Current Newsletter
A Note from the Director
In seven weeks we will launch our inaugural conference, and so far 71 participants from across the country will be joining us on November 3–4!
We hope you'll consider adding your name to our registration list (and if you have already, many thanks). The registration fee of $100 (covering all regular conference events, catering, and parking from Friday evening through Saturday evening) is available until October 26, 2017. As of October 27, the fee will increase to $135. When registering, don't forget to specify any dietary or accommodation needs. Please note that recently our pre-conference workshop sold out, and there are no more seats available.
Once you've registered for the conference, you may want to reserve a room at our conference hotel (Hilton Garden Inn, Conway, AR, $91/night, rate available until October 18, 2017) and/or sign up for ride sharing and room sharing opportunities via the shared Google document.
Book fair reservations are open until October 16, 2017 (deadline extended). Simply email me at cdwrightconference@gmail.com to inquire about our price structure (sliding scale) or to reserve a table to promote literary programs or sell books (individual authors, small presses, large presses, magazines, etc.).
As always, we wish you happy reading, happy writing.
~ Sandy Longhorn, Director of the C.D. Wright Women Writers Conference
Nan Snow Emerging Writer Award Winners
We had a wonderful turnout for our first Nan Snow Emerging Writer Award submission period. Twenty-nine women, representing fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and hybrid works, submitted writing for our judges to evaluate. Our conference intern worked to ensure that the entries went to the judges without any indication of author's name or writing history, unless revealed in memoir. The judges, each a member of our Executive Committee, reported that the high volume of exemplary work made selecting three winners difficult.
The judges and I are honored to announce the 2017 Nan Snow Emerging Writer Award winners. The winners will read at the closing ceremony on Saturday, November 4, 2017, where they will receive their awards.
First Place ($500):
Stacy Pendergrast for the essay "Lily-er Than White"
Second Place ($250):
Abigail Greenbaum for the story "Limits"
Third Place ($100):
Alyse Bensel for the poems "Ivy in Every Parallel Universe," "Baking and the Men I've Loved, Including You," and "Lunar"
Congratulations to Stacy, Abigail, and Alyse!
Thank you to everyone who participated!
A Young Woman in Writing ~ Madeline Shamburger
“A writer”: two words that could either be formed into a captious question or a confident statement. For most of my young adult life, it has been in the form of a question. It’s almost as if everyone who questions me this way is trying to get me to ask myself if this is really what I want to do with my life. As a college writing major, people always ask me, “Wouldn’t you rather be doing something else?” and my expression is something of disbelief every single time. I am shocked that even today writers are not seen to be as important as someone who is pursuing a career in business.
On the contrary, I see my future in writing as something that is necessary and unique. There are many people who go into the business field, but majoring in writing of any kind is a sign of bravery—a bravery to see the world in a different view, a view that scares most people. Many people are scared to see the true meaning behind what is in the world around them and then to express how it makes them feel. I find bravery in writing because writers are not afraid to express how people, places, objects, and events make them feel.
Being a writer and wanting to pursue a career in writing are two completely different things, especially for a young woman like myself. Anyone can have writing as a hobby, but actually believing in that hobby enough to make it a career is a huge step. As a college student starting to pursue a career in professional writing, I know that the field I am going into is male-dominated. This does not have to be a negative fact; instead, it actually drives me to be a better writer and to expand my skill set in ways I may not have been comfortable with when I first started writing. That’s why this conference, and my involvement in it, is not only important but necessary.
This conference provides a safe space for anyone who identifies as a woman to be the writer she believes she is. This is an opportunity for both men and women to support women writers and the act of writing itself. Additionally, my involvement as an intern for this conference is important because my voice can make an impact and give a unique perspective on how women are seen as writers. This conference will amplify women's voices and one of these voices could be the next best-selling or award-winning writer.
Recommended Reading
We offer here a brief list of women writers whose work has made an impression on our lives. If you would like to send us a recommendation, email Sandy Longhorn at cdwrightconference@gmail.com. Include the author’s name and one representative title. Remember, we hope to support writers in all genres and styles from mass market to literary or academic, from bloggers to journalists. Help us spread the word about fantastic women writers of today or yesterday.
Giménez Smith, Carmen ~ Bring Down the Little Birds: On Mothering, Art, Work, and Everything Else ~ memoir (Arizona, 2010)
Gyasi, Yaa ~ Homegoing ~ fiction (Knopf, 2016)
Ivins, Molly ~ Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She? ~ essays (Vintage, 1992)
Liu, Marjorie and Takeda, Sana ~ Monstress, Vol. 1 ~ comics (Image, 2016)
Morrison, Toni ~ Sula ~ fiction (Vintage, reprint, 2004)
Mueller, Lisel ~ Alive Together: New and Selected Poems ~ poetry (Louisiana State University, 1996)
Politkovskaya, Anna ~ Putin's Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy ~ journalism (Owl Books, 2000)
Ward, Jesmyn ~ Sing, Unburied, Sing ~ fiction (Scribner, 2017)
Weiner, Jennifer ~ Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love and Writing ~ essays (Washington Square Press, 2017)
In seven weeks we will launch our inaugural conference, and so far 71 participants from across the country will be joining us on November 3–4!
