Reading: Our festivities open tonight with a reading by Steve Almond in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union Theater (in the southeast corner of the second floor) at 7:30. After the reading we'll adjourn to room 207 for a reception.
Friday, November 18
Workshops: On Friday, our offerings include a set of workshops from 1 to 3:00 pm. Our presenters are BGSU faculty and graduate students in the Creative Writing Program. No pre-registration is needed for these workshops. Participants may simply check-in with us on the third floor of the Bowen-Thompson Student Union as you arrive Friday, beginning at noon, and we'll make sure you receive a directory of locations. (Descriptions of Workshops appear below).
Reading: Join us in room 314 at 3:00 pm for a reading by Philip Memmer (poetry) and Tom Noyes (fiction).
Roundtable: Our Roundtable discussion convenes in room 207 of the Union at 4:00 pm.
This year's topic:
Functional Irony: Writing in the World
This roundtable will explore the ironic distance between our function as writers and how we function as writers. Most of us have heard some variation of "One of these days I'll write a novel," indicating that writing is easy and anyone can do it. How do we combat that? How does the way we work as writers overcome the ironies of the creative writing world? What do we do that separates us from the weekend poets and the retirement novelists and the "someday" essayists? What do we do that makes us artists? What sets us apart as serious about our craft, not just the product? What defines a serious writer? A writing schedule? University degrees? Publications in journals that people have heard of?
Reading: In the evening, join us at 8:00 pm in room 207 of the Bowen-Thompson Student Union for a reading by George Looney. Stay with us after the reading for a reception and chat with our author!
Friday's Workshops:
Sherita Armstrong and Renee Reighart "Creating Grotesque Characters" (F) An introduction to the grotesque in literature, along with a discussion and exercises designed to develop grotesque characters in fiction.
Karen Craigo "Publishing Poetry for Inspiration" (P)
Workshops are a great way to meet others and to gain feedback on one's writing. However, once one has reached the point at which workshops have outlived their usefulness, it is important to find one's own poetic path. This session focuses on what the publishing process teaches us about our writing‹and on how working on publication can serve as inspiration for more creative work. There will also be plenty of useful information available for beginning submitters.
Michael Czyzniejewski "Is Your Manuscript Ready for the Mail?" (F) Workshops, writing groups, good old Mom: Everyone has outlets for criticism, but do you have a last-minute editor for the work you want to send out? Here are some basic tips.
Nate Haldeman "Getting Poetry to the Edge Without Going Over" (P) From sex to violence and pyromaniacs to annoying dogs, there are subjects that can easily be taken too far, pushing the reader away. In this workshop we will look at how subjects bordering on distasteful can be presented eloquently through language. Be ready to share your thoughts and do some experiments with writing.
Byron Kanoti "Ekphrasis: Finding a Subject Beneath the Surface" (P) This workshop will focus primarily on discussing and practicing what to avoid and what to embrace when writing ekphrastic poetry. Participants will practice "deep looking" coupled with a search for the hidden subject.
Erika Lundbom, Gary McDowell, and Julie Platt "Writing Crossing Writing: How Rhet/Comp and Creative Writing Intersect, and How to Make Them Work in Your Classroom" In this workshop, we will discuss the abundant connections between the fields of rhetoric and composition and creative writing, and how tools from each can be applied to each other with success. We will provide a number of exercises and strategies, and as a group, we'll help guide you toward inventing a strategy of your own.
Teresa Milbrodt "The Found Fiction" (F) This workshop will explore using odd newspaper stories as the basis for fiction, with emphasis on taking a skeletal plot and fleshing out characters.
F. Daniel Rzicznek "Writing Prose Poems and Flash Fictions" (P/F) In this workshop we'll discuss and implement writing approaches to the increasingly popular short-prose form: prose poem, flash fiction, and mutations in between. Come prepared to create.
Saturday, November 19
Saturday we open the registration table at 8 am. You may pick up your conference schedule on the third floor of the Bowen-Thompson Student Union. Following are two workshop sessions, lunch, and two more workshop sessions. Following these is a reading by Edith Pearlman in the Union Theater.
After the dinner hour, we will enjoy a reading by Aimee Nezhukumatathil in room 201 of the Union, along with an open dessert reception. We close the evening's festivities with our annual open mic reading.
Below is a complete schedule of Saturday's events. To register for workshops, please refer to the enclosed list and form (those who wish may also register for meals on the registration form).
8:00 am-9:00 am Registration and greeting period, 3rd Floor Union
Additional Festival Features for Saturday
Visit our Bookfair on the second floor of the Union, room 228! Many festival guests will bring copies of their books for sale, and several literary journals will be represented also. Don't miss this opportunity to check out markets for your work and support the work of fellow writers.
Take 5 is back! Between Saturday sessions, experience mini-readings by our visiting authors in an intimate setting.
Sunday, November 20
We close the weekend on a relaxing note. Join us in East Hall starting at 10 am for a day of creative and contemplative sessions. Already on the schedule are Tai Chi with Cathryn Essinger, and Speed Scrabble with Karen Babine. No pre-registration is necessary! A simple sandwich buffet will be provided for lunch.
9:00 am-12:00 Writing workshops
12:00 -1:00 pm Lunch
1:00 pm-4:00 pm Writing workshops
4:00 pm-5:00 pm Edith Pearlman reads, Union theater
5:00 pm-5:30 pm Cocktails, 201 Union
5:30 pm-6:30 pm Dinner hour (guests may reserve for dinner at an additional charge, or are free to find their own meal in the Union or one of BG's many local eateries)
6:30 pm-7:30 pm Open dessert reception (no registration necessary, all guests welcome), 201 Union
Aimee Nezhukumatathil reads, 201 Union
7:45 pm-9:30 pm Open mic, 201 Union
David Baker 
Dan Chaon 
Tyehimba Jess 
Debra Marquart 
Jean Thompson