AWP Conference and Bookfair is coming to KC starting Feb. 7. Here’s everything you need to know.

Previous conference for AWP with booths and attendees. // Courtesy AWP

This week, the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) is coming to Kansas City for its 24th event, bringing nearly 8,000 guests to the metro for a huge multi-day event. Last year, the event was attributed with having a $15 million net impact on the city of Seattle, so this is a big deal for us in KC.

What’s happening, why is it cool, and how can you take part? Here’s our quick rundown:

What is the AWP Conference?

AWP Conference & Bookfair (#AWP24) takes place February 7–10, 2024 and will feature 375 events by and for creative writers, as well as over 500 publishers, universities, and other exhibitors. Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Jericho Brown will give the keynote address  on Thursday, February 8.

Read The Pitch’s in-depth interview with Jericho Brown right here.

How do I attend?

Registration rates for #AWP24 are listed at that link. Saturday is only $25 for the general public to attend without needing to buy a full event pass. There will be panels and a gigantic bookfair, 

What happens there?

AWP is a nonprofit organization with the mission to amplify the voices of writers and the academic programs and organizations that serve them while championing diversity and excellence in creative writing. The annual conference is the nation’s largest literary event, bringing together a diverse community of 8,000–10,000 writers, teachers, publishers, editors, and students of creative writing.

We are thrilled to host writers from the Midwest and beyond in 2024. One goal of the upcoming conference is to foster connection and to support writing communities who live and work in Missouri, where gender expression, gender identity, and gender-affirming-care are under attack, abortion access is banned, and attempts to defund the public library system are a reality. AWP is working to support LGBTQIA+ and women’s communities in Kansas City and maintains a #AWP24 Resources & Updates webpage.

What kind of events can I expect at the conference?

A sampling of events on the docket include “Beyond Gay and Bi: Creating Diversity in Queer Characters,” “How to Be Your Own Agent,” “Ethics of Writing the Other: #ownvoices in Literary Writing,” “Be Gay, Do Crime: Teaching Queer and Trans Poetics in Dangerous Times,” and “Writing Miscarriage, Child Loss, and Complicated Childbirth in the Post-Roe Era.”

AWP is partnering with the Kansas City Public Library to host its kickoff event on Wednesday, February 7 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. CT (with doors opening at 5:30 p.m.). The event will begin with the announcement of the winners for AWP’s various literary awards, including the Intro Journals Project, the National Program Directors’ Prize, the Small Press Publisher Award, and the George Garrett Award for Outstanding Community Service in Literature.

Following the presentation of awards will be an incredible discussion titled “Poetry as Reciprocity: Indigenous Nations Poets Celebrate Language Back.” This reading and discussion will feature Indigenous writers Kimberly Blaeser, Heid E. Erdrich, Jake Skeets, and Elise Paschen.

AWP is also honored to partner with Pride Haven, a Kansas City–based overnight shelter for transition-aged LGBTQIA+ youth for the #AWP24 #WritersServe project. Attendees can support Pride Haven’s mission by donating items from their wish list, including necessities (which can be purchased online) and books (which can be purchased online or on-site at the conference). Pride Haven representatives will staff their table at the entrance to the bookfair, where attendees can stop by to learn more about how to support this important work.

In addition, AWP is collaborating with local Kansas City organization The Writers Place to host high school students and teachers on Saturday, February 10. Students who participate in The Writers Place programs will get the opportunity to come to the conference, attend a poetry workshop with AWP Donald Hall Prize winner Joy Priest, and read some original work prior to Saturday’s featured events.

Rion Amilcar Scott, creative advisor for the AWP HBCU Fellowship Program (now in its second year), will give his lecture “Many Moseses, Many Promised Lands Unseen” on Friday, February 9. Other featured presenters include Susan Choi and Sarah Thankam Mathews for “NBF Presents: Crafting Coming-of-Age”; Esther Belin, Jake Skeets, and Luci Tapahonso for “Language Back: A Reading & Conversation with Indigenous Poets, Sponsored by Indigenous Nations Poets”; and 2022 AWP Award Series winners Sahar Muradi, Jessica Hendry Nelson, Parul Kapur, and E. P. Tuazon for “AWP Award Series Reading & Celebration.”

What kind of events are happening around the conference in KC?

A full list of official off-site events are compiled here.