GWU Sponsors Major DC Creative Writing Conference

NEWS FLASH: GW English is proud to announce that the University is a major sponsor of the 2011 AWP Conference, to be held in Washington from February 2-5.

The AWP, or Association of Writers & Writing Programs, is the country’s leading organization of creative writers and creative writing programs, and its annual conference—which takes place in a different location every year—is a lively literary gathering that attracts more than 8,000 attendees, including hundreds of writers of note.

The AWP Conference means DC will be looking a lot like a literary capital–not just a political capital–come the new year. Dozens of major writers will be giving readings. This year’s keynote speaker is Jhumpa Lahiri, the Pulizer Prize-winning novelist whose newest book, a short story collection called Unaccustomed Earth, is now out in paperback.

The AWP also features hundreds of panels. Our own Gregory Pardlo has organized a particularly noteworthy one on the history of GW’s Jenny McKean Moore Fund, which has brought dozens of wonderful writers to campus since 1976. Did you know that Susan Shreve, Amiri Baraka, Gloria Naylor, Julia Alvarez, and Vikram Chandra all once worked and taught in our creative writing program?

The English Department is grateful for the generous support of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences and the office of Vice President for Research Leo Chalupa in sponsoring the AWP Conference. Look to this blog for more news of events in February.

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