Angela and I are excited to attend the AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) 2016 conference in Los Angeles this week! The conference starts Wednesday evening and runs through Saturday evening; this gathering is ‘an essential annual destination for writers, teachers, students, editors, and publishers’ (www.awpwriter.org). Over 12,000 people will attend the four-day conference. Discussion panels, readings, lectures, and off-site literary events are scheduled from 9am until midnight each day. Angela and I will be at the University of Surrey table in the enormous Book Fair hall where over 800 exhibitors – literary presses, journals, creative writing programmes, writing conferences and centres, and literary arts foundations – will host stalls and tables for conference attendees to peruse journals and books, learn about writing programs, events, and retreats, and network with a diverse creative community.
Come meet us at table 305, in the first row of tables (not stalls) to the left of the main Book Fair entrance. We’ll have information about our MFA, MA, and PhD (low-residency option available) degrees in Creative Writing. If you’re a potential international student and interested in studying in England, we’re happy to talk about what it’s like to live in Surrey/London and to study in the UK (we’re both ex-pat Canadians, so we’re familiar with the rewards and challenges of living in a new country). We’re also hosting book signings at our table on Friday, April 1st; visit us from 1pm-2pm to meet award-winning poet Catherine Graham, and from 2pm-3pm to meet award-winning poet and novelist Jeanette Lynes.
I’m here in California already and Angela is flying in from London tomorrow; we’re looking forward to setting up at AWP. Angela will send in a blog update from the mid-conference fray, and we’ll jointly report back on all our adventures, after the weekend. Find us on Twitter throughout the week, too: @SurreySEL and @hollyluhning #AWP16
-Holly (& Angela)
p.s. re: the above photo – we may or may not be pitching a 1980s buddy-cop TV show while we’re out here…
