Kevin Welch and Sarah Cooper
Prose Editor Kevin Welch and Assistant Poetry Editor Sarah Cooper represented South85 Journal and the Converse College Low-Residency MFA Program at the 2014 AWP Conference. As newbies to the conference, they found it to be a lot like a first date. Check out their five tips for attending your first AWP conference.
1. Panels aren’t always what they claim to be.
Do your research in advance: AWP puts all panels with presenters and descriptions online in advance.
Choosing panels: Do a quick web search of presenters, find out their vantage point, their interests and if their work is something you can benefit from. Often you’ll find that you were expecting to hear from a publisher’s point of view and find that only freelance authors are on the panel or vice versa. Not only will a bit of research ahead of time make your schedule that much more defined, it will save you from wanting to bolt the presentation seven minutes into it.
Disclaimer: There are times when you’ve done the research, circled the panel and once there find that it has little or nothing to do with what it claimed.
2. Speed Dating
Walking the book fair and tables is overwhelming. It’s kind of like speed dating. You don’t want to spend too much time at any one table because you want to see what all of the others have to offer. The people working the tables and booths have two jobs: sell you something or get you to sign up for their mailing list. They will be incredibly creative in doing both. The more creative the workers/booth, the bigger the commotion, the bigger the commotion, the more people gather. It is crowded. It is noisy. Have a plan. Choose a section that you want to walk and do so slowly but with a mission. If you know you are looking for literary journals to submit your work to check out the map in your brochure and be sure to hit those tables. Remember, most likely you’re flying home after the AWP. You don’t need a ton of fiction collections, bookmarks and flyers if you’re a poet. Know what you want and go after it!
2A. Speed Dating Part II
Don’t be that person who refuses to sign up for a mailing list. Seriously?! You’re protecting your inbox from an deluge of information that may help you? What, “Delete” is too difficult for you to fathom? Maybe some of these email blasts are all about upcoming reviews or books on sale. Maybe some inform you of submission deadlines or contests. Either way, I bet right now your email gets a monthly or bi-weekly email from Lettuce.com or Just Muscles. Here’s a tip: Create an AWP-only email before you go. You know how easy it is to create one, right?
3. When you go to a reading, pay attention
Imagine yourself at the reading you circled in your program, the one you truly wanted to see. You are excited about meeting the author and getting a signed copy of their book or collection after. Finally, you’re there. The author is introduced and they begin. The smile on your face grows and you scan the room for similar smiles. When you do, you see a guy snuggling a rabbit stuffed inside his coat. Upon further inspection, you realize they aren’t snuggling at all. The rabbit is, in fact, making out with the man’s chin and the man reciprocates by blowing and cooing into the rabbit’s fur just behind its neck. You can’t pull your eyes away. This cross-species date is like a car wreck. You’re at once repulsed and excited. Excited because this is about to be the best Facebook post ever if you can just get your darn camera to work and make sure the flash doesn’t go off. You take picture after picture, laughing inside. The captions and hashtags flow like some of your best writing. You upload it to your Facebook page and the responses are immediate. Oh, by the way, your author just finished their reading. (This actually happened!)
4. F***ing poets, man!
There are so many creative minds at the AWP, so of course there are a number of cool t-shirts and coffee mugs with fantastic sayings. Popular this year was therumpus.net’s “Write Like A Mother Fucker” mugs and water bottles. But the Best/Worst prize AWP goes to Barrelhouse’s “Fucking Poets, Man!” t-shirts. They told us it’s always their biggest seller.
5. Making Plans, Hooking Up, Wearing The Same Clothes
Making plans to see people you haven’t seen forever is a must, but realize you are going to meet people–new contacts, new connections, new friends–who will want to grab a drink with you. Definitely make time for friends, but leave generous amounts of time open for the possibilities. There will be possibilities.
Speaking of possibilities, we were witness to no less than five “Hi, what do you write” moments which later that evening found questioner and questionee making out in a hallway. (We suppose they REALLY liked their writing). Look, we understand this is the by-product of every convention in the world, but it’s the one place where “Get a room” truly has merit, unless you want everyone at the convention to see that you hooked up with THAT girl or THAT guy. Imagine yourself browsing the book fair the next day when someone you’ve never seen stands from behind a booth and says, “You look familiar. Didn’t I see you last night making out with (insert sleaze’s name here) in the hallway?”
Finally, it’s a long three days. The days are busy and you’re on your feet all day, the nights are long and you’re drinking. Your clothes are wrinkled. Don’t worry. Fabric refresher is your best friend. Suck it up and wear it again. It’s probably the only one you didn’t spill on (or leave in the hallway). Unless you are a super star. No one is paying attention! And, if you are a superstar, they’ll think you’re trendy.
Kevin Welch is the Prose Editor for South85 Journal. He holds an MFA from Converse College, and he lives and works in Portland, Oregon, dividing his time between teaching at area community colleges and writing.
Sarah Cooper is an Assistant Poetry Editor for South85 Journal. She is in her last semester at Converse College’s MFA program. Currently, she lectures at Clemson University and spends her free time experimenting in the culinary arts and crossfitting.