BLP @ AWP 2018

We’re getting excited for AWP in Tampa! We’ve got lots going on, and there are many ways to connect with our editors and our authors:
1) Come see us at the book fair! We’ll be at booth 1410.
Interested in meeting our authors? Here’s our book signing schedule:

Thursday, March 8, 2018
11:00 – noon David Rigsbee
noon – 1:00  Claudia Cortese
1:00 – 2:00 Paula Carter
2:00 – 3:00 Simone Muench
3:00 – 4:00 Vedran Husic
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Friday, March 9, 2018
10:00 – 11:00 Alexandra Regalado
11:00 – noon Joe Oestreich
noon – 1:00 Christine Gardiner
1:00 – 2:00 Carol Guess
2:00 – 3:00 Nancy Reddy
3:00 – 4:00 Jacqueline Doyle
4:00 – 5:00 Jacob M. Appel
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Saturday, March 10, 2018
10:00 – 11:00 Travis Cebula
11:00 – noon Lisa Dordal
noon – 1:00 Megan McNamer
1:00 – 2:00 Gillian Cummings
2:00 – 3:00 Laura McCullough
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2) Come to our party on Thursday, March 8.

We’d be happy to have you join us as we celebrate a selection of our recently-published titles. Jacob Appel, Jacqueline Doyle, Joe Oestreich, Caroline Cabrera, Paula Carter, Alexandra Regalado, Lisa Dordal, and Vedran Husic will read from their work. Beverages and hors d’oeuvres to be served.
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We’ll be in the VIP Room at American Social, located at 601 South Harbour Island Boulevard. Doors at 7:00.
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3) Check out our authors’ panels:

