#ArtLitPhx: Desert Nights, Rising Stars Literary Fair

artlitphx

DateFriday, February 22, 2019 – 10:00am to Saturday, February 23, 2019 – 6:00pm
Location: Old Main, Arizona State University, 400 E Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281
Cost: Free

Click here to RSVP or learn more about the event.

Event Description:
Presented in partnership with ASU Open Door as a public extension of the Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference, the Desert Nights, Rising Stars Literary Fair features small presses and publishers, authors, literary organizations, and other members of our larger community for two days of readings, talks, and other literary festivities.

All events and activities are open to the public and free. You do not need to register for the conference in order to attend.

While encouraged, RSVPs are purely for the purposes of monitoring attendance, gauging interest, and communicating information about parking, directions, and other aspects of the event. You do not have to register or RSVP to attend this event.

To learn more about the Literary Fair, you can meet our exhibitors or RSVP for the fair.

If you are interested in participating in the Desert Nights, Rising Stars Literary Fair, you can become an exhibitor.

To learn more about the Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference, you can meet our faculty or view this year’s schedule.

Superstition Review at AWP

AWP 2018 MapIf you haven’t heard already, Superstition Review will be attending the 2018 AWP Conference in Tampa, Florida next week. You can visit us at booth T1213 where we will also be representing Iron City Magazine.

We are excited as day one is approaching quickly, the conference is less then a week away.

Want to keep up with Superstition Review during AWP? Visit our Pinterest! AWP 2018 Florida will keep you current while AWP 2017 DC and earlier AWP boards will share experiences from our past attendances.

Speaking of the past, Samantha Allen shared, “10 Survival Tips for AWP Newbies” on the blog. While these tips come from 2012, tip number one, wearing comfortable shoes, is timeless.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Intern Post, Ofelia Montelongo: Desert Nights, Rising Stars

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Photo by Ofelia Montelongo Valencia

The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing organizes the annual writers conference Desert Nights, Rising Stars. Every year they bring writers from across the country to a three-day event full of workshops, classes, and readings. This past February was my second year volunteering at the event. And once again, I felt like a groupie when meeting famous authors.

After being in the financial industry for so many years, I sometimes feel like an outsider in the writing world. But, one of the main reasons I love this industry is because everyone is interested in you–in your writing and in you as a person, not the company you represent. Being you is important in the writing world. You are the only person that is more passionate about your work than anyone else.

It is incredible to be able to meet so many writers at the same place. Being a writer sometimes feels idiosyncratic and isolated, and this event has helped me to see that I’m not the only one that feels that way. I have met wonderful volunteers, attendees, and faculty who I befriended and keep in contact with.

There is some sort of magic in being able to talk with the author (Manuel Muñoz) of that book you read a semester ago about craft, endings, and the struggles of being a bilingual Latino writer.

There is some sort of magic in reading aloud your work in front of excellent writers like Alice Eve Cohen.

There is some sort of magic in being able to see that behind a published book there is a person who is not too different from you. And that they were once in your role; they were once an aspiring author learning the craft of writing.

There is some sort of magic in listening to real literary agents share their wisdom on the world of publishing and learning to“never pitch over the summer” and “never send query letters on the holidays.”

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Photo by Ofelia Montelongo Valencia

There is some sort of magic in eating lunch with the people you aspire to be like: award-winning writers who just signed their book for you; writers who just told you that success is a mix of hard work and a lucky break; writers who told you that they hope to get your book signed one day.

There is some sort of magic during these three conference days everywhere you want to see it; you can even find it in the delicious afternoon snacks.

The most important element of this kind of conference is how you feel at the end of it. How you feel during these three days would be worthless if you do nothing about it. If you feel inspired at the end, then it was worth it; you know can go back and keep writing. If you feel discouraged because you learned the toughness of the writing and publishing business, then it was worth it; you know can go back and keep writing. Between MFA readings, panels, conferences, and classes, the magical key that everyone agrees with is that the only way to be successful is to sit and write your best work.

