¡AWP in Chicago!

Each year, AWP holds its Annual Conference & Bookfair in a different region of the United States in order to celebrate the outstanding authors, teachers, writing programs, literary centers, and small press publishers of that region. The Annual Conference typically features 400 presentations: readings, lectures, panel discussions, and forums plus hundreds of book signings, receptions, dances, and informal gatherings. The conference attracts more than 9,000 attendees and more than 550 publishers. It’s one of the biggest and liveliest literary gatherings in the country.

This year, the AWP Annual Conference will be held in Chicago starting February 29 and running through March 3 at the Hilton Chicago and the Palmer House Hilton. For the complete schedule of events, visit here.

I’m pleased to say, there will be a strong Chicano/a and Latino/a presence including such luminaries as Pat Mora, Dagoberto Gilb, Luis Rodriguez, Jimmy Santiago Baca, and Esmeralda Santiago, to name but a few.

I’m also happy to say that I will be on two panels on Saturday, March 3:

10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.: ¡Wáchale! Chicana/Chicano Authors Celebrate Debut Novels

Panelists: Daniel Chacon, Lucrecia Guerrero, Daniel A. Olivas, Melinda Palacio

Location: Wiliford B, Hilton Chicago, 3rd Floor

Panel Description: Critic Rigoberto González has said that reading a Chicano novel is a commitment to a sustained exchange with a thriving culture and a proud people. Come hear four Chicano authors confirm and celebrate the continuum of a literary tradition. Through varied aesthetics and attitudes, the debut novels document the stages of a community’s growth. Their audience will experience distinct voices that teach the world not to fabricate or twist the truth of our histories because they're all written down in ink.

12:00 Noon to 1:15 p.m.: Talking the Talk: Writing Fiction for Today’s Latino Teens

Panelists: Sarah Cortez, Sergio Troncoso, Carlos Hernandez, Diana Lopez, Daniel A. Olivas

Location: Astoria, Hilton Chicago, 3rd Floor

Panel Description: Engaging young Latinos/as in the act of reading is one of the American educational system’s great quandaries. This panel of Latino writers discusses the creation of edgy, contemporary literature for a wide range of Latino teens—from the college-bound to the reluctant reader. Authors frame their discussion around the creation of their own stories in You Don’t Have a Clue: Latino Mysteries for Teens, the first anthology of Latino crime/suspense fiction created for young adults.

MORE AT AWP IN CHICAGO:

I will also be signing my novel, The Book of Want, at the University of Arizona Press booth (Booth #300), on Friday, March 2 from 3:00 to 3:30. Please come on by and say hi.

There will also be book signings sponsored by PALABRA (the literary journal) and Con Tinta in the Southeast Hall, Table K17, where the following writers will sign their most recent works: Rubén Quesada, Elisa Garza, Melinda Palacio, Carolyne Wright, Lucrecia Guerrero, Millicent Borges Accardi, Pedro Ponce, Fred Arroyo and Emmy Pérez. Please visit the table for a schedule.

And let’s not forget Con Tinta’s Annual Pachanga on Thursday, March 1, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., where we will be honoring Pat Mora at the Zapatista Restaurant, South Loop, 1307 Wabash Ave. For more information, visit this earlier La Bloga post.

See you in Chicago!