INFORMATION FOR
Workshops, panel discussions and readings on numerous topics are scheduled for a daylong writer’s conference hosted by William Paterson University’s Department of English on April 17.
“Writing Childhood,” this year’s theme, will explore how childhood and adolescence are incorporated into literature by writers. Other topics to be discussed include examining the current publishing markets for children and young adult audiences, and strategies that help writers go back to their own youth in their own writing.
The conference is designed for scholars of all disciplines, creative writers, professional editors, secondary-, middle-, and elementary-level educators and both graduate and undergraduate students. Professional development hours are available to educators.
“The conference is a daylong celebration and examination of literature and contemporary writing, and includes hands-on workshops in fields such as poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, memoir, editing, and publishing,” says John Parras, professor of English. “Through a day of intense intellectual and creative activity, the conference aims to stimulate participants’ interest in reading and interpreting literature and to concretely enhance their writing success through interactive discussion and workshop guidance in fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and other genres. It also simply provides the opportunity for writers to gather, meet, and network.”
David Means, author of three short story collections, and a professor at Vassar College, will be the keynote speaker. His session will be held from 9:45 to 11:15 a.m. in the Atrium Auditorium. He will focus on the process of thinking and acting like a fiction writer in order to “catch” stories. Means will also talk about a writer’s process of finding ideas, creating drafts and editing.
The conference is then divided into morning and afternoon workshops. Morning workshops will be held from 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. A buffet lunch will be served in the Atrium lobby from 12:45 to 2 p.m. Afternoon workshops will be held from 2 to 3:30 p.m. The fee for the conference, which also includes a light breakfast, the opportunity to enter a writing contest with a $300 prize, attendance at two workshops, is $50; $40 for William Paterson alumni; $30 for registered William Paterson graduate students; and $20 for undergraduate students. Late registration (after April 7) is $60.
Morning workshop topics include a panel discussion, “Publishing Adolescent Writing,” with three adult authors who will discuss their work in the field of young adult literature. Marina Budhos, assistant professor of English at William Paterson, and the author of several award-winning books for young adults, will moderate.
“Remembering: Memoir,” a workshop with Judith Broome, will examine childhood memory and how a memoir can begin with a single memory; and Brian O’Broin will present an introductory class on “Playwriting” that will explore how to incorporate children and memories of childhood into a script. Martha Witt, a novelist, will present a workshop on the use of “Prose Poetry” to explore childhood memories. All three of these panelists are also members of the William Paterson University faculty.
Afternoon programs include a panel discussion, “Writing, Editing, and Marketing,” led by professional editors from Random House and HarperCollins, who will focus on how books are edited, published, promoted, and marketed. Martha Witt will moderate.
Afternoon workshops include “Memoir” with Nahid Rachlin, an award-winning author whose works include a memoir, four novels, and a collection of short stories. She will discuss the importance of engaging readers in the craft of memoir writing.
Other workshops include “Advanced Editing for Grammar and Style,” with Alice Deakins, which will focus on the structure of the English sentence as the foundation of sophisticated writing; “Poetry,” with Timothy Liu, who will explore the notion of what it means to have a “childhood” as an adult; and “Coming of Age Fiction,” with Marina Budhos, will examine how authors use the “coming of age experience” to create vivid fiction. All are William Paterson professors of English.
The conference is sponsored by the William Paterson University Department of English, and by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For additional information about the conference or to register, visit the Website http://euphrates.wpunj.edu/writersconference or contact John Parras, professor of English, at 973-720-3067.
