Fox, Esche Jackson, Ashaki Jackson, Leslie Ann Poston)
Diamond Salon 6&7, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
Five veteran teachers of the underserved discuss strategies and best practices to bring the power of writing into the lives of those often discounted in our culture. How do we create safe classrooms and yet raise the bar for literary craft? How do our language and demeanor affect the outcome of the classroom? How do we craft culture-sensitive writing prompts? Panelists discuss the challenges and rewards of working in unusual classrooms and delve into how to best engage unique populations.

Panel Discussion R273. Domingo Martinez, Susan Orlean, and Jess Walter: The Thrills and Perils of a Screen Adaptation, Sponsored by Hugo House. (Peter Mountford, Domingo Martinez, Susan Orlean, Jess Walter)
Petree Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Celebrated authors Domingo Martinez, Susan Orlean, and Jess Walter discuss their fascinating, heartbreaking, and amusing experiences being involved (or uninvolved) in the adaptation, or rumored adaptation, of their books for television and film. Their presentation represents a full range of experiences with this so-called "fifth genre" (adapting an original work for a different medium).

Pedagogy R274. The Use and Abuse of Memoir. (Tom Zoellner, Christa Parravani, Maggie Behringer, David McGlynn, Tiana Kahakauwila)
Room 402 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Any writer of creative nonfiction faces a primary question: Do I write from inside or outside the self? Does all nonfiction literature ultimately come back to a personal perspective, even if the entire work is third-person reportage? Instructors of the genre discuss the extent to which they encourage or discourage memoir from their students, and question whether the syllabus should include some instruction on the art of interview and research in addition to the exploration of a personal past.

Reading R275. From In-Progress to the Printed Page: A Poetry Reading by Alice Fay di Castagnola Award Winners. (Laura Kasischke, Rebecca Morgan Frank, Timothy Donnelly, Mary Jo Bang, Martha Collins)
Room 403 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Join us for a reading by five poets who represent fifteen years of the Poetry Society of America's annual Alice Fay di Castagnola Award for a poetry manuscript in progress. Both notable and emerging poets demonstrate the life and process of a poetry collection, and the value of support for books in process, with readings from their in-progress and completed works.

Panel Discussion R276. Writing at the Edge of the Continent. (Malcolm Margolin, Peggy Shumaker, Dominic Luxford, Kate Gale, Elaine Katzenberger)
Room 403 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
West Coast publishers see the world differently. From Los Angeles to San Francisco to Portland to Alaska, we publish stories in a different light. Red Hen Press, McSweeney's, City Lights, Boreal Books, and Heyday Books present publishing West Coast style.

Reading R277. Throwback Thursday: Four Forms of Performance from the Early 90s Nuyorican Poets Café. (Xavier Cavazos, Ava Chin, Crystal Williams, Regie Cabico)
Room 404 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Café! Slam stars from the past celebrate their early roots at the Nuyorican Poets Café, deemed “the grand pappy of the spoken word scene” by New York Magazine. With nods to the Green Mill and those poets who came before them, these diverse, multicultural poets—now published authors, academics, and actors—perform work, discuss their earliest beginnings at NYC's Nuyorican Poets Café, and discuss how being at the café in the 90s changed their writing lives.

Panel Discussion R278A. Trans Memoir: Resisting Literary Tropes and Narrative Narcissism. (Cooper Bombardier, Elliott DeLine, Joy Ladin, Everett Maroon)
Room 405, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In this panel discussion, four published transgender authors from around the country discuss their work in memoir.

Panel Discussion R278B. First Books: What to Expect When You're Expecting. (Tim Johnston, Aline Ohanesian, Arna Bontemps Hemenway, Matthew Thomas, Chris Scotton)
Room 406 AB, L.A. Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Five authors discuss the joys and vulnerabilities of being newly published. The panelists, who vary not only in the kinds of books they wrote but also in the publishing houses they signed with and the kind of postpublication publicity they engaged in, give a step-by-step guide for writers who are hoping to or already have sold their first books.

Panel Discussion R279. Blood and Water: Poets Pouring into Nonfiction. (Laura McCullough, Benjamin Busch, Kelle Groom, Michael Klein)
Room 407, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
When the poem is just not big enough to hold the poet's concerns with social justice, environmental issues, and personal and political upheaval and confluence, they are turning to creative nonfiction. What are the loyalties to form? What are the barriers, objections, and penalties for shifting from one genre to another? The necessariness of poetry to prose, like water to blood, is explored, as well as the “blood covenant” to create, regardless of which literary family you start out in.

Panel Discussion R280A. What Makes an MFA Program LGBTQ-Friendly? (Dawn Walsh, Melanie McNair, Brock Warren, Terry Wolverton, Alistair McCartney)
Room 408 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Does being friendly mean having out and proud faculty, staff, and/or students? Is visibility enough? What about course offerings that include an LGBTQ focus? Or LGBTQ-centered civic engagement opportunities? Is being friendly too modest a goal? How does friendly differ from affirming? How can faculty make workshops both LGBTQ-friendly and affirming? Why do these questions even matter? LGBTQ-identified panelists, including MFA faculty, students, and alumni, address these questions and more.

Panel Discussion R280B. Tendrils and Roots: Place-ing the Personal in the Contemporary Eco-elegy. (Sandra Meek, Brenda Hillman, Sherwin Bitsui, Laura-Gray Street, Marcella Durand)
Room 408 B, L.A. Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Writing in a "late age"—postmodern, postconfessional, post-postmodern—contemporary ecopoetry is often elegiac, acutely aware not only of perennial transience, but of potentially irrevocable environmental devastation. How, in a poetry that does not view the human as nature's center, can the poet include "self" to weave a complex ecology without reducing "Nature" to an echo chamber speaking back "I"? Panelists, all eco-elegists, discuss the mode's challenges and generative possibilities.

Pedagogy R281. The Natural Writer: Unschooling the Creative Writing Classroom. (Heidi Staples, Jonathan Skinner, Michael Martone, Deb Unferth, Jessica Smith)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Can writing be untaught? Sometimes, the institutional setting of the creative writing classroom can foster a lack of risk-taking by positioning participants as dutiful students rather than daring artists, failing to ignite creative agency. Panelists committed to a variety of unschooling approaches that take writing outdoors discuss their pedagogies and practices for students, including the Walking Classroom, the Poetry Boat, and Four Roaming Elemental Excursions (F.R.E.E.).

Panel Discussion R282. The Meaning of Every(MFA)thing: Program Directors Tell All. (Michelle Herman, Kevin Canty, Michael Byers, Dara Wier, Christopher Coake)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Directors of five renowned MFA programs talk frankly about all aspects of the application process, from how to narrow the field for your applications and when and why to embark on an MFA to how to prepare the most effective and successful application—including a discussion of writing samples and personal statements—and how to choose from among the programs to which you've been admitted and how to navigate waiting lists. We'll talk about variations among programs and answer all your questions.

Panel Discussion R283. A Tribute for Wanda Coleman. (Natasha Saje, Lisa Katz, Cornelius Eady, Austin Straus)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Panelists view Wanda Coleman's life and work through multiple lenses. They appreciate her jazz performance in words, brilliant wit, wildly various modes of expression, and her politics. They read examples of her writing and explain what it means to them, celebrating the many contributions of this unforgettable woman of letters.

Reading R284. American Tropics. (Patrick Rosal, Tiphanie Yanique, Willie Perdomo, Christina Olivares, Brandy Nalani McDougall)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Across the enforced borders of race and place, five authors discuss centuries-old fantasies about labor, class, gender, immigration, the body, and sovereignty. These writers, from the Virgin Islands, Hawaii, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, share a history of American invasion and rule. Their writing reveals mostly untapped or simply ignored versions of US history. In short, their richly varied work can be seen together. In fact, such richness can make America see its secret self.

Pedagogy R285. Creative Writing and Resistance in the Classroom: Helping Students Write Social Justice. (Nan Cuba, Ellen Meeropol, Hayan Charara, Achy Obejas, Fred Arroyo)
Room 502 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Creative writing students compelled to write about social justice may be intimated by the challenges of shaping art, craft, and social forces in their writing. How do teachers encourage students to explore political inequality and injustice, while crafting narrative art? Panelists discuss specific pedagogical approaches and techniques that both respect students' backgrounds and beliefs and encourage their exploration, examination, and literary engagement with our complex world.

Panel Discussion R286. It Ain't What They Call You, It's What You Answer To: Peeling Off Genre Labels. (Daniel Orozco, Doug Dorst, Maureen McHugh, Kelly Luce, Manuel Gonzales)
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
How does fantasy fiction (or sci-fi, or detective or horror fiction) become literary fiction? Who decides how/when the genre label gets affixed, or peeled off? Why is the move from genre to literary always somehow a narrative of progress, implying a lesser realm left behind? Hear firsthand as writers with varying affinities to genre fiction reflect on how they negotiate with (wrestle, embrace, sidestep) genre conventions in the creation of their work.

Panel Discussion R287. Build It and They Will Come: Creating a School and Community Outside Academia. (Edan Lepucki, Julia Fierro, Sonya Larson, Michelle Wildgen, Jason Koo)
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
On this panel, the founders and directors of five successful writing schools offer practical advice on how to develop a strong community of writers, expanding the subject of a 2014 Poets & Writers article, "Academic Alternatives: The DIY MFA," in which some of the panelists were featured. Panelists also examine the role these workshops play in the shifting MFA landscape and discuss how they provide another path to writers looking for instruction and community outside academia.

Panel Discussion R288. From Writing as a Craft to Minecraft. (Kate Rybka Brennan, Rick Brennan, Joel Levin, Mark German)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Every game is a story. As the video game industry evolves from entertainment to education, writers are both players and designers, translating stories into games. How can writers and educators advance the craft of creative writing by embracing game design and digital experiences as a new literary genre? How can games deepen social impact and enhance education for a technologically advanced generation? Panelists discuss game-based learning for writers and writing programs.

Panel Discussion R289. Writing on Fault Lines: Central American Literary Diasporas. (Leon Salvatierra, Raquel Gutierrez, Robert Karimi, Carolina Rivera, Leticia Hernández-Linares)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Since 1990, Central Americans in the US have tripled in number, yet mainstream literary and academic institutions still discuss Central Americans in 1980s Civil War terms. This panel takes up the vast middle ground between traditional tropes and postmodern trends, and explores how Central American writers in California are not only painting new and complex stories, but also constructing the very frames to hold them.

Reading R290. Poetry Crosses the Pond: A Reading and Conversation with London-Based Eyewear Publishing. (Mandy Kahn, Sean Singer, Piotr Florczyk, Todd Swift, Anthony Seidman)
Room 506, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Four American poets who have books with London-based Eyewear Publishing give readings and engage in a conversation with Eyewear's publisher and editor-in-chief Todd Swift about why they chose a British publishing house, the differences between UK and US poetry audiences, and why cultivating dialogue and creative interplay between American and UK-based poets, publishers, and readers is imperative.

Panel Discussion R291. Crossing Borders with Verse Novels. (Leza Lowitz, Joyce Lee Wong, Holly Thompson, Dana Walrath, Terry Farish)
Room 510, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Verse is a powerful vehicle for transporting readers across international borders. Authors of middle grade and YA verse novels set outside the US will discuss the medium of verse as a means of enabling readers to connect with stories set in other countries and cultures. With poetry enabling emotional resonance and multicultural expressivity, verse becomes a bridge for conveying readers into international tales encompassing cultures, nations, landscapes, and languages around the globe.

Panel Discussion R292. The Many Voices of Poetry. (Wendy Martin, Don Share, Tess Taylor, Atsuro Riley, Brandon Som)
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel of accomplished poets, critics, editors, and teachers discusses the many voices of contemporary American poetry with an emphasis on the aesthetics, craft, and antecedents of confessional, lyric, neoformalist, spoken word, conceptual, historical, and political poetry. The panelists also explore the many new voices of contemporary US poetry from poets in diverse multicultural communities including Afro American, Asian American, and Latino/Latina. as well as feminist, LGBT, and others.

Reading R293. Become Another Race?: Writing Dramatic Identity for the Multicultural Audience. (Ayshia Stephenson, Johnny Jones, Candrice Jones, Aleshea Harris)
Room 512, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
At the core of race, there is drama. Lies society tells itself about racial identity perform on stage, in everyday life, and in writing. Yet, dramatic literature can tackle race and offer audiences pluralistic symbols of person and culture. In the writing process, an author becomes the entity s/he writes about. But how does a writer become another race? This panel of writers and practitioners offers strategies on how to craft dramatic identities that expand America's racial imagination.

Reading R294. Rejecting "Page" vs. "Stage": A Drawbridge Reading. (Elizabeth Acevedo, Clint Smith, Amin Drew Law, Terisa Siagatonu, Pages Matam)
Room 513, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Coming from both spoken word and formal literary backgrounds, and pushing back against the notion that these are mutually exclusive, the Drawbridge Collective gives a reading that reflects work imbued with dynamic performance and literary merit. The panel serves as an exhibition of new voices that traverse multiple genres and discuss what it means to be young artists of color at a time in America when many black and brown young people experience ubiquitous violence and discrimination.

Reading R295. After Steinbeck and Jeffers: How the Central Coast Inscribes Us. (Kevin Clark, Todd Pierce, Micah Perks, Marsha de la O, Gary Young)
Room 515 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
A sometimes overlooked but vibrant literary region that has produced some of our most urgent writing, the coastal area of Steinbeck and Jeffers ranges from Santa Cruz in the north to Ventura in the south. These five authors try to answer the question: How does the region influence style and content? How do dramatic vistas in which mountains meet ocean, valleys, and farmlands affect formal, personal, and political facets of our writing today? They will also read from their own work.

Panel Discussion R296. Concentration Camps, USA: A Critical and Artistic Retrospective of Literatures of World War II Internment and Detention. (David Mura, Garrett Hongo, Tony Ardizzone, Mariko Nagai)
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In this tribute to WWII internment literatures, authors of works exploring internment camps and detention centers discuss, contextualize, and celebrate the historical, political, cultural, and creative influences shaping the literature that emerged from, and continues to emerge from, the WWII internment/detention experiences of persons of Japanese, Italian, and German ancestry.

Panel Discussion R297. Women at Work: Labor and the Writing Life. (Christine Byl, Eva Saulitis, Susanna Mishler, Lu-Anne Haukaas, Tele Aadsen)
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Physical work is often held opposite to the life of the mind, especially for women. Yet for some writers, manual jobs provide income, broaden thinking, and nurture creativity. Five women writing in all genres discuss how their work—in marine biology, farming, trail construction, fishing, and the trades—supports a writing life. Join a conversation about field camps, live lines, planting seeds, and felling trees, and consider how dirty hands can leave a lasting imprint on literary culture.

Six o'clock p.m. to Seven-fifteen p.m.

Panel Discussion R298. LGBTQ Caucus. (Tiffany Ferentini, Michael Broder, B Spaethe, Miguel M. Morales)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The LGBTQ Caucus provides a space for writers who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer to network and discuss common challenges/concerns. These issues relate to representation and visibility, and incorporating one's personal identity into their professional lives as academics and writers. We discuss and develop queer representation for future AWP conferences, as well as share publications and projects with which we hope to root deep in our social and literary communities.

Panel Discussion R299. Two-Year College Caucus. (Kris Bigalk, Marianne Botos, Simone Zelitch, Denise Hill, Mary Lannon)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Do you teach at a two-year college? Interested in job opportunities at two-year colleges? With almost half of all students beginning college careers 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. Join the caucus for their annual meeting, where you'll meet other community college faculty and learn about pedagogy, programs, jobs, and resources.

Panel Discussion R300. Low-Residency MFA Directors' Caucus. (Sean Nevin, Wayne Ude)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The low-residency directors' caucus is an open-forum caucus created to discuss issues pertaining to the establishment and administration of all AWP low-residency MFA programs.

Panel Discussion R301. Asian American Caucus. (Ken Chen, Sunyoung Lee, Cathy Che)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What literary resources are available for Asian American writers? What does it mean to be an Asian writer in the Twenty-first century? This first Asian American caucus is not a panel or a reading, but an open town-hall-style hang out and community space. If you're an Asian American writer, come meet other Asian American writers and discuss fellowships, publication opportunities, and resources available for Asian American writers. Organized by the Asian American Writers' Workshop, Kaya, and Kundiman.

Panel Discussion R302. Latino Caucus. (Ruben Quesada, Francisco Aragón, Celeste Mendoza, Lorenzo Herrera y Lozano, Deborah Paredez)
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Latino writers are becoming increasingly visible. However, there is still work to be done to address inequalities in access and visibility within the literary community. The Latino Caucus creates a space to network with new, emerging, and established writers of varied Latino identities, discuss issues around the obstacles to publication (e.g., active oppression, stereotypes, and historical marginalization), and discuss panel and event planning to increase Latino participation at AWP.

Panel Discussion R303. K–12 Educator Caucus. (David Griffith, Monika Cassel, Scott Gould, Anne-Marie Oomen)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This is a meeting of K–12 writer-educators to share best practices and strategies for building and maintaining writing series and programs in schools, and to discuss challenges of teaching creative writing in the K–12 setting. All K–12 educators or those interested in K–12 education are welcome.

R304. Sober AWP.
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Daily 12-Step Meeting.
All in recovery from anything are welcome. soberawp@gmail.com

Six-thirty p.m. to Eight o'clock p.m.

R306. Cal State LA Reception.
Plaza 1, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
Join faculty, students, alumni, friends, and visiting writers for happy hour to celebrate the literary legacy, current opportunities, and future plans of Cal State LA.

R306A. The SNC Campfire.
Plaza 3, JW Marriott L.A., Third Floor.
Hike to the SNC campsite and join our fiery tribe of storytellers. The warmest MFA on earth. Meet us in the moment and write for a lifetime with our faculty, graduates and students. No readings, just great conversations. You'll walk in as one of us. We'll have plenty of soup.

R307. Mills College MFA Program Meet & Greet.
Plaza 2, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
Please join the students and faculty of the MFA program at Mills College for a reception. Come have a drink, enjoy some snacks and meet the members of this dynamic writing community. All are welcome!

R308. CGU Kingsley & Kate Tufts Poetry Awards Reception.
Olympic 1, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
Mingle with past and present Kingsley & Kate Tufts Poetry Awards winners, affiliates, and supporters, and learn more about this prestigious annual poetry award.

R309. Chatham University MFA Program Reception.
Olympic 2, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
A reception celebrating Chatham University MFA alums and current students, and The Fourth River literary journal.

R310. Writer to Writer Mentorship Program Reception.
Olympic 3, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
A private gathering for current and past participants of AWP's Writer to Writer Mentorship Program. Now in its second year, the program brings together new writers with published authors for a relationship-building series on the writing life. As of March 2016, one hundred and fifty writers have taken part in this program. For more information about the program, we welcome you to visit AWP's Bookfair booth, where mentorship program staff and past participants will be

R311. Goddard College Alumni and Faculty Reception.
Diamond Salon 8, JW Marriott LA, 3rd Floor
We are hosting an alumni, student, and faculty reception with free food and drink tickets. Come and reunite with the Goddard College creative writing communities!

R312. EWU Inland NW Center for Writers Reception.
Diamond Salon 10, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
Friends, alums, supporters, prospective students, or anyone interested in mixing with our fabulously talented and friendly faculty, please join us for drinks and talk!

Eight-thirty p.m. to Ten o'clock p.m.

R313. #AWP16 Keynote Address by Claudia Rankine, Sponsored by USC Dornsife English & PhD in Creative Writing and Literature, and Graywolf Press. (Claudia Rankine)
Concourse Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Claudia Rankine is the author of five collections of poetry, including Citizen: An American Lyric and Don't Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric. She received the National Book Critics Circle Award in the poetry category for Citizen, the first book to ever be named a finalist in both the poetry and criticism categories. Citizen also was a finalist for the National Book Award, was longlisted for the PEN Open Book Award, and is the only poetry collection named a New York Times best seller in the nonfiction category.

Ten o'clock p.m. to Midnight.

R314. AWP Public Reception & Dance Party.
Diamond Salon 1 to 4, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
A dance party with music by DJ Neza. Free beer and wine from ten o'clock to eleven o'clock p.m. Cash bar from eleven o'clock p.m. to midnight.

Reading R315. Old School Slam. (Jason Carney)
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
AWP welcomes students to return to the roots of Slam! Open mic, special guests, and then undergraduate and graduate students partake in a hardcore-break-your-heart-strut-out-the-good-stuff slam competition. Students are welcome to sign up to participate on Thursday and Friday at the Wilkes University/Etruscan Press booth and read original pieces (three minutes or less with no props) at the Slam later that night. Sponsors: Wilkes University and Etruscan Press.

 

Friday, April First

Eight o'clock a.m. to Five-thirty p.m.

F100. Conference Registration.
Registration Area, West Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Attendees who have registered in advance, or who have yet to purchase a registration, may secure their registration materials in AWP's registration area of the West Hall of the L.A. Convention Center. Please consult the bookfair map in the conference planner for location details. Students must present a valid student ID to check-in or register at our student rate. Seniors must present a valid ID to register at our senior rate. A five dollar0 fee will be charged for all replacement badges.

F101. Lactation Room.
First-Aid Suite, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
The Lactation Room is located inside the first-aid suite, located on Exhibit Hall Level One of the Los Angeles Convention Center outside of West Hall A and the AWP registration area, across the hall from Petree Hall.

F102. Dickinson Quiet Space.
Room 507, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
A dedicated quiet space for you to collect your thoughts, unwind, and escape the literary chaos. Please consult the map in the conference planner for detailed location. "There is a solitude of space, / A solitude of sea, / A solitude of death, but these / Society shall be, / Compared with that profounder site, / That polar privacy, / A Soul admitted to Itself: / Finite Infinity." –Emily Dickinson

Eight-thirty a.m. to Five p.m.

F104B. Bookfair Concessions, Bar, & Lounge.
West Hall & West Lobby, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Breakfast and lunch concessions are available from eight-thirty a.m. to four o'clock p.m. on the Exhibit Hall Level One of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Coffee is available inside the bookfair from eight o'clock a.m. to four-thirty p.m., and hot food is available from twelve noon to four o'clock p.m. Food and beverages are also available at the Groundwork West and Galaxy concession stands located outside the bookfair in the West Lobby from eight-thirty a.m. to two o'clock p.m. The bookfair will also host a bar from one o'clock p.m. to five o'clock p.m. Cash, debit, and credit cards are accepted at all food and beverage locations. Please consult the maps in the conference planner or mobile app for location details.

Eight-thirty a.m. to Six-thirty p.m.

F103. Coat Check.
Room 104, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Room Level.
Coat check is open from Eight-thirty a.m. to Six-thirty p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Five dollar flat rate per item for a full day; ten dollar flat rate per item for full day with in/out privileges. There is a twenty dollar fee for items left overnight.

Nine o'clock a.m. to Five o'clock p.m.

F104A. AWP Bookfair, Sponsored by Hollins University: Jackson Center for Creative Writing.
West Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
With more than 800 literary exhibitors, the AWP bookfair is the largest of its kind. A great way to meet authors, critics, and peers, the bookfair also provides excellent opportunities to find information about many literary magazines, presses, and organizations. Please consult the bookfair map in the printed conference planner or AWP mobile app for location details.

F105. Writer to Writer Mentorship Program Booth.
AWP Booth 1011, AWP Bookfair, West Hall, LA Convention Center.
AWP's Writer to Writer Mentorship Program matches new writers with published authors for a three-month series on the writing life. Writer to Writer is open to all members, but we particularly encourage two underserved segments of our membership to apply—those writers who have never been associated with an MFA program and those writing from regions, backgrounds, and cultures that are typically underrepresented in the literary world. Now in its second year, more than 150 people have taken part in this experience. To learn more, please visit AWP's Bookfair booth, where you will be able to talk with past program mentors and mentees. Diane Zinna, the program's director, will also be there to answer your questions.

Nine o'clock a.m. to Ten-fifteen a.m.

Panel Discussion F106. Don't Drink the Kool-Aid: How to Write About What You Love Without Losing Critical Distance. (Carrie Shipers, Bruce Beasley, Dave Madden, Andrea Scarpino, Joe Oestreich)
Gold Salon 1, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Writing our obsessions is often generative and satisfying, but our passion for a given topic can make it difficult to maintain the necessary perspective. How do you balance enthusiasm for your topic with the acknowledgement of its problematic or disturbing aspects? How do you know when you've crossed the line from clear-eyed observer to doe-eyed admirer? Panelists discuss strategies for balancing admiration and insight and how they know when they've gone too far down the path of fandom.

Pedagogy F107. How to Get Away with Murdering Your Darlings: Revision in the Classroom. (Amy Monticello, Molly Patterson, Phong Nguyen, Jenny Molberg)
Gold Salon 3, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Writing is revision, but how to teach it? Students leave workshop with ample feedback on drafts, but they're often baffled when moving forward. From the fine-tuning of a line to the reshaping of a plot, revision is a re-visioning of the project at hand. Proceeding from the belief that the best is yet to come, this panel will offer practical strategies and pedagogical models for guiding students of every level and genre—poetry, fiction, and nonfiction—into and through the process of revision.

Panel Discussion F108. Creating Change Through Storytelling: Nonfiction at Work. (Elaine Elinson, Steve Swatt, Stan Yogi, Susie Swatt, Jean Melesaine)
Diamond Salon 6&7, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
The authors of three thought-provoking books from Heyday discuss little-known stories revealing California and LA as the birthplace of transformative social and political movements. From Upton Sinclair's 1923 arrest at LA harbor for reading the Constitution to strikers, to activists organizing the first gay rights group in Silver Lake in 1951, to the 1978 tax revolt of Prop 13 and the technological revolution of today, these stories provide critical grounding for understanding current controversies.

Panel Discussion F109. More Than Numbers: How Conscientious Poetry Editors See Beyond Quotas. (Amy King, Timothy Donnelly, Cathy Hong, Phillip B. Williams, Lynn Melnick)
Room 402 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel, featuring editors who have successfully published a diversity of poets in both magazines and anthologies, will explore ways that poetry editors can diversify their own publications. With an eye toward the VIDA Count, we discuss how poetry editors might become more aware of, and actively seek out, the plurality of voices in poetry and how the pages of journals and anthologies can only be enriched by seeking new voices.

Panel Discussion F110. O Protagonist, Where Art Thou? A Sense of Place in Twenty-first-Century Fiction. (Barbara Jones, Lauren Francis-Sharma, Caroline Zancan, Rebecca Barry, Matthew Thomas)
Room 403 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Many, if not most, cities and towns in the United States offer the same stores, the same clothing, and the same food these days. What has this meant for the specificity of place in fiction? Not only do readers derive pleasure from visiting new places through reading, but memorable characters become themselves in part through their particular past and present settings. This panel will explore how—and why—strong settings can and sometimes do emerge in a variety of contemporary fictions.

Pedagogy F111. From Sex to Suicide: How to Navigate the Challenges of Teaching Creative Nonfiction. (Kristine Ervin, Ruben Martinez, Oindrila Mukherjee, Kathryn Peterson)
Room 404 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
With its emphasis on truth and fact, creative nonfiction presents more challenges for teaching than any other genre. Drawing from pedagogical research and their own best (or worst) practices in university and prison instruction, these panelists explore the benefits and risks of teaching nonfiction. Topics include the ethics of representation; creating boundaries while fostering an open community; and responding to texts driven by personal experiences about violent, illegal, or harmful acts.

Panel Discussion F112. Revising Nonfiction: Surprise, Reflection, and Telling the Truth. (Erica Trabold, Matthew Gavin Frank, Laura Julier, Kathleen Livingston)
Room 405, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Revision remains crucial to any writing process, serving to strengthen the work. However, sometimes revision dilutes early insights, and the writing suffers. Nonfiction writers are often susceptible to over-revision because of memory and its malleability. How do journal editors work with writers to bring a piece to its best version? What risks are there in revision, and what can be gained? This panel brings writers and editors into conversation about the negotiations of revising nonfiction.

Reading F113. The Flash Sequence: A Reading and Discussion. (Deb Marquart, Irena Praitis, Siel Ju, Jenn Koiter, Sonia Greenfield)
Room 406 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
For twenty years, the Marie Alexander Series has published hybrid work: prose poems, flash fiction, lyric essays, and books that mix all three and defy categorization. For our twentieth anniversary, we decided to publish an anthology of flash sequences—that is, pieces comprising short prose segments. We received over 400 submissions, and the resulting collection contains a wide variety of approaches to this form. Each participant will read and discuss his or her contribution to the anthology.

Panel Discussion F114. We're on the Road to Somewhere: Approaches to Managing the Writing Life. (Josh Rolnick, Yiyun Li, Austin Bunn, Sonya Chung, Leslie Pietrzyk)
Room 407, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
There are no shortcuts when it comes to writing. Sometimes, the challenge isn't getting started—it's sticking with it through criticism and rejection; doubts and confusion with the material itself. In this inspiring panel, successful writers discuss their own winding paths to publication and offer practical suggestions for building a creative and professional life in a variety of writing fields—including editing, blogging, and screenwriting—while managing a writing life over the long haul.

Reading F115. New Voices of Copper Canyon Press. (Kelly Forsythe, Camille Rankine, Ocean Vuong, Paisley Rekdal, Josh Bell)
Room 408 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Help Copper Canyon Press welcome four dynamic poets to their family, as they join their decades-long lineage of award-winning and esteemed authors. Each of these poets—whether emerging or midcareer—has recently found a home for their work at Copper Canyon. The poets will read from newly released or forthcoming collections, and the Press will provide introductory comments revealing the story of how and why these manuscripts were selected for publication.

Panel Discussion F116. The Absence of Color: Addressing the Lack of Diverse Writers of Children's Books. (Laurisa Reyes, Katharine Haake)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Of the three thousand two hundred children's books published each year, fewer than eight percent feature characters of color. Efforts to address the lack of diversity in children's books, such as the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign, are directed at professionals currently writing and working within the predominantly white industry. However, effectual change demands that we recognize the absence of diverse authors, ascertain the reasons for this absence, and strategize ways to increase the numbers of diverse writers in the future.

