Independent publishers, writers, and literary magazines descend on KC for AWP Conference
"A Midwestern AWP proved to be welcoming and accessible, perhaps more so than the typical coastal conferences. The thousands of writers and literary magazines in attendance go to show that Kansas City is the perfect place for building literary communities and connections."
AWP Conference bookfair. // Courtesy AWP
Thousands of writers and publishers traveled to Kansas City from around the English-speaking world for the annual AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) conference February 7 through 10.
AWP is the largest writers’ conference in the world, featuring hundreds of panels delivered by writers on diverse subjects, a bookfair representing hundreds of literary magazines and presses, as well as off-site readings that are generally free and open to the public. The conference is mostly patronized by independent publishers, writers, and literary magazines.
The convention is typically held on one of the coasts with last year’s in Seattle and the 2024 meeting scheduled to take place in Los Angeles. A Midwest conference seemed to make the event more accessible, and accessibility was a key focus of the conference coming to the Show-Me State.
Missouri Senator Greg Razer published a letter addressing the anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ legislation in Missouri a week prior to the conference. Many panels and off-site readings centered on LGBTQ writers and rights, such as the “Writers Who Drag” panel, featuring Missouri-based author Elizabeth Hoover, and the off-site “Queer Lightning” reading, hosted at Missie B’s.
Many events featured Missouri-based writers. At the Southeast Review reading, held at the Central branch of the Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City writer B Rivka Clifton read their essay “In my Slut Epoch,” and St. Louis writer Elizabeth Hoover read a work of nonfiction forthcoming in the magazine’s next issue. Both writers expressed before their respective readings how important it was to them that AWP created a safe space for queer writers such as themselves in their home state.
Amanda Hadlock with Bailey Moore at the Moon City Press table.
Missouri-based writers Ron A. Austin, Hadara Bar-Nadav, Sam Edmonds, Phong Nguyen, and Caleb Tankersley spoke on the panel “Show (Me), Don’t Tell: Missouri Writers Grappling with the State of Their State.” The panelists examined the question, ‘How do I love a place that doesn’t love me back?’
Warrensburg, Missouri-based writer and University of Central Missouri professor, Jenny Molberg, was featured on the panel, “The Hen Party: Is Multigenerational Dialogue Unifying for Women?” Columbia, Missouri-based writer and Mizzou professor Donald Quist read an essay entitled “Be Not Afraid,” which meditates on “beauty and profanity” through the lens of Jackass Forever, at a reading hosted by Johns Hopkins-based literary journal, Hopkins Review.
The Pitch contributor Barb Shelly served on a panel entitled “Beyond Books: Alternative Careers in Writing.” She discussed a project she carried out in conjunction with Kansas City Public Radio, in which she narrated a local public school student’s struggles with switching schools several times before the age of 10.
Missouri-based literary magazines and presses were also represented, such as Missouri State University’s Moon City Review/Moon City Press; University of Central Missouri’s Pleaides; Kansas City’s Bear Review; University of Missouri’s The Missouri Review; and Columbia-based independent magazines Wigleaf and Hex.
The keynote speaker for the event was Pulitzer-prize-winning poet and essayist, Jericho Brown—who gave us an extensive interview ahead of the presenation.
A Midwestern AWP proved to be welcoming and accessible, perhaps more so than the typical coastal conferences. The thousands of writers and literary magazines in attendance go to show that Kansas City is the perfect place for building literary communities and connections.