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Thursday, March 8, 9:00 – 10:15
Room 20 & 21, Tampa Convention Center, First Floor
Writing/Motherhood: Difficulty, Ambivalence, and Joy(Nancy ReddyChanda FeldmanCarolina EbeidEmily PerezChelsea Rathburn) The fear of a “bad poem with a baby in it,” as Joy Katz puts it, is just one of the challenges of writing about mothering. There’s also the practical difficulties of writing while raising children. The poets on this panel speak back to cultural narratives about motherhood and writing, which often position motherhood as an all-consuming, joyous state at odds with art-making. Panelists will read poems and share ideas and experiences about navigating the intense work of writing and mothering.
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Thursday, March 8, 9:00 – 10:15
Room 15, Tampa Convention Center, First Floor
My Speaker, My Self: Navigating Persona and Identity in Feminist Poetry(Amie WhittemoreRuth AwadRaena ShiraliShelley WongClaudia Cortese) In blending the found with the invented, and the researched with the lived, poets inhabit speakers that both approximate and diverge from their experiences. Five women poets will share their work and situate their speakers on a spectrum from near self to complete persona. In doing so, they will explore identity and appropriation, examining how to access otherness responsibly in persona poems and how to distill art from mere biography when the speaker is an avatar of the self.
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Thursday, March 8, 1:30 – 2:45
Room 16, Tampa Convention Center, First Floor
Everything You Always Wanted to Know (But Were Afraid to Ask): Secrets of the Job Market(Michelle HermanChristopher CoakeJoe OestreichAnn TownsendLeni Zumas) Five writer-professors share their collective wisdom/advice based on their experience chairing/serving on search committees for creative writing teaching positions. Representing institutions ranging from the largest to among the smallest, from highly selective MFA programs to liberal arts colleges serving undergraduates only, we tackle every aspect of the job search and answer your questions about how the process works, from letter of application to successful hire.
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Thursday, March 8, 4:30 – 5:45
Grand Salon D, Marriott Waterside, Second Floor.
This Pussy Fights Back: Poems of Witness and Resistance. (Lisa DordalKendra DeColoWendy Chin-TannerAllison JosephCynthia Manick) Despite significant advances made in the fight for women’s equality over the past fifty years, there still exists a deeply entrenched hatred of and prejudice against women and girls across the globe. As manifested during the 2016 US presidential campaign and election, sexism is not only alive and well, it is thriving. Five award-winning poets share poems of witness and resistance, shedding necessary light on the realities lurking behind the myth that we live in a postfeminist society.
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Friday, March 9, 3:00 – 4:15
Grand Salon A, Marriott Waterside, Second Floor
Stealing from STEM: Applying Pedagogies from Other Disciplines in the Creative Writing Classroom. (Callista BuchenDaMaris HillJeremy SchraffenbergerTrent Hergenrader, Michael Clark) Sometimes, we imagine the creative writing classroom as its own special world, with its own organizing methodologies that isolate it from other fields. However, teaching practices borrowed and adapted from STEM fields can reinvigorate creative writing courses, providing new insights for students and instructors alike. From the application of technology and the scientific method to crafting formal poster presentations, this panel will detail ways to use STEM-based strategies in the classroom.
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Friday, March 9, 6:00 – 7:15
Room 5 & 6, Tampa Convention Center, First Floor
Latino Caucus. (Ruben QuesadaAlexandra Lytton RegaladoSuzi F. GarciaRaina J. LéonAhimsa Timoteo Bodhran) Latino writers are becoming increasingly visible in literary spaces. However, there is still work to be done to address inequalities in access and visibility. A Latino Caucus creates space to network with new, emerging, and established writers of varied Latino identities, to discuss issues around the obstacles to publication (e.g. active oppression and the cultural marginalization of Latinos), and to discuss panel and event planning to increase Latino participation at AWP.
Saturday, March 10, 9:00 – 10:15
Room 20 & 21, Tampa Convention Center, First Floor
Bridging Campus and Community: Approaches to University-Community Writing Programs(Nancy ReddyEmari DiGiorgioJan BeattyDora MalechErika Jo Brown) Universities are rich in resources that support writing—not just money, but space, human capital, the ability to generate publicity—but these resources are often used to support writers who already have the privilege of academic affiliation. Panelists representing a range of programs, including community workshops, an emerging writers conference, and partnerships with underserved communities, describe ways writers inside academia can leverage resources to support writers beyond their campus.
Saturday, March 10, 9:00 – 10:15
Florida Salon 1, 2, & 3, Marriott Waterside, Second Floor
Beyond Genre: Writing, Editing, and Publishing Hybrid Forms in the Age of Fake News(Geoff BouvierTodd SeabrookKathleen RooneyCarol GuessSindu Sathiyaseelan) Authors who mix fact with fiction, poetry with prose, memoir with history, can fall through generic cracks in the literary landscape. How do we compose with few examples to follow? Where do we publish composite forms that defy or subvert categorization? In a time when hybrid identities of all kinds, and even truth itself, have come under scrutiny, what are the ethical ramifications of writing across genres? Five writers and publishers of hybrid work will discuss approaches and best practices.
Saturday, March 10, 1:30 – 2:45
Grand Salon D, Marriott Waterside, Second Floor
Literary Late Bloomers: The Joys and Challenges of Being a Later-in-Life Poet(Lisa DordalPablo Miguel MartinezCeleste GaineyMichelle BittingMary Moore Easter) In many ways the poetry world favors younger poets, especially through age-limited contests and “under 30” lists. Poets who don’t discover their calling until later in life face challenges as they navigate career options and paths to publication. Literary late bloomers can be encouraged, though, by what a later-in-life career brings as far as richness of experience—our scars, triumphs, and intricately wrought stories. Five poets share the challenges and joys of being a later-in-life poet.
Saturday, March 10, 3:00 – 4:15
Room 11, Tampa Convention Center, First Floor
By One’s Own Hand: Writing About Suicide Loss. (Nick FlynnLinda Gray SextonRuth NolanGayle BrandeisRob Roberge) Suicide loss is a subject often shrouded in shame and silence. How do we write narratives of suicide loss (through poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction) that are honest and cathartic, but also artful? The panelists, all survivors of suicide loss, will explore the ethics, emotions, and craft of writing about suicide.