Reading F117. Jotas: A Chicana Lesbian Reading by Barrio-Based Writers. (Verónica Reyes, Griselda Suárez, Claudia Rodriguez, Wanda Alarcón)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
¡Orale! This is a queer reading by Chicana poets and writers from East LA, Long Beach, and beyond these fronteras. This is the next generación. Their writings reflect their politics, beliefs, and lived experiences of la jotería existing in this país. Their hybrid writings build bridges within all their communities: LGBTQ and gente of color. They are proud of their roots. This is ¡Soy Chicana Lesbiana! Femme, Butch ¡Y Que!

Panel Discussion F118. The New Translation Economy. (Will Evans, Chad Post, Oliva Sears, Stephen Sparks, Jadranka Vrsalovic-Carevic)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Translators, publishers, booksellers, and cultural agencies work together to create the economic context for the publication of translations, affecting what gets translated and by whom fundamentally. This panel discusses striking the economic balance between authors, translators, publishers, distributors, bookstores, cultural organizations, and readers to create a more vibrant and diverse translation marketplace and readership.

Panel Discussion F119. Necessary Hybridity: The Politics & Performance of Making Multigenre, Multimedia, Multiethnic Literature Visible. (Tisa Bryant, Kazim Ali, Amarnath Ravva, Micha Cardenas, Sesshu Foster)
Room 502 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Hybridity in literature is often thought of as a kind of cross-pollination that leads to “vigor.” But what happens when hybridity is considered through the lens of political and aesthetic necessity? From queer politics to POC feminism to postcoloniality, hybrid forms have been a critical part of making visible otherwise illegible experiences. Join five writers as they explore the significance of hybridity to queerness, trans culture, black bodies, mixed-race narratives, and erased histories.

Panel Discussion F120. The Music Issue: Poetry's Root Influence (Hosted by the Oxford American). (Ansel Elkins, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Ada Limon, Don Share, Rebecca Gayle Howell)
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Roots music represents a diversity of styles ranging from Tejano to gospel to blues and beyond—sound work from the crossroads of place, family, and culture. Poetry, too, has an Americana tradition, a divergent verse that sings the multitudes of our fly-over selves. The Oxford American presents a conversation about musical influence that moves through the global into the local and returns us to the origins of poetry: the beat, the breath.

Reading F121. Rebel Girls: Pushing Boundaries Across Landscapes, Cultures, and Confines. (Faith Adiele, M. Evelina Galang, Debra Busman, Elmaz Abinader)
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Works of fiction and memoir examine several stories of girls who broke through, broke out, and got broke. We observe the different societies, families, cultures, and roles that bind girls and the narratives of rebellion and liberation, or the experimentation with liberation. Representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds, generations, and family configurations, these authors demonstrate how the rebel heart of a girl can break through established roles: cultural, societal, gender, and class.

Pedagogy F122. The All-Inclusive Workshop: Strategies for Discussing Genre Fiction in the Undergraduate Fiction Workshop. (Candace Nadon, Michaela Roessner, Carla Spataro)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
There are tropes, forms, conventions, and terminology specific to genres such as science fiction, fantasy, horror, romance, and mystery. This panel's focus is how to discuss these and other genres in the undergraduate fiction workshop. We provide definitions of genres undergraduate teachers are most likely to encounter in an undergraduate workshop, terminology specific to these genres, descriptions of particular conventions and tropes, and strategies for how to workshop genre fiction.

Panel Discussion F123. The Visionary Advisor: Running a Student Literary Journal at a Two-Year College Campus. (Britton Shurley, Sarah Gutowski, Melissa Tyndall, Evan Balkan, Phoebe Reeves)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Why should you start a literary journal for your two-year writing program, and how can you make it work? Faculty advisors share their experiences with different methods of production and aesthetic: journals publishing primarily student work or professional work, distributed online or in print, and edited partially or wholly by students. The advisor must be both a repository of institutional memory and a visionary, mentoring students and sustaining the publication while imagining its future.

Panel Discussion F124. Staging the Story: Film Techniques to Engage YA Readers. (Sheryl Scarborough, Ingrid Sundberg, Cori McCarthy, Amy Rose Capetta, Jennifer Bosworth)
Room 506, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
High-octane entertainment is a teen staple. But all that razzle-dazzle can skew their expectations of books. Our five panelists reveal techniques they pulled from film, TV, or theater, and how they applied them to create notable YA fiction. The discussion includes a specific craft focus on how action pacing, alternate POVs, cinematic motifs, and serial construction can lure readers into the imagination zone, as well as tips on how to apply these skills to your own work.

Panel Discussion F125. Women on the Verge—Authentic Voices from Outsider Lit. (Eve Connell, Viva Las Vegas, Pat Janowski, Iris Berry, Sarah Xerta)
Room 510, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Four authors (three women, one androgyne) from irreverent small presses engage in vibrant discussion of unconventional creative paths. Fueled by life forces (beautiful, cruel, sexy, mundane), these fearless voices approach craft with raw content choices, unique writing processes, and personal muses that conspire to delight and repel. Insights into cultural acceptance (or the lack thereof) provide a snapshot of challenges in navigating the literary world as writers hell-bent on avoiding the mainstream.

Panel Discussion F126. Phoning It In: Using QR Codes to Bring Poetry to a New Audience. (Keetje Kuipers, Jaena Alabi, Victoria Poling, Melissa Hall, Fred Courtright)
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
How can we bring poetry to a wider audience? When plugged in to phones, how do we get young people to plug in to poems? Partnering with publishers Copper Canyon Press and BOA Editions, Auburn University's Poem of the Day uses QR code technology to bring a new contemporary poem to thousands of people across our campus each day. Come learn from a copyright permissions expert, small press development and programing administrators, and a university librarian about how to start a poetry reader revolution.

Reading F127. Dry Heat: Sizzling Fiction from Sacramento Valley Writers, Presented by Stories on Stage Sacramento and Davis. (Valerie Fioravanti, Naomi J. Williams, Renee Thompson, Sue Staats, Elise Winn)
Room 512, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Sacramento-area writers turn up the temperature with passages from new work. Stories on Stage Sacramento, now in its seventh successful season, connects and showcases Central Valley writers and inspired the sister series Stories on Stage Davis. Our writers have had work featured on both stages, and are ready to hike up the heat in LA.

Panel Discussion F128. It's Not a Love Story: Owning the Romantic and Domestic in Literary Memoir. (Liza Monroy, Kassi Underwood, Jillian Lauren, Alison Singh Gee)
Room 513, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Feminists fall in love and get married, but how do we depict these stories of romance and intimacy without undermining the significance of our books and getting relegated to the “chick lit” pile? Authors of memoirs on topics such as abortion, adoption, gay marriage, sex work, and cultural adaptation discuss how we have deployed craft to include love lives without suggesting that domesticity is a panacea for our narrative conflicts or the ultimate “end” to a woman's story.

Reading F129. 2014 National Poetry Series Selections: A Reading. (Sarah Vap, Ed Pavlić, Joshua Poteat, Nancy Reddy, Simeon Berry)
Room 515 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Since 1979, the National Poetry Series has sponsored the publication of more than 175 books of poetry through trade, university, and small presses, both launching careers and validating established ones. Working each year with a changing panel of judges, the Series continues to be a home for myriad different voices and experiences. This reading features the five poets selected for the 2014 Series, a group both aesthetically and geographically representative of the Series's range.

Panel Discussion F130. Saving or Sinking the World Through Translation: International Perspectives on Creative Process. (Helene Cardona, Jennifer Kwon Dobbs, Ani Gjika, Willis Barnstone, Dennis Maloney)
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Does translation infuse or confuse us? How do temporal, esthetic, religious, and political beliefs shape the literature, history, and fate of nations? Working with Albanian, Aramaic, Chinese, Hebrew, Greek, Korean, Latin, French, Spanish, Turkish, and Vietnamese, this panel's poets, translators, and scholars discuss their roles as intermediaries, technicians, magicians, and alchemists working between languages to create inspired texts spanning cultural differences, geographic distances, and time.

Panel Discussion F131. You Sent Us What? (Lisa Kastner, Ann Sheybani, William Patrick, Jennifer McCauley, John Gosslee)
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This diverse panel discusses what readers and submission editors look for when they review submissions for potential publication, followed by an open question-and-answer period.

Ten-thirty a.m. to Eleven forty-five a.m.

Panel Discussion F132. The Art of the Book Review. (Joseph Salvatore, Helen Schulman, Courtney Maum, Tony Leuzzi, Scott Cheshire)
Gold Salon 1, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Thousands of books are published each year. We're led to many of them by intelligent, engaging, well-made book reviews, which not only investigate and articulate the mysteries and pleasures a literary text offers, but also please the reader with their style. Five widely published writers/critics/editors will discuss the review as a genre in its own right, a unique artistic form that contributes to the formation of taste, raises the level of public discourse, and establishes critical reputation.

Panel Discussion F133. The Year of Practical Thinking: Getting a First Book to Print. (Shanna Mahin, Matt Sumell, Gwendolyn Knapp, Kevin Sampsell, Jennifer Pashley)
Gold Salon 2, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Five fiction and memoir authors from wide-ranging backgrounds—from Big Five houses to tiny indie presses—discuss the process of getting their debut book to print. We discuss the agent query and search, the sale (including money), the editing process, publicity, and planning a book tour. Everyone talks about how to get published. What do you do once you sign the contract?

Panel Discussion F134. Literary Foremothers and Filling the Gaps. (Jeanetta Calhoun Mish, Leslie Samuels Entsminger, Renée Olander, Jan Freeman, Cheryl Pallant)
Gold Salon 3, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
This panel celebrates literary foremothers and addresses how they've been first acclaimed, and then lost and recovered. Each panelist presents on her foremother(s) and discusses how they influenced her writing. We share our relationships with these groundbreaking writers and reveal the pedagogical power of foremothers. Foremothers to be honored include Gwendolyn Brooks, June Jordan, Lorine Niedecker, Sylvia Plath, Muriel Rukeyser, and Sappho.

Reading F135. Beyond 40 Years: A Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network Reading of Vietnamese American Fiction Writers. (Aimee Phan, Viet Nguyen, Bich Nguyen, Vu Tran, Dao Strom)
Gold Salon 4, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Forty years after the end of the Vietnam War, Vietnamese American literature has flourished. The Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network is a California-based alliance of artists, writers, and scholars that aims to promote the art and literature of the Vietnamese diaspora. Five award-winning writers read from their most recent work and discuss the craft and politics of writing in the diverse genre of Vietnamese American fiction.

Panel Discussion F136. Literary Landscapes: Writing Ourselves Home. (Cathy Arellano, Andrea Serrano, Jenn Givhan, Reyna Grande, Tanaya Winder)
Diamond Salon 6&7, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
This panel of writers from diverse Southwest regions discusses and reads work that reflects intricate histories and landscapes and grounds their writing. The panelists from Northern and Southern California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Mexico address how their writing speaks to and from specific places and influences/is influenced locally and globally. They share how the development of themselves, their writing, and their histories are necessary and connected.

Panel Discussion F137B. Translation and Influence. (Sarah Stickney, Martha Collins, Curtis Bauer, Adam Giannelli, Piotr Florczyk)
AWP Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Translation is an intimate act. The work of carrying an author from one language into another leaves a mark on the translator. What effect does this have on the translator's poetry? Where does the poet locate his or her voice amid the tangle of other voices? Is something learned about language that couldn't have been learned from English? Five poets who translate address how they have transformed, challenged, stolen from, and been nourished by the powerful influences of authors they translate.

Reading F138. New Writing from Omnidawn Publishing. (Barbara Freeman, Angela Hume, Margaret Ross, Douglas Piccinnini, Meredith Stricker)
Scott James Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Join us for readings by Omnidawn authors of Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 titles. Q&A will follow readings, as time allows.

Pedagogy F139. Invisible Ethics: Values, Practices, and Greater Goods in the Creative Writing Classroom. (Amy Weldon, Patrick Hicks, Sejal Shah, Athena Kildegaard, Taylor Brorby)
Room 402 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
We aren't teaching "values" in a creative writing classroom. Or are we? What about the tacit goods that underlie writerly practice and classroom community: civility, attention, curiosity, generosity, risk? In this panel, five writers, teachers, and activists explore the often-invisible ethical codes that structure creative writing practice—especially as we help students develop their own—and share strategies to make the classroom a space of mindfulness, rigor, and joy.

Reading F139. USM's Center for Writers and Mississippi Review Reading. (Sara Lewis, Allison Campbell, Rebecca Morgan Frank, Andrew Malan Milward, Kirstin Valdez Quade)
Robert Muroff Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Join us for a reading that celebrates the launch of new books by faculty and students of the University of Southern Mississippi's Center for Writers, as well as contributors to the Center's literary magazine, the Mississippi Review. Readers include Andrew Malan Milward, Rebecca Morgan Frank, Allison Campbell, and 2014 Mississippi Review Fiction Prize Winner Kirstin Valdez Quade.

Panel Discussion F141. Innocents Abroad: Developing a Successful Creative Writing Study Abroad Program. (Randall Albers, Terri Witek, Andy Johnson, Omar Figueras, Kathie Bergquist)
Room 403 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Study abroad can be invaluable to the development of a creative writer. Program managers representing a low-res MFA, J-Term, and summer programs, along with a past study abroad student, speak to the benefits of study abroad opportunities for creative writing students and programs, and the nuts and bolts of program management: working with outside providers; developing meaningful pedagogy; and program administration, from budgeting to recruitment to on-the-ground logistics, with ample time for Q&A.

Panel Discussion F142. The Return of Aphrodite's Daughter: Rhetoric in Contemporary Poetry. (Sharon Dolin, Phillis Levin, Rosanna Warren, Christina Pugh, Blas Falconer)
Room 403 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Persuasion is Aphrodite's daughter: It is she who beguiles our mortal hearts. So wrote Sappho 2,600 years ago, and rhetorical figures persist as the structural foundation of many memorable lines of poetry—from Mark Doty to Terrance Hayes to Lyn Hejinian. After a successful panel in Seattle, five contemporary poets return to discuss five different rhetorical figures, such as apostrophe, litotes, negatio, and prosopopeia, as they exist in their own poems and in those of poets they admire.

Panel Discussion F143. Through the Closet: Writing Human Complexity in Queer Characters in Fiction. (Kate Maruyama, Jeanne Thornton, Seth Fischer, Catie Disabato)
Room 404 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The typical “coming out of the closet” narrative is a fantasy of a starkly contrasted before-and-after, of complete disclosure and consequence. Through the lens of their works of fiction, the panelists discuss the limitations of this oversimplified account of the queer experience and explore their varying approaches in writing queer characters in all of their human nuances and differences across genres and time periods.

Panel Discussion F144. The Ethics of the Artist: Writing About Family in Essay and Memoir. (Laura Cronk, Alice Cohen, Julie Metz, Brando Skyhorse, Aspen Matis)
Room 405, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
After a writer realizes that a story must be told comes a difficult question. Can this story be told? Nonfiction writers must grapple with the rights of others in their stories. In this panel, essayists and memoirists discuss the ethical and artistic quandaries of writing nonfiction. What are the real costs of writing about family, for both the writer and those written about? How do responsibility and freedom intersect in nonfiction?

Panel Discussion F145. Guerrilla Girl Marketing. (Katherine Towler, Ann Wertz Garvin, Erin Celello, Katie Rose Guest Pryal, Brandi Granett)
Room 406 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Connecting with readers is an increasing challenge in a crowded marketplace. The speakers on this panel established the Tall Poppies, a marketing collective for women writers, to pool resources and increase visibility. They believe that you don't need to compete to get ahead and that when writers support each other, they all rise. In this presentation, the speakers share the specifics of creating a collective, establishing a branded social media presence, and expanding the reach of their writing.

Reading F146. We Got Here as Fast as We Could: Debut Authors Over 35. (Mo Daviau, Jamie Duclos-Yourdon, Louise Miller, francine j. harris, Antonio Ruiz-Camacho)
Room 407, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Excluded from the bevy of youth-oriented literary awards and accolades that often presage success in the field, these authors, all of whom first published past the age of 35, share their work and the stories of their longer, windier paths to publication.

Reading F147. Rewriting the Hollywood Gender Gap. (Ligiah Villalobos, Danielle Wolff, Beth Schacter, Susanna Fogel, Julie Blumberg)
Room 408 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Despite the hype about female protagonists breaking into top grossing films and popular TV shows, female voices continue to be underrepresented in the film and television industry. Panelists speak up about the challenges facing women today, tell their own stories of working in the industry, and talk about how and where women are creating change and more diversity.

Panel Discussion F148. Fulbright Grants in Creative Writing: Building a Successful Application. (Robert Strong, Oonya Kempadoo, Michael Larson, Janet Holmes, Nathan Goldstone)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Many writers would like to apply to the Fulbright program, a prestigious grant for travel and writing abroad open to all genres, from the bachelor's level up to MFAs, PhDs, and professional writers. This panel focuses on the application process: choosing the right country, attaining a letter of affiliation from a host institution, and writing a successful statement of purpose. Panelists include both scholar and student grantees, an international-to-US grantee, and a Fulbright screener.

Panel Discussion F149. Hybrids, Bastards, and Half-Breeds: On Writing Hybrid Forms. (Catherine Liu, Donna Minkowitz, MG Lord, Sesshu Foster, Carol Guess)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Hybrid forms tend to be heartier than the recognized, canonical genres, according to Kim Wright at The Millions. This panel explores the glories of mixing: the formidable creative power that can be won from blending memoir with magic realism or trenchant social critique, fiction with visual art, lyric with essay, fiction, or even journalism. Does the decision to resist the firm divisions of genre let us go beyond expected sentiments, statements, and permissible content?

Panel Discussion F150. California/La California/Califas. (Belinda Acosta, Pablo Martinez, Helena Maria Viramontes, Pat Alderete, Harry Gamboa)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Los Angeles is said to be a city of many cities, each with their own stories to tell, their own secrets to keep. The assembled Latino writers from and beyond LA come together to discuss the people, places, and experiences that have shaped their work and how their “El A” contributes to the larger tapestry of American arts and letters.

Panel Discussion F151. NTT Faculty Advocacy. (Les Kay, Mary Stone, Kyle McCord, Cynthia Reeves, Ben Cartwright)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Attention has begun to be brought to the oppressive work conditions many nontenure-track faculty face. These panelists—who are adjuncts and full-time NTT faculty, and writers—discuss advocacy strategies that have directed notice toward this national issue, and that have also offered solutions. They've participated in Walk Out Day, drafted Best Practices documents, and gained local media coverage, and they want to hear what you're doing in your communities to advocate for fair work and wages.

Reading F152. Hugo House Literary Series All-Stars. (Jennine Capo Crucet, Natalie Diaz, Nick Flynn, Roxane Gay, Jess Walter)
Room 502 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The Literary Series at Hugo House, Seattle's place for writers, features three writers and a musician, all performing new work commissioned by Hugo House on a theme—such as death, humor, or both of those combined. This reading features five former Lit Series stars reading excerpts from the works they produced for their respective events. The panelists also briefly discuss the joys and horrors of writing to a prompt, and what became of the work they produced for the series.

Pedagogy F153. Paying It Forward: Literary Mentorship. (Dana Levin, Tomas Morin, C. Dale Young, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Vievee Francis)
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Steering students through a tangle of soul, style, culture, digital, and market forces? It's called mentorship, and it's an art. In an academic environment driven more and more by assessment and cost, how does this crucial, unquantifiable teaching experience develop and survive? Five poet-teachers from diverse backgrounds discuss the art of mentoring today's students as well as what their mentors (Donald Justice, Ai, Louise Glück, and more) taught them about teaching, writing, and living.

Reading F154. Midwest Magazine Seeks West Coast Writers. (Terry Lucas, Karen An-hwei Lee, Lynne Thompson, Marianne Villanueva, Allison Joseph)
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What happens when a well-established Midwestern literary journal seeks writers from the West Coast? Crab Orchard Review has done just that in a special issue called "The West Coast and Beyond." This panel explores the concept of multiregionalism, with readings from three poets and a fiction writer who were in the issue. What do readers and writers learn when one region examines the literature of another? This panel of four west coast writers speaks to this concept.

Reading F155. Audio Drama and Podcasting: The Future is Now. (Bryan Wade, Lance Dann, Fred Greenhalgh, Kc Wayland)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In the last decade, the landscape for audio dramatic writing has been transformed by the exponential growth and impact of podcasting. Audiences are no longer locked in the traditional appointment-listening model, but can tune in when and where they want. Professional writers and producers discuss the craft of writing for this unique and demanding medium of the imagination and how one engages audiences in the saturated media universe of TV, film, books, music, and multiplatform events.

Pedagogy F156. “Once, I Was That Girl”: Creative Writing Pedagogy for Tween and Teen Girls. (Elline Lipkin, Allison Deegan, Nancy Gruver, Amie Williams, Margaret Stohl)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
“Empowering girls” has become a catchphrase that can be relatively meaningless. Yet, single-sex environments have been proven to be productive spaces in which creativity is nurtured and young writers can grow. Four educators and writers who have founded organizations that serve tween and teen girls speak to the practical challenges and the reverberations of success they have witnessed while mentoring girls, as well as the inspiration this has brought to their own creative work.

Panel Discussion F157. WITS Membership Meeting.
Room 506, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Writers in the Schools (WITS) Alliance invites current and prospective members to attend a general meeting lead by Robin Reagler, executive director of WITS-Houston.

Panel Discussion F158. Treating Your Setting Like a Character. (Dana Elmendorf, Elizabeth Briggs, Jessica Love, Kathryn Rose, Rachel Searles)
Room 510, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Though some writers approach setting as a description of details through the five senses, treating your setting like a character gives it depth and value with a more organic experience for the reader. Five children's authors whose books range from contemporary to sci-fi to fantasy share how they develop their settings like a character. They discuss how to make your setting feel real by going beyond physical descriptions and giving it a backstory, personality, and character arc.

Reading F159. Let Us Live Loudly: A Dark Noise Reading. (Danez Smith, Franny Choi, Aaron Samuels, Fatimah Asghar)
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What does it mean to exist with marginal identities in a world that is bent on our destruction? How do we celebrate our survival while honoring the legacies of violence that brought us here? Join Dark Noise, a multiracial, interdisciplinary collective of six extraordinary emerging voices in poetry, in an unapologetic celebration of survival. This reading showcases DN's collaborative approaches to performance and writing, exploring what it means to live loudly in the margins today.

Panel Discussion F160. Asian American Writers Reinventing Los Angeles. (Ginger Ko, Kenji Liu, Grace Shuyi Liew, Lam Pham, Chiwan Choi)
Room 512, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing group in the US, and the LA area has the highest US API population, but APIs are often ignored and stereotyped by mainstream America. This panel presents East and Southeast Asian American writers who write, work, and live in LA, and have cultural ties to the diasporic landscape of the metropolitan area. The panel makes visible the intersectional histories, politics, and artistic practices that feed and are fed by their literary work.

Reading F161. Small Beer Press: 15th Anniversary Reading. (Sofia Samatar, Ayize Jama-Everett, Gavin Grant, Karen Joy Fowler, Maureen McHugh)
Room 513, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Fifteen years after Small Beer Press was founded to publish works that cross genre definitions, traditional bookstore shelving options, and academic course descriptions, four authors from different parts of the USA who now all live in California read from their books and then discuss the spaces their books were published into with Small Beer Press publisher and cofounder Gavin J. Grant.

Panel Discussion F162. Black Bodies Matter. (Patricia Smith, Justin Phillip Reed, Susan Somers-Willett, Adriana Ramirez, Jonah Mixon-Webster)
Room 515 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The Black Lives Matter movement is a recent response to a larger history of violence against Black bodies in the US and abroad. What roles does poetry play in this response, and how do poets negotiate the lenses of race, gender, sexuality, and class in their responses? Can poets write about racialized violence without reinscribing it on others? A diverse group of poets gather to read their work and discuss their approaches to writing about brutality against Black bodies.

Panel Discussion F163. You Don't Know Me at All: The Creation of Self as Protagonist in Memoir. (Laurie Lindeen, Leigh Stein, Eileen Cronin, Cheryl Strayed)
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Memoirists aged 30 to 55 who are also writing instructors, journalists, and editors explore the invention of self as protagonist in the craft of memoir writing. In order to be a reliable, relatable narrator, the "me" in memoir must be a character and protagonist who is neither hero nor victim nor navel gazer, regardless of the nature of personal challenges. A true protagonist experiences the full breadth of human experience, both good and bad. One challenge lies in saving a private sense of self.

Panel Discussion F164. Winding Up for the Pitch: Making Effective Proposals to Bookfairs, Bookstores, and Literary Presenters. (Steph Opitz, Amanda Bullock, Maret Orliss, Jennifer Ramos, Paul Legault)
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Publishers face enormous competition for limited time and space when approaching bookfairs, bookstores, and literary programmers to feature their books and authors. Learn the most effective ways to create programming that fits the mission and goals of individual venues and stand out from the crowd. Major festival, bookstore, and literary venue programmers discuss what they respond to, what falls flat, and the best way to reach them.

Noon to One-fifteen p.m.

Reading F165. Women of Color Write Crime. (Maria Kelson, Gigi Pandian, Naomi Hirahara, Rachel Howzell Hall, Steph Cha)
Gold Salon 1, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Women crime novelists read from new work. Panelists include mid- and early-career novelists who write for a broad audience and identify as Indian-, African-, Japanese-, Mexican-, or Korean-American. They discuss their varied publication paths (print/e, legacy/indie, commercial/literary, and large/small presses). They also address how pop culture's views of crime and policing, mystery genre structures and forebears, and writing from or about California do/don't fuel their inspiration.

Panel Discussion F166. Pleasures and Perks of Indie Publishing. (Maggie Kast, Jotham Burrello, J.L./Jessica Powers, Eric Charles May)
Gold Salon 2, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
An indie publisher, an indie publicist, and four writers of memoir and fiction (adult and YA) gather to discuss the pros and cons of going the indie route. They cover the roles of publisher and writer in the editing and design of a book as well as marketing, publicity, distribution, and negotiation of contracts. They also address questions of dialogue between publisher and writer and control of the process.

Reading F167. Translating Tongues of Fire: Poetic and Religious Texts. (Michael Wright, Tania Runyan, Scott Cairns, Rachel Mennies)
Gold Salon 3, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Poets with religious commitments write within a simultaneous struggle: How do you appropriate language and symbols in a way that honors the tradition while still innovating with contemporary poetic forms? Join poets from three different traditions as they reflect on their process and read poems that engage Jewish, New Testament, and Eastern Orthodox texts.

Panel Discussion F169. Making Privileged Knowledge Public: Science in Creative Nonfiction. (Camille Meyers, Melissa Sevigny, Melissa Hart, John Marzluff, David Haskell)
Diamond Salon 6&7, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
How can we make science writing open, accessible, and interesting to general readers? What are some of the challenges of translating scientific information into lyric essays? When does journalistic writing become literary? Can creative nonfiction incite social and political change? Each panelist brings a unique approach to the field of science writing to discuss these questions and share their experiences crafting science into literature.

Panel Discussion F170. #ArtsVote2016. Concourse Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Americans for the Arts Action Fund is pleased to partner with the Association of Writers & Writing Programs to present a Presidential Town Hall Meeting on the Arts in Los Angeles as part of the ArtsVote2016 campaign. The 2016 elections are right around the corner and Presidential candidates are courting voters every day. Are you asking the candidates the right questions? The mission of ArtsVote2016 is to educate candidates and mobilize creative advocates to secure the best arts and arts education policies for the nation. All major candidates will be invited to offer their arts policy positions at this convening. Join the conversation at #ArtsVote2016 and learn more at www.ArtsActionFund.org.

Panel Discussion F171. Beyond Confession: Women's Writing and a Radical Poetics of the Personal. (Dorothea Lasky, Amber Rose Tamblyn, Rachel McKibbens, Deborah Landau, Ada Limón)
AWP Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
"Confessional poetry" is often a coded term for poetry written by women and is disparaged as domestic, personal, and small. This panel examines ways in which the poetics of the personal and the everyday can subvert traditional gender binaries and move towards a radical reassessment of women's roles in literature and society. Five women read from their work and discuss their relationships to poetry of the body, the spirit, and the world.

Reading F172. It Takes a Family. (Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Mukoma wa Ngugi, Nducu wa Ngugi, Wanjiku wa Ngugi, Kadija George)
Scott James Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Ngugi wa Thiong'o has been a longtime proponent of a paradigm shift in the way diasporic populations judge their own literature—not by comparisons to Western literature, but by developing their own rich cultural history of literature. Joined by his offspring, all published writers, Ngugi will discuss the Global South and the role of change agents and change in today's literary arena and how a family may have
lessons that are relevant to other groups advocating change in the world of literature.

Reading F173. Are We There Yet?: Revising Toward a Finished Draft. (Benjamin Reed, Michael Noll, Michelle Brower, Rachel Yoder, Caroline Casey) 
Robert Muroff Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
When drafting multiple revisions, it's easy to lose track of both the story's sense of direction and the initial vision that inspired it. For help, we depend on early readers, peers, instructors, agents, and editors, with each carrying the potential to clarify or muddle the process. This panel of writers, agents, and editors addresses common missteps and practical strategies for revision, helping you answer the million-dollar question: How do I know when I'm done?

Panel Discussion F174. Translation as Animation: New Poetry from Japan. (Kyoko Yoshida, Forrest Gander, Sawako Nakayasu, Goro Takano, James Shea)
Room 402 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Beginning with a short reading, this panel of translators and writers explores the formal problems, aesthetic choices, and political implications of translating contemporary Japanese poetry. Panelists discuss the diversity of Japanese poetry and consider how the pleasures and challenges of translation animate their own writing. Poets under discussion include Takashi Hiraide, Sayumi Kamakura, Shirō Murano, Kiwao Nomura, and Gozo Yoshimasu.

Reading F175. From Poems Online to Poets in Person: A Reading by Four Cortland Review Poets. (Gregory Orr, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Yusef Komunyakaa, Jeremy Bass, Ginger Murchison)
Room 403 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Pursuing a wider community for poetry and to bring poets closer to their readers, the Cortland Review makes the work of established and emerging authors and poets available worldwide—free and without ever going out of print. Through its professional quality video series, streaming audio, and, now, poets performing original music, the Cortland Review has become one of the most important archives of recent poetry, fiction, and criticism. Editor Ginger Murchison presents four Cortland Review dynamic voices.

Panel Discussion F176. A Finished Conversation?: Gendered Cultures of Creative Writing. (Jennifer Kwon Dobbs, Aimee Parkison, Monique Zamir, Lisa Lewis, Camille Rankine)
Room 403 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Women writers from three generations explore whether gender continues to shape women's experiences of creative writing today, from studying or teaching in a creative writing program to administering one to publishing work. In relation to race, class, and sexuality, how has the position of women writers changed over time, and where are we now with regard to our access to publishing and positions of power in our communities and academic institutions? What interventions might we make to gain ground?

Pedagogy F177. Dealing with Workshop Diversity. (Robert McGill, Carolyn Smart, Noor Naga, Siobhan Phillips)
Room 404 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Students bring disparate cultural backgrounds, personal situations, and artistic interests to the creative writing workshop. This panel addresses the challenges and opportunities that such diversity creates. Presenters reimagine goals, practices, and the teacher's role in workshops where students have cultural expertise that the teacher lacks, experience with widely differing genres of writing, and varying psychological relationships to their work.

Panel Discussion F178. Process and the Midcareer Memoir. (Jennifer Baumgardner, Ana Castillo, Chef Rossi)
Room 405, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
When is it time to tell your story? How do you translate having a story to tell to the meaningful execution of a "real" book? Chef Rossi, a rollicking rock-and-roll caterer of queer weddings and feminist extravaganzas, publishes her memoir at age 51. In her fifties, Chicana feminist Ana Castillo (famed for her fiction, poetry, and essays) meditates on the experience of raising a brown son in America. Two wildly different voices answer questions about process and form.

Pedagogy F179. Crafting Change: Genderfluid Students in the Creative Writing Workshop. (Kathy Flann, Glen Retief, Dallas Carroll, James Magruder, Marie Keller)
Room 406 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
At a time when students' gender identities may be more expansive than in the past, how can workshop leaders provide instruction that suits all-comers? This panel will discuss ways to support student writers and to offer feedback on stories with nonbinary characters. The panel—comprised of three workshop leaders, a nonbinary student, and a representative from Los Angeles Gender Center—offers insight into accommodating various gender identities while upholding the highest standards of craft.

Panel Discussion F180. Unsung Epics: Women Veterans' Voices. (Lauren Halloran, Victoria Hudson, Mary Doyle, Mariette Kalinowski, Jerri Bell)
Room 407, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
As novelist Cara Hoffman observed, female veterans' stories have the power to enrich our understanding of war and of our culture, art, nation, and lives. Yet their stories are largely absent. Five female vet writers address this narrative gap: How do women veterans' stories differ from those of men and civilian women writing on war? Can their work have the same commercial and critical success? Do audiences have different expectations? How can these stories help bridge the civilian-military divide?

Panel Discussion F181. The Long and the Short of It. (Oindrila Mukherjee, Samrat Upadhyay, Kevin Wilson, Amber Dermont, Tiphanie Yanique)
Room 408 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
If writing a novel requires the long-term commitment and continual nurturing of a marriage, then writing a short story resembles a fling—short, sharp, and remembered forever. While many writers (and readers) are particularly drawn to one of these forms, some feel compelled to practice both, sometimes simultaneously or in close succession. Come hear writers who have found success with both novels and story collections discuss the challenges and rewards of their literary promiscuity.

Reading F182. The War on Both Sides: Writing on Violence and Healing in the Drug War. (Rubén Martínez, Raquel Gutierrez, Gabriela Jauregui, Cristina Rivera-Garza)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Convening poets, critics, and nonfiction writers, our panel asks what ethical modes are available to represent the violence of the Drug War that takes a terrible toll on both sides of the US-Mexico border. What aesthetic challenges to presenting the real arise across our genres? How can writing play a healing role? We stage a performance dialogue, which includes readings as well as conversation among ourselves and with the audience, embodying the ideal of writer as public intellectual.

Panel Discussion F183. Writing Violence: Tracing Disaster in Ethnic-American Writing. (Sobia Khan, Phinder Dulai, Octavio Quintanilla, LaToya Watkins, Randa Jararr)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel represents a wide array of “Americanness” as Palestinian American, Canadian Indian, Mexican American, Pakistani American, and African American writers. These writers discuss how their individual and collective communal violent histories are integral to their identity as writers and to their writing. They attempt to explore questions such as how and why they write violence onto the page, and how each writer contributes to contemporary American literary debates.

Panel Discussion F184. A Lecture by Elizabeth Alexander, Sponsored by the Poetry Foundation. (Elizabeth Alexander)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Elizabeth Alexander is the author of six books of poems, two collections of essays, a play, and various edited collections. She was recently named a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, as well as the Wun Tsun Tam Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University. She previously served as the inaugural Frederick Iseman Professor of Poetry at Yale University, where she taught for 15 years and chaired the African American Studies Department. In 2009, she composed and delivered “Praise Song for the Day” for the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Her memoir, The Light of the World, was released in 2015 to great acclaim.

Panel Discussion F185. Competition and Creativity. (Lynn Pruett, Lorraine López, Blas Falconer, Rebecca Gayle Howell, Ansel Elkins)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Does literary competition fuel better work, or does it jettison risk and originality? How does one write against the competition? Is artistic compromise required? Five award winners analyze the effect of competition on their creative processes, offer strategies for elevating the writing game, and discuss how winning an award has influenced their later work.

Panel Discussion F186. A 50-Year Retrospective on Gay Talese's “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold”. (Rachael Hanel, Sonya Huber, Bronson Lemer, Dinty Moore)
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
2016 marks the 50th anniversary of “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,” Gay Talese's Esquire essay that showed us a new approach to the long-form essay, which continues to inspire new generations of writers. In this panel, writers and creative writing professors examine the essay's staying power. They also discuss the current state of the long-form essay. Specialty publications routinely accept long essays, but could the long-form essay still penetrate the mainstream as it did in 1966?

Panel Discussion F187. The NEA Turns 50: Celebrating a Half-Century of Support for Literature in America. (Fiona McCrae, Luis Alberto Urrea, Natasha Tretheway, Amy Stolls, Ken Chen)
Room 502 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What do Ralph Ellison, Harper Lee, and John Steinbeck have in common? They were among the first council members of the National Endowment for the Arts in 1966 that argued for grants to creative writers. Since then, the NEA has been the unsung hero behind the successful careers of many thousands of writers and literary organizations. Join key members of the literary community in a discussion of the NEA and the literary landscape over the last 50 years, and what the next 50 years might look like.

Panel Discussion F188. Embracing a Poetics of Joy. (Lisa Dordal, Ellen Bass, Traci Brimhall, Jericho Brown)
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Writers are often encouraged to love the process instead of focusing on the end product—the finished poem or published book. This excellent advice is, for many of us, easier said than done. What exactly does loving the process look like, and how can writers maintain this love for process in the midst of what is typically a very competitive playing field? Five poets discuss their techniques for keeping process—and joy!—front and center in their writing lives.

Panel Discussion F189. PhDon't?: The Risks and Rewards of the Doctorate for Writers. (Joshua Bernstein, Jameelah Lang, Rone Shavers, Genevieve Kaplan, Jessica Piazza)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What are the drawbacks and benefits for writers pursuing a doctorate? We ask whether the PhD “academizes” creative writing; offers students too much comfort, or not enough; sufficiently accommodates women and minorities; preselects for a certain kind of writer (e.g., one who can meet the testing requirements); promotes creativity or hinders it (through coursework, teaching, doctoral exams, etc.); and offers enough preparation for teaching creative writing at the college level and elsewhere.

Panel Discussion F190. Monsters Under Your Bed: Writing from Folklore, Reinterpreting Legend. (Millicent Accardi, Jose Faus, Maria Vasquez Boyd, Amy Sayre Baptista, Paula Neves)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Literary interpretations of folklore range from cautionary tales to tales of terror. Latino and Portuguese writers examine iconic figures in Latino and Lusophonic cultures like El Cucui, Los Duendes, and La Llorona. Learn why and how these nightmarish figures fit into youth-friendly literature promoting life lessons, how they retain aspects of frightening folklore and culture, and how reinterpretations strive to preserve adult nostalgia for these beloved beasts and sentimental specters.

Reading F191. YesYes Books 5th Anniversary Reading. (Phillip B. Williams, Tanya Olson, John Mortara, Jonterri Gadson, Aricka Foreman)
Room 506, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
YesYes Books gathers five of its authors as it demonstrates what can be accomplished when a young press strives to publish fresh new voices in all their variety. Though early in their careers, the poets included in this event have already garnered national recognition, and through them the poetic landscape is enriched and enlivened. Come celebrate five years of YesYes Books!

Reading F192. Written by Our Selves: The Craft of Immobile Corporeality. (Tiffany Austin, Destiny Birdsong, darlene anita scott, Larrysha Jones)
Room 510, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The practice of liming (doing nothing) in Trinidad, the custom of repainting effaced murals of slain gangsters in Jamaica, and recent American protestors' protection of businesses and each other by standing between them and the police—these are all examples of black corporeal defiance by nonmovement. Panelists read and discuss how they write defiantly immobile black corporeality in their work, thus revising the dominant narrative of such bodies, which posits them as lazy, uncontrollable, and useless.

Reading F193. In Their Own Words: Muslim Women Poets—a Reading and Discussion. (Deema Shehabi, Shadab Zeest Hashmi, Lena Khalaf Tuffaha)
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Three Muslim American women read from their works and discuss the representation of Muslim women in the West. This panel focuses on how these women, through their own work and in collaboration with others, preserve an identity that not only serves to counter common stereotypes but also creates a complex, personal yet universal narrative that defies narrow constructs.

F194. 2015/2016 Writers' Conferences & Centers (WC&C) Meeting.
Room 512, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This is an opportunity for members of Writers' Conferences & Centers to meet one another, and for the staff of AWP to discuss issues pertinent to building a strong community of WC&C programs.

Panel Discussion F195. Book Clubs in Spanish: The Adventure of Reaching Out to Diverse Neighborhoods. (Maria de Lourdes Victoria, Teresa Luengo Cid)
Room 513, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Two years ago, the Seattle King County Libraries began a book club in Spanish as a pilot program. The program has been very successful, and today four additional Spanish clubs exist. The key to success? The library, local authors, and the community working as a team! Readers are both native Spanish speakers and people looking to enhance their Spanish skills. In this presentation, the founders of the program provide information on how you can start your own Spanish reading club in your neighborhood.

Panel Discussion F196. Politics and Literary Fiction. (Katie Raissian, Francisco Goldman, Patricia Engel, Rabih Alameddine, Jonathan Lee)
Room 515 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Award-winning and highly acclaimed authors discuss political preoccupations in their writing and the importance of political awareness in contemporary literature.

Panel Discussion F197. Cunty Faggots: Who Can Say Wut? (Christopher Soto, Eileen Myles, Danez Smith, Jackie Wang, TC Tolbert)
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel will discuss the reclamation of language, the local economy of language, and whether an author's identity markers allow or prohibit them from using certain words. What does censorship look like today? How can we discuss the realities of queer and trans communities, if we cannot use vernacular language? What does it mean to export (publish) vernacular languages to our nonregional communities? What does it mean to have your word choice, your slang, delegitimized by publishers or readers?

Panel Discussion F198. Literature of the Los Angeles Riots. (Jervey Tervalon, Hector Tobar, Shonda Buchanan, Gary Phillips, Jennifer Joseph)
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
More than twenty years ago, the Los Angeles riots galvanized the city. As with such pivotal moments, writers grappled with history through the use of the written word, using fiction, poetry, and narrative nonfiction to search universal truths in such a vast city. But does literature have any responsibility to current events? Our five panelists, who have all written about the riots, discuss how their different narrative forms divulged the tension between history and prose.

One-thirty p.m. to Two-forty-five p.m.

Panel Discussion F199. Reimagining Literary Spaces. (Michael Snediker, Zinzi Clemmons, Yasmin Belkhyr, Maisha Z. Johnson, Corinne Manning)
Gold Salon 2, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Literary journals must go beyond stating a commitment to diversity. To change the literary landscape and make public more work by POC, LGBTQ, women, working class, and differently abled communities, journals must reimagine the traditional structure of submissions or even the role of literary spaces. Editors from Apogee, The Offing, Specter, Winter Tangerine, BGD, and the James Franco Review will share their experiences of how they re-visioned journals or differently approached the editing process.

Panel Discussion F200. Korean Feminist Poetics and Translation. (Eunsong Kim, Johannes Goransson, Ji Yoon Lee, Don Mee Choi, Joyelle McSweeney)
Gold Salon 3, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
South Korea's contemporary history has been deeply impacted by US imperial policies. Yet its history remains relatively unknown: its war, dictatorships, and 47 Free Trade Agreements. We poets and translators discuss feminist Korean poets and propose poetry-as-activism and translation-as-resistance to colonizing power.

Reading F201. Historical Fiction & Afrofuturism Reading (This Present Moment): The Black Literary Imagination and Social Justice. (Michael Datcher, J.O. Bankole)
Gold Salon 4, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
This reading will feature male and female, LA-based literary fiction writers in different genres (historical fiction and Afrofuturism) with a commitment to use literature as a means to interrogate social justice issues. This reading seeks to demonstrate how well-crafted narratives can be socially relevant without being pedantic and/or preachy.

Pedagogy F202. The Senses and Sensibility: Activities for the Creative Writing Classroom. (Angela So, Brian Brodeur, Charles Rice-González, Sebastian Paramo, Michelle Burke)
Diamond Salon 6&7, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
Want to liven up your creative writing classroom? In this panel, teachers share activities they've used to successfully engage students' bodies as well as their minds. Whether it's using improvisation to teach subtext or having students write poems after tasting a dragon fruit while blindfolded, these activities challenge students to interact with the world using all five senses. After all, being a good writer begins with being a good observer.

Panel Discussion F203A. A Reading and Conversation with Jonathan Franzen and Elizabeth McKenzie, Sponsored by the Center for Fiction (Elizabeth McKenzie, Jonathan Franzen)
Concourse Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Jonathan Franzen is the author of Purity and four other novels, including Freedom and The Corrections, and five works of nonfiction and translation, including The Kraus Project and Farther Away. Elizabeth McKenzie is the author of the novel The Portable Veblen, a collection; Stop That Girl, short-listed for The Story Prize; and the novel MacGregor Tells the World, a Chicago TribuneSan Francisco Chronicle and School Library Journal Best Book of the year. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic MonthlyBest American Nonrequired Reading, and the Pushcart Prize anthology, and has been recorded for NPR's Selected Shorts.

Panel Discussion F203B. Intersections: Race, Sexuality, and Other Collisions in Los Angeles Literature. (Alex Espinoza, Noel Alumit, Felicia Luna Lemus, Myriam Gurba, Frederick Smith)
AWP Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
This panel brings together LGBTQ authors of color from the greater LA area to explore issues facing writers of sexual and racial difference. What conflicts and confrontations arise as LGBTQ writers navigate the tricky terrains of ethnicity, culture, and class all while writing, living, and working in one of the most eclectic and vibrant metropolises in the country? In a city rife with misconceptions, how do these novelists further complicate our notion of a place we may think we already know?

Reading F204. Four Way Books Reads: Part 1. (Stephanie Ford, Patrick Ryan Frank, Rajiv Mohabir, Maya Pindyck, Laurel Blossom)
Scott James Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Hear some of Four Way Books' Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 authors read. All titles will be available at the Four Way Books' booths (610 & 612).

Reading F205. Fifty Women Over Fifty. (Anne Converse Willkomm, Cyndi Reeves, Carla Spataro, Elizabeth Mosier, Alison Hicks)
Robert Muroff Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Women over fifty are frequently overlooked by the publishing industry. In response, the students from the Rosemont College Publishing Program and PS Books are collaborating to celebrate women writers of all genres over the age of fifty. Come and celebrate these fabulous women writers in a reading and discussion.

Panel Discussion F206. Two Sides of the Mirror: Writing About Body Image Across Gender. (Jim Warner, Ray Shea, Brian Oliu, Ronnie K. Stephens, Tabitha Blankenbiller)
Room 402 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The drive to stay thin, young, attractive, and sexy is a struggle synonymous with womanhood. What are often overlooked—in both our culture at large and in nonfiction writing—are the challenges men face with similarly impossible demands on ideal size, shape, and appearance. This discussion brings together writers working against gender expectation to expand the conversation on body image.

Reading F207. Beyond Our Borders: American Poets Writing About Latin America. (Mia Leonin, Alexandra Lytton Regalado, Roy Guzman, Lisa Allen Ortiz, Valerie Martinez)
Room 403 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Beyond the dynamic body of work written by US-born Latinos that focuses on immigrant experiences and cross-cultural identities, what have American poets written about Latin America? This reading explores Latin America's complex political, cultural, and socioeconomic landscape. Inspired by fables, linguistics, activism, and travel, five poets turn their gaze to Latin America in a reading of poems about life, politics, and culture in El Salvador, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico, and Peru.

Pedagogy F208. A Manner of Being: Writers on Their Mentors. (Jeff Parker, Annie Liontas, Douglas Unger, Tayari Jones, Noy Holland)
Room 403 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
At an early stage, the vast majority of writers study art deeply under the mentorship of other writers. And these literary mentorships take many forms: They may include the act of giving permission; tutelage by a traveler who knows the road; the teaching of aspects of craft; tough love; and the modeling of a certain manner of being. On this panel, mentors and mentees discuss the qualities shared by powerful mentors encountered both inside and outside of MFA programs.

Panel Discussion F209. Writing Race: Poets on the Complexity and Contradictions of Race in America. (Richard Michelson, Rachel eliza Griffiths, Tim Liu)
Room 404 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In the "postracial" Obama era, the nation remains racially polarized, as the tragedies and protests in Ferguson and elsewhere demonstrate. How can a poet write truthfully about the complexity and contradictions of race in America? How can a poet balance a poem's message with the demands of poetry? How can a poet speak on behalf of his or her community, and yet empathize with other groups? How can a poet channel anger into art, risking the alienation of the audience for the sake of honesty?

Panel Discussion F210. After Experience Taught Me: The Cultural Landscape of the Creative Writer in the Southern California Community College. (Pianta (Pianta), Sydney Brown, Sean Richard Moor, Christina Guillen, Chris Baron)
Room 405, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Writers at two-year colleges offer new directions in rendering experience. Multilingual and pragmatic, they may face family taboos against egocentrism. They start with burning needs to express (or a quiet desire to be heard), to tell the extraordinary; a style from folklore, slang, or prayer; their forms: subgenre, myth, or sacred oration. They produce remarkable improvisations, driven not only by craft but by romantic ethos, complex sublimations, or a fervent need for self-transformation.

Panel Discussion F211. Current Trends in Literary Publishing. (Jeffrey Lependorf, Christopher Fischbach, Neal Thompson, Tyson Cornell, Jane Friedman)
Room 406 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
A panel of industry experts shaping independent literary publishing discuss how publishers are addressing current challenges and hurdles, as well as creating new opportunities. Hear these literary leaders of publishing, bookselling, and reader engagement reveal how they reimagine traditional forms of publishing while integrating innovative new trends.

Reading F212. Male Poets Writing Home and Hearth. (John Hoppenthaler, Geffrey Davis, Jon Pineda, James Harms)
Room 407, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The Victorian idea that differing propensities of each gender fit them for different positions in society is seen in these lines from Tennyson: "Man for the field and woman for the hearth: / Man for the sword and for the needle she.” Many female writers rebelled at the thought that their subject matter should be resigned only to matters of the hearth, but the reverse was not common. Few men—even in our “sensitive, new-age dad” era—write much about domesticity. This panel offers work by men who do.

Panel Discussion F213. The Author as Entrepreneur: How to Build Your Writing Business. (Mary Rasenberger, Janis Nelson, Michelle Richmond, Lauren Cerand)
Room 408 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
A successful writing career demands more than writing books. Every author, whether self-published or traditionally published, increasingly takes on the role of small business owner, making more decisions at each step of the publishing and marketing process, from contract negotiation to reading tour. This panel, presented by the Authors Guild, explores what authors need to know about contracts, taxes, marketing, and publicity to succeed in an ever more competitive publishing marketplace.

Pedagogy F214. The Pedagogy of Addiction, Grindr, Tattoos, Nude Beaches: How Much of Your Identity to Reveal in the Classroom. (Rachel Simon, Syreeta McFadden, Melissa Febos, Michael Broder)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
How do we model the writing life to our students when our own work touches on intimate, controversial, and disturbing experiences around sex, drugs, violence, and other modes of transgression? This panel offers practical advice on how and how much to bring of our own lives into the creative writing classroom. Panelists include writing professors whose lives and work meet at the intersections of sex work, heroin addiction, the gay hook-up app Grindr, queer activism, and work to end rape culture.

Panel Discussion F215. Coming of Age Queer. (Amber Dawn, Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, Tom Cho, Tim Jones-Yelvington, Megan Milks)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In recent years, LGBTQ literature for young adults has proliferated. But LGBTQ writers who grew up without it are still reckoning with that void. This panel brings together a diverse group of writers who are producing new narratives of queer and trans adolescence both within and outside the YA market. Defying expectations of what coming of age queer and trans looks like, these writers speak back to the YA lit of their youth—and to expectations of human maturation that themselves must come of age.

Panel Discussion F216. Sneak Peek: A Late Style of Fire—the Larry Levis Documentary. (Gregory Donovan, David St. John, Carolyn Forché, Carol Muske-Dukes, Michele Poulos)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel provides a "sneak peek" screening and discussion by the filmmaker and participants of A Late Style of Fire, the revealing, unconventional feature-length documentary film about Larry Levis. The film explores his life and work through narration unveiled in words from his own poems as well as photos, videos, and artful visual explorations, and featuring interviews with Philip Levine, Charles Wright, Carolyn Forché, David St. John, Carol Muske-Dukes, Norman Dubie, family members, lovers, friends, and more. Music by Iron & Wine.

Panel Discussion F217. From MFA to JOB: Making a Living, Making a Difference. (Monica Prince, Jen Benka, Kenny Kruse, Kenyatta Rogers)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
While tenure-track teaching and publishing are often the dream of MFA candidates, the competition is increasingly competitive. The creative and nonprofit sectors hold alternative employment possibilities for writers while making a real difference for communities. This panel ignites the imagination around the journey to meaningful careers that allow MFA graduates to work within a community of writers and artists, cultivate and curate artistic experiences and opportunities, and make a living.

Panel Discussion F218. Adapting to Adaptation: Making the Most of Going Hollywood. (Eleanor Henderson, Cheryl Strayed, Stephen Elliott, Jennifer Gilmore, Jenny Halper)
Room 502 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
For many writers, having a novel or memoir optioned for film is a dream come true. But a book's adaptation to the screen is often as complicated as a writer's adaptation to the movie business. The authors on this panel, all of whom have had a book translated into film in the recent past, explore the losses and gifts of adaptation, offering insight about how best to stay involved throughout the experience, while also reflecting on the nature of narrative, art, and ownership.

Panel Discussion F219. The New Globalism. (Marie Mockett, Sunil Yapa, Peter Mountford, Marlon James)
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
We live in a radically new world, one where we practice Buddhism in California, import Texan rice to India, and watch Hollywood movies high in the Andes. We are writers traversing the globe, obsessed with the intersections of culture and economy in a globally engaged, postcolonial literature. How does such work demand even greater empathy? How is a multiple heritage a new strength? What is the new frontier for an American literature born of two worlds? Come hear the panel talk about it.

F220. Award Series Reading.
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This reading features the 2014 AWP Award Series winners Charles M. Boyer, Sarah Einstein, Susan Muaddi Darraj, and Iliana Rocha.

Reading F221. Angry Asians: A Hyphen Magazine Reading Dismantling the Model Minority Myth. (Ari Laurel, G Yamazawa, Celeste Chan, Kristina Wong)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In 1966, the term "model minority" was coined in the New York Times. This year will be 50 years since Asian Americans were first characterized by the model minority myth, and they're not going to take it anymore. Four APIA writers challenge the stereotype by being unapologetically themselves and reading work about anger, rebellion, and baddest behavior.

Panel Discussion F222. Women in Spec: Women Writers in Speculative Poetry and Fiction. (Jeannine Gailey, Lesley Wheeler, Sally Kindred, Nancy Hightower, Margaret Rhee)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This cross-genre panel celebrates women's lively contributions to the male-dominated fields of speculative fiction and poetry. These authors, editors, and critics discuss recent changes and controversies in fantasy and science fiction, addressing how women are represented in the literature; publishing opportunities and challenges; and what it will take to foster women's voices and support their increasing success.

Panel Discussion F223. Translation as Pure Writing IV: Nonfiction. (Becka McKay, Sarah Viren, Jen Zoble)
Room 506, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel follows last year's on poetry translations (as well as the 2014 panel on fiction translations) by turning to creative nonfiction and exploring the pleasures and virtues of translation as pure creative nonfiction writing, where the writers are not distracted by what sort of form to employ, how to develop a character, or how in the world to end or begin. The panel also examines the question of whether the idea of “truth” in nonfiction is affected by the presence of translation.

Reading F224. The New Atlantis: Readings by Five Eco-Fabulist Writers. (Rose Bunch, Christian Moody, Peter Grimes, Alexander Lumans, Tessa Mellas)
Room 510, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Eco-fab, eco-fic, cli-fi. Hailing back to such works as Ursula K. Le Guin's 1975 story “The New Atlantis,” eco-fabulism continues to grow as a potent catalyst for environmental discussion and, possibly, change. In this panel, five fiction writers share their diverse eco-fabulist work. By employing the fantastic as a lens to witness contemporary problems, these readers display the breadth and depth of this hot genre in the literary landscape.

Panel Discussion F225. A 40-Year Indigenous Literary Legacy: Tribute for Acoma Pueblo Writer Simon J. Ortiz. (Sara Marie Ortiz, Sherwin Bitsui, Allison Hedge Coke, Lee Francis, Bojan Louis)
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Simon J. Ortiz is widely regarded as one of the literary giants of the Twentieth and Twenty-first centuries with more than two dozen volumes of poetry, prose fiction, children's literature, and nonfiction work to his credit, and with the anthologizing of his work around the world. In this interactive discussion, panelists discuss Ortiz's legacy and contributions to the landscape of American literature and the ways in which he's shaped a generation of Indigenous writers' aesthetics across genres.

Panel Discussion F226. The New Nonfiction: Where Literary Writing Bumps into Journalism. (Martha Nichols, Fred Setterberg, Yi Shun Lai, Autumn Stephens, Valerie Boyd)
Room 512, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In the brave new media world, journalists aren't the only ones publishing magazine articles. But as journalism and creative nonfiction merge, there's more confusion than ever about what nonfiction is—and it's not what you think. This panel of journalists and editors, from both coasts and in between, discusses what it takes to combine accurate reporting with literary technique. They address audience questions along with hot buttons like bias, narrative reconstruction, and fact fudging.

Panel Discussion F227. Endangered Music: Formal Poetry in the Twenty-first Century. (Larissa Shmailo, Annie Finch, Timothy Steele, Amanda Johnston, Dean Kostos)
Room 513, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What are the consequences of what Brad Leithauser has termed the "metrical illiteracy" of contemporary poetry? Poetry readership in the US has diminished, in contrast to countries where formal poetry is strong. Offering views from a now minority aesthetic, panelists discuss why knowledge of prosody and metrical analysis has waned and why accentual forms such as spoken word are popular. We demonstrate the essential role of music in poetry today and for understanding our poetic heritage.

Panel Discussion F228. Writing (and Editing) Sex. (Roger Hodge, Jamie Quatro, Dani Shapiro, David Means, Christine Schutt)
Room 515 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Writers and editors discuss sex in literature—the good, the bad, and the ugly—and look at ideas of craft when it comes to depicting and editing sex.

Panel Discussion F229. Shattered Quiet: Women Writers on the Truths and Consequences of Breaking Silence and Writing the Unspoken. (Lori Horvitz, Lee Ann Roripaugh, Natanya Pulley, Sharon Harrigan, Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich)
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In this panel, five women authors who have published work in memoir and lyric memoir address both the radiant liberations and real-life risks and outcomes of writing narratives that break silences and reveal raw, volatile, and vulnerable truths about personal trauma, emotional/physical/sexual abuse, mental or physical illness, and dysfunctional family dynamics.

Panel Discussion F230. Stray Dogs: Writing from the Other America. (Ron Cooper, Michael Gills, Joseph Haske, Larry Fondation, William Hastings)
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The panelists all come from lower-class upbringings and write about the lives of the poor, the downtrodden, and the marginalized. The panelists, all of whom publish with small presses, discuss the place of writing, particularly fiction, by and about poor people in the American literary tradition and in the current state of literature.

Three o'clock p.m. to Four-fifteen p.m.

Pedagogy F231. Creative Writing Is for Everyone: Pedagogies for the Twenty-first Century. (Alexandria Peary, Tom Hunley, Stephanie Vanderslice, Steve Healey, Tim Mayers)
Gold Salon 1, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Creative writing can be relevant not only to those on a path to become literary writers, but to everyone else as well. Innovative pedagogies can give nontraditional students and diverse communities access to the power of creative writing education. Join five contributors to the 2015 collection Creative Writing Pedagogies for the Twenty-First Century as they discuss service learning; process and feminist pedagogy; Writing-Across-the-Curriculum; and creative literacy.

Reading F232. A Rattle Reading: 21 Years of Poetry for the Twenty-first Century. (Timothy Green, Troy Jollimore, Joan Murray, Chris Anderson, Roberta Beary)
Gold Salon 2, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
For over two decades, Los Angeles has been home to Rattle magazine, one of the most vibrant and most read poetry magazines in the world. Four poets from recent issues read their work, demonstrating the eclectic spirit of the magazine, and spanning four of its tribute themes: Japanese Forms, Poets of Faith, New Yorkers, and Love Poems. Moderator and Rattle editor Timothy Green will introduce each poet and briefly discuss Rattle's vision of poetry in the Twenty-first century and beyond.

Panel Discussion F233. Pitch Perfect: How to Write and Successfully Pitch Freelance Articles to Magazine Editors. (Christine Lee, Mark Armstrong, Doree Shafrir, Rachel Riederer, Marie Myung-Ok Lee)
Gold Salon 3, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Five writers and editors with extensive backgrounds in print and digital periodicals discuss the tenets of pitching nonfiction work. How do you catch an editor's eye? How can you make your pitch stand out? The diverse panel of prominent editors and writers with a track record of pitching success details and provides insights into what it takes to get freelance work accepted at a journal or magazine, while exploring topics of professional etiquette, and how to nurture business relationships.

Panel Discussion F234. Renewing Constraint: The Legacy and Practice of Restricted Writing. (Shannon Skelton, April Krassner, Laura Martin, Kristen Miller, Douglas Luman)
Gold Salon 4, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
In a New Yorker interview, Nathan Englander said, “Maybe it sounds crazy, but with writing it's infinity that is limiting, and the limited that allows for the truly infinite.” From the founding of Oulipo to the contemporary avant-garde, limited forms offer writers new avenues of expression. Focusing on constraint as a tool for enhancing creativity, panelists explore the history of constrained writing and discuss its current applications in practice, pedagogy, and publication.

Panel Discussion F235. Story as Survival: LGBTQ Memoir. (Julia Koets, Julie Marie Wade, Barrie Jean Borich, Paul Lisicky, Ryan Van Meter)
Diamond Salon 6&7, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
This panel discusses how memoir can be a form of survival for queer writers and readers. How does the book act as a dwelling place for LGBTQ writers who are rejected from their families and communities? How does memoir allow for liberatory performances of gender and sexuality? How can queer writers rewrite history in crucial ways? Many of the writers on this panel are also fiction writers or poets: How are the stakes different when it comes to writing memoir about sexuality and gender?

Reading F236. A Reading and Conversation with Geoff Dyer, Leslie Jamison, and Maggie Nelson, Sponsored by Graywolf Press. (Fiona McCrae, Geoff Dyer, Leslie Jamison, Maggie Nelson)
Concourse Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Join three remarkable writers whose works challenge and invigorate new nonfiction with wit, empathy, intelligence, and style. Geoff Dyer received the National Book Critics Circle Award in criticism for Otherwise Known as the Human Condition. Leslie Jamison is the author of the essay collection The Empathy Exams, a New York Times best seller. Maggie Nelson is the award-winning author of the innovative works The Argonauts and The Red Parts. Introduced by Graywolf publisher Fiona McCrae.

Reading F237. A Reading & Conversation with Rigoberto González, Marilyn Nelson, & D.A. Powell, Sponsored by the Poetry Society of America. (Alice Quinn, Rigoberto Gonzalez, Marilyn Nelson, D.A. Powell)
Petree Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Three acclaimed contemporary poets, Rigoberto Gonzalez (PSA Shelley Memorial Award, 2011), Marilyn Nelson (PSA Frost Medalist, 2014), and D.A. Powell (PSA Shelley Memorial Award, 2015), read from their work, followed by a conversation moderated by PSA Executive Director Alice Quinn.

Reading F238. Poetry Los Angeles: Reading the Essential Poems of the City. (Laurence Goldstein, Harryette Mullun, William Mohr, Susan Suntree, Garrett Hongo)
AWP Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
How do poets conjure a complex city into imaginative forms? How do they articulate the city's many layers and locations, evoking a visible, audible, and tangible city? How do they construct a vital spirit of place with intimacy and authenticity? Through readings and discussions based on Laurence Goldstein's book Poetry Los Angeles: Reading the Essential Poems of the City, panelists consider how poets arouse and sustain readers' attention by diverse and artful approaches to urban life.

Reading F239. What the Heck Does Innovative Fiction Actually Mean?: Authors Cut Through the Jargon. (James R. Gapinski, Ashley Farmer, Lindsay Hunter, Stephen Graham Jones, Carmiel Banasky)
Scott James Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Innovative fiction is sometimes used as a placeholder term for experimental or avant-garde, but what does it really mean? It's time for a down-to-earth chat that eschews jargon and labels. In this panel, presented by the Conium Review, several authors cut through the marketing ploys and buzzwords for a candid talk on the strange, weird, and new in contemporary fiction.

Reading F240. Airlie Press Poets. (Karen McPherson, Darlene Pagán, Tim Shaner, Deb Akers, A. Molotkov)
Robert Muroff Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Northwest poets Tim Shaner, Darlene Pagán, Deb Akers, and Karen McPherson read from their recent work published by Airlie Press, the Northwest's only publishing collective.

Panel Discussion F241. Women Writing Fiction in a Postfeminist Era. (Varley O'Connor, Michelle Latiolais, Emily Mitchell, Lisa Alvarez, Melissa Pritchard)
Room 402 AB, L.A. Convention Center, Meeting Room LA.
What does postfeminism even mean? VIDA, the organization devoted to defining the current state of women in literature, has demonstrated with chilling exactitude the very real marginalization of contemporary women's writing. Perhaps we may agree that the difficulties women writers face today are in need of analysis and discussion. The experienced women fiction writers on our panel share how they approach the problem at their writing tables, in publishing arenas, and in their classrooms.

Reading F242. Nature's Nature: Ecopoetry at Kenyon Review. (David Baker, Kimiko Hahn, Solmaz Sharif, Joanna Klink)
Room 403 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What do poets mean when they make a natural gesture? The poets in Kenyon Review's 2015 and 2016 special issues on ecopoetics share an anxiety about ecological crisis, a devotion to the natural in its many forms, and an awareness of the inevitable relationship between nature and human destiny. Speaking from an array of cultural backgrounds and through a great diversity of poetic forms, they demonstrate how contemporary poetry may speak about, speak for, and speak from a natural place.

Panel Discussion F243. Who Reads Us? (Thomas Larson, Kate Gale, Nicole Walker, Joe Bonomo, Hope Edelman)
Room 403 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
With new reading platforms, blogs, online journals, writing programs/workshops, and reading groups proliferating, writers have a potential readership greater than ever. This panel asks: Who reads us, in what forms, and how is their access to our personal and web lives affecting how we write? Have our expectations about readers changed? In what ways does our readership grow or shrink with connectivity? How hard is it to find and nourish an audience? What say should readers have in how we create?

Panel Discussion F244. A Writer's Guide to Political Advocacy. (Mary Rechner, Nina Ozlu-Tunceli, Tina Cane, Shannon Buggs, Stacy Parker Le Melle)
Room 404 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Words have the power to change lives. How can writers use their words to reflect and improve our neighborhoods? Panelists share experiences that gave rise to moments when personal or political change became possible, and discuss how they become invested in the communities they live in and serve. They also provide examples of ways to take action to make a difference as well as the range of actions that are considered effective advocacy.

Panel Discussion F245. Poetry Pioneers of the Golden State. (Jim Natal, Joyce Jenkins, Kevin Patrick Sullivan, Donald Kingfisher Campbell, Consuelo Marshall)
Room 405, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel features four cultural workers who have labored tirelessly to insure that poetry is alive and thriving throughout the diverse state of California. Each panelist describes the goals for their specific literary focus and explains what inspired their programmatic ideas and how they raised the funds to support them. In addition, panelists discuss how audiences, volunteers and funders have changed through the years, and how they are adapting their programs in response to these changes.

Panel Discussion F246. "You Teach... High School?". (Richard Santos, Brendan Kiely, Emily Perez)
Room 406 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Even though adjunct positions are a common teaching destination, many writers are embracing the challenges of teaching at the secondary level. Yet, how can an author balance the legendary demands of teaching high school with a fulfilling writing career? Covering a range of genres, including poetry, fiction, literary criticism, and journalism, the panelists discuss the unique difficulties and satisfactions that come with writing while teaching in public and private high schools.

Panel Discussion F247. You Can't Write That: The Curious Case of Bias in YA Lit. (Janet Fox, Joy Preble, Geoff Herbach, Cecil Castellucci, Sherri Smith)
Room 407, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Does gender bias exist in YA lit? Certainly numerous scholarly and other articles propose that it does. Are male authors of YA titles—and male characters in them—reviewed differently than female authors? Than genderqueer? Does everything from book covers to marketing, from awards to reader expectation of story, shift with gender? Or is this in itself a biased perception? This panel of YA authors engages in civil discourse among peers of the state of gender bias in the field of YA lit.

Panel Discussion F248. Across the Critical Divide. (Boris Kachka, Stephanie Cha, Liz Egan, Leigh Newman, Kate Tuttle)
Room 408 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Reviewers and authors traditionally sit on opposite sides of an intractable divide. This panel brings together a group of prominent literary journalists to discuss the intellectual and emotional consequences of crossing that divide. How does becoming the author of a novel, memoir, or cultural history—and thus the subject of reviews and interviews—change a critic's relationship to the work of writing about books and authors, to the publishing industry, and to his or her fellow writers?

Pedagogy F249. Comics, Films, Songs, and More: Multimodality in Creative Writing and Composition Courses. (Leslie Salas, Danita Berg, Nicole Oquendo, Kirsten Holt, Christine Bailey)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Our students function as visually literate composers, engaging with writing and reading across multiple modes of communication. Hear from a panel of instructors that embrace their students' comfort with multimodality by teaching in multimodal formats and assigning both composition and creative writing assignments that push students outside their comfort zones and into the types of writing they're most likely to encounter on the job.

Reading F250. ¡Chicana! Power! A Firme Tejana-Califas Reading. (Guadalupe García Montaño, Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo, Anel Flores, Emmy Pérez, Laurie Ann Guerrero)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
With a brown fist in the air, chanting “¡Sí Se Puede!” these mujeres bring la palabra. This is a reading by fierce Chicana poets stemming from Texas and Califas. They exist in this frontera breaking barriers and re-building bridges. They are proud to walk this poetic path. Their writings reflect their politics, beliefs, and lived experiences existing within el otro lado. They build bridges within all their communities: Chicana, LGBTQ, y más colores. ¡Que Viva Xicanisma! ¡Viva!

Panel Discussion F251. Publicity and the Independent Press. (Kelly Forsythe, Jenna Fisher, Chelsey Slattum, Brittany Dennison, Heather Brown)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel draws together the voices of five literary publicists freelancing or on staff with independent presses of various sizes. Discussion revolves around how to communicate with authors to build a successful publicity campaign and identifying unique promotional opportunities based on a press's aesthetic, an author's background, and the subject matter of a book. The panel also addresses the outlying challenges of weathering the "media storms" of major prizes or public notice.

Panel Discussion F252. The Changing Face of Book Publicity: Get the Most from Your Publicist. (Angela Pneuman, Michelle Blankenship, Mitchell Jackson, Kirker Butler)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
You've sold your book, only to find out that the independent press, the university press, or even the traditional New York press has limited resources dedicated to its publicity. This panel of publicists and authors discusses how best to coordinate efforts between in-house publicists and independent publicists and explores the measures you should—and should not—take on your own behalf. Discussion includes traditional media and social media, as well as how to use events to your advantage.

Panel Discussion F253. Translation Poetics Continuum. (Anna Deeny Morales, Raúl Zurita, Valerie Mejer, Daniel Borzutzky)
Room 502 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel brings together poets and translators from different countries, generations and political contexts. Through bilingual readings, talks, and dialogue, speakers focus on the translation of poetry that emphasizes continuously shifting political, historical, and geographic contexts. The panel considers the ethical imperative of translation as an art that continues these dynamic shifts initiated in the original text.

Reading F254. A 40th Anniversary Reading from the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. (Debra Allbery, Pablo Medina, gabrielle calvocoressi, Charles Baxter, A. Van Jordan)
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Founded in 1976 by Ellen Bryant Voigt as the nation's first low-residency program, the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College has counted some of the country's finest poets and fiction writers among its faculty and graduates. Continuing a tradition started by the program at Malaprop's Bookstore in Asheville, North Carolina—The Fastest Reading in the World—our readers are joined by other Warren Wilson MFA faculty and alumni in attendance to celebrate four decades of literary achievement.

Panel Discussion F255. Not Disappearing into Americanness: Code-Switching as Cultural Preservation Through Language Conservation. (Nayelly Barrios, Eric Nguyen, Thomas Parrie, Gabriela Ramirez-Chavez, M. Evelina Galang)
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Code-switching, the practice of moving between two or more languages, provides a space for multilingual writers to engage in both their ethnic and American mainstream culture. This panel shows readers how writers use the words of the “other,” combined with the words and phrases of the familiar, to add extra layers of meaning to their work. This panel explores how code-switching engages in both minority cultures and the American mainstream, and how the “outsider” can join the conversation.

Panel Discussion F256. Creating Community Across Programs. (Lauren Espinoza, Ae Hee Lee, Melisa Garcia, Jacqueline Balderrama, Steve Castro)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Latino/a writers currently pursuing MFAs share how they have created community with one another across programs: an online workshop that convenes over the summer; a year-round virtual book club; engaging in an online roundtable discussion for eventual dissemination on the web; and attending a conference at ASU, which served as the backdrop of the third gathering, after the first two at Notre Dame—all under the auspices of the Letras Latinas Writers Initiative. They'll share some of their work, too.

Panel Discussion F257. Science That Sells. (Kathryn Miles, Sean Carroll, Besty Amster, Stephen Morrow, Karen Kaplan)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Once relegated to scholarly journals and niche publications, science writing has become a powerful voice in publishing and a place where writers can take on issues ranging from climate change and animal extinction to breast cancer and GMO food. This round table discussion with writers, editors, and agents explores new trends in popular science writing; what stories, essays, and books are getting sold; and why.

Reading F258. A Reading to Celebrate MacDowell's One Hundred and Ten Years. (Tracy Winn, Zinzi Clemmons, Adrianne Harun, Alice Sola Kim)
Room 506, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This reading celebrates the MacDowell Colony's one hundred and tenth year of support for writers of diverse cultural, aesthetic, and geographical backgrounds, providing the freedom to create in all stages of their careers. Four award-winning fiction fellows read, showcasing the caliber of work encouraged by MacDowell. The panelists also briefly share how residency at the Colony influenced their development as writers.

Panel Discussion F259. Serial Killers: How to Survive the Series Poem. (John A. Nieves, Cynthia Marie Hoffman, Alexandra Teague, Kathryn Nuernberger, Nicky Beer)
Room 510, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel explores the dangers and allure of the serial poem. Panelists offer insight into the types of poems included in successful series, share the processes and challenges involved in creating their own series, and look at the recent resurgence of the series poem. From series that reconstruct history to series that engage folklore to series that center on a modal unity like elegy or ekphrasis, panelists share best practices to help others build their serial m.o.

Panel Discussion F260. A Tribute to California Poet Laureate Al Young: Poet, Teacher, Mentor. (Persis Karim, Peter Harris, Alan Soldofsky, Sharon May, Al Young)
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Al Young represents the best of California. As past Poet Laureate of this state (appointed in 2005), he has spread the good news of poetry to California schools and higher educational institutions, and has participated in the San Francisco Jazz Festival and countless poetry festivals. While known for his blues-inflected poetry, his poems and influence have inspired Californians young and old. This tribute to Al Young features his poetry and his remarkable impact on past students and peers.

Panel Discussion F261. Where Are You Going, Where Have We Been?: Five Editors Discuss the History and Future of Flash Fiction Anthologies. (Tom Hazuka, James Thomas, Lynn Mundell, Nancy Stohlman, Robert Shapard)
Room 512, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Since 1992, when the original Flash Fiction anthology gave the genre a name that caught on, flash fiction has grown steadily in stature and popularity. Numerous popular anthologies have followed. Five well-known editors of flash fiction anthologies—three who were there from the beginning, and two who will be shepherding the genre into the future—discuss the past, present, and future of flash fiction, especially in regard to its appearance in book form.

Panel Discussion F262. Mentoring Elderly Students at Writers' Centers, Local Ys, and Elder Care Facilities. (Jennifer Franklin, Sally Bliumis-Dunn, Tony Howarth, Kathleen Ossip, Margaret Ryan)
Room 513, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
How do we most effectively teach elderly students? Panelists discuss subtle/pronounced differences of teaching creative writing workshops (all genres) to a distinct, often distinguished demographic. Instructors who specialize in teaching outside the academy share experiences and offer advice on teaching this cohort. Dos and don'ts of approach are explored. A student in his 80s shares experiences, published work, and what he and others are looking for in teachers, mentors, and courses.

Reading F263. Page Meets Screen: The Mercurial Marriage of Fiction and Film. (Billy Mernit, Chrysanthy Balis, Nancy Nigrosh, Michael Weiss)
Room 515 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
As the adaptation success of Gone Girl recently demonstrated, some novels translate wonderfully well into feature films—though often, literary bestsellers (Snow Falling on Cedars, anyone?) fail at the multiplex. What kinds of stories best lend themselves to adaptation? What is today's movie industry looking for in acquiring a fictional project? Los Angeles screenwriting professionals/authors discuss the evolving, often surprising symbiosis between two of storytelling's most enduring mediums.

Reading F265. Brief Encounters: A Collection of Contemporary Nonfiction. (Dinah Lenney, David Ulin, Amy Gerstler, Bernard Cooper, Meghan Daum)
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Brief Encounters: A Collection of Contemporary Nonfiction, the fourth in a series of anthologies edited by the late Judith Kitchen (this one with co-editor Dinah Lenney), includes 77 authors, a significant number of whom live, work, and teach in LA. Four such authors read and talk about their essays, as well as other aspects of writing, teaching, and appreciating long- and short-form nonfiction.

Reading F266. Les Figues Press Reading. (Teresa Carmody, Alta Ifland, Frances Richard, Harold Abramowitz, Divya Victor)
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Writers published by Los Angeles-based Les Figues Press as part of the TrenchArt Series present readings from their books, and from TrenchArt Monographs: hurry up please its time—a new essay anthology about the politics, poetics, and possibilities of writing. In a postreading conversation with LFP cofounding editor, authors explore poetic interventions of the TrenchArt series, and its contributions to conceptual writing, essay experimentation, and Los Angeles publishing.

Four-thirty p.m. to Five-forty-five p.m.

Panel Discussion F267. I Come to Witness: Writers as the Children of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde. (LeVan D. Hawkins, JP Howard, Imani Tolliver, Ellery Washington, Charles Reese)
Gold Salon 1, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
As American racial upheaval sparks a new civil rights movement and activist writers, poets, and playwrights are summoned to bear witness, how can we create written art of enduring value that continues to provoke thought like our queer ancestors James Baldwin and Audre Lorde? Five African American LGBTQ writers dissect the legacy of the creative activism of Baldwin and Lorde and share the results of their search for new-generation writers who are following in their footsteps.

Panel Discussion F268. Anthologizing Queer: Defining Community and the Politics of Representation. (Kathie Bergquist, Lisa C. Moore, Trace Peterson, Achy Obejas, Regie Cabico)
Gold Salon 3, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
From This Bridge Called My Back onward, anthology has helped define community and illuminate marginalized voices. At the same time, literary collection can further diminish queer expression by affirming whose work is worthy of attention and whose is not. In this panel, five editors of literary anthology fearlessly tread the minefields of representation and authority inherent in the act of curating intersectional queer culture, while confronting essential questions of quality and inclusion.

Reading F269. Phoneme Media Presents New Voices in Translation. (Angélica Freitas, Ahmatjan Osman, David Shook, Hilary Kaplan, André Naffis-Sahely)
Gold Salon 4, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Brazilian poet Angélica Freitas reads from her English-language debut, Rilke Shake, translated from the Portuguese by Hilary Kaplan, who will join her to read the poems in English; and Uyghur poet Ahmatjan Osman reads from his selected poems, Uyghurland: The Farthest Exile, the first ever literary translation from the Uyghur language of East Turkestan. Following the multilingual reading, Freitas, Kaplan, and Osman will take questions from the audience.

Panel Discussion F270. Philip Levine Prize Winners Remembering Philip Levine. (Sarah Wetzel, Corrinne Clegg Hales, Neil Aitken, Barbara B. Curiel, Steve Gehrke)
Diamond Salon 6&7, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
Philip Levine, former US Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner, died in 2015. Known as the “Whitman of the industrial heartland," in the words of poet Edward Hirsch, Levine taught for thirty years at California State University, Fresno. Moderated by CSU Fresno Professor Corrinne Hales, four winners of the Levine Prize read selections from Levine's work, discuss aspects of his life and work that continue to affect American poetry including their own, and read from their award-winning manuscripts.

Reading F271. Kelly Link, Emily St. John Mandel, and Ruth Ozeki: A Reading and Conversation, Sponsored by Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau. (Emily St. John Mandel, Ruth Ozeki, Kelly Link, Carolyn Kellogg)
Concourse Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
This event brings together three brilliant contemporary female writers—Kelly Link, Emily St. John Mandel, and Ruth Ozeki—to read and discuss their craft and experiences as genre-bending authors. Kelly Link is the recipient of an NEA grant and is the author of Get in Trouble. Emily St. John Mandel is the author of Station Eleven, a finalist for the 2014 National Book Award. Ruth Ozeki is the author of A Tale for the Time Being, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

Reading F272. A Reading and Conversation with Douglas Kearney, Robin Coste Lewis, and Gregory Pardlo, Sponsored by Cave Canem. (Robin Coste Lewis, Gregory Pardlo, April Heck, Douglas Kearney)
Petree Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Three poets read from collections that provoke new ways of seeing and thinking about culture, art, history, naming, race, and home. They discuss how strategies of experimental performative typography, meditations on the roles played by desire and race in the construction of the self, and autobiographical lyric poems connecting the complex intimacies of domestic life with the profound issues of our day create a seamless line between craft, vision, and critical thought.

Reading F273. Visions of a Feminist Utopia: The Feminist Press and the Future. (Jennifer Baumgardner, Rachel Kauder Nalebuff, Alexandra Brodsky)
Room 402 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What is this future we say we believe in? What does it look like and what are we like within it? Rachel Kauder Nalebuff and Alexandra Brodsky, editors of the groundbreaking Feminist Utopia Project, lead several of their contributors in a reading and discussion of what makes a better world and the role feminist theory and activism will have in that brave new reality. The editors are joined by Jennifer Baumgardner, director and publisher of the Feminist Press.

Panel Discussion F274. The Amateur's Raid in a World of Specialists: Research and the Personal Essay. (Michele Morano, John T. Price, Ned Stuckey-French, Mara Naselli, Francesca Royster)
Room 403 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Scott Russell Sanders describes the essay form as “an amateur's raid in a world of specialists.” These panelists have all waded into specialized worlds, gathering information that they marry with personal experience on the page. They discuss a variety of creative ways to conduct research and craft narratives that combine new knowledge with a distinctive, fluid voice.

Pedagogy F275. Full-Residency, Low-Residency, Online: The MFA Student and Faculty Experience. (Christine Sneed, Philip Graham, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Scott Blackwood, Patricia Grace King)
Room 403 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Current and former MFA faculty and students from Pacific University, Vermont College, University of Illinois-Urbana, Northwestern University, Warren Wilson College, University of New Orleans, Southern Illinois University, and Regis University discuss the different aspects of the full-residency, low-residency, and online MFA programs that they have been a part of. How these various models are organized, and how coursework and thesis advising are conducted, among other topics, are addressed in detail.

Panel Discussion F276. Stand-Up Poetry in a Stand-Up Town. (Kim Dower, Charles Harper Webb, Ron Koertge, Brendan Constantine, Michael Constantine)
Room 404 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Poets who encapsulate a vibrant and growing poetry scene in Los Angeles (and beyond) and a veteran comic actor show how poetry can not only be relished on the page, but devoured on the stage—funny and fun without sacrificing depth and craft. Learn presentation tips, secrets, and tricks from poets who inspire and teach you how to connect emotionally with an audience and to stretch your style to ignite both the hilarity and the despair unique to your work.

Panel Discussion F277. Diversifying MFA Programs: A Case Study. (Jennifer Givhan, Debra Allbery, A. Van Jordan, Caroline Mar, Adrienne Perry)
Room 405, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Can an MFA program diversify and become truly inclusive? A panel of Warren Wilson MFA Program administrators, faculty, and alumni review their ongoing efforts to address diversity within the student body and the faculty. We will discuss both institutional approaches (e.g., financial aid and hiring) and student advocacy efforts (e.g., student-led organizations and teach-ins), underscoring how, in the best situations, these efforts and approaches can come together to create real change.

Panel Discussion F278. I Wrote My First Book Because I Wanted to Read It: Black Women and Their Debut Fiction. (Danielle Evans, Cole Lavalais, Naomi Jackson, Angela Flournoy, Jacinda Townsend)
Room 406 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Toni Morrison has said that she wrote her first novel, The Bluest Eye, because she wanted to read it. bell hooks has said that no black woman writer in this culture can write "too much." This panel examines the ways in which contemporary black women writers, in a "post-race" climate, have decided to approach their debut work in relation to the idea that books by black women aren't being published enough or engaged critically.

Reading F279. Latinos in Lotusland: An Anthology of Contemporary Southern California Literature. (Daniel Olivas, Reyna Grande, Melanie González, Alejandro Morales, Michael Jaime-Becerra)
Room 407, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Latinos in Lotusland: An Anthology of Contemporary Southern California Literature is a landmark anthology spanning 60 years of Los Angeles fiction that includes the work of thirty-four Latina/o writers. We're introduced to a myriad of lives that defy stereotypes and shatter any preconceptions of what it means to be Latina/o in the City of Angels. These actors perform on a stage set with palm trees, freeways, mountains, and sand in communities from East LA and El Sereno to Malibu and Hollywood.

Panel Discussion F280. Should I Know Who You Are? Book PR for the Modern Age. (Leslie Pietrzyk, Lori A. May, Betsy Teter, Beth Parker, Kelly Davio)
Room 408 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Turns out that writing the book is a cinch compared to promoting the dang thing. How can writers embrace shameless self-promotion while avoiding the dangerous humble-brag? How can we claim media and reviewer attention in a crowded marketplace? How will readers find us? An independent book publicist, a small press publisher, and two publicity-minded authors offer insight and tips to help writers of all genres navigate old and new media.

Reading F281. Intersectionality Squared: Queer POC Theater Artists on Writing, Performing, and Publishing. (Prince Gomalvilas, R. Zamora Linmark, Luis Alfaro, D'Lo D'Lo, Alison De La Cruz)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Just like queer people of color constantly negotiate multiple identities, theater offers an equally complex arena for writers to move fluidly between the worlds of prose, poetry, performance, and publishing. On this panel, four renowned queer theater artists from diverse backgrounds give exciting mini-performances, and discuss their explorations of race, class, sexuality, and practices of witness, along with how they traverse the continuum from writing to embodied performance to publication.

Pedagogy F282. The Multimodal Workshop: Digital Pedagogy for Creative Writing Students. (Raul Palma, Nick White, Silas Hansen, Sonya Huber)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
While certainly useful, purely craft-based pedagogy can privilege the theories of producing creative work, rather than the multiple modes in which creativity can flourish. The multimodal workshop de-centers craft-based pedagogy by asking students to extend their work beyond the traditional page. In this panel, instructors discuss how they include visual, audio, and tactile texts in their teaching as well as share practical methodologies for cultivating interdisciplinary projects.

Panel Discussion F283. A Tribute to and Celebration of Eloise Klein Healy. (Robin Becker, Eloise Klein Healy, Peggy Shumaker, Alicia Ostriker, Amy Uyematsu)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Eloise Klein Healy, author of eight books, is a poet, editor, educator, mentor, LGBTQ advocate, and feminist pioneer, and was appointed first Poet Laureate of Los Angeles in 2012. For over forty years, her poetry, mentorship, and advocacy have mattered greatly, especially to women, minorities, and LGBTQ writers, not only in Southern California, but across the country. Significant colleagues will celebrate her poetry, mentorship, and advocacy, after which Eloise Klein Healy will share her work.

Pedagogy F284. The Poem You'll Write Tomorrow: How to Teach Vision. (Traci Brimhall, Natalie Diaz, David Kirby, Erika Meitner)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Graduate workshops generally focus on the merits of an individual poem, but there comes a day (or deadline) when these poems are collected. With all the focus on individual poems, how do students find a unifying vision for their work? How do teachers in workshop or in their role as adviser guide students beyond craft and poetic imitation to write “breakthrough” poems in their voice? How can a set of poems become an act of fortunetelling to see the poems that haven't yet come into being?

Reading F285. BOA Editions 40th Anniversary Celebration. (Li-Young Lee, Aracelis Girmay, Jillian Weise, Nikola Madzirov, Michael Waters)
Room 502 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Join five BOA authors whose poetry spans the 40-year history of one of America's true independent literary treasures. The panelists read from their BOA titles and share a few words about BOA's place in the past, present, and future of our literary landscape.

Panel Discussion F286. There's No "I" in "We": Writing Creative Nonfiction About the Groups We Belong To. (Maggie Mertens, Honor Moore, Huan Hsu, Ainsley McWha, Elissa Washuta)
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
We all belong to groups. When we write creative nonfiction about our family, race, religion, gender, sexuality, generation, or industry, many of us struggle to balance and maintain our own first-person voice within a story that might be shared by many different people. Four writers who have navigated the tug of war between the "I" and the "We," of various groups, discuss how to successfully write first-person narratives that tell more than just one's own story.

Panel Discussion F287. Girls on Fire: Beyond the "Strong" Female Character in Books for Young Readers. (Megan Atwood, Anne Ursu, Laura Ruby, Swati Avasthi, Alicia Williams)
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What exactly is a "strong female character"? What do people mean when they hope to see "strong" girls in books? The panelists discuss how this term came into ubiquity and what purpose it served, while suggesting that its use and form has turned into something reductive and wooden. Panelists complicate the discussion of what "strong" is and discuss the ways in which we can speak to truth and wholeness in our characters while still subverting dominant cultural messages.

Panel Discussion F288. Noisy Lit: The Lyric, the Sound, and the Body Politic. (Matthew Treon, Christopher Rosales, Cathy Thomas, Courtney Marie)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Where do our sonic and literary landscapes intersect? Whose politics are at stake in hybrid art forms? A mariachi singer and author of Chicano lit, a literary press fiction/music editor, a novelist working in musicology, and a musician making her living as a copywriter interrogate the relationships between song structure and storytelling, the sonic influences of poetry and hip hop, and the ways music and literature both represent and reposition transnational identities in American culture.

Reading F289. Central American Poetics: Guatemalan and Salvadoran Poets in the City. (Maya Chinchilla, Karina Oliva, William Archila, Javier Zamora, Gabriela Ramirez-Chavez)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Acclaimed and emergent Californian Central American poets discuss the need and limits of writing on social justice, (historical) memory, trauma, language, and alternative futures/fantasies. While Central American poetics used urgency to end their civil wars (1970–1996), how do diaspora poetics matter today? Through poetry, this reading engages the question while speaking about the aesthetics of refuge, loss, healing, and notions of home.

Panel Discussion F290. Beyond Combat: Nontraditional War Stories. (Lauren Halloran, Olivia Kate Cerrone, Qais Akbar Omar, Mariette Kalinowski, Elana Bell)
Room 506, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Not all war stories look like American Sniper. War is a vast spectrum of experiences, but literature and film offer only a limited, formulaic glimpse. We seek to expand that view, covering conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the West Bank through fiction, memoir, and poetry, from the perspectives of female veterans, bureaucrats, aid workers, and men and women living in the war zones. We discuss the challenges and importance of writing against masculine traditions and combat-driven narratives.

Panel Discussion F291. Seeing There: The Intersection of Visual and Literary Art. (Kristen Radtke, Beowulf Sheehan, Jeff Sharlet, Timothy Taranto, Nomi Victor)
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
From a book cover or author portrait to comics, photo essays, and accompanying illustrations, writers are constantly confronted with how visual imagery compliments or complicates the written word. How can images be crafted that contribute to poetry and prose? Can an image ever take the place of language? What role does design and photography play within contemporary publishing? This panel examines how images and text cohere to create a product that is arresting for both reader and writer.

Panel Discussion F292. Translation as a Democratizing Force. (Wendy Call, Alison Mandaville, Peter Crume, Cecilia Martinez-Gil, John Oliver Simon)
Room 512, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Three poets, a prose writer, and a scholar, translators all, explore the democratizing power of translation. We consider how translation—with examples from Azerbaijani and indigenous Mexican poets, a poet's self-translation, ASL/sign interpretation of speech and story in the US and Kenya, and work in multilingual children's poetry—empowers writers and increases equity in the world of words and ideas, where new possibilities for living together are imagined, shared, and set into motion.

Panel Discussion F293. One by One: Editors Explore Single-Story and Single-Poem Issues. (Heather Lang, Elizabeth Bradfield, MRB Chelko, Jennifer Tappenden, Jane-Rebecca Cannarella)
Room 513, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
There is a submovement in contemporary independent press publication toward single-author issues, and this panel explores the causes and effects. Discussion points may include the vast number of literary journals in existence, the notion that individual poems and stories can be available for purchase like songs, the prospect that poetry might be reclaimed for nonpoets, the concept of literature as visual art, and more.

Reading F294. USC Creative Writing Faculty Reading. (Carol Muske-Dukes, Susan McCabe, Mark Irwin, Anna Journey, Dana Johnson)
Room 515 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This is a reading by USC creative writing faculty, in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction, all of whom teach in the PhD in Creative Writing & Literature Program.

Panel Discussion F295. After Montaigne, Before Sunrise: Teaching and Writing about the Essays. (David Lazar, Phillip Lopate, E. J. Levy, Lina Ferreira, Patrick Madden)
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Montaigne's Essays have been fundamental for centuries of essayists and remain vital, though underutilized, for creative nonfictionists today. Panelists discuss their process of writing for After Montaigne, a new anthology of “cover essays” from the University of Georgia Press, as well as their teaching strategies and activities to help students engage with experiences in ways beyond recounting and narrative.

Panel Discussion F296. When I Was Latina: Navigating Privilege in the Publishing and Writing World. (Deborah Paredez, Casandra Lopez, Cecilia Rodriguez Milanés, Keyla Hernandez, Raina León)
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What are the gender, sexual, ethnic, and racial biases that Latinas encounter everyday in book publishing? How can Latinas build stronger literary communities? What are some of the pressures that Latinas feel to fit into the mold of what people perceive to be Latina writing? In this panel, editors and writers share their experiences and offer advice for creating original Latina texts and maintaining authentic identities.

Six o'clock p.m. to Seven-fifteen p.m.

Panel Discussion F297. Art School Writing Faculty Caucus Meeting. (Amy Lemmon, Monica Drake, Lesley Jenike, Mairead Byrne, Norman Leonard)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This is the annual meeting of art school faculty members to discuss pedagogy, programming,
administration, and best practices particular to art school writing classes and programs.

Panel Discussion F298. Disability Caucus. (Jennifer Bartlett, Meg Day, Sheila Black, Mike Northen, Ellen McGrath Smith)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The Disability Caucus will allow for disabled individuals to network and discuss common challenges related to identity, writing, and teaching while professionally leading a literary life. We aim to archive our interests, challenges, and concerns in order to increase our visibility and emphasize our importance to this organization, along with our social and creative significance to the academic and literary communities where we live, teach, and work.

Panel Discussion F299. Women's Caucus. (Amy King, Katherine Ann Rowlands, Lois Roma-Deeley, Margaret Rozga)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Women writers are moving closer to publishing equality, but we haven't arrived yet. This roundtable discussion addresses what women in our industry can do to remedy inequities in publishing and reviewing, with a particular focus on networking strategies. Speakers include leaders from VIDA, originators of the Count, and JAWS, a women's journalism collaborative. The AWP women's caucus aims to eliminate the ongoing imbalance in the publishing world.

Panel Discussion F300. Indigenous-Aboriginal American Writers Caucus. (Kristiana Kahakauwila, Deborah Miranda, Greg Sarris, Casandra Lopez, Odilia Galvan Rodriguez)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Indigenous writers and scholars participate fluidly in AWP, teaching and directing affiliated programs, or working as independent writers/scholars, and/or in language revitalization and 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. AWP conferences began representative caucus discussions from 2010 to 2015. Essential program development continues in 2016.

Panel Discussion F301. Forum for Undergraduate Student Editors (FUSE) Caucus. (Catherine Dent, Michael Cocchiarale, Reed Wilson, Rachel Hall, Amy Persichetti)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Calling all undergraduate students and faculty advisers engaged in editing and publishing literary journals, literary websites, chapbooks, and small presses: Come join FUSE for its annual caucus, which includes FUSE chapter updates followed by a roundtable discussion. This year's two topics are "Conferences and Networking" and “Will You Look at That?: An Exploration of Aesthetics and Influence.” Bring ideas and journals to exchange.

F302. Sober AWP.
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Daily 12-Step Meeting.
All in recovery from anything are welcome. soberawp@gmail.com

Six-thirty p.m. to Eight o'clock p.m.

F303. Oberlin College Creative Writing Program 40th Anniversary Alumni Reunion.
Plaza 1&2, JW Marriott L.A., Third Floor.
Please join current director Kazim Ali, founding faculty members David Young, Stuart Friebert and Diane Vreuls, former director Martha Collins and other faculty, students and alumni of Oberlin College for this special celebration of the Creative Writing Program's 40th anniversary.

F304. NYU Creative Writing Program Reception.
Plaza 3, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
Join the students, faculty, staff, and alumni from the NYU Creative Writing Program for a reception.

F305. BOA Editions 40th Anniversary Party.
Olympic 1, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
Join the staff, board, and authors of BOA Editions for a cocktail party reception as the press celebrates its milestone 40th anniversary! Together, we will toast to BOA's 40-year legacy of contributing to our literary community and honor all of those who have played a part in making BOA one of America's most admired independent publishing houses. The party, which will follow BOA's “40th Anniversary Celebration” panel, is free and open to the public.

F306. ASU MFA thirtieth Anniversary Reception.
Olympic 2, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
ASU's MFA in Creative Writing has been an ascendant, vital program since its inception in 1985. Our faculty has received national and international attention, generating Guggenheim fellowships, NEA fellowships, National Book Award finalists, and a Pulitzer Prize. Our students have gone on to win multiple prizes, receive Guggenheim and Fulbright fellowships, publish books, and contribute to literary culture nationally and internationally. Please join us in celebrating thirty years of community and creation in the desert. Let's celebrate!

F307. Sewanee Writers' Conference Reception.
Olympic 3, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
We welcome all Sewanee Writers' Conference alumni and guests to catch up with friends at an open bar.

F308. Literary Colorado Reception.
Diamond Salon 8&9, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
Join the literary communities of Arapahoe Community College, Colorado College, Colorado Review, Colorado State University, Conundrum Press, Lighthouse Writers Workshop, Lithic Press, Mile-High MFA, University of Colorado, Western State Colorado University for refreshments and a chance to socialize and network.

F309. National University MFA Program.
Diamond Salon 10, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
The MFA program at National University invites you to a reception celebrating our accomplished graduates. Current students, program alumni, prospective students, and the general public are welcome.

Eight-thirty p.m. to Ten o'clock p.m.

Reading F310. To Bring Song to the World: Three Poets on Art and Inspiration, Sponsored by Blue Flower Arts. (Alison Granucci, W.S. Di Piero, Linda Gregerson, Juan Felipe Herrera)
Concourse Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Whether it be a film, a painting, a song, a photograph, or something else, art in all forms is a powerful force of cross-pollination for writers, and especially for poets, who engage intellectually and emotionally with art and artists across time and disciplines. Each of these four poets' individual cultural references provides a juxtaposition of images and techniques that create illuminating renderings of place and history within the landscape of language.

Reading F311. Eula Biss and Jonathan Lethem: A Reading and Conversation, Sponsored by USC Dornsife English & PhD in Creative Writing and Literature. (Eula Biss, Jonathan Lethem, Geoff Dyer)
Petree Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Join us for a reading and discussion with two of contemporary literature's brightest stars, Eula Biss and Jonathan Lethem. Eula Biss is the author of three books: On Immunity: An Inoculation, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction; Notes from No Man's Land: American Essays, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism; and a collection of poetry, The Balloonists. Her work has been supported by a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Howard Foundation Fellowship, an NEA Literature Fellowship, and a Jaffe Writers' Award. Jonathan Lethem is the author of over a dozen books—including the much-lauded novels Motherless Brooklyn and The Fortress of Solitude—and the winner of a MacArthur Foundation Grant. Other novels include Chronic City, selected for the New York Times' “The Ten Best Books of 2009” list; You Don't Love Me Yet; and Dissident Gardens, a New York Times notable book of 2013. These acclaimed authors read from their work and discuss their creative process and their plans for continued future success.

Ten o'clock p.m. to Midnight

F312. AWP Public Reception & Dance Party.
Diamond Salon 1 to 4, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
A dance party with music by DJ Neza. Free beer and wine from ten o'clock to eleven o'clock p.m. Cash bar from eleven o'clock p.m. to midnight.

Reading F313. Old School Slam. (Jason Carney, Bill Schneider)
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
AWP welcomes students to return to the roots of Slam! Open mic, special guests, and then undergraduate and graduate students partake in a hardcore-break-your-heart-strut-out-the-good-stuff slam competition. Students are welcome to sign up to participate on Thursday and Friday at the Wilkes University/Etruscan Press booth and read original pieces (three minutes or less with no props) at the Slam later that night. Sponsors: Wilkes University and Etruscan Press.

 

Saturday, April Second

Eight o'clock a.m. to Two o'clock p.m.

S100. Conference Registration.
Registration Area, West Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Attendees who have registered in advance, or who have yet to purchase a registration, may secure their registration materials in AWP's registration area of the West Hall of the L.A. Convention Center. Please consult the bookfair map in the conference planner for location details. Students must present a valid student ID to check-in or register at our student rate. Seniors must present a valid ID to register at our senior rate. A five dollar0 fee will be charged for all replacement badges.

Eight o'clock a.m. to Five-thirty p.m.

S101. Lactation Room.
First-Aid Suite, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
The Lactation Room is located inside the first-aid suite, located on Exhibit Hall Level One of the Los Angeles Convention Center outside of West Hall A and the AWP registration area, across the hall from Petree Hall.

S102. Dickinson Quiet Space.
Room 507, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
A dedicated quiet space for you to collect your thoughts, unwind, and escape the literary chaos. Please consult the map in the conference planner for detailed location. "There is a solitude of space, / A solitude of sea, / A solitude of death, but these / Society shall be, / Compared with that profounder site, / That polar privacy, / A Soul admitted to Itself: / Finite Infinity." –Emily Dickinson

Eight-thirty a.m. to Five p.m.

S104B. Bookfair Concessions, Bar, & Lounge.
West Hall & West Lobby, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Breakfast and lunch concessions are available from eight-thirty a.m. to four o'clock p.m. on the Exhibit Hall Level One of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Coffee is available inside the bookfair from eight o'clock a.m. to four-thirty p.m., and hot food is available from twelve noon to four o'clock p.m. Food and beverages are also available at the Groundwork West and Galaxy concession stands located outside the bookfair in the West Lobby from eight-thirty a.m. to two o'clock p.m. The bookfair will also host a bar from one o'clock p.m. to five o'clock p.m. Cash, debit, and credit cards are accepted at all food and beverage locations. Please consult the maps in the conference planner or mobile app for location details.

Eight-thirty a.m. to Six-thirty p.m.

S103. Coat Check.
Room 104, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Room Level.
Coat check is open from Eight-thirty a.m. to Six-thirty p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Five dollar flat rate per item for a full day; ten dollar flat rate per item for full day with in/out privileges. There is a twenty dollar fee for items left overnight.

Nine o'clock a.m. to Five o'clock p.m.

S104A. AWP Bookfair, Sponsored by Hollins University: Jackson Center for Creative Writing.
West Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
With more than 800 literary exhibitors, the AWP bookfair is the largest of its kind. A great way to meet authors, critics, and peers, the bookfair also provides excellent opportunities to find information about many literary magazines, presses, and organizations. Please consult the bookfair map in the printed conference planner or AWP mobile app for location details.

S105. Writer to Writer Mentorship Program Booth.
AWP Booth 1011, AWP Bookfair, West Hall, LA Convention Center. 
AWP's Writer to Writer Mentorship Program matches new writers with published authors for a three-month series on the writing life. Writer to Writer is open to all members, but we particularly encourage two underserved segments of our membership to apply—those writers who have never been associated with an MFA program and those writing from regions, backgrounds, and cultures that are typically underrepresented in the literary world. Now in its second year, more than 150 people have taken part in this experience. To learn more, please visit AWP's Bookfair booth, where you will be able to talk with past program mentors and mentees. Diane Zinna, the program's director, will also be there to answer your questions.

Nine o'clock a.m. to Ten-fifteen a.m.

Panel Discussion S106. Writing the Spiritual Memoir. (Thomas Larson, Kathryn Winograd, Janice Gary, Beverly D'Onofrio, Shann Ray)
Gold Salon 1, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Five published memoirists, who also teach the genre of nonfiction, examine the spiritual memoir. How much do we work with or against religion, building or blowing up bridges between a faith community and the private realm of the spiritual? What craft choices do we make when narrating and describing inner or abstract experience, especially the exposition of insight and the drama of awakening? Are we “spiritualized” by writing these books? Panelists discuss our own and other spiritual memoirs.

Panel Discussion S107. Translation at What Cost?: Poets Who Translate. (Jordan Elgrably, Mihaela Moscaliuc, Sholeh Wolpé, Ming Ming Di (Mindy), Ralph Angel)
Gold Salon 3, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Translation is service, recreation, the lending of one's own poetic tongue to another poet—and yet, is it also self-denial? Does translation feed or hinder a poet's own creative work? Four accomplished poets who translate from Chinese, Romanian, Persian, and Spanish discuss the damaging and/or constructive role of literary translation on their own creative force.

Panel Discussion S108. The Ashcan School Redux. (Jen Fitzgerald, Erika L. Sanchez, Rodrigo Toscano, Alyss Dixson, Christopher Soto)
Gold Salon 4, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
As our society is consumed by a fabricated and polished version of reality, social realist writers are organically moving toward a resurgence of the “Ashcan School.” Panelists representing different forms of activism discuss how their work has allowed them to cull from lived experiences to create their art. The brick and mortar of human interaction and the witnessing of events shape our personal narratives and fuel our writing.

Pedagogy S109. Into the Wild Classroom: From Thoreau to Dillard to Urrea. (Heidi Hutner, Joe Wilkins, Sean Prentiss) 
Diamond Salon 6&7, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
With less and less wildness around most modern classrooms and with many students growing up removed from nature, it can be tough to present environmental writing as compelling and salient. Join science and nature writers and educators for a discussion of concepts, texts, techniques, and exercises that will reinvigorate, diversify, and modernize your environmental-based literature and writing lesson plans.

Reading S110. Exploring the Heart of Contemporary Jewish American Poetry. (Matthew Silverman, Jacqueline Osherow, Jennifer Michael Hecht, Lori Desrosiers, Susan Rich)
Room 402 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Both editors and three contributors to The Bloomsbury Anthology of Contemporary Jewish American Poetry reflect on how contemporary Jewish American poems celebrate Jewish traditions, honor the human spirit, and make a distinct contribution to religious and nonreligious subjects. The anthology differs from previous collections of Jewish literature by focusing on the poetry of writers born after 1945. The panelists discuss differences from that of past generations and read from the anthology.

Panel Discussion S111. Creating Literary Community in a City of Freeways. (Terry Wolverton, Jessica Ceballos, Traci Kato-Kiriyama, Michael Kearns, Conney Williams)
Room 403 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Meet the organizers of some of LA's most vibrant community-based literary workshops and reading spaces, striking sparks outside the walls of academia and Hollywood—Bluebird Reading Series at Avenue 50 Studio, Tuesday Night Café, Queer Wise, Anansi Writers Workshop at the World Stage, and Writers at Work. Each is geared toward a specific cultural or geographic community. We share our diverse missions, strategies, and structures, and explore how our communities intersect and cross-pollinate.

Panel Discussion S112. Writing Characters Who Buck Gender Norms. (Lucy Jane Bledsoe, William Lung, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Lydia Conklin, Erin Judge)
Room 404 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In a market that tends to want fairy tales, and characters who conform to strict gender norms, how do we write characters who resist these stereotypes of what men and women are supposed to be? Are brainy and/or bossy female characters unsympathetic? If a male character is excessively romantic, has his believability been diminished? How do we write convincing characters, ones who do not reflect standard gender expectations, without triggering questions about the characters' credibility?

Panel Discussion S113. Sex, Drugs, Violence (and Rock 'n' Roll): Exploring the Boundaries of Young Adult Lit. (Katie Cortese, Nova Ren Suma, Bill Konigsberg, Taylor Haggerty, Jordan Hamessley)
Room 405, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In recent years, bestselling young adult books have portrayed suicide, mental illness, murder, untimely death, frank sexual encounters, governmental coups, use and abuse of alcohol and drugs (legal and not), homelessness, pregnancy, and a host of other issues often associated with the adult world. The authors, agent, and editor on this panel address the boundaries imposed by the “young” in young adult (and may challenge their existence), while offering tips for writers hoping to toe the line.

Reading S114. Crossing Genres, Crossing Seas: Writing the South Asian Diaspora. (Rajiv Mohabir, Amarnath Ravva, Faizal Deen, Neelanjana Banerjee, Anjoli Roy)
Room 406 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Emerging writers who work in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and hybrid text read and discuss how they map the imaginary of South Asia in diaspora. They explore the complexities of South Asian diasporic identities as a series of cultural, poetic, and ethnic negotiations. They consider also how literature allows us to grapple with identity through strained, distant, and intimate relationships with the subcontinent from Honolulu to LA to New York.

Panel Discussion S115. Succeed Better: The Many Ways Our Words Can Bear Fruit. (David Ebenbach, Anna McCormally, Margaret Luongo, Dawn Dorland Perry, Amy Gottlieb)
Room 407, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Faced with Amazon rankings, bestseller statuses, and zero-sum “top writer” lists, you might think that success is all about numbers—but numbers are the palest measure of what our work can do in the world. The writers and editors on this panel share personal stories about how writing can lead to poignant encounters, salved wounds, changed lives, and empowered people. This conversation broadens the definition of success to encompass the things that mean the most.

Panel Discussion S116. Mayhem and More Mayhem: The World of Collaborative Writing. (Susan Finch, Tom Franklin, Joshua Shenk, Justin Petropoulos, Jessica Pitchford)
Room 408 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Collaborative writing creates the potential for mess and mayhem, but when a piece succeeds, collaboration soars. How do you begin to collaborate? How do you find the right partner? How do you revise? How might you use collaboration as a teaching tool? From inspiration to execution, participants discuss the pleasures and pitfalls in collaborations with other writers, visual artists, and even students.

Panel Discussion S117. How to Go Home Again: California Dreaming and the Reality of the California Memoir. (Tara Ison, Kelly Daniels, Cris Mazza, Jane Rosenberg LaForge, Erin Aubry Kaplan)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
A promised land blessed by the Pacific or a cultural desert; the future in industries inspired by science fiction or our daydreams; and exotic living experiments—California represents all these possibilities and more. But how should writers whose birthright is thick with such lore approach documenting their own experiences? Join us for a discussion on escaping and capturing the tropes and mythos of the state, from the idealism of a new frontier to the reality of labor, economics, sexism, and racism.

Reading S118. A Reading for Lana Turner: A Journal of Poetry and Opinion. (Calvin Bedient, Cathy Park Hong, Joshua Clover, Catherine Wagner, Shane Book)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The Santa Monica-based Lana Turner: A Journal of Poetry and Opinion celebrates its eighth annual issue with a reading by contributors from past issues. The event will be moderated by journal co-editor Calvin Bedient.

Panel Discussion S119. Entering the Archives: The Documentation of Historical Fiction. (TaraShea Nesbit, Paula McLain, Anton DiSclafani, Justin Go, Shena McAuliffe)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Taking up Susan Howe's claim that rich material is found in the gaps and silences of archives, the authors on this panel create stories using the archives as original material for fiction. What ethical considerations are involved in writing about real historical events? When does research start to impede on the writing? We consider the opportunities and drawbacks of writing about the past and provide attendees with generative ideas towards teaching and writing historically grounded fiction.

Panel Discussion S120. Forming Resilient Partnerships: How Literary Nonprofits, Schools, and Individuals Can Collaborate Effectively. (Gerald Richards, Joel Arquillos, Grant Faulkner)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Join 826 National, 826LA, and National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) as they discuss different strategies on forming partnerships between schools, literary nonprofits, volunteers, and teachers on both a local, national, and global scale, and how these partnerships enable creative solutions for both educators and students. What are the challenges of maintaining these partnerships, and what is their impact on the diverse population of under-resourced students they aim to empower through writing?

Panel Discussion S121. A Tribute to Gabriel García Márquez, Storyteller and Public Intellectual. (Maria Helena Viramontes, Fernando Daniel Castro, Rafael Buitrago)
Room 502 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Márquez is a protean figure in literature. His 2014 death begs for a review of his legacy as author and public intellectual. He avoided ideological pamphleteering yet epitomized the public intellectual of his day: the Cold War in Latin America; issues of social justice; human rights; the great divide between developed and underdeveloped nations. This panel focuses on Márquez's genial public intellectual style and the connection between his works of fiction, journalism, speeches, and more.

Panel Discussion S122. The Other Side of the Slushpile: Agents on Agenting. (April Wolfe, Nicole Tourtelot, Noah Ballard, Michelle Brower, Erin Harris)
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The world of literary agents can seem murky and impenetrable to authors beginning the querying process, but it doesn't have to be that way! This panel focuses on candidly exploring how authors and agents actually find each other in the real world. What do agents actually do, why do they do it, and what does it take to get their attention? With an extended question-and-answer session, writers have the opportunity to ask our panel of actively acquiring agents their most burning questions.

Panel Discussion S123. Complicated Labor: Writing About Mothering, Writing While Mothering. (Micah Perks, Ariel Gore, Michelle Tea, Kate Schatz)
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Writers who grapple with the complications of maternity have often been marginalized or largely invisible. What stories are mothers allowed to tell? Is anyone interested? How does mothering complicate our creative practice? This panel of fiction writers, memoirists, editors, journalists, and poets addresses our experiences in writing about maternity and discusses the conscious and unconscious biases that keep women from the transgressive act of writing honestly about motherhood.

Panel Discussion S124. Dispatches from the Latino Heartland: Ten Years of Creating Community. (Miguel M. Morales, Maria Vasquez Boyd, Jose Faus, Jan Rog)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The Latino Writers Collective celebrates Ten years fostering and advancing Latino voices. This REAL TALK panel shares challenges of sustaining a Midwest Latino writing group. Learn to form a writing community no matter where you live. Discover their successful authors and programs: Migrant Youth Writers Workshops, Pagina Reading Series, and Spanish writing group. Explore their transition to a nonprofit, forming a press, and publishing award-winning anthologies. Panelists will also read their work.

Pedagogy S125. Ekphrasis in the Digital Age: Beyond Mere Description. (Timothy Bradford, Amy Catanzano, Megan Kaminski, Amaranth Borsuk, Matthew Cooperman)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Contemporary ekphrasis has been described as a form of critical meditation that mixes commentary, homage, resistance, argument, and self-criticism, but what does it look like in practice, especially given digital tools? And how does one push beyond mere description or instrumentalization of the work of art? These panelists present examples from their own work and offer practical exercises, with an emphasis on digital technology, for community, undergraduate, and graduate classrooms.

Pedagogy S126. Against Palatable Writing: Dismantling an Inherent Problem in the Workshop. (Zach VandeZande, Caitlin Pryor, Tanaya Winder, Geffrey Davis, Andy Briseño)
Room 506, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Often workshops are driven by competitiveness and a need for validation, leading to writing that is a product of fear of failure rather than courageous exploration. This panel looks at the problems inherent in the workshop model as a normalizing force driven by shame and lack of openness to diversity/difference, in order to provide alternative means of fostering artistic growth and aesthetic risk in the creative writing classroom while working against the entrenched system.

Reading S127. The Politics of Translation: Aimé Césaire's The Tragedy of King Christophe. (Paul Breslin, Rachel Ney, Roger Reeves)
Room 510, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Panelists discuss politically-charged translation problems in this play, set in postrevolutionary Haiti. How should one translate nègre, which is in most contexts a term of racial abuse, but is for Césaire usually neutral or honorific (its cognate in modern Kreyòl is racially unmarked, meaning simply "man")? Should nonstandard French be rendered as nonstandard English? Paul Breslin and Rachel Ney present the decisions made in their new translation. Roger Reeves offers a critique of their work.

Panel Discussion S128. The Rise of the Literary Podcast Genre: What Mistakes Not to Make in Your First Year of Starting a Podcast. (Abigail Browning, Kevin Larimer, Tom McAllister, Lindsay Garbutt, Mike Ingram)
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Given the nature of smartphones and access to digital media, the podcast genre is emerging as one of the most pervasive arts and entertainment mediums today. A young field (early mentions date to 2004), literary podcasts provide game-changing possibilities for presses, literary magazines, MFA programs, and writers to broaden reach and engage millennials to boomers (and beyond). Learn what you need to get started, and what mistakes to avoid in your first year behind the microphone.

Pedagogy S129. We Don't String Popcorn Necklaces Here: Brain Science and Assessment Beyond Craft. (Laura Valeri, Amy Lemmon, Dee Gilson, Brendan Constantine, Zohra Saed)
Room 512, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The mysterious power of the brain invites as much speculation as the romantic notion that all writers possess a pinch of madness—but can brain science help teachers reconcile the pragmatic demands of program review with the playful, uncertain explorations of the creative process? A diverse panel of teachers who have taught and assessed K-12/BA/MFA curricula share how recent studies in creativity impact how they teach and show how to design assessment that survives this STEM-obsessed age.

Reading S130. Veteran Poetry Reading. (Jeb Herrin, Karen Skolfield, Vicki Hudson, Soul Vang)
Room 513, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Many veterans struggle to find their place blending into civilian society, as many poets struggle to find their place in a literary world that often overlooks them. This panel brings to light the experiences of veterans through the literary form that best suits the transition into civilian life. In this panel, poet veterans share their stories through poetry.

Panel Discussion S131. The Poetic Past: Crafting Poems Through Historical Material. (Linwood Rumney, Campbell McGrath, Collier Nogues, Bettina Judd, John Drury)
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Contemporary poetry is filled with work that explores historical material. Reflecting on the importance of this tradition, this panel offers insights into writing strategies, research practices, and professional opportunities for such work. What is the poet's responsibility to historical accuracy and representing historical figures? What kind of research is done in crafting such poems? What strategies can poets use to write about and through historical material?

Panel Discussion S132. Without Representation: Authors Who Sold Their Literary Debuts Without an Agent. (Cari Luna, Will Chancellor, Wendy C. Ortiz, Chelsea Hodson)
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
A literary agent can be a writer's closest ally in the publishing business, but is your career sunk if you don't have one? Four authors who sold their literary debuts to traditional publishers on their own, and then went on to sign with agents, discuss their publishing experiences with and without representation.

Ten-thirty a.m. to Eleven forty-five a.m.

Panel Discussion S133. Navigating the Job Market and Negotiating a Contract as a Female Candidate. (Anton DiSclafani, TaraShea Nesbit, Esther Lee, Hannah Pittard)
Gold Salon 1, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
This panel focuses on the concerns that women encounter on the academic job market. Are women poorer negotiators than their male counterparts, and if they are, how can they bargain more effectively? Should a woman secure parental leave in her job contract? Is being pregnant or traveling with a nursing infant a liability for campus interviews? This panel features four women who recently landed tenure-track jobs—in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction—who will respond to the above questions.

Pedagogy S134. What I Did When What I Did Wasn't Working: Teachers on Retooling Their Teaching. (Joseph Scapellato, Matt Bell, Derek Palacio, Catherine Dent, Jameelah Lang)
Gold Salon 2, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
When our in-class lessons and out-of-class assignments don't give our students what we hoped they would—when our pedagogical performances flop unexpectedly—how do we rework what's left? In this panel, five teachers of writing share specific instances of course failure and the attempts at redesign that followed. Examples of activities, assignments, and approaches promise to make this panel helpful for teachers of all experience levels.

Panel Discussion S135. The Global MFA: Travel, Displacement, and Writing. (Richard Katrovas, T. Geronimo Johnson, Cherae Clark, Samrat Upadhyay, Katie Moulton)
Gold Salon 3, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
How does travel help to displace writers and their work? How does displacement contribute to a writer's development? How can MFA programs design and fund such opportunities for their students? Panelists who have developed and participated in excursions to the Czech Republic and Nepal explore the relationship of such journeys to graduate work, teaching practice, and writing completed during and after their MFA experiences, as well as offer strategies for developing such initiatives.

Panel Discussion S136. No Place Like Home: Setting in the Contemporary Short Story. (Anna Ling Kaye, Chris Tarry, Ayelet Tsabari, Doretta Lau, Tom Cho)
Gold Salon 4, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Where does one set the modern short story in this globalized age? What are the artistic and political implications of these choices? In a modern world where stories take place across and outside of national boundaries, how does setting impact subject, tone, and point of view? These writers with ties to multiple countries reflect on how they situate the transnational short story, and highlight narrative tools to bring culturally rich narratives to life.

Panel Discussion S137. Equal Voices: Evolution of the Modern War Memoir. (Adrian Bonenberger, Kayla Williams, Brian Castner, Jane Blair)
Diamond Salon 6&7, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
In past wars, up through Vietnam, war memoir was primarily a space for storytelling by educated, male, combat-based, Caucasian, politically or professionally ambitious children of the elite. This discussion seeks to describe technological, logistical, and systemic challenges and opportunities for groups—such as female combat veterans—who have not, traditionally, received adequate representation, and who are writing now. This phenomenon has been written around, but not examined in depth.

Reading S138. Writing the Family Tree: A Cross-Genre Conversation About Multigenerational Stories. (Sara Lewis, Elizabeth Cohen, Christopher Castellani, Rachel Richardson) 
Scott James Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Join us as we discuss how the vast history of families can be encompassed in a single work. Authors will explore the formal and personal challenges of writing families. Their stories range from seven generations of fisherman to a family joined by Alzheimer’s to a family's search for home in the Old Country. Each writer has approached his or her story through a different genre, and we will look at the ways a story lends itself to a particular genre and how genre shapes the story that can be told.

Reading S139. Crossing the Liminal: A Reading of Art Poetry. (Lauren Camp, Hedy Habra, Denise Newman, Ravi Shankar, Cole Swensen)
Robert Muroff Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
In this reading, five poets who have found literary inspiration in visual art, post-1950, share their work. All are contributors to World Literature Today's November 2015 issue on the intersections between art and poetry. By intersecting what we know (language) with what we imagine (art-making), we gain the vicarious ability to sculpt, draw, or paint. These five writers engage their muse by crossing that liminal space.

Panel Discussion S140. Angels' Exile: Los Angeles Natives Writing from Elsewhere. (Mark Sundeen, Camille Dungy, Leslie Jamison, Eric Puchner, Amaud Jamaul Johnson)
AWP Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
With its diversity and segregation, wealth and inequity, sprawl and water wars, Los Angeles is the postmodern city upon which others—for better or worse—are modeled. Its fashion and lifestyle are exported, extolled, and condemned across the globe in film, prose, and verse. But many chroniclers—Chandler and Didion—are transplants, visitors. What about the inverse: writers who were raised here, and then left? How do the city and suburbs loom in their imagination? And what does exile teach us about home?

Panel Discussion S141. Everyone's a Critic: The Need and Opportunities for Professional Book Reviewing. (Nanvy Lord, Valerie Miner, Amy Hoffman, Leigh Newman, John McMurtrie)
Room 402 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Today, anyone can post an opinion about a book he or she has read (or even not read) in online forums. At the same time, book review sections of publications have been reduced. With so many books competing for attention, the need has only grown for informed, thoughtful, artful, and edited reviews that appraise books (both in print and online) in a meaningful context. This panel of professional reviewers who are also writers discusses reviewing goals and responsibilities and offers tips.

Reading S142. A Reading by Kingsley & Kate Tufts Poetry Award Winners. (Beth Bachmann, Yona Harvey, Michael Ryan, Afaa Michael Weaver)
Room 403 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The Tufts poetry awards—based at Claremont Graduate University—are two of the most prestigious prizes a contemporary poet can receive. The Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award was created to both honor a poet and provide the resources that allow artists to continue working towards the pinnacle of their craft. The Kate Tufts Discovery Award is presented to a first book by a poet of genuine promise. These past recipients showcase the geographic and aesthetic diversity of Tufts award winners.

Panel Discussion S143. Hearing Voices: Dramatic Monologue, Persona, and the Lyric “I”.  (Brian Brodeur, David Mason, Joan Murray, Sarah Rose Nordgren, Cornelius Eady)
Room 403 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Dramatic monologue, the poetic subgenre of poet-as-actor, seems to belie the intimacy often associated with lyric. Yet even so-called confessional poets like Lowell and Sexton wrote in personae. Join the panelists for a lively consideration of how these often competing modes complicate, compliment, and countervail what we think about the slippery first-person pronoun that led Czesław Miłosz to claim: "The purpose of poetry is to remind us how difficult it is to remain just one person."

Panel Discussion S144. West Virginia Writers' Workshop: How We Made It to Year Twenty; How Your Writing Conference Can Too! (Mark Brazaitis, Shara McCallum, Renee Nicholson, Jon Tribble, Michael Czyzniejewski)
Room 404 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The West Virginia Writers' Workshop celebrates its twentieth anniversary in 2016. The annual summer workshop has prospered—okay, sometimes merely squeaked by—despite the ups and downs of the economy and turnover in the dean's office that oversees the event. To sustain the workshop, we have been creative with everything from marketing to pricing to venues. In this panel we share some of our secrets. Past faculty members and a past participant read and share their impressions of the workshop.

Panel Discussion S145. Sensuality, the Body, and the Quest for Authenticity in Translation. (Johannes Goransson, Alireza Taheri Araghi, Diana Arterian, Yvette Siegert)
Room 405, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
When we speak of translation, we often speak (metaphorically) of the body: of mother tongue and foreign tongues, foreign texts and bodies of work, faithfulness and betrayal, contexts and origins, the crossing of boundaries and borders. Meanwhile, translation can entail quite radical experiences of embodiment—of possession by ghosts, ventriloquism and impersonation, vertigo and déjà vu. This panel discusses translation's implication for embodiments both literal and metaphorical.

Reading S146. I'll Tell You Mine: Iowa NWP Anthology Group Reading. (Hope Edelman, George Yatchisin, Marilyn Abildskov, Tom Fate, Ryan Van Meter)
Room 406 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program, founded in the late 1970s, is the first (and only) freestanding nonfiction writing program in the country. The new anthology I'll Tell You Mine: Thirty Years of Essays from the Iowa Nonfiction Program, published by the University of Chicago Press, features 18 works from NWP alumni, all begun during the writers' time in graduate school. Five authors whose work appears in the book read their essays and share stories about the process of writing the pieces.

Panel Discussion S147. Invisible to Whom?: Black Fiction Writers on Craft and the White Gaze. (Renee Simms, Amina Gautier, Dianca London, Cole Lavalais, Andy Johnson)
Room 407, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Toni Morrison's initial reaction to Invisible Man was to ask herself, "Invisible to whom?" She explains that in her work, she's attempted to ignore the "white gaze." Her remarks expose a tension for black fiction writers. How do multiple audiences influence our craft decisions? The panel begins with an overview of inner-directed and other-directed black fiction. Then the panelists, whose work ranges from realism to speculative fiction, share their writing and how they negotiate audience and craft.

Panel Discussion S148. The Odd Couple: Literature and Commerce. (Manjula Martin, Kima Jones, Ayesha Pande, Karolina Waclawiak)
Room 408 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Is literature an art, or is it a business? Every working writer is in a constant state of negotiation between creativity and commerce, life and work, love and money. This panel explores how literary authors navigate such seemingly opposing aspects of their work. Join writers and publishing industry professionals as we share strategies for balancing the “writing life” with real life—and creating a sustainable career in the process.

Panel Discussion S149. On Your Terms: Managing Your Rights to Keep Your Work Available. (Michael Wolfe, Brianna Schofield, Lila Bailey)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Authors of all kinds are routinely asked to sign contracts that carve up their copyrights and determine where, how, and by whom their works can be published. This panel of copyright attorneys examines some of the ways authors can ensure that these agreements don't end up standing between their work and their audience. Join us and we'll work on demystifying embargoes, licenses, negotiations, rights reversions, and terminations of transfers. Be empowered to shape your own contracts!

Panel Discussion S150. Contemporary Multiethnic American Fiction: Obsessions and Innovations. (Namrata Poddar, Sean Gandert, Danuta Hinc, Morgan Jerkins, JoAnne Ruvoli)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
How does "ethnic fiction" question the aesthetic assumptions of a more mainstream (white, male) Western mode of storytelling? How do they implicitly or explicitly challenge the geopolitical and cultural borders of the literary "canon"? Five writers of diverse ethnic, cultural, and professional background explore diversity in contemporary American letters by focusing on the novel, the short story, and literary magazines featuring Eastern Europe and African, Italian, Asian, and Latin America.

Panel Discussion S151. Truth and Consequences: The Essential Role of Research in Creative Nonfiction. (Joey Franklin, Elena Passarello, Michael Downs, Inara Verzemnieks)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Meaningful research is the lifeblood of great nonfiction, but in the age of Google and Wikipedia, what constitutes meaningful research? Where should we start digging, and how do we make the most of what we find? How do we learn to trust serendipity and allow research to shape our stories? We discuss approaches to gathering, processing, and interpreting research, as well as strategies for navigating the aesthetic and ethical consequences of telling the artful, well-researched truth.

Panel Discussion S152. Writing About Other(ed) Spaces. (Justin Nobel, Stephen West, Jeremy Jones, Catina Bacote)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Five nonfiction writers discuss the pressures and possibilities of writing about marginalized and overlooked places—empty corners of Appalachia, tornado-torn stretches of the Deep South, housing projects in Connecticut, immigrant communities in New Jersey and LA, and beyond. Writing in forms ranging from memoir to journalism, the panelists grapple with how to honestly and artfully render people and places too often stereotyped or simplified or silenced.

Panel Discussion S153. Where Community and Culture Collide: 15 Years of the YMCA's Downtown Writers Center. (Georgia Popoff, Gregory Pardlo, Jennifer Pashley, Matthew Gavin Frank, Debra Kang Dean)
Room 502 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Since January 2001, the YMCA's Downtown Writers Center in Syracuse, New York, has been the Central New York State region's only community center for the literary arts. In its first 15 years, nearly 400 authors have read at the DWC, and thousands of students have honed their craft at the DWC's extensive creative writing workshop series. This panel of program staff and faculty, former students, and guest authors explores and celebrates the DWC's wide-reaching impact on the literary arts in the CNY region.

Panel Discussion S154. What's the Big Idea? Intention vs. Intuition in the Writing Process. (Mark Doty, Linda Bierds, Kevin Young, Victoria Chang, Melissa Stein)
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
When writers are alone with the blank page, how much is premeditated and how much is actually discovered later on? Project, narrative arc, theme, voice: At what points in the creative process do we steer our work consciously? When are forms and structures limiting, and when are they liberating? How can we weave diligent research and poetic imagination, and how does all this translate into putting together a book manuscript? Five award-winning writers explore the deliberate and the ineffable in their work.

S155. Best Practices for Submitting an AWP Panel Proposal.
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Come join AWP conference committee members and staff for a best practices discussion about submitting a panel proposal for the #AWP17 Conference & Bookfair in Washington, DC. Discussion includes an overview of the proposal system and tips for submitting a more effective proposal.

Reading S156. What Playwrights Bring to the Composition Classroom. (Normandy Sherwood, Samantha Chanse, Eliza Bent, Benjamin Gassman)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
While they may be in the minority, playwrights also teach composition classes. Four playwright-teachers discuss the ways that their pedagogy is informed by their dramatic practice, and the ways that the things playwrights attend to—dialogue, stage images, bodies in space—are uniquely suited to help student writers learn the ways of academic writing. The panel includes conversation and sharing of practical techniques for engaging students using playwriting practices.

Reading S157. Puentes=Bridges: A Queer-Straight Mujeres Reading. (Olga García Echeverría, liz gonzález, Karleen Pendleton Jimenez, Melinda Palacio, Estella González)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Anzaldúa and Moraga taught us: puentes. We must build bridges. This is a Queer=Straight Mujeres reading by Chicana/Latina writers from this big frontera called Califas. They are fierce poets, writers, and playwrights of this generación. Their writings reflect their politics, beliefs, and lived experiences existing within el otro lado. They build bridges within all their communities: Latina, LGBTQ, de color. They stand proud. ¡Que Viva La Mujer! ¡Viva! ¡Que ¡Viva la Jota! ¡Viva!

Panel Discussion S159. Dream On: Four Debut Authors and Their Many Paths to Publication. (Jessica Love, Elizabeth Briggs, Traci Chee, Dana Elmendorf, Heidi Heilig)
Room 506, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Writers come to their keyboards with varying degrees of education and experience. Some hop on the fast track immediately; others take years to make a sale. But diverse stories require diverse journeys. From toiling away in obscurity to landing agents and book deals, these debut YA authors discuss their paths to publication, raising the curtain on rejection, jealousy, and self-doubt; the roles of hard work, luck, tenacity, and privilege; and what it's really like to live the dream.

Pedagogy S160. Craft and _____ : Creating Interdisciplinary Possibilities in the MFA. (Jessica Guzman, Xin Tian Koh, Lily Duffy, Ginger Ko, Kati-Jane Childs)
Room 510, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
While graduate writing programs provide guidance and mentorship in writing poetry and prose, opportunities for outside study and participation in marginalized literature and communities are often hard to find. How do students find sustenance for their writing beyond craft? This panel addresses ways in which graduate creative writing programs and students can improve literary citizenship by discovering and building communities and networks beyond literary craft.

Panel Discussion S161. These Living Songs: Poetry and Advocacy in the West. (Lisa Simon, Sandra Alcosser, Caroline Patterson, Tami Haaland)
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Advocacy for both contemporary and historic poetry is a challenge, particularly in Western states where distance and limited resources complicate the task. Focusing on Montana and the West, panelists discuss various approaches to advocacy, such as ways to promote poets and poetry through written publications—both critical and populist—along with radio programming, social media, and community events. Panelists discuss the balance between advocacy and the writerly life.

Reading S162. Remapping Displacement: Women Writers from LA Redefine "Home". (Melissa Sipin, Nayomi Munaweera, Rae Paris, Melissa Chadburn, Micheline Marcom)
Room 512, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Writers of Armenian, Sri Lankan, African, and Philippine diasporas discuss how their Los Angeles upbringing has impacted their craft and narrative of home/displacement—home as a person and/or a place, a longing, a genesis, and a journey; displacement as genocide, war, sexual/child abuse, and inherited/generational trauma. How have the multicultural/diverse communities of their youth invaded their fictions? How do the traces of loss affect the reimaginations of Los Angeles in their work?

Reading S163. California Poets Consider the Wider World. (Alice Templeton, Lory Bedikian, Andrea Carter Brown, Carol V. Davis, Mary Mackey)
Room 513, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Four California poets read and discuss recent work that looks at areas of the world that are less frequently the subject of poetry: Siberia and Russia, Brazil, a remote corner of Southwest France, and the Armenian diaspora settled in California. Each explores how history influences the way she sees the world and how family stories are integral to this work.

Reading S164. Ten Years of Five Under Thirty-five. (Benjamin Samuel, Kirstin Allio, Molly Antopol, Alex Gilvarry, Grace Krilanovich)
Room 515 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The National Book Foundation, presenter of the National Book Awards, created “Five Under Thirty-five” in 2006 to highlight the work of a rising generation of fiction writers, because the majority of winners and finalists for the National Book Awards were mid- or late-career writers. We're celebrating ten years of bringing the finest young fiction writers to the attention of the reading public. Come raise a glass and listen to some great writing!

Reading S165. Delmore Schwartz: The Life and Work of an American Writer. (Craig Teicher, Caroline Casey, Stephen Burt, Kevin Prufer)
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Delmore Schwartz was an early darling of the generation of American writers that emerged in the 1940s, a pioneer of confessional poetry and Jewish American fiction. His own long descent into mental illness and substance abuse, as well as changing tastes, left his legacy in disarray. This panel, celebrating the publication of a new selection of Schwartz's writings, features talks and readings from Schwartz's body of work from poetry and fiction writers who owe him a debt.

Pedagogy S166. Literature or Empowerment or Both? Students and Teachers on the Aims and Challenges of Community Writing Programs. (Frances Lefkowitz, Darlene Frontuto, Mindy Velasco, Jaquita Tale, Christina Anderson)
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The dual aims of community writing programs—guiding emotional healing and empowerment along with teaching creative writing—give these programs their own set of challenges. Working with seniors, offenders, at-risk youth, and other underrepresented groups brings up more unique issues, including building trust between people from diverse backgrounds. Teachers and students from California's WriteGirl, InsideOut Writers, and Community Memoir Project discuss their goals, approaches, and innovations.

Noon to One-fifteen p.m.

Panel Discussion S167. The Business of Publishing Your First Novel: Author and Publisher Perspectives. (Dennis Johnson, Catie Disabato, Edan Lepucki, Kirk Lynn, Maxwell Neely-Cohen)
Gold Salon 2, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Melville House co-publisher and co-founder Dennis Johnson leads a practical discussion of the publishing process with three authors in various stages of their literary careers. Topics  include acquisitions, editing, big-house versus independent publishers, publicity, marketing, tours, social networking, and the changing role of the author.

Panel Discussion S168. A New Girls' Network: Lessons from the Movement for Equal Voice. (Amy Wheeler, Shruti Swamy, Stacey Parshall Jensen, Brooke Warner, Amy King)
Gold Salon 3, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Women are still underrepresented in the literary community. The movement toward equal voice is coming to fruition through the collective action of people who advocate for women writers. Join Hedgebrook, VIDA, BinderCon, Hazel Reading Series, and She Writes Press to discuss the replicable, scalable models they use to provide space, support, community, and skills for female-identified writers.

Panel Discussion S169. Write Like a Mother*: Parenting as a Second Act for Women Writers. (Lizzie Skurnick, Robin Beth Schaer, Jennifer Gilmore, Elyssa East, Irina Reyn)
Gold Salon 4, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
The mother figure looms large in literature, but does becoming a mother have equal sway over the established writer's work? These panelists discuss how becoming a mother after establishing their careers has affected their creative process, writing, teaching, and the reception of their work. Does motherhood make one's writing more or less empathetic, creative, or critically viable? Texts about writing and motherhood that have inspired (or horrified) these writers are also discussed.

Panel Discussion S170. Helping: A Tribute to Robert Stone. (David Ulin, Jennifer Vanderbes, Marlon James, Roxana Robinson, Jess Row)
Diamond Salon 6&7, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
On his passing in January 2015, Robert Stone was hailed as one of the most significant American novelists of the last half-century—a chronicler of disillusionment and moral disorder in post-Vietnam America, and of the often disastrous consequences of American idealism abroad. This panel gathers friends, colleagues, and former students of Stone to read excerpts of his work and share stories and tributes to his legacy.

Panel Discussion S171. In the Realms of the Real and the Unreal. (Katharine Beutner, Sofia Samatar, Carmen Machado, Alice Sola Kim, Kelly Link)
AWP Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
This panel explores genres of fiction that juxtapose the real and the unreal in experimental ways: historical fiction, literary fantasy/science fiction, weird fiction, and satire. Where do we draw the line between a secondary world and a distorted reflection of our own world's beauty, violence, and diversity? Can we discern a poetics of the unreal in contemporary fiction? How have the continual debates over generic boundaries—and/or their irrelevance—affected the ways contemporary writers work?

Reading S172. Marsh Hawk Press 16th Anniversary Reading. (Susan Terris, Justin Petropoulos, Stephen Miller, Phillip Lopate, Burt Kimmelman) 
Scott James Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
In celebration of the press's sixteenth year and the approximately one hundred original titles in print, Marsh Hawk presents a reading by representative poets and contest winners.

Reading S173. The Sonoran Desert: A Literary Field Guide. (Christopher Cokinos, Eric Magrane)
Robert Muroff Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
More than fifty writers respond to the stunning biodiversity of one of the world's most important deserts. From serious to comic, postmodern to narrative, this community produced an anthology as varied as the desert itself. Editors and contributors will do brief readings, followed by a discussion of the processes behind creating a unique book that combines, for the first time, anthologizing creative work with (playful) natural history descriptions and illustrations found in traditional field guide.

Panel Discussion S174. In Whose Image: Trans and Genderqueer Writers on Magic, Spirituality, and (the Bodies of) G-d. (CA Conrad, Joy Ladin, Ryka Aoki, Ian Ellasante, TC Tolbert)
Room 402 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Spirituality, like writing, hinges on transformation. Similarly, trans and genderqueer writers have unique experiences with transformation on and off the page. This dynamic panel explored the intersections between ritual, myth, magic, magical realism, and even end-rhyme as they shape our various embodiments and faiths. We don't want to save you, but we hope you are ready to be changed.

Reading S175. Mujeres at the Mic!: A Reading by Nuyorican Women Writers. (Peggy Robles-Alvarado, Maria Rodriguez- Morales, Nancy Mercado, Vanessa chica Ferreira)
Room 403 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What is a Nuyorican? Are any of them women? This reading discusses what it means to be a woman in the Nuyorican literary movement and poetry performance scene from Loisaida, El Barrio, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and beyond by featuring the work of four prominent, intergenerational New York City-based poets at different stages of their careers. With their defiant and oftentimes nostalgic expressions in English, Spanish, and Spanglish, these mujeres have secured their spot in Nuyorican history.

Panel Discussion S176. Poetics of Drought: Language, Remediation, and Landscape. (Kristin George Bagdanov, Matthew Cooperman, Angela Hume Lewandowski, Brenda Hillman, Rusty Morrison)
Room 403 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
How does the environment affect poetry? Can poetry affect the environment? As California continues to face the most severe drought on record, this panel asks California ecopoets to consider how drought has affected their writing process. Poets will discuss what a poetics of drought might look like and consider how a poem both adapts to the conditions of drought and might somehow remediate it. Can the poem be a site of conservation, irrigation, wellspring, or reservoir? Can it effect change?

Pedagogy S177. The Language of Change: Writing to Heal in Hospitals, Prisons, and Other Inhospitable Places. (Autumn Stephens, Rose Black, Elijah Imlay, Kathy Evans, Lovella Calica)
Room 404 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
At the heart of writing that heals lies one essential question: “What do you make of your experience?” In this nuts-and-bolts session, writing teachers who work with a variety of special populations share their best strategies for helping students find the language they need to compose (“make”) and comprehend the stories of their lives. Key topics include creating effective curriculum, fostering a safe atmosphere, and valuing individual transformation over the publishable story or poem.

Panel Discussion S178. Living Fictions: Writing in LA. (Marisa Matarazzo, Noel Alumit, Francesca Lia Block, Jim Gavin, Maria Amparo Escandon)
Room 405, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Los Angeles is a land of self-invention. It sizzles with the magic of hope and is the place where dreams and reality can converge across a landscape inscribed by complex cultural, economic, and geographic diversity. How do these elements color the craft and content of LA's prose writers? Authors and teachers in the UCLA Extension Writers' Program discuss LA as a sensibility, a metaphor, and, most of all, as a physical and psychic influence on the worlds they create.

Panel Discussion S179. Not Waving but Drowning: Navigating the Waters of Poetry Book Contests. (Vandana Khanna, Jon Tribble, Susanna Childress, Simeon Berry, Adrian Matejka)
Room 406 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Often, getting a poetry manuscript published is a complicated dance of guidelines, deadlines, entrance fees, and stubborn faith. Poets may feel overwhelmed or mystified by the whole process, and rightly so. This panel, comprised of contest winners as well as editors, seeks to clarify the ins and outs of the poetry contest circuit by offering practical advice and insight into the world of poetry contests and their contribution to the shifting landscape of contemporary poetry publishing.

Panel Discussion S180. Good Girls Marry Doctors: Diasporic Daughters on Obedience and Rebellion. (Piyali Bhattacharya, Jyothi Natarajan, Natasha Singh, Phiroozeh Romer, Ayesha Mattu)
Room 407, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The diverse women on this panel have essays in the new collection Good Girls Marry Doctors: South Asian American Daughters on Obedience and Rebellion, and discuss the courage it took to write those brutally honest pieces, what it means to air the proverbial dirty laundry of their families in public, and how to tear away at the protective layering that inevitably surrounds a nonfiction piece about the self.

Panel Discussion S181. The Poetics of Loss: Writing About Private, Public, and Historical Grief. (Richard Michelson, Jan Freeman, Gregory Orr, Richard Hoffman)
Room 408 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
How do we write—and write well—about grief and loss? Can poetry of personal grief console family, friends, or the poets themselves? Can poetry of communal grief console a community or nation? How can poets contribute to the search for meaning at a time of personal or collective crisis? How should poets respond to the ceremonies of loss? Is it the poet's responsibility to articulate hope and the possibility of redemption in the face of loss?

Panel Discussion S182. Applying for an Individual NEA Creative Writing Fellowship. (Amy Stolls, Mohamed Sheriff, Rebecca Maner, Jessica Flynn)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Want to know what the National Endowment for the Arts fellowships are all about? Staff members from the NEA's Literature Division discuss and advise on all aspects of the program, from submitting an application to how winning poets and prose writers are selected, as well as the impact the fellowships have had on the literary landscape. Plenty of time will be allotted for questions.

Reading S183. WriteGirl Celebrates 15 Years of Empowering Teen Girls in Los Angeles. (Keren Taylor, Amanda Gorman, Sholeh Wolpe, Barbara Abercrombie)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
WriteGirl presents a cross-genre reading celebrating its 15th anniversary in Los Angeles. WriteGirl brings the skills and energy of professional women writers to underserved teen girls through innovative mentorship. Acclaimed local writers and LA's first Youth Poet Laureate read from their own work and WriteGirl's collected anthologies of teen writing, which have won 70 book awards. The event features writing activities and discussion about empowering teens through self-expression.

Panel Discussion S184. Translating the Sacred in a Postreligious Age. (Afaa Michael Weaver, Ewa Chrusciel, Cole Swensen, Karen An-hwei Lee)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Our panel explores the translation of sacred texts in our secular age. What is a faithful translation of a religious text? How are concepts of freedom versus fidelity problematized? In a postreligious context, are ritualized methods of translating sacred writings relevant? In diverse tongues of global faith traditions—Hebrew, Chinese, Polish, Aramaic, Greek—our panelists share insights on translating sacred texts, and then discuss the politics and poetics of their strategies.

Reading S185. From the Fishouse: A Twelve-Year Anniversary Reading and Celebration. (Nickole Brown, Tarfia Faizullah, Layli Long Soldier, Ross Gay, Jamaal May)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Since 2004, From the Fishouse has provided the public greater access to the poems and voices of emerging US poets by using online audio archives, simulcast readings, and other media to bring poetry into the home and classroom. After a major overhaul, the new and improved website has expanded to include emerging international poets while continuing to showcase the finest poets writing in the US. Five award-winning poets, both emerging and emerged, will read their work and work of other poets on the site.

Panel Discussion S186. We Need Diverse Books: Shifting the Narrative Lens. (Mike Jung, Sona Charaipotra, Stacey Lee, Audrey Coulthurst, Kristy Shen)
Room 502 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
How do you change the (very white) face of children's literature? Through great storytelling. We Need Diverse Books—the AWP edition—focuses on shifting the lens while using classic world-building and storytelling techniques. This WNDB discussion centers on providing tools for creating diverse narratives from the ground up. Learn how to integrate issues of race, class, sexuality, gender, and/or ability, while still emphasizing the import of plot, structure, and, most importantly, character.

Panel Discussion S187. No More Dead Bodies on the Page. (Lucy Jane Bledsoe, Jane Smiley, Kirstin Valdez Quade, Ostlund Lori, Griselda Suarez)
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Social entropy, the ways in which people and families and entire communities self-destruct, is well represented in American fiction. Dysfunction and violence seem to sell. And yet, much more interesting, and much harder to write well, are narratives about how people connect—what makes community. This panel addresses the challenge of writing stories—without sentimentality—about compassion, love, and the ways in which families of all stripes succeed.

S188. 2017 Washington, DC Conference & Bookfair Forum.
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Join the #AWP17 conference chair and AWP staff for an open forum to discuss topics of interest and relevance to AWP’s upcoming conference in Washington, D.C., where AWP will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary.

Pedagogy S189. Drawing Outside the Lines: Teaching Comics in the Writing Classroom. (Jarod Rosellό, Lydia Conklin, Nathan Holic, Leslie Salas)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
As comics continue to gain traction as a literary canon, writing instructors can and should use this medium as an innovative pedagogical tool. This interactive panel presents teacher-cartoonists' methods of incorporating comics into curricula not traditionally designed for comics, from first-year writing courses to graduate fiction workshops. Learn from experiences, lessons, activities, and challenges to find ways for students to expand traditional notions of teaching and learning through comics.

Reading S190. Fade In: On Fiction Writers Learning from Screenwriters. (Stephan Clark, Joseph Rein, Darlin' Neal, Martin Cloutier, Nathaniel Minton)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Fiction writing, with its emphasis on language and ability to explore internal worlds, can be a far different artistic medium than screenwriting, which must tell a story through actions and images. But despite these differences, fiction writers can learn a great deal from screenwriters. The panelists describe what they've learned from studying and teaching screenwriting, including lessons on narrative structure, pacing, editing, mise-en-scène, and being succinct.

Panel Discussion S191. Mapping Collaboration Between Universities and the Community. (Jack McBride, Giuseppe Taurino, Michele Kotler, Nicole Robinson, Amy Risher)
Room 506, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
University writing programs can fuel creativity in schools and communities. Panelists discuss how their campus-based programs provide students with real-world experience to prepare them for life after the MFA while also fostering connections between the university and local institutions. Additionally, panelists explore ideas for developing certifications, teaching laboratories, and camps to provide experiential learning to students, while generating program revenue.

Reading S192. Las Vegas Writes: UNLV Black Mountain Institute Almuni Fiction Reading. (David Armstrong, Dan Josefson, Alissa Nutting, Vu Tran, Maile Chapman)
Room 510, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The UNLV Black Mountain Institute international creative writing program presents prize-winning fiction alumni. All will celebrate this unique young program (founded in 1998) by reading a bit and then talking about how living and making art in Las Vegas transformed both their writing and the unusual city and community in which it all happened.

Panel Discussion S193. Read This Poem: Promoting Poets and Community. (David Welch, Mary Gannon, Anna Gross, Kristen Evans)
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
During National Poetry Month 2015, the Academy of American Poets teamed with 826 National to produce Read This Poem as each 826 chapter named a local Ambassador who selected and introduced a poem written by a poet in their community. The Poetry Ambassador then asked the poet to do the same and so on, creating a kind of published poetry chain. Join us for a discussion highlighting the diverse group of poems/poets featured, how to promote local literature, and integrating poetry with community service.

Panel Discussion S194. Women Soldiers and Veterans Writing Their Lives. (Sonya Lea, Warren Etheredge, Suzanne Morrison, Maggie Shartel, Kelly Dickinson)
Room 512, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel features writers and professionals who work alongside women service members and veterans. It looks at military sexual trauma, and the threat to personal safety when a woman uses her voice to tell her story. Five panelists create a conversation about what's essential to empower women veterans, war witnesses, and survivors of violence. Why are women's stories essential for the soldier-writer? How might we write the war as it really lives in women and not as a masculine trope?

Reading S195. Notes Toward a New Language: Eating Disorders in Poetry. (Cynthia Cruz, Nina Puro, Louise Mathias, Allison Benis White, Michelle Chan Brown)
Room 513, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
How does writing from the female body vis-à-vis an eating disorder inform one's writing? In this hybrid panel discussion/poetry reading, participants discuss how an eating disorder is a means to refuse the world, to enact Otherness and hybridity (race, class, gender, trauma, etc.), to make a language of one's body. Furthermore, we discuss how these iterations translate on the page as variations of silence: stutter, hesitation, holes or space, and repetition, as well as other enactments.

Panel Discussion S196A. Succeeding in Hollywood: Taking Control of Your Career and Your Craft Through Community and Mentorship. (Lisanne Sartor, Susan Cartsonis, Joe Forte, Meg LeFauve, Jen Weinbaum Ray)
Room 515 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
How do screenwriters become working professionals? Numerous retreats exist that enable prose writers to hone their craft and connect with established writers, publishers and agents. CineStory retreats are among the few exclusively for screenwriters and include craft and professional development seminars, one-on-one mentorship and an active alumni community. CineStory panelists will explore how screenwriters can take control of their careers by participating in writing communities and retreats.

Reading S196B. Vermont College of Fine Arts 35th Anniversary Reading. (Rigoberto Gonzalez, LeAnne Howe, Alison Hawthorne Deming, Neela Vaswani, David Wojahn)
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Vermont College of Fine Arts, one of the first low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing programs in the country, celebrates its 35th anniversary with a reading by faculty and alumni of the program. VCFA, a unique college focusing solely on graduate fine arts programs, has long been a nationally known leader in low-residency education designed for adults.

Reading S197. Peering Behind the Orange Curtain. (Andrew Tonkovich, Gustavo Arellano, Stephanie Brown, Victoria Patterson, Tom Zoellner)
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Often derided as a tableau of gated communities, Botox, and vapid beach towns, California's Orange County actually is home to a sophisticated literary tradition ranging from legends from the Gabreilino Indians to narratives from migrant laborers to crime fiction, poems, Disneyland critiques, and novel excerpts. Contributors to a newly-published anthology of the region's best work offer thoughts on the neglected literature of this surprisingly complicated place.

One-thirty p.m. to Two-forty-five p.m.

Panel Discussion S198. Linked and Unlinked: Reimagining Story Writing. (Donna Miscolta, Alma Garcia, Fred Arroyo, Ito Romo)
Gold Salon 1, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
The creative spectrum between linked versus unlinked, novel-in-stories versus novel, has become rich, complex, and daunting. Too often the conversation narrowly focuses on genre, place, marketability, and identity—and thus marginalizes the imaginative possibilities of writing between linked and unlinked stories, between novel-in-stories and novel. Four fiction writers focus on the intention, process, difficulties, and craft issues that arise in reimagining this spectrum of story writing.

Panel Discussion S199. The California Prose Poem. (Brad Crenshaw, Marilyn Chin, Gary Young, Stephen Kessler, Christine Kitano)
Gold Salon 2, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
The prose poem has enjoyed particular success among California poets. The scenic landscape, the ethnic voices, and the meditative optimism have been favorite themes. Five Californian poets, each with a distinct approach to the prose poem, discuss why they chose to write in this form, and their strategies used to distinguish their work from lined poetry on the one hand, and discursive narrative on the other. Together they share what they have learned from their challenging, creative muses.

Panel Discussion S200. Behind the Curtain: Writers' Conference Founders and Directors Tell All. (Matt Bondurant, Seth Tucker, Connie May Fowler, M.O. Walsh, Jerry Gabriel)
Gold Salon 3, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
The founders and directors of four small writers' conferences all launched in the last five years share their experiences and invite collaboration and discussion. We will discuss topics such as scouting and securing locations, acquiring resources, finances, marketing, programming, social life, merchandising, and all the logistics that go into starting a new writers' conference from scratch.

Panel Discussion S201. Going Global. (Katharine Coles, Jen Webb, Paul Hetherington, Jeri Kroll, Xu Xi)
Gold Salon 4, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Because of electronic communication, even those of us who practice a language-bound art are now working on a global stage, whether we take advantage of it or not. On this panel, writers from South Africa, Asia, Australia, and the US, who among them have also worked and/or forged partnerships in Europe, Canada, New Zealand, Antarctica, South America, and elsewhere, talk about strategies for reaching out authentically in a transnational context, as well as the benefits and costs involved.

Reading S202. Contemporary Korean Literature in Translation: A Cross-Genre Reading and Conversation. (Jake Levine, Chad Post, Kim Yi-deum, Bruce Fulton, Kyung Ju Kim)
Diamond Salon 6&7, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
Considering the surge in popularity of Korean gadgetry, cars, music, film, and television, there has been, conversely, a considerable deficit of attention paid to contemporary Korean literature abroad. This is changing. Along with the South Korean poets Kim Yi-deum and Kim Kyung Ju, a small group of highly distinguished poets, translators, and publishers will participate in a reading and conversation illustrating why there is no better time than the present for Korean literature in America.

Panel Discussion S204. Les Femmes d'un Certain Âge: Women Writers Breaking Boundaries. (Laura Orem, Joani Reese, Allison Joseph, Alice Anderson, Constance Ford)
AWP Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Five women writers, pushing and past fifty and at different stages of their careers, discuss writing at midlife and beyond. How do we continue to “make it new” after years of writing? How has subject matter and audience changed? What do we know now that we didn't know in our twenties or thirties, and how does that influence our art? What are the challenges of being an emerging writer after forty, and how do we navigate a youth-focused literary world?

Reading S205. Four Way Books Reads: Part Two with Gregory Pardlo and Others. (J.Mae Barizo, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Catherine Bowman, Jonathan Wells, Gregory Pardlo)
Scott James Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Hear Pulitzer Prize winner Gregory Pardlo (Digest) read along with some of Four Way Books' Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 authors. All titles will be available for purchase at the Four Way Books' booths (610 & 612).

Reading S206. Every Day a Hope Reading and Book Giveaway. (Jessica Glenn, Marci Mathews, Helene Cardona, Tabitha Blankenbiller, Jessica Hardesty)
Robert Muroff Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Through tiny stories and illustrations, Every Day a Hope encourages and empowers readers to examine emotionally difficult issues while instilling confidence, introspection, and creativity. The concepts from the book are taken from Marci Mathews' work with survivors and is accessible to anyone who wants to find new ways to approach life with a positive outlook. Guest authors will help give away books and other surprises during the reading.

Pedagogy S207. How to Free a Tamed Tongue: Creative Writing and Multilingual Students. (Andrea Lawlor, Daniel Chacón, Sarah Dowling, Carolina Maugeri, Zohra Saed)
Room 402 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What does it mean to teach creative writing to multilingual students in the US? How can we encourage multilingual students to free themselves from the hegemony of English-language-centered writing, even while composing partially or primarily in English? How can we honor our students' (and our own) various Englishes? Are we teaching craft, creating community, or both? This panel of writers who teach shares experiences working with undergraduates, with graduate students, and in the community.

Panel Discussion S208. Spinsters, Pretty Girls, and Bears, Oh My!: Four Decades of Lesbian Writing and Publishing. (Brandy Wilson, Katherine Forrest, KG MacGregor, Karin Kallmaker, Rita Mae Reese)
Room 403 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Small lesbian presses were the wellspring of lesbian writing—romance, mystery, erotica, poetry, and literary fiction. How did these presses shape lesbian writers and readers? In the age of digital publishing that allows writers to bypass publishers for greater profits and autonomy, why choose to publish with a small press? How do small presses stay relevant? An editor with over thirty years of experience and a spectrum of writers, representing four presses, discuss the past and future of lesbian publishing.

Panel Discussion S209. Remembering Claudia Emerson. (Emilia Phillips, Jill McCorkle, Alan Shapiro, Kathleen Graber)
Room 403 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Claudia Emerson's death in late 2014 grieved her friends and her readers. This event features panelists remembering her spirit and her work and inviting audience members to participate by also reading her poems so that her single voice resonates through a chorus of witnesses. The panelists focus on her posthumous books, The Opposite House and The Impossible Bottle.

Reading S210. To Infinity (and Beyond): Redefining Creative Writing for New Screen Media. (David Shaerf, Angela Ferraiolo, Jeffrey Wray, Austin Bunn)
Room 404 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel engages with the need to (re)define creative writing for screen media. As screenwriting rapidly fragments from movies to games, the web, and documentary, there is a need to develop the pedagogical language of screenwriting within the CW workshop setting. The aim, then, is to look at some of the new competencies required for creative writing for screen—interfacing the image, interaction, data, animation, and simulation—as writing for screen continues to broaden as an academic discipline.

Reading S211. Inspired by Wonder: A WITS Reading. (Renee Watson, Janine Joseph, Marc McKee, Lacy Johnson, Renee Flagler)
Room 405, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Wonder, unfiltered curiosity, and deepened imagination open us up as writers to seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary. Writers who teach in schools or community classrooms often develop an unexpected symbiotic relationship in which students and writers inspire one another. This reading honors the imagination and the ways in which teaching can enhance the creative process. Four writers who have taught in WITS programs share work by a student and then read some of their own.

Panel Discussion S212. Privacy Matters: Sell Your Books, Not Your Soul. (M. M. DeVoe, Mat Johnson, Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, Mira Jacob)
Room 406 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Does a huge Twitter following really result in bestselling books? Are friends equal to fans? Today's published authors are required to have a social media presence and constantly interact with their readers. In this age of Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, et al., how can authors maintain the interest of a 24/7 fan base and still keep a modicum of privacy? Join our distinguished panel of social media mavens from various genres as we discuss everything personal and how to keep it that way.

Pedagogy S213. Medicalization in the Workshop—Not Always a Pill for That. (Maggie Leffler, Jason Lewis, Sharon Dilworth, Doris Iarovici, Jennifer Bannan)
Room 407, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Over the past twenty years, we've noticed more fiction students diagnosing characters, debating symptoms and proper treatment, often to the detriment of workshops. At the same time, fiction is increasingly touted as a tool to train doctors in compassionate care. If attention to fiction can help doctors, why does attention to medical conditions seem to hinder writing discussions? Fiction professors and a fiction editor join authors who are MDs to discuss medicine's place in exploring character.

Panel Discussion S214. A Matter of Taste. (Celia Johnson, Sarah Bowlin, Michelle Brower, Karolina Waclawiak, Steph Optiz)
Room 408 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Book publishing is an art, but it's certainly not a science. People in the industry are often forced to consider the business of publishing, but ultimately agents, editors, and reviewers are quite like readers. They are all looking for a book that feels as if it's made just for them, the book that is just their “taste.” So how does something as ephemeral as taste move a book through the publication process? What do we even mean by taste? And are there trends that we can recognize and explore?

Panel Discussion S215. Why We Innovate: The Case for Hybrid Genres. (Marcela Sulak, Jacqueline Kolosov, Jenny Boully, Tung-Hui Hu, Mary Szybist)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Editors of and contributors to Family Resemblance: An Anthology and Exploration of Eight Hybrid Literary Genres discuss writing and teaching hybrid literature as innovative acts of artistic, social, and cultural criticism, and as radical self-creation. Panelists discuss why writers mix forms and provide ideas and examples for crafting and teaching hybrid genres, focusing on blendings of visual, performative, lyrical, and narrative techniques.

Panel Discussion S216. The Academic Job Market in Creative Writing: Considering Identity. (Patricia Killelea, Janelle Adsit, Ching-In Chen, Sarah Sloane, Chris Santiago)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
A panel of recent hires and search committee members speak frankly about the academic hiring process from both sides of the interview table. Focusing on questions of identity, panelists address bias and problematize definitions of fit. Panelists describe choices made in crafting professional narratives and reconceive genres like cover letters as documents that not only persuade search committees, but also subvert the genre in ways that address the candidate's own needs.

Reading S217. #BlackPoetsSpeakOut: From Hashtag to Social Justice Movement. (Amanda Johnston, Mahogany Browne, Aaron Samuels)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In the wake of a grand jury failing to indict Darren Wilson in the murder of Mike Brown, Black Poets Speak Out (BPSO) was launched to rally poets and allies against police violence. Hundreds of poetry videos were posted and reached thousands internationally across social media outlets. BPSO organizers and regional coordinators discuss how an online poetry campaign progressed to a community action-based movement.

Panel Discussion S218. In the Box: On the Dangerous Joy of Writing Outside Your Ethnicity, Gender, Orientation, Age, Etc. (Christian Kiefer, Luis Alberto Urrea, Jodi Angel, Bich Minh Nguyen, Skip Horack)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
As fiction writers, we often feel pressure to write inside the confines of our own experience, as defined by our ethnic identity, gender, sexual orientation, economic class, and so on. This panel explores the edges and interstices of that pressure. In what contexts is it acceptable to write outside such confines? In what contexts is it not? What does "diversity" mean when creating a fictional world? As writers, who has cultural permission to press past the confines of one's own identity?

Reading S219. A Celebration of the Life and Work of Philip Levine. (Edward Hirsch, Vievee Francis, Malena Morling, Dorianne Laux, Christopher Buckley)
Room 502 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Five poets who were close to Philip Levine and his work speak about his life and his influence on a generation, and read selections from his poetry, along with one original poem that was significantly influenced by his work.

Panel Discussion S220. The Imperfect Writing Life.  (Samantha Dunn, Carol Edgarian, Dani Shapiro, Andre Dubus III, Bill Clegg)
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Chaos. False starts. Inner critics. Jobs, kids, mates. Social media distractions. It's a wonder books ever get written. Some writers make it look easy, but the truth is that it's tough for anyone to get to the page when life throws its inevitable curveballs. Four bestselling authors talk about how they negotiate the crooked path to getting the job done.

Panel Discussion S221. What We Talk About When We Talk About Home: Santa Ana as Resonant Source. (Aracelis Girmay, Richard T. Rodríguez, Emmy Pérez, Adriana Alexander, Sarah Rafael García)
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What does it mean to claim a place as home when you no longer (or still) live there? What draws you back to it on the page, whether as setting, conflict, or “resonant source”? Writers raised in Santa Ana—a Latina/o-majority city an hour south of LA—discuss their work in relation to place, distance, identity, nostalgia, and “authenticity.” How do these imaginaries find expression across multiple genres and spaces, in community and academia? What are we talking about when we talk about home?

Panel Discussion S222. Writing on the Border/Escribiendo en La Frontera. (Katherine Seltzer, Aaron Romano-Meade, Alessandra Narvaez-Varela, Carla Arellano, Giannina Deza)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Located on the US-Mexico border, the University of Texas at El Paso's Bilingual MFA Program brings together writers from the Borderland, North America, and Latin America. How does a program function with classes in which both Spanish and English are spoken and students have varying degrees of bilingualism? Panelists discuss how the mixing of language, culture, and literary traditions affects their development as writers.

Pedagogy S223. More Than What Meets the Eye: Word and Image in a Digital Universe. (Susan Meyers, Tammie Kennedy, Deborah Poe, Margaret Rhee, Trent Hergenrader)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Members of this panel press at the edges of multimedia and digital literature: writing combined with other mediums like audio, visual arts, bookmaking, physical computing, videos, and gaming. Sharing examples—a poetry machine, a women's digital archive, a handmade project, an experiment in gaming, an LGBTQ e-book in South Africa—they will look at what it takes to get book arts, visual poetry, and digital media projects going (both in and out of the classroom) and what those projects have to offer.

Reading S224. We Have Always Lived in the Castle: A Reading by Women Who Write Fantasy and Science Fiction. (Rachel Swirsky, Lily Yu, Cat Rambo, Camille Griep)
Room 506, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Over the past ten years, the number of women nominated for science fiction and fantasy awards has surged, a phenomenon that occurred only a handful of times in the 50 years prior. Many believe women are only now discovering genre fiction, although Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is widely regarded as the first science fiction novel. Listen to four award-winning and nominated women who write science fiction and fantasy read from their work and answer questions.

Reading S226. New Directions in Contemporary War Fiction. (Peter Molin, Matt Gallagher, Andria Williams, Jesse Goolsby, Elliot Ackerman)
Room 510, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel features short readings and commentary by four first-time novelists in the burgeoning field of contemporary war literature. The authors' novels, each published in either 2015 or 2016, highlight new possibilities for representing combat, war, and military culture in fiction. Building on recent critically acclaimed fiction depicting conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, the panel authors refine our understanding of the human dimensions of war overseas and on the home front.

Panel Discussion S227. Women Publishing Women: The (Under)representation of Women in Print and in Publishing. (Abbey Gaterud, Michelle Wildgen, Mary Breaden, Kait Heacock, Alicia Bublitz)
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Join us for a candid discussion among women working in publishing about the current climate for and visibility of women writers in publishing house lists. Looking at the in-house representation of women on staff, women writers published by traditional houses, and where the challenges to women in publishing (and being published) still lie, panelists speak to current trends, awareness, and projects highlighting women, and offer strategies to others working for equal representation.

Panel Discussion S228. Social Justice in Speculative and Fantastical Fiction for Young Readers. (Anne Ursu, Justina Ireland, Daniel José Older, William Alexander, Tananarive Due)
Room 512, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Fantasy for young readers is a serious business. By presenting parallel worlds and heightened realities, speculative and fantastical fictions can explore issues of power, personal responsibility, and justice, and can entice kids and teens to think critically about their own world. Panelists discuss how they use the tools of SFF to illuminate injustice, confront the monstrous, and communicate crucial ideas about race, class, and gender—while giving kids the great stories they crave.

Panel Discussion S229. Our Lavender Past: Queering History in Fiction. (Timothy Schaffert, emily danforth, Adam McOmber, Rebecca Rotert, DeMisty Bellinger)
Room 513, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
When exploring queer lives of the past, writers can only rely so much on research; too many stories have gone untold. Imagination and instinct become key in creating believable queer characters in history-based fiction. How do writers bring history alive for readers who are well-versed in Twenty-first-century sexual and gender politics? Panelists discuss telling old stories in new ways, revising fable and fairy tale, and making invisible lives visible in portraits of the recent and distant past.

Reading S230. Graywolf Press Reading. (Percival Everett, Dana Gioia, Jennifer Grotz, Paul Lisicky, Diane Seuss)
Room 515 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
These terrific writers of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction highlight the breadth and scope of the Graywolf Press publishing list—from American satire to the lyrical poem to the personal memoir and beyond. Introduced by Graywolf director and publisher Fiona McCrae, each writer will read from recently published books.

Pedagogy S231. The Unbearable Too-Whiteness of Workshop. (Joshua Robbins, V.V. (Sugi) Ganeshananthan, F. Douglas Brown, Laura McCullough)
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Continuing the discussion raised by Junot Díaz, who rightfully lambasted the whiteness of creative writing faculty, this diverse panel of teachers/writers addresses the implications of the traditional workshop's cultural reproduction of whiteness and offers specific pedagogical approaches to disrupt dynamics entrenched by the very power structures in which the traditional workshop invests. The session's goal is to critique norms with an eye toward progress, community, and workshop solidarity.

Panel Discussion S232. Stories to Live: Joan Didion and Today's Essayists. (Colin Rafferty, Meghan Daum, Brian Oliu, Kristen Radtke, Lucas Mann)
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
California native Joan Didion, with her blend of reportage, lyricism, and the personal, forged a path in the sixties and seventies for the writing that we now call “creative nonfiction.” Five essayists who have followed in Didion's wake discuss her influence on them, considering how she serves as a guide for navigating the complicated terrain of today and explaining how her models, whether in the essay, the memoir, or the travelogue, have affected their own writing.

Three o'clock p.m. to Four-fifteen p.m.

Panel Discussion S233. Writers and the Greater Community: How to Make a Difference. (S. Kirk Walsh, Vivé Griffith, Joel Arquillos, Ami Walsh)
Gold Salon 1, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
This panel features leaders of community outreach programs for students, low-income adults, and hospitalized patients to talk about the value of writers helping others to find their voices and how it can deepen one's engagement with the world. Panelists discuss the challenges and rewards of building outreach programs, and the unexpected synergies of service work and creativity. How to get started, where to volunteer, and the balance of community outreach with writing is also explored.

Panel Discussion S234. Think like an Editor. (Matt Weiland, Christopher Cox, Mary Norris, Paul Reyes, Sasha Weiss)
Gold Salon 3, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Four seasoned magazine editors reveal the secrets of their trade and go behind the scenes at some of our most celebrated publications (Harper's, the New York Times Magazine, the New Yorker, and VQR) in a practical and candid conversation on the nuts and bolts of editing and polishing prose from first draft to last.

Panel Discussion S235. No Facts, Only Interpretations: An Examination of the Multiple Point of View Novel. (Eric Sasson, Anna North, Julia Fierro, Ellen Sussman, Rebecca Makkai)
Gold Salon 4, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Five novelists who have experimented with POV will discuss their POV choices and how those choices informed the tone and shape of their books. Does having multiple POVs—an accumulation of subjective perspectives—allow us to approach the “truth”? How do we decide that another POV is necessary to tell the story? What dangers arise when that POV is outside the writer's gender, race, or sexuality? The panel examines the pitfalls and benefits that a writer who experiments with POV might encounter.

Panel Discussion S236. Translation in the Creative Writing Classroom: A Dire Necessity in Our Global Culture. (Orlando Menes, Donald Bogen, Aviya Kushner, Ae Hee Lee, Alethea Tusher)
Diamond Salon 6&7, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
This discussion features professors and graduate students in creative writing programs who are committed to literary translation as a craft for crossing borders, cultures, and geographies, not just the traditional notion of “transporting” a text from one language to another. In fact, these writers envision translation as a more holistic and empathic practice, so that engagement with another language is more appropriately described as a weaving of cultures rather than a bridging of cultures.

Reading S237. Norman Dubie, Heather McHugh, and Ellen Bryant Voigt: A Reading.
Concourse Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Join us for a reading with three of America’s most respected and influential poets. Norman Dubie is the author of many collections of poetry, including The Volcano, The Insomniac Liar of Topo, and Quotations of Bone. Heather McHugh’s most recent work includes Upgraded to Serious and Eyeshot. She has received many awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship. Ellen Bryant Voigt is the author of eight collections of poetry, most recently Headwaters, and a collection of essays. She established the nation's first low-residency writing program in 1976.

Reading S238. Writers Who Change the World, with Richard Bausch, Percival Everett, and Mona Simpson, Sponsored by Red Hen Press. (Richard Bausch, Mona Simpson, Percival Everett, Shonda Buchanan)
Petree Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
"I long to hear the story of your life, which must captivate the ear strangely." Red Hen Press presents three unique voices recreating what story is in American culture. These writers do write strangely, and always tilting against windmills.

Reading S239. Inheriting the War Anthology Reading: Poetry and Prose by Descendants of Vietnam Veterans and Refugees. (Cathy Linh Che, Philip Metres, Laren McClung, Monica Sok)
AWP Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
The collective voices in this reading convey the intergenerational inheritance of trauma and the troubling aftermath of war. These writers describe the burden of war that comes into the household, addressing the consequences of exile, relocation, Agent Orange, post-traumatic stress, addiction, and domestic violence, and together illustrate the long-term effects of war, as it does not end on the battlefield.

Reading S240. Literary Classics Annual Book Awards Presentation. (Dianna Fuchs, Christina MacLachlan)
Scott James Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Literary Classics Book Awards is honoring the 2015 Literary Classics Top Honors book award recipients. Top Honors Awards recognize the most distinguished books for children and young adults in each of four categories: The Enchanted Page Book Award for most distinguished storybook, the Eloquent Quill Award for youth fiction, the Lumen Award for youth nonfiction, and the Words on Wings Award for young adult fiction. Also being recognized are the 2015 CLC International Book Award recipients.

Reading S241. Trio House Press Reading. (Terry Lucas, Neil Shepard, Carolyn Hembree, Annmarie O'Connell, Kyle McCord)
Robert Muroff Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
2015 Trio House Press judges Kimiko Hahn and Neil Shepard will read from their work, along with Carolyn Hembee, selected by Shepard for the 2015 Trio Award for her collection of poems, Rigging a Chevy into a Time Machine and Other Ways to Escape a Plague, and Annemarie O'Connell and Kyle McCord, Open Reading Period winners for 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Panel Discussion S242. Inner Monologue and Outer: Mental Landscapes in Native American Fiction. (Erika Wurth, Natanya Pulley, Debra Earling, Toni Jensen, Bojan Louis)
Room 402 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel addresses the unique way Native American prose utilizes inner and outer landscapes of characters in Native fiction. Dialogue, often the crux of traditional American fiction, drives what we know of characters' lives with one another. Less traditional fiction explores a character's inner landscape, who they are to themselves. In experimental fiction, often the blending of outer and inner dialogue occurs. The panelists' work represents a diverse selection of Native prose writing today.

Panel Discussion S243. A Tribute to Donald Revell. (Dean Young, Kazim Ali, Claudia Keelan, Craig Morgan Teicher, Carey Salerno)
Room 403 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel honors and celebrates poet, translator, and essayist Donald Revell. For over three decades, Revell has inspired and compelled us with his award-winning work as a quiet American master and mystic. At once innovative and accessible, his writing envelops us in rare incarnations of kindness, adoration, and light. Critics, peers, and writers gather in this tribute to read and discuss Revell's work, its enduring influence, and ways in which he has shaped American letters.

Panel Discussion S244. Publishing Poets of Color: The Power of Diversity and the Literary Landscape. (Jennifer Flescher, Carmen Gimenez Smith, Nate Marshall, Camille Rankine)
Room 403 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The literary world is plagued with the lack of diversity on its mastheads, boards, and pages. What can publishers, editors, and writers do to work toward more meaningful diversity in literary magazine publishing? We need to build trust, relationships, and communication. Four editors discuss what they see as their current challenges and successes, and where we need to go next.

Panel Discussion S245. The Writing's on the Wall: Alternative Careers for the Creative Writer. (Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum, T.J. Jarrett, Jesse Waters, Maggie Smith, Karen Mack)
Room 404 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The writing's on the wall, folks: Teaching at the college level is no longer a means of making a living for the vast majority of creative writers. So what do we do? This panel's diverse group of writers working outside the classroom explores a variety of alternative careers for the creative writer, including ghostwriting, software development, editing, executive communications, literary consulting, directing writing centers and houses, public relations, and more.

Panel Discussion S246. I'm Not Dead Yet: Translating Living Authors. (Steve Bradbury, Cole Swensen, Elizabeth Harris, Jason Grunebaum, Adam Sorkin)
Room 405, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
For a translator, working with living authors offers its own special rewards, challenges, and possibilities. The pleasure of discovery, and of introduction; the movement between languages, contexts, and cultures; the challenge of persuading and negotiation. Four translators who work extensively with living authors discuss the particulars of those relationships: the dangers, delights, and sometimes tricky navigation of language and culture.

Panel Discussion S247. Slouching Tiger, Unsung Dragon: The Next Chapter of Asian American Writing. (Anna Ling Kaye, Ed Lin, Doretta Lau, Chiwan Choi, Paolo Javier)
Room 406 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What does it mean to be a writer of Asian descent publishing in North America? These five writers are exploring territory beyond tiger moms and immigrant hardship, venturing into updated expressions of Asian masculinity, Confucianism, and contemporary Asian culture. The panelists will discuss traditional and experimental approaches to Asian American fiction and poetry, and explore how artistic and professional choices impact perceptions of their work and their identities.