We hope you'll consider adding your name to our registration list (and if you have already, many thanks). The registration fee of $100 (covering all regular conference events, catering, and parking from Friday evening through Saturday evening) is available until October 26, 2017. As of October 27, the fee will increase to $135. When registering, don't forget to specify any dietary or accommodation needs. Please note that recently our pre-conference workshop sold out, and there are no more seats available.
Once you've registered for the conference, you may want to reserve a room at our conference hotel (Hilton Garden Inn, Conway, AR, $91/night, rate available until October 18, 2017) and/or sign up for ride sharing and room sharing opportunities via the shared Google document.
Book fair reservations are open until October 16, 2017 (deadline extended). Simply email me at cdwrightconference@gmail.com to inquire about our price structure (sliding scale) or to reserve a table to promote literary programs or sell books (individual authors, small presses, large presses, magazines, etc.).
As always, we wish you happy reading, happy writing.
~ Sandy Longhorn, Director of the C.D. Wright Women Writers Conference
Nan Snow Emerging Writer Award Winners
We had a wonderful turnout for our first Nan Snow Emerging Writer Award submission period. Twenty-nine women, representing fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and hybrid works, submitted writing for our judges to evaluate. Our conference intern worked to ensure that the entries went to the judges without any indication of author's name or writing history, unless revealed in memoir. The judges, each a member of our Executive Committee, reported that the high volume of exemplary work made selecting three winners difficult.
The judges and I are honored to announce the 2017 Nan Snow Emerging Writer Award winners. The winners will read at the closing ceremony on Saturday, November 4, 2017, where they will receive their awards.
First Place ($500):
Stacy Pendergrast for the essay "Lily-er Than White"
Second Place ($250):
Abigail Greenbaum for the story "Limits"
Third Place ($100):
Alyse Bensel for the poems "Ivy in Every Parallel Universe," "Baking and the Men I've Loved, Including You," and "Lunar"
Congratulations to Stacy, Abigail, and Alyse!
Thank you to everyone who participated!
A Young Woman in Writing ~ Madeline Shamburger
“A writer”: two words that could either be formed into a captious question or a confident statement. For most of my young adult life, it has been in the form of a question. It’s almost as if everyone who questions me this way is trying to get me to ask myself if this is really what I want to do with my life. As a college writing major, people always ask me, “Wouldn’t you rather be doing something else?” and my expression is something of disbelief every single time. I am shocked that even today writers are not seen to be as important as someone who is pursuing a career in business.
On the contrary, I see my future in writing as something that is necessary and unique. There are many people who go into the business field, but majoring in writing of any kind is a sign of bravery—a bravery to see the world in a different view, a view that scares most people. Many people are scared to see the true meaning behind what is in the world around them and then to express how it makes them feel. I find bravery in writing because writers are not afraid to express how people, places, objects, and events make them feel.
Being a writer and wanting to pursue a career in writing are two completely different things, especially for a young woman like myself. Anyone can have writing as a hobby, but actually believing in that hobby enough to make it a career is a huge step. As a college student starting to pursue a career in professional writing, I know that the field I am going into is male-dominated. This does not have to be a negative fact; instead, it actually drives me to be a better writer and to expand my skill set in ways I may not have been comfortable with when I first started writing. That’s why this conference, and my involvement in it, is not only important but necessary.
This conference provides a safe space for anyone who identifies as a woman to be the writer she believes she is. This is an opportunity for both men and women to support women writers and the act of writing itself. Additionally, my involvement as an intern for this conference is important because my voice can make an impact and give a unique perspective on how women are seen as writers. This conference will amplify women's voices and one of these voices could be the next best-selling or award-winning writer.
Recommended Reading
We offer here a brief list of women writers whose work has made an impression on our lives. If you would like to send us a recommendation, email Sandy Longhorn at cdwrightconference@gmail.com. Include the author’s name and one representative title. Remember, we hope to support writers in all genres and styles from mass market to literary or academic, from bloggers to journalists. Help us spread the word about fantastic women writers of today or yesterday.
Giménez Smith, Carmen ~ Bring Down the Little Birds: On Mothering, Art, Work, and Everything Else ~ memoir (Arizona, 2010)
Gyasi, Yaa ~ Homegoing ~ fiction (Knopf, 2016)
Ivins, Molly ~ Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She? ~ essays (Vintage, 1992)
Liu, Marjorie and Takeda, Sana ~ Monstress, Vol. 1 ~ comics (Image, 2016)
Morrison, Toni ~ Sula ~ fiction (Vintage, reprint, 2004)
Mueller, Lisel ~ Alive Together: New and Selected Poems ~ poetry (Louisiana State University, 1996)
Politkovskaya, Anna ~ Putin's Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy ~ journalism (Owl Books, 2000)
Ward, Jesmyn ~ Sing, Unburied, Sing ~ fiction (Scribner, 2017)
Weiner, Jennifer ~ Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love and Writing ~ essays (Washington Square Press, 2017)