Women Writing The West: 18th Annual Conference

The 18th Annual Women Writing The West Conference 2012 will meet at Hotel Albuquerque in Albuquerque’s historic Old Town, October 19-21, 2012..

Conference guest speakers include Virginia Scharff, Anne Hillerman, and Susan J. Tweit, with special guest Don Bullis, New Mexico Centennial Author.

Conference Workshops include:

  • “Breakthrough Book Buzz: Trendspotting Toward a Faithful Following” led by literary publicist Stephanie Barko
  • “Warp and Weft: Weaving the Lives of Women from a Previous Era into 21st Century Fiction” led by Q. Lindsey Barrett
  • “Will This Book EVER Be Published?: What To Do When It Feels Like The Impossible Dream”  led by Laurie Wagner Buyer and Dawn Wink
  • “Explorers of Inner Space: Fantasy Writing for Young (and Not-So-Young)” led by Betsy James
  • “The Yearning Factor,” led by Page Lambert. Inspired by Robert Olin Butler’s From Where You Dream 
  • “Trick or Treat: Speaking Made Easier” led by Doris McCraw
  • “Devour and Repeat: The Conscious and Unconscious Use of Repetition in Our Poetry.” by Elise McHugh, UNM Press
  • A panel discussion on ways to minimize anxiety and optimize performance when discussing your book on television with Cynthia Leal Massey, Velda Brotherton, Dawn Nelson, and Mara Purl.

Also in attendance will be Guest Agents Sandra Bond, Susan Schulman, and Elizabeth Trupin-Pulli, and Guest Publishers Barbe Awalt and Paul Rhetts of LPD Press/Rio Grande Books, Doris Baker of Filter Press, Lee Emory of Treble Heart Books, Mountain View Publishing, Sundowners, and WhoooDoo Mysteries, and W. Clark Whitehorn and Elise McHugh of University of New Mexico Press.

 To register, see link.

 

 

 

Crazyhorse Writing Conference: March 15-18

Crazyhorse is opening its doors to writers and literary magazine enthusiasts alike for their Crazyhorse Writing Conference.

The conference will take place March 15-18 on the College of Charleston campus, located in the heart of South Carolina. It will feature artists, speakers, faculty members, and writers from all walks of life. Don’t miss this great opportunity to meet fellow writers and explore an internationally renowned literary publication.

You can find more information on how to sign up on the Crazyhorse Writing Conference website.

Local Event: Arizona English Teachers Association Annual Statewide Conference

It’s only one month until the Arizona English Teacher Association holds their annual statewide conference at ASU Polytechnic Campus, hosted by ASU’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. The AETA is the local branch of the National Council of Teachers of English, but because its focus is regional, caters to interests of not only English teachers, but by natural extension, students and readers in our state.

You may be wondering why this conference is of interest to you, and I’ll tell you now–the guests expected to go to this year’s conference are phenomenal. Just to name a few, authors PJ Haarsma and Frank Beddor, and keynote speaker Professor Beverly Chin, will all be attendance. This is an exciting opportunity to listen to these authors discuss their works, interact with them, and get more insight into their craft. Not only that, but it’s an opportunity to hear emerging authors read their work and, if you’re involved in education, to gain new teaching models and theories used in the classroom.

Former attendees include Superstition Review-featured author and poet Sherman Alexie, so their guests are generally of interest to our readership. They look for the freshest, most interesting faces available in new literature particularly of interest to teachers and educators in the state.

Ticket prices vary, but there are discounts for students, and admission is not limited to those involved with the organization–anyone can attend the conference with paid admission. The conference dates are October 16 & 17 with open enrollment until the date of the event.

AETA’s Official Website (conference link on the left side)

Conference registration form

PJ Haarsma’s Official Website

Frank Beddor’s Official Homepage

Beverly Chin’s Educational Profile