2017 Conference Information 

Conference Overview, Registration Information, and Fees

Participants in this year’s conference will have the option to register for the Conference Only for $100 or the Conference plus Pre-Conference Writing Workshop at the ESSE Purse Museum & Store in Little Rock for $135. More detailed information can be found below and by clicking here for a list of accepted conference proposals.

The 2017 C. D. Wright Women Writers Conference, taking place November 3-4, 2017, will include an optional, limited-seating pre-conference writing workshop, a Friday night keynote presentation with reception, a book fair, a continental breakfast, choices from 16 individual breakout sessions of either panels or creative readings, a keynote lunch, and a closing reception featuring a reading by the winners of our Nan Snow Emerging Writer Award.

Registration fees include access to events, on-site catering, and parking passes. Conference organizers seek to ensure that all events are accessible and inclusive. When registering, participants will be given the opportunity to list specific disability accommodation needs as well as dietary accommodation needs.

Aside from our pre-conference workshop, all conference events will take place at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, and the closest airport is the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, which is 37 miles away. Volunteer carpools will be arranged to transport attendees to and from the airport on Friday and Sunday at no charge. Information on lodging is provided on the registration website; however, there are no hotels within walking distance of the campus. There will be an opportunity to arrange roommates and ridesharing for the duration of the conference. Access to these arrangements will be offered via email once a participant has paid for registration.

*With sponsorship from the University of Central Arkansas, the University of Central Arkansas Foundation, the College of Fine Arts and Communication, and the Department of Film, Theatre, and Creative Writing registration fees are waived for UCA students enrolled in courses for Fall 2017. Interested students should email the director at cdwrightconference@gmail.com.

Registration Link​
When ready to register, please click here and follow the directions on the registration site. All questions should be sent to the Director, Sandy Longhorn, at cdwrightconference@gmail.com.

Tickets for Saturday Keynote Only
For those people interested in attending our Saturday keynote event only, featuring Cara Brookins, author of Rise: How a House Built a Family, as well as a buffet lunch, the cost is $25. To proceed, please make a $25 donation to the conference here and note in the comments section that your donation is for the Saturday keynote. Then, email the director at cdwrightconference@gmail.com. If you'd rather pay by check, please email the director for more information. Once the donation has been made, the director will confirm your reservation and provide details on where you will pick up your badge (in lieu of a ticket) on Saturday, November 4. The event takes place from 12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. in McCastlain Hall on the UCA campus.

Conference Hotel
The conference hotel is the Hilton Garden Inn (Conway, AR). When you receive your registration confirmation email, there will be a chance to link to the hotel and make a reservation. Conference organizers have created a Google Doc where anyone interested in sharing a room, or sharing rides, may post information. 
 
Book Fair and Sponsorships
The conference will include a small book fair. Book fair fees do not include registration to attend events or receptions/meals. The conference also has sponsor packages for presses, authors, or businesses interested in supporting the conference at a higher level, with additional benefits. To inquire about fees and reservations for the book fair, or to receive information on our sponsor packages, please email the Director at cdwrightconference@gmail.com.
Friday, November 3, 2017​
  • 1:00-3:00pm, What’s Inside: A Writing Workshop at the ESSE Purse Museum & Store, 1510 Main Street, Little Rock, AR, facilitated by Monda Strange Fason  ~ Limited to 15 participants, this hands-on, pre-conference writing workshop open to all genres and skill levels will take place in Little Rock rather than on the UCA Campus. One of only three purse museums in the world, ESSE Purse Museum & Store explores concepts of art, history, and the feminine. What’s Inside will feature a guided tour of the museum followed by a prompt-driven workshop designed to get words on the page in a short amount of time. There will be time to share rough drafts and a future opportunity for publication of pieces begun in the workshop. Refreshments will be served, and registered participants will receive planning information via email one week prior to the workshop. Registration for the workshop is first-come, first-served and will close once 15 participants have paid their fees. *Transportation to the museum will be the participant’s responsibility unless arriving by plane and going directly to the museum.
  • 6:00pm, College of Business Auditorium, University of Central Arkansas, Conway, Keynote with Tayari Jones, author of Silver Sparrow   ~ Tayari Jones was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and much of her writing centers on the urban South. Upon the publication of her most recent novel, Silver Sparrow, which has just been chosen for inclusion in the National Endowment for the Arts’ Big Read library, the Village Voice wrote, “Tayari Jones is fast defining black middle-class Atlanta the way that Cheever did for Westchester.” Her first novel, Leaving Atlanta, a coming-of-age story set against the city’s infamous African American child murders of 1979–81, won the Hurston/Wright Award for debut fiction. Her second novel, The Untelling, about a family struggling to overcome the aftermath of a fatal car accident, received the Lillian C. Smith Book Award from the Southern Regional Council and the University of Georgia Libraries.
  • 7:00-8:30pm, McCastlain Hall, Fireplace Room, UCA, Reception with Heavy Hors D'oeuvres  ~ Readings by the winners of the Nan Snow Emerging Writer Award

Saturday, November 4, 2017
  • 8:00-9:00am, McCastlain Hall, Ballroom, UCA, Continental Breakfast & Networking
  • 9:15-10:30am, Breakout Panel Session I*
  • 10:45am-12pm, Breakout Panel Session II
  • 12:15-1:45pm, McCastlain Hall, Ballroom, UCA, Buffet Lunch & Keynote with Cara Brookins, author of Rise: How a House Built a Family   ~ Brookins is the author of Rise: How a House Built a Family, a memoir about escaping domestic violence with her four children and building a 3,500 square foot home from the ground up with their own hands. Rise is a 2017 Indy Next Pick and selected for Barnes & Noble’s What We’re Reading. Brookins also hosts a weekly podcast with Macmillan, and is a fiction writer with seven published novels.
  • 2:00-3:15pm, Breakout Panel Session III
  • 3:30-4:45pm, Breakout Panel Session IV
  • 5:00-6:30pm, McCastlain Hall, Fireplace Room, UCA, Closing Remarks & Reception with Heavy Hors D'ouevres

*Attendees will be able to choose from four different panels or readings for each scheduled breakout session. Breakout sessions will be in McCastlain Hall. Check out the list of accepted proposals here.
The conference will be held on the UCA campus in the College of Business auditorium and McCastlain Hall on Friday, November 3, 2017 and Saturday, November 4, 2017.
The pre-conference workshop (with limited seating) will be held at the ESSE Purse Museum & Store, 1510 Main St. Little Rock, AR, from 1:00-3:00pm on Friday, November 3, 2017.