Forum / AWP?

• 
  Kimberly Ann Southwick

  Dec 28, 06:21pm

  Hello all.

  I just made a decision that I'm going to AWP. I've never been, so I didn't know that I was well behind at this point in attempting to plan anything except getting in.

  Any tips for a first-timer (besides don't wait too long to figure out that you want to go) would be appreciated! I run a literary arts journal, Gigantic Sequins, and I am a grammar/literature professor at Rowan University. I am also a poet.

  I'd like to get an offsite reading for my mag, maybe with another mag similar/opposite ours for my contribs/editors. It has also been suggested to me to find someone/someones who would want to share a table.

  Tips, suggestions, anything?

  Thanks in advance to anyone who replies!

• 
  W.F. Lantry

  Dec 28, 10:02pm

  Kimberly,

  Get a program, plan your days. Don't overschedule yourself, or it will be exhausting. Plan a good mix of panels and readings... too much of either leads to a patterned sameness. Arrange as many meet-ups as possible *before* the event: AWP is HUGE, and if you think "Oh, I'll just run into X and Y at some point," you may be disappointed.

  Lots of the action happens at off-site readings, and most venues are booked solid. Make sure you can get to the ones you desire by metro, it's not always obvious what you can't reach. Georgetown, for example, doesn't have a metro stop. Readings are spread all over the place, I know of one that will be 15 miles out of town. If you don't have a car, you can't get there.

  Oh, and plan for snow. Our worst blizzard last year was right around that time. The snow you've seen at Rowan the last few days was *nothing* compared to that week... ;)

  Thanks,

  Bill

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