Let us know in the comments which panel you’d like to cover and we’ll be in touch!
Saturday, February 10, 2024
S122. Rebel Voices Only
(Deborah Taffa, G’Ra Asim, Lamya H, Inara Verzemnieks)
Hear from writers who pen “the voice of resistance.” Poet Alice Notley has famously said, “It’s necessary to maintain a state of disobedience against … everything.” Essayist Phillip Lopate has identified “the curmudgeon.” There are many reasons to be disobedient in memoir, essays, reportage, and criticism—to raise awareness, to shine light on buried histories, to give voice to impassioned appeals. But if the objective is to connect, how do we make our defiance work for a broader audience?
S144. Family Secrets: Balancing Love, Culture, and the Stories We Can’t Ignore
(Susan Kiyo Ito, Roberto Lovato, Leslie Absher, David Mas Masumoto, Angie Chuang)
Writing about family requires balancing loving portrayals with exposure of more difficult truths. How do nonfiction writers balance an ethics of care and a freedom to tell their truths when the story involves family? How can we manage disclosures and input or lack thereof before and after publication? What unique pressures do writers from immigrant, LGTBQIA, and families of color face? This interactive discussion features a diverse panel of writers who have grappled with writing family secrets. Download event outline and supplemental documents.
S178. Transgender Nonfiction: Memoir and Essays Beyond the Transition Narrative
(Mel King, T.L. Pavlich, Meredith Talusan, M. K. Thekkumkattil)
For decades, the transition memoir was the only readily available transgender nonfiction. The mainstream publishing world has been slow to catch up, but contemporary trans and nonbinary writers are breathing new life into nonfiction. These writers are telling their nuanced true stories beyond a linear transition narrative. This panel will bring together five transgender and nonbinary memoirists and essayists for an engaging discussion about trans stories and the future of trans nonfiction. Download event outline and supplemental documents.
S181. Breaking Silence: The Ethics of Writing Inherited Trauma Across Genres
(Sarah Beth Childers, Chet’la Sebree, Tyler Mills, Ivelisse Rodriguez, Clemonce Heard)
Investigating inherited and historical trauma can provide abundant material, but mining the past requires ethical acuity. How might we research and write responsibly when the record is fragmented or erased? How do we care for our loved ones and ourselves while writing through our truths? How might we mitigate historical harm? How might we avoid causing further harm through appropriation? Multigenre writers discuss the ethics of breaking silence across creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. Download event outline and supplemental documents.
S205. Representations of Arab American Communities in Poetry & Prose
(Ghassan Zeineddine , Sally Howell , Alise Alousi , Kamelya Youssef )
This panel aims to provide intimate glimpses into the Arab American communities in the Detroit metropolitan region, which is home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the country. Through works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, the panelists will discuss the creative process of dramatizing a diverse range of Arab ethnicities and voices, as well as capturing the complexities of community life. Download event outline and supplemental documents.
S210. Poets Learn to Pitch (& other practical tips for writing and publishing prose)
(Nancy Reddy, Vanessa Angélica Villarreal, Tiana Clark, Hope Wabuke, Chen Chen)
So many poets have turned to writing prose—but the leap across genres can be intimidating. What does it mean to write “on spec”? What’s a fair fee for an essay, and how do you negotiate without annoying an editor? Panelists will address both practical concerns—when does it make sense to start querying agents? what’s included in a book proposal?—and issues related to craft, like adapting your process as you move across genres, or how the skills you’ve refined in poetry can translate to prose. Download event outline and supplemental documents.
S233. Wise Latinas: Writers on Higher Education, Celebrating its Tenth Anniversary
(Daisy Hernández, Yalitza Ferreras, Celeste Mendoza, Jennifer De Leon, Gail Dottin)
Contributors to the International Latino Book award-winning creative nonfiction anthology will read from personal essays that explore the range of Latina experiences in college and share their reflections since the groundbreaking collection was published a decade ago. These compelling narratives provide crucial insight into the complex intersection of race, class, and educational issues, dispelling myths, and showcasing the diversity of this community’s experiences in higher education. Download event outline and supplemental documents.
S236. From A to Zines: Bringing Agency and Activism to Classrooms and Communities
(Ryan Oliver Drendel, Margarita Cruz, Amber McCrary, Amanda Meeks, Charissa Lucille)
Zines flourish at the intersection of self-expression and grassroots activism. Zine making welcomes writers and creatives of all levels to extend their authentic voices beyond the established publishing industry. Join our panel of zinesters, writing instructors, distro owners, community organizers, and small press editors as we discuss, show, and tell the empowering roles that zines play in our local writing communities. Download event outline and supplemental documents.
S245. Nonfiction for Women of Color: Liberating and Celebrating Our Narratives
(Grisel Y Acosta, Elizabeth Owuor, Natalie Lima, Danielle Jackson)
“won’t you celebrate with me/what i have shaped into/a kind of life? i had no model/born in babylon/both nonwhite and woman/ what did i see to be except myself?” —Lucille Clifton. The rise of memoirs by women of color is changing the landscape of publishing. How do we keep forward momentum in finding the beauty of our complex stories without being performative for the industry? Join a diverse panel of women of color memoirists for a reading and discussion on the exciting future of nonfiction. Download event outline and supplemental documents.
Assay: A Journal of Nonfiction Studies 