Kentucky Women Writers Conference, online, September 10-13, 2020

Randolph Hollingsworth (she/her) Announcement
Location
Kentucky, United States
Subject Fields
Literature, Humanities, Theatre & Performance History / Studies, Women's & Gender History / Studies

The Kentucky Women Writers Conference will host their 42nd annual conference through their Zoom platform. The conference will include workshops, craft talks, panel discussions, and readings (see descriptions here) from a variety of Kentucky women writers. You can find all the speaker bios here.

KWWC is scheduled for Thursday, September 10 through Sunday, September 13 from 9:00 am to 6:30 pm. Fees are substantially lower than for the in-person conference. There are several free events:

  • An Evening with Evie Shockley (Keynote) - Sept. 10, 7:30 p.m. EST
    Born and raised in Nashville, Evie Shockley received a B.A. from Northwestern University, a J.D. from the University of Michigan, and, after working as an environmental lawyer in Chicago, her Ph.D. in English from Duke University. Winner of the 2019 Lannan Literary Award in Poetry, Evie is the author of three books of poetry: semiautomatic (Wesleyan, 2017), which won the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the LA Times Book Prize; the new black (Wesleyan, 2011), winner of the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in Poetry; and a half-red sea (Carolina Wren Press, 2005). She is a Professor of English at Rutgers University and the author of a critical study, Renegade Poetics: Black Aesthetics and Formal Innovation in African American Poetry (Iowa, 2011). Evie Shockley’s appearance is made possible by support from University of Kentucky Libraries.
  • The Sonia Sanchez Series - Sept. 11, 7:00 p.m. EST
    The Sonia Sanchez Series honors the indelible spirit of the poet and her many visits to the neighborhoods of Lexington. This year we offer a Netflix-style viewing party of the documentary film, “BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez” (running time 1:41). You’ll be able to engage with other viewers and the host by typing chat-room comments during the film. Your host will be series chair Patrice K. Muhammad, who is founder and editor of the Key Newsjournal, serving Central Kentucky’s Black community since 2004, and host of the syndicated talk radio program "Key Conversations."
  • The Wild Women of Poetry Showcase with Mahogany Browne & Ellen Hagan - Sept. 12, 7:00 p.m. EST
    Headliner Mahogany L. Browne is a writer, organizer, educator, and spoken word poet residing in Brooklyn. Her books include Black Girl Magic, Kissing Caskets, Redbone, and the children’s book Woke Baby. She has appeared on BuzzFeed Live, HBO & The PBS News Hour. She is Artistic Director of Urban Word NYC, and Poetry Coordinator at St. Francis College’s MFA Program. Mahogany was the first poet to be awarded our Faith A. Smith Poetry Prize at the 2011 Wild Women of Poetry Slam. Emcee Ellen Hagan is a writer, performer, and educator residing in New York City. She has two books forthcoming in 2021: Blooming Fiascoes (Northwestern University Press) and Reckless, Glorious, Girl (Bloomsbury). Her poems and essays can be found in Creative Nonfiction, Underwired Magazine, She Walks in Beauty (edited by Caroline Kennedy), Huizache, Small Batch, and Southern Sin. Ellen’s performance work has been showcased at The New York International Fringe and Los Angeles Women's Theater Festival. A proud Kentucky writer, Ellen is a member of the Affrilachian Poets and Conjure Women, and is co-founder of the girlstory collective. Poets in the showcase will include LaCresha Berry, Marissa Davis, Jessica Diaz, O’ndria Gibson, and Danni Quintos.
  • Stars of the Commonwealth: Readings by Carrie Green, Mariama Lockington, and Claudia Love Mair - Sept. 13, 7:00 p.m. EST
    The 42nd KyWomenWriters Conference concludes with readings by three authors with Kentucky ties, introduced by Ashley Sipple-McGraw, who a middle school librarian and vice president of the Kentucky Women Writers Board of Directors. Carrie Green’s book of poetry, Studies of Familiar Birds, is forthcoming from Able Muse Press. She earned an M.F.A. at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, LA and has received grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women, the Kentucky Arts Council, and the Louisiana Division of the Arts. Her poems have appeared in Beloit Poetry Journal, Poetry Northwest, River Styx, Flyway, Blackbird, Cave Wall, DIAGRAM, and elsewhere. Originally from DeLand, Florida, she lives in Lexington, KY and works as a reference librarian. Mariama J. