Early on Saturday morning, March 26th, my boyfriend’s mother drove me into Philadelphia. She dropped me off at the Pennsylvania Convention Center where I attended the Association of Writers Program (AWP) 2022 Conference. I felt like I belonged to everyone, and my name tag officially welcomed me to this event. I also received a complementary t-shirt and tote bag.
Shortly after, I made my way to my first panel of the day. In the hallway, I ran into Sharon Harrigan, who asked me if I was going to the Not Just For Scholars: How to Publish Fiction and Memoir panel. I said yes, and that is when I learned it was her panel. She was joined by fellow authors Yang Huang, Kelly Fordon, and Dennis Lloyd (Director of University Press of Wisconsin). They discussed the process of publishing your work through a University Press. There were about 57 Presses with a Creative Nonfiction Department and 40 with a Poetry Department, all of which use peer-reviewers (other creative writers) when taking a look at your submission. Some of the speaker’s advice included: to find work similar to yours or that you like and see where they are published, and that agents and publicists are not necessary, for University Presses, which rarely shut down, have marketing departments that work with you. After this panel I knew that opportunities to get my work published were accessible.
I then spent time in the bookfair section. I walked for about an hour taking in all the publishing presses and literary magazines that had come from all over the nation to collaborate with others. I was lucky to have arrived on the last day of the bookfair, where many authors were selling their work at half-price. I wanted to find some more creative nonfiction to read, since I have only recently been introduced to this genre. I picked up the book Be With Me Always by Randon Billings Noble, and went to check out. It just so happened that Noble herself was at the check out location. She offered to sign my copy of her book, absolutely marking my favorite part of this trip. All of the bookfair booths handed out stickers as advertisements — I can never turn down a cute sticker. But in all seriousness, it allowed me to explore some of the publishing houses available for submission. I really enjoyed speaking to a graduate student from Florida, who was representing SWAMP. I learned that she was the Editor of the Creative Nonfiction Department. I spent so much time in this exciting but overwhelming atmosphere but eventually made my way to another panel.
The panel, Your Story Ends Here: Flash Fiction, Short Story, or Something Longer? was led by Stephen Pisani and accompanied by Amina Gautier, Kevin Wilson, and Liz Moore. These panelists were very interactive with the audience and even provoked laughs from me. They defined the difference between flash fiction, short stories, novellas, and novels. Now educated on this topic by published authors, I have started to alter some of my own work into different forms. Amina Gautier particularly gave advice that not only helped my own writing, but made me think about how I will teach writing in my future classrooms.
I choose to attend this event because I have always dreamed — and still do! — of becoming a published author one day. I can only imagine the feeling of getting my work accepted and printed. I am grateful that AWP 2022 was so close to my home, and I know that I will wait until they host another event close to my home so I can attend in the future.