AWP Recap: Grief, TikTok & Diverse Writers
February 28th, 2024
Dear Writers,
Thank you for signing up for Writing with Hart: News and Opportunities for Writers. I’m so glad you’re here!
Shout out to my friend Miriam Gershow whose book of stories, Survival Tips, comes out in March. See all of Miriam’s event details here!
AWP Conference Report
First, a report from the massive AWP Conference in Kansas City earlier this month. This four-day event, one of the largest literary conferences in the country, renewed my faith in people and in publishing. One panel, packed with hundreds of diverse writers, focused on the role of grief in storytelling. Panelist Ross Gay knocked my socks off with his reading of “Two Bikers Embrace on Broad Street.” Grief touches us all, as evidenced by audience members of every age and demographic at the event.
A completely different panel spotlighted several MFA graduate students who spoke about the power of TikTok to find an audience. They were splendid—playful and funny and smart. They urged me to share weird little bits of my life on the platform—everything from my attempts at keeping honeybees to learning to cross-country ski to my fascination with photographing slime molds in the forest. TikTok users love behind-the-scenes glimpses into a writer’s life.
I moderated a panel on how to write while parenting and how to parent while writing. You can find our panel’s super-useful handouts on the home page of my website. One young slam poet won everyone’s hearts with this question during the discussion: “My wife writes beautifully, but she’s a busy parent of five. How can I best support her?”
Bestie, get the kids out of the house. Overnight.
I spoke on a ground-breaking panel with authors Amy Silverman and George Estreich and their adult daughters who have Down syndrome. We talked about disability activism in storytelling and the importance including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in all forms of writing . . . particularly in their own words.
The vast conference bookfair was proof that there’s a press for every type of book and genre and author, and a whole bunch of impassioned people behind each press who want to see your story succeed. There’s also a wealth of eclectic MFA programs, including a B.A. degree in Equestrian Studies which apparently lends itself well to equine journalism!
Why not attend the AWP Conference next March in Los Angeles? Students get a discount. Panelists and moderators get a discount. There’s also a work exchange opportunity to offset registration cost. You could even do a GoFundMe—trust me, this conference is worth it.
What I’m Publishing
If I depart this earthly plain before I finish my epic historical novel, at least I’ll have published “The Vaudevillian Ghosts of Liberty” in the splendid literary travel magazine Hidden Compass. Inspired by my vaudeville comedian great-grandparents, this piece of creative nonfiction with photos explores with evocative anecdotes the racism and homophobia that informed vaudeville performances, as well as the passionate inclusivity that existed behind the curtain. Bonus: A critical analysis of The Muppet Show!
It's my birthday on March 2nd, and I’d be so grateful if you’d click on this link and donate a couple of dollars to the magazine and to my story!
Here’s a YouTube video of me talking with the Hidden Compass editors about what it was like to spend 60 hours researching and writing this essay about my illustrious great-grandparents. I get a little hyper talking about vaudeville. You’ll see. 😊
Also, I wrote Slow Mobility on the Accessible Coast - Oregon Coast Visitors Association (visittheoregoncoast.com) last year and didn’t realize it had been published. Please share it with everyone who might benefit from an all-terrain track chair on the beach or an accessible kayak launch on the river, or a fishing pier ramp. Oregon’s doing a remarkable job of making the coast accessible; I’m working on another story about this right now!
Where I’ll Be Soon
April 4-8, 2024--I’m teaching a powerful and supportive workshop titled “Crafting Your Memoir” at the stunningly-beautiful Playa Summer Lake in Central Oregon. Registration has just opened, and this workshop will sell out quickly. Contact me with any questions at all—I can’t emphasize enough how lovely Playa will be in April!
April 26-28th, 2024—I’m one of the featured workshop speakers at Oregon Writers’ Colony’s annual conference held at the charming Sylvia Beach Hotel in Nye Beach on the central coast. We’ll be talking about how to plan and write book-length memoir, but those working on short memoir will find plenty of useful and inspiring information, as well. This is going to be an intimate, inspiring three-day event with plenty of low-key networking and lots and lots of great coffee with strangers destined to become friends.
A Few Cool Resources for Writers
“The Most Important Writing Exercise I’ve Ever Assigned” piqued my interest with its examination of the connection between empathy and storytelling which informs my own Better with Books: 500 Diverse Books to Ignite Empathy and Encourage Self-Acceptance in Tweens and Teens.
I always appreciate the savvy advice on industry expert Jane Friedman’s blog, and this article is no exception: Scene, Summary, Postcard: 3 Types of Scenes in Commercial, Upmarket, and Literary Fiction | Jane Friedman
Assay Literary Journal has generously shared overviews of some of the AWP panels from 2024. Here’s one I particularly appreciate: AWP24: F236. The Braided Essay as Change Agent – Assay: A Journal of Nonfiction Studies (wordpress.com)
I thoroughly enjoyed this NPR story about the social and political relevance of horror movies; it’s a smart and thought-provoking meditation on the genre which I didn’t fully appreciate until I started teaching for the MFA program at Southern New Hampshire University
Grammar nerds, I can’t tell if you’ll unite or delight over this one: Merriam-Webster says you can end a sentence with a preposition. The internet goes off - OPB Regardless, it’s information on which to meditate . . . er . . . to meditate on.
Conferences, Residencies, and Calls for Submissions
I’m about to head out to Playa on Oregon’s Summer Lake for a five-day writing residency—my first ever! A friend of mine just returned and said that the experience was life-changing. Playa is taking applications for 2025 residencies until May!
Studio in the Woods, a residency in New Orleans with the theme of “Mending Our Collective Ecosystem,” seeks applicants right now.
I profiled Chicago’s Spring Fling Writers’ Conference in The Writer Magazine a while back; it’s a supportive, fun, innovative gathering in a splendid setting with remote workshop options!
Pen America offers emergency funding for writers in need; see details here: U.S. Writers Aid Initiative - PEN America
Chicken Soup for the Soul is looking for stories with the theme “Me and My Dog.” Who doesn’t have a heart-warming dog story? Submission details here: http://www.chickensoup.com
As always, visit these sites for editors’ calls for submissions: Calls for Submissions :: Where to Submit - NewPages.com, Practicing Writing - Erika Dreifus, Opportunities of the Week Newsletter – Sonia Weiser (wordpress.com), FundsforWriters and Call for Submissions | Poets & Writers (pw.org).
Okay, that’s all for now. Let me know if you want me to include any writing resources in my April newsletter, and I’ll do so!
Much gratitude,
Melissa
P.S. It’s my birthday month. Here’s my husband’s parody of Taylor Swift’s Time Magazine cover to celebrate. Thanks to my long-suffering terrier for posing like a rockstar.