Reading S248. 40th Anniversary Celebration of Calyx and Sinister Wisdom. (Jenny Factor, Jean Hegland, Brenna Crotty, Julie R. Enszer)
Room 407, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Two venerable feminist publications celebrate their 40th anniversary of publishing in 2015. Calyx, a twice-yearly feminist journal that celebrates the excellence and diversity of women's literature and art, and Sinister Wisdom, a quarterly multicultural lesbian literary and art journal, continue to publish vital new voices building on their long publishing history. Join the editors to celebrate both journals and the broad contributions of Calyx and Sinister Wisdom to feminist publishing.

Pedagogy S249. Where We Begin to Revise the Poem (Part 2). (John Hoppenthaler, Keetje Kuipers, James Harms, Peter Campion, Erica Dawson)
Room 408 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel provides specific revision strategies for use in the poetry workshop. Revision at the level of the word, the line, the sentence, and the stanza will be highlighted. Each panelist provides three favorite points of revision, with each point contributing toward an understanding of the sort of shaping and negotiation that goes beyond mere editing—the sort that students ought to be engaged in as they prepare their portfolios and continue on in a life of poetry making.

Pedagogy S250. Teaching Outside the Search Box: Lessons in Creative Nonfiction Research Methods. (John Engler, Barrie Borich, Justin Wadland, Catherine Taylor)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Research is clearly an essential part of writing creative nonfiction, but it's not so clear how to teach students to use research and then weave those findings into engaging prose. This panel explores effective approaches to teaching research in creative nonfiction and discusses how to introduce various methods, including gathering sources, travel, immersion, and more. Panelists seek to exchange prompts, activities, and assignments designed to help students view research as a creative act.

Panel Discussion S251. Out of LA: A Tribute to Jayne Cortez (1936–2012). (Laura Hinton, Aldon Nielsen, Kirsten Ortega, Jennifer D. Ryan, Patricia Spears Jones)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Sonic/jazz poet Jayne Cortez is celebrated for having created a hybrid engagement with music, performance, and words associated with that capital of jazz, New York City. Yet Cortez grew up in LA, inspired by her artistic community in Watts. Five poets/critics discuss Cortez's formative relationship to LA, including work with saxophonist Ornette Coleman, performances for the Watts Repertory Theater Company. and her urban poetics, as well as an ecopoetics that extends "out of LA" globally.

Panel Discussion S252. Between Image and Text: Publishing Comics in Literary Magazines. (Aaron Burch, Killian Czuba, Amy McDaniel, Jarod Rosellό)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In recent years, literary publications have begun publishing comics regularly. But where do comics fit in the larger literary landscape? How are comics published in spaces built for text? This panel brings cartoonists and editors together to discuss the challenges and rewards of publishing comics online and in print. The participants will consider the practical and philosophical implications for expanding the universe of literature, and what this means for the future of literary publications.

Panel Discussion S253. From Page to Screen: Exploring Successful Adaptation with Industry Insiders. (Nicholas Weinstock, Bret Easton Ellis, David Levine, Gillian Bohrer, Jill Gillett)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Authors have more opportunities than ever to bring their works to the screen, but the complexity of that process has increased exponentially. This panel, presented by the Authors Guild, explains film and television adaptation through the insights of those best equipped to reveal its secrets: authors whose works have been adapted; producers and agents who select, sell, and develop books for Hollywood; and industry executives (HBO, Lionsgate) who oversee that lucky, and laborious, journey.

Panel Discussion S254. UA Poetry Center Presents: Spectacular Poetics & the Poetry of Spectacle. (Hannah Ensor, Kimiko Hahn, Khadijah Queen, Adrian Matejka)
Room 502 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
If poetry engages with spectacle, why, and in what ways? In this panel, we address increasingly ubiquitous confluences of poetics and spectacle. Is the poet's task to call attention to bright screens, to celebrity culture, to the many public-facing pleasures and pains of the Twenty-first century? Do poets use spectacle (their understanding of audience, attention, flashing lights) to their advantage? When it comes to spectacle, do we want today's poets to decry it? Reveal it? Hold it up? Celebrate it?

Panel Discussion S255. Wealth Gap in the Literary Landscape: Representations of the Poor and Working Class. (Sarah Smarsh, Luis Rodriguez, Karolina Waclawiak, Kyle Dargan)
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
How and by whom are low-income Americans represented—or not—in contemporary literature? Writers and editors of varied race, ethnicity, and locale, but shared personal history of poverty and labor, discuss class issues in books, magazines, and publishing offices. With backgrounds as writing instructors and activists in poor areas, panelists celebrate the difficult role of socioeconomic-border-crossers in the industry and challenge all of us to consider class at a time of historic wealth inequality.

Panel Discussion S256. The Necessity of Science Writing and Scientific Literacy in the Anthropocene. (Nancy Lord, Eva Saulitis, Marilyn Sigman, Elizabeth Bradfield, Melissa Hendricks Joyce)
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Many scientists apply the term “Anthropocene” to the geological era we now live in—with humans the dominant force in planet-scale change. Understanding the science behind global warming, extinctions, and so forth is essential to prepare for the future. Today's creative writers are called upon to research and present scientific topics in factual and accessible forms. Panelists share their experiences writing and teaching science-focused narratives for general audiences.

Pedagogy S257. Nontraditional Paths to Teaching Academic Writing Through a College Writing Center. (Kayla Skarbakka, Matt Sharkey-Smith, Jenny Martel, Anne Shiell, Basil Considine)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Working at a college writing center is not just a student job, but also an avenue of postgraduate employment with superior salary, benefits, and stability compared to adjunct teaching. It is also open to a wide variety of educational backgrounds. Four presenters from very different degree experiences (a BA, a non-English MA, an MFA, and an English MA) share about the perks of the job, how they got their foot in the door, on-the-job challenges, and what they look for when hiring colleagues.

Reading S258. Wild Equations: A Math Poetry Reading. (Carol Dorf, Amy Uyematsu, Stephanie Strickland, Alice Major, Katie Manning)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
For poets, language is the structure on which everything depends, including the red wheelbarrow. But mathematics is a language, too—a universal one with the potential to link the logic of numbers with literary form. Poets like Wislawa Szymborska and Rita Dove, for instance, make use of pi, statistics, and geometry in their work. In this unusual reading and conversation, Talking Writing magazine presents five math poets with different approaches but a shared belief in a fresh take on the world.

Reading S259. Celebrating the Unnamed Press: A New Home for Contemporary Authors in Los Angeles. (C.P. Heiser, Deji Olukotun, Gallagher Lawson, Esmé Weijun Wang, Fabienne Josaphat)
Room 506, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Join the Unnamed Press for a celebration of Los Angeles's new home for contemporary fiction from around the world. Hosted by Unnamed Press founder and publisher C. P. Heiser, this reading showcases the diversity and breadth of what the Unnamed Press publishes. Unnamed brings international perspectives and previously unheard voices to the forefront of the literary conversation. Interspersed with questions and commentary, four talented new authors read from their recent debut novels.

Panel Discussion S260. Non-White Authors Also Worry About Getting It Wrong: Creating Diverse Characters in Children's Literature. (Kelly Gilbert, Heidi Heilig, Day Al-Mohamed, Rahul Kanakia)
Room 510, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Half of America's children are people of color, but only ten percent of kids' books are written by POC. Because of this gap, the kids' book industry has struggled to find ways for white authors to write books that appeal to all children. However, authors of color also feel insecure about these issues. In this panel, four authors of color discuss the pressure to write characters that won't alienate white readers and address their successes and failures in their attempts to write inclusive fiction.

Panel Discussion S261. Counting Its Presence: Race and Creative Writing Syllabi. (Adam Atkinson, Lillian-Yvonne Bertram, Sarah Vap, Prageeta Sharma)
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Junot Díaz's "MFA vs. POC" is just one example of a growing interest in confronting the whiteness of academia. The panel has collected syllabi from doctoral creative writing programs across the country in order to highlight oft-overlooked questions: How are the spectral bodies of the authors on a syllabus also tools of professionalization? Or: How many white writers is one asked to read in order to be a creative writing professional? This panel presents its analysis of the data (more than 3,000 texts).

Panel Discussion S262. Does Travel Writing Have a Place in the Age of Instagram and Google Earth? (Tom Swick, David Farley, Pam Mandel, Jim Benning)
Room 512, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Travel writing developed in an era before jetliners, telephones, and cameras. But in a world where you can explore every nook and cranny of the planet on Google Earth, and where travelers in the most remote places can post instantly to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, does travel writing still have a role to play? Panelists discuss how travel writing can stay relevant and compelling in a rapidly shrinking world.

Reading S263. Fracture: A Reading and Discussion by Contemporary Korean American Female Poets. (Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello, EJ Koh, Franny Choi, Hannah Sanghee Park, Anna Maria Hong)
Room 513, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Muriel Rukeyeser once said, “What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life? The world would split open.” Five award-winning authors discuss difficult truths about the complexities and responsibilities of identifying themselves as Korean American female poets, seeking to answer practical and political issues that arise from living as women on the hyphen between “Asian” and “American.” Presenters also examine how their work is situated in the fractured identities they claim.

Panel Discussion S264. (Still) Got the Juice: Fierce Writing by Women Poets of a Certain Age. (Wendy Barker, Toi Derricotte, Linda Hogan, Natalia Trevino, Rebecca Foust)
Room 515 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Modern American society marginalizes women after age thirty, and then disappears and mutes them after age forty. How can women “of a certain age” make their voices heard? These five poets refuse to sit down, shut up, or go gently into that good night. Panel members frame the issues in the larger societal context, show how to keep work relevant by reading exemplar poems, and offer strategies for ensuring through publication, social media, readings and conferences that their words are—emphatically—heard.

Panel Discussion S265. Innovative Poetry by Black Writers in California. (Will Alexander, giovanni singleton, Lauri Ramey, Harryette Mullen, C.S. Giscombe)
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
From the mid-twentieth century, black writers in America have produced a vibrant and diverse array of experimental and avant-garde poetry. Why has some of the boldest and most original poetry been overlooked? Are there particular challenges for black poets who use innovative forms and practices in the context of California literary traditions? The panelists, whose work is associated with a varied array of innovative forms and styles, consider these and other questions in a roundtable discussion.

Panel Discussion S266. Queering History: Whose Story Is It, Anyway? (Carter Sickels, Brandy Wilson, Ellery Washington, Ellis Avery, Ames Hawkins)
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Queer histories are often erased or altered by dominant narratives. How do we claim, document, and imagine the stories of LGBTQ history in our art? Established and emerging panelists working in multiple genres discuss their projects, and the challenges and rewards of researching and writing queer histories of distant and recent pasts. We explore the tensions between social/political responsibility and storytelling, and discuss the concerns of representing past marginalized voices.

Four-thirty p.m. to Five-forty-five p.m.

Panel Discussion S267. At the Margins, at the Intersections: Black Queer Literature, Writing, Publishing. (Frederick Smith, Sheree L. Greer, Rebekah Weatherspoon, Fiona Zedde)
Gold Salon 1, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Audre Lorde, E. Lynn Harris, and James Baldwin, among others, set the path for embracing Black Queer identities in writing. As contemporary writers who identify as, or write about, Black LGBTQ communities, we're consciously embracing identities that intersect, and that are also at the margins of society. Join us as we discuss the contributions of Black Queer writers past and present, and explore what it means to embrace writing at the intersections, yet at the margins, in current times.

Panel Discussion S268. The Long View: Moving from Essay to Book. (Geeta Kothari, Ladette Randolph, Irina Reyn, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Elizabeth Kadetsky)
Gold Salon 2, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
A narrative inherently changes shape when an author moves from short story to novel, but what about from essay to book-length nonfiction? What gets upset when the word count lengthens, and what might be gained by starting from the kernel of a theme or a structural motif contained in an essay? Might an essay collection gain market power by tackling a larger subject that strikes a chord with a wide readership? Editors and writers discuss their experiences in making books that began as essays.

Pedagogy S269. Teaching Taxpayers: Building Support for the Arts One Class at a Time. (Charlotte Holmes, Sherrie Flick, Laura Mullen, Tom Williams)
Gold Salon 4, JW Marriott LA, First Floor.
Whether or not our students become published writers, they do go on to pay taxes, decide on school curricula, opine about arts funding in their communities, buy books, subscribe to literary journals, and raise the next generation of readers. We, as teachers of creative writing, try to build support for the arts that outlives our classes. By making informed pedagogical choices, we can entice student writers into making creative work an essential part of their lives, and spreading that commitment.

Reading S270. Fables, Fibs, and Flat-Out Lies: The Material of Making, Sponsored by Copper Canyon Press.  (Michael Wiegers, Richard Siken, Laura Kasischke, Roger Reeves)
Concourse Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Whatever the chosen form, making is a dominant force in any artist's life. For writers, the creative material—language—is simultaneously precise and slippery, irreducible and expansive; metaphor is a lie that tells the truth, and image a construct made from the sound and meaning of language. This reading features three writers who practice various literary and artistic forms—fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and painting—and will be followed by a conversation moderated by their editor.

Reading S271. Writing the Personal with Helen Macdonald, Rabih Alameddine, and Francisco Goldman, Sponsored by Grove Atlantic Press.  (Francisco Goldman, Helen McDonald, Rabih Alameddine, John Freeman)
Petree Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Join award-winning and bestselling Grove Atlantic authors Helen Macdonald, Rabih Alameddine, and Francisco Goldman as they discuss the ways in which real life enters their literary work and to what critical and personal effects. As fiction and memoir writers from three different countries and cultural backgrounds, they discuss, among other things, how reactions to the personal in their work differ across genres, if at all.

Panel Discussion S272. Speculative Fiction: Defining the Rules of a Rule-Breaking Genre. (Rob Spillman, Marie-Helene Bertino, Ramona Ausubel, Aimee Bender, Manuel Gonzales)
Room 402 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What are the risks of breaking rules in fiction? What are the rewards? Do unicorns exist? Five award-winning speculative writers share their origin stories and reasons for writing fiction that eschews formal convention (and occasionally the laws of physics). Though speculative fiction is often marginalized, they discuss why it should be necessary reading for students of any genre, and offer practical advice for writers who want to try it and teachers who want to implement it into their curriculum.

Reading S273. Pitt Poetry Series Reading: The West Coast Connection. (Charles Harper Webb, Arthur Vogelsang, David Hernandez, Colleen J. McElroy, Joan Kane)
Room 403 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Four West Coast poets with recent books in the Pitt Poetry Series read from their work.

Panel Discussion S274. Messenger to the Stars: Luis Omar Salinas (1937–2008), Pioneer Chicano Poet. (Christopher Buckley, Diana Garcia, Juan Felipe Herrera, Juan Delgado, Donald Wolff)
Room 403 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
In this tribute to pioneer Chicano poet Luis Omar Salinas (1937–2008), panelists discuss his importance to Chicano/a letters and contemporary poetry—from late 1960s political poems and poems of self-determination in Crazy Gypsy, to his last poems in Elegy for Desire, to his New Selected Poems. Salinas was a virtuoso of intense lyric originality, mercurial imagery, and social conscience, and this panel is a testament to his achievement at the forefront of Chicano/a poetry in California for forty years.

Pedagogy S275. Whose Story Is It Anyway?: Teaching the Other in the College Creative Writing Classroom. (Luanne Smith, Laura Leigh Morris, Yvette Benavides, Cherise Pollard, Shanthi Sekaran)
Room 404 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
With more attention on global literacy, college creative writing students are often writing in all genres about people who are far from their own experiences. Our pedagogical practices in the creative writing classroom have to evolve to address these changes in what our students are reading. Is this their story to tell? How far does "write what you know" go? How do we address this delicate subject? We offer strategies for addressing these issues and conversations in the classroom.

Panel Discussion S276. Poems for the Next Generation: Bringing Poetry to Teenagers and Young Adults. (Brett Lauer, E Kristin Anderson, Kerri Webster, Lynn Melnick, Sheila McMullin)
Room 405, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
The poetry that young people learn in school is often outdated, poorly explained, and lacking diversity. This panel explores how contemporary poetry can reach young people in high schools and colleges through teaching, publications, and contests. Poetry is a vibrant, living art and deserves to be taught to young people in a way that speaks to them where they are, and through poets who are writing the Twenty-first century as we live in it.

Reading S277. Her Western Drama. (Charissa Menefee, Sara Israel, Vanessa Stewart, Elaine Romero, Tiffany Antone)
Room 406 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This reading showcases five award-winning women playwrights whose work is deeply influenced by—and engages with—the culture, history, politics, landscapes, and people of the West and Southwest regions. These dramatists write about immigration, Hollywood, border issues, rural and city life, celebrity and media culture, and life in the modern West.

Panel Discussion S278. Calling White Allies: What White Writers Can Do to Foster Inclusion and Support People of Color. (Katie Brickham, Alexs Pate, Alexis Paige, Tim Seibles)
Room 409 AB, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Participants from three major genres at various stages in their careers offer their experience and advice regarding what white writers can do to become (and continue being) more effective and sensitive allies to writers of color and people of color in general. Following this discussion, the panelists will hold a dialogue with the attendees, entertaining questions and further suggestions from audience members on possibilities for improving this crucial work.

Pedagogy S279. Easy A's and Epic Fails: Grading the Creative Writer. (Siân Griffiths, Katherine Coles, Michael Martone, Melanie Thon, Josh Robbins)
Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
What does it mean to fail a poem? Will students dare to experiment if a conventional story earns a 98%? This panel examines the ramifications of attaching grades to creative work, debating the value of this assessment on student writing improvement. Agreeing to disagree, the members of this panel reflect on our varied assessment practices and wrestle with the question of how to grade while simultaneously encouraging students to take the risks necessary for artistic growth.

Panel Discussion S280. Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll: Poem Pairings. (Beth Bachmann, Nick Flynn, Kristin Naca, Saeed Jones)
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel focuses on the spirit and grit of the music of the City of Our Lady Queen of Angels. In an exploration of the art of excess and consequence, highs and lows, panelists read their own poems paired with LA's historic sinner-songsters such as Tom Waits, Billy Idol, El Vez, N.W.A., the Beach Boys, and newbies EMA, Bambu, and Earl Sweatshirt. Panelists offer strategies for writing about sex and drugs, and respond to the question "What makes a poem rock 'n' roll?" Welcome to the jungle.

Panel Discussion S281. Agents Without Borders. (Aimee Liu, Betsy Amster, Angela Rinaldi, Elise Capron, Rebecca Friedman)
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Many writers believe that the only or best literary agents are located on the East Coast, but West Coast agents beg to differ. The major publishing houses may still reside in and around New York City, but major authors live throughout the world, and Pacific Coast agents have found that literary representation outside New York may actually be to an author's advantage. Join this panel of West Coast pros to learn how they navigate a publishing world without borders.

Panel Discussion S282. Brazilian Women Writers. (Tiffany Higgins, Hilary Kaplan, Ellen Doré Watson, Idra Novey, John Keene)
Room 502 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Translators of twentieth- and twenty-first-century poetry and fiction by women from Brazil read from their work and discuss the art of translation and the craft and advocacy inherent in translating writing by women. This panel follows last year's on translating “Brazilianness” to focus on women writers, the stakes of that categorization, and the vibrant landscape of translations of women's writing into English. Form, feminism, gender and sexual identity, age, language, race, and class all come into play.

Panel Discussion S283. The Darkening Trapeze: Last Poems of Larry Levis. (David St. John, Carolyn Forché, Linda Gregerson, Terrance Hayes, Tony Hoagland)
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel considers the lasting legacy of California poet Larry Levis (1946–1995) viewed through the lens of the forthcoming (January 2016) posthumous collection, The Darkening Trapeze. The panelists discuss Levis' enormous stylistic and philosophical influence upon an entire younger generation of poets, along with the poets of his own, as well as the longtime friendship between Levis and his mentor Philip Levine.

Reading S284. Beyond Neruda: Latin American Women Poets Burn Down the House. (Forrest Gander, Yvette Seigert, Jen Hofer, Jesse Lee Kercheval)
Room 503, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Join a celebration of writing by Latin American women poets whose electrifying work responds to the most burning literary and political pressures of their time. These are poets every American reader should know, poets that teachers should add to their syllabi and class reading lists, poets who inspire other poets. The celebration includes readings from translations of Coral Bracho (Mexico), Dolores Dorantes (Mexico), Alaíde Foppa (Guatemala), Circe Maia (Uruguay), Valerie Mejer (Mexico), and Alejandra Pizarnik (Argentina).

Panel Discussion S285. Can I Live? Writing Policed Black Women's Bodies. (Destiny Birdsong, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Kateema Lee, April Gibson, Charly Evon Simpson)
Room 504, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Despite its prevalence, various forms of violence against black women remain largely ignored in national and literary conversations. In response, five multigenre writers discuss craft approaches to writing the policed black female body, particularly when it is complicated by identity constructs such as poverty, (mental) illness, (dis)ability, and addiction. They also read excerpts of their own work (including poetry, fiction, and drama) wherein they seek to rearticulate this body in empowering ways.

Panel Discussion S286. New Directions in Postcolonial Writing: A Passage Through South Asia. (Namrata Poddar, Sharbari Ahmed, V.V. Ganeshananthan, Soniah Kamal, Nayomi Munaweera)
Room 505, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
This panel of transnational, transdisciplinary writers (in fiction, nonfiction, and criticism) passes through South Asia to reread contemporary American fiction through a postcolonial, diasporic lens in order to explore the ever-shifting seats of imperial power, the reconfiguration or dissolution of the center-margin dynamic—be it in debates of race, class, gender, ethnicity, history, or geography.

Panel Discussion S287. Keeping the Circles Strong: Twenty Years of Supporting the Work and Words of Native Writers and Storytellers. (Lee Francis IV, Kimberly Wieser, Rain Cranford-Gomez)
Room 506, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
For more than twenty years, Wordcraft Circle and Native Writers' Circle of the Americas have been dedicated to supporting the work and words of emerging and professional Indigenous and Native American writers and storytellers. Join us as we discuss how these organizations have supported their missions through ideals of generosity, reciprocity, and story with a focus on decolonization through literature, youth literacy, language revitalization, and community revitalization.

Panel Discussion S288. Diversifying Historical Fiction. (Laird Hunt, Bernice McFadden, Nina Revoyr, Dolen Perkins Valdez, Kim van Alkemade)
Room 510, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Too often, American historical fiction has cast diverse characters as one-dimensional sidekicks or minor characters—if it has included them at all. Characters of color have filled the roles of helpful maid or clever servant while LGBT characters have seemed not to exist. The authors on this panel discuss how situating diverse protagonists in iconic historical settings not only foregrounds their characters' complexities, but also reminds us that American history has always been rich with diversity.

Panel Discussion S289. Launching Your Passion Project. (Rachel Fershleiser, Amanda Bullock, Maris Kreizman, Colin Dickey, Allison Devers)
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
How can writers bring their passion projects to life? This panel investigates the practical and creative ways in which a collection of esteemed writers launched zines, marathon readings, anthologies, literary websites, and more—all while remaining focused on both their day jobs and their larger artistic visions.

Reading S290. Worlds Within the Other California. (Armen Bacon, Phyllis Brotherton, Samina Najmi, Sally Vogl, Jacqueline Williams)
Room 512, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Fresno serves as the center of gravity for five writers whose work articulates the global within the local. A marginalized space in California—seen as conservative, Christian, and agricultural—the San Joaquin Valley is also a place of intersections where immigration, assimilation, and hybridity are intensely personal, lived experiences. Armenia, Iran, Pakistan, Japan, and Lesotho pulse in these works, demonstrating that the breadbasket of America is also fertile ground for creative nonfiction.

Panel Discussion S291. Writing Sex in YA: Choices and Consequences. (Brandy Colbert, Carrie Mesrobian, Terra Elan McVoy, Corey Ann Haydu, Elana Arnold)
Room 513, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Young adult authors will discuss the craft of writing sex in YA literature, as well as the meaning behind adult responses to presumed high-risk behavior portrayed in books. In a culture bombarded with overt and unrealistic sexual imagery, do authors have a responsibility to be honest with teens about sex? Do they have a responsibility to demonstrate the possible consequences implicit in sex or drug and alcohol use? Where is the line between staying true to our craft and concerned censorship?

Panel Discussion S292. Ethnic, Gender, and LGBTQ Diversity in New Media, Hosted by Submittable. (Asta So, Karen Brophy, Jennifer 8. Lee, James Yeh, Mensah Demary)
Room 515 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Technology is democratizing media, allowing more writers to have a voice through social media and blog platforms. But is this voice really everybody's? As a curator of social media, is new media more diverse than traditional media? In this panel, insiders from Hearst, Rooster, Catapult, VICE, and Submittable discuss diversity of ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation in new media. We'll see how our diverse group of panelists climbed the ladder and seeks practical ways to increase diversity.

Panel Discussion S293. Bad Influences: Writers and the Writers Who Corrupted Them. (Katie Peterson, Sandra Lim, Leslie Shipman, Garth Greenwell, Thomas Page McBee)
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Who did you read so much that their influence actually got you into trouble? On this cross-genre panel, a novelist, a memoirist, and three poets speculate with wit and candor on whether you can know when you've been influenced too much, and whether there's a difference between good influence and bad influence. Can reading poetry be bad for prose? Can pop culture be good for anything? Panelists will also consider which “bad influences” are "corrupting" genres today.

Panel Discussion S294. The Persistence of Memory: Poets Writing Memoir. (Jeffrey Thomson, Beth Ann Fennelly, Brian Turner, Richard Blanco)
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Poetry and memoir are often thought of as closely related; each begins in and works with memory and the inner life of self to articulate a world in language. So what happens when poets enter the arena of prose and tell their stories in long form? Four award-winning poets discuss their recent memoirs and explore the interactions and bonds between the forms. Using their own craft as examples, they discuss the challenges of memoir as well as the freedoms, the limitations, and the possibilities.

Six o'clock p.m. to Seven-fifteen p.m.

S295. Sober AWP.
Room 518, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level.
Daily 12-Step Meeting.
All in recovery from anything are welcome. Emal: soberawp@gmail.com

Six-thirty p.m. to Eight o'clock p.m.

S296. Writers Conferences & Centers (WC&C) Reception.
Plaza 1, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
A public gathering to celebrate the incredible work being done at writers' conferences, centers, festivals, retreats, and residencies across the US and internationally. Come have a drink and some snacks, learn more about these programs, and connect with their directors.

S297. Solstice MFA Program Reception.
Olympic 1, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
Solstice Low-Residency MFA Program students, faculty, alumni, friends—and any writer interested in meeting our friendly, supportive community—are welcome to our annual AWP reception. Come have a snack & a drink on us!

S299. Play Ball! An All-Star Reception with Prairie Schooner Editors & Contributors.
Plaza 2, JW Marriott L.A., Third Floor.
Join guest editor Natalie Diaz with Editor-in-Chief Kwame Dawes and many of the issue's heavy-hitting contributors for a full-court-press celebration of our special sports-themed winter issue. Don't drop the ball!

S300. Celebrate Jacqueline Jones LaMon's Election as Cave Canem President.
Olympic 2, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
Adelphi University and Village of Crickets invites to join us in celebrating Jacqueline Jones LaMon's election as President of Cave Canem. Eulogies and readings. Food and drink.

S301. Salmon Poetry: Celebrating 35 Years!
Diamond Salon 9, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
A gathering to celebrate Salmon Poetry's thirty-five years of international literary publishing. This is the official launch of Salmon's anniversary events in the US, Canada, Britain and Ireland.

S302. Ruminate Magazine: Celebrating Ten Years.
Diamond Salon 10, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
Celebrate ten years with us and meet our community! Ruminate is a reader-supported community chewing on the mysteries of life, faith, and art. We invite slowing down and paying attention. We love laughter and delight in doing “small things with great love,” as Mother Theresa said. All are welcome!

S303. LGBTQ Mixer.
Plaza 3, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
Join the LGBTQ Caucus, Lambda Literary, and other sponsors for a mixer to relax and unwind over cocktails and hors d'oeuvres.

Eight-thirty p.m. to Ten o'clock p.m.

Reading S310. Peter Ho Davies, Joyce Carol Oates, and Roxana Robinson: A Reading and Conversation, Sponsored by the Author's Guild, Ecco, and Kundiman. (Peter Davies, Joyce Carol Oates, Roxana Robinson)
Concourse Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
Peter Ho Davies is the author of the novel The Welsh Girl, which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and two story collections, The Ugliest House in the World and Equal Love. Joyce Carol Oates has written some of the most enduring fiction of our time, including We Were the Mulvaneys; Blonde, which was nominated for the National Book Award; and the New York Times bestseller The Accursed. Roxana Robinson is the author of Sparta, four earlier novels including Cost, three story collections, and the biography Georgia O'Keeffe: A Life. Four of these were New York Times notable books. Robinson has received fellowships from the NEA, the MacDowell Colony, and the Guggenheim Foundation, and is President of the Authors Guild.

Reading S311. A Reading by Edward Hirsch and Natasha Trethewey, Sponsored by the Academy of American Poets. (Jennifer Benka, Edward Hirsch, Natasha Trethewey)
Petree Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One.
The Academy of American Poets will present a reading by the award-winning and bestselling poets Edward Hirsch and Natasha Trethewey. Edward Hirsch is the author of nine books of poetry and has received the National Book Critics Award and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. Natasha Trethewey, Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winner, was appointed as the 19th Poet Laureate of the United States in 2012. Jen Benka, the Executive Director of the Academy of American Poets, will introduce the event.

Ten o'clock p.m. to Midnight.

S312. AWP Public Reception & Dance Party.
Diamond Salon 1 to 4, JW Marriott LA, Third Floor.
A dance party with music by DJ Neza. Free beer and wine from ten o'clock to eleven o'clock p.m. Cash bar from eleven o'clock p.m. to midnight.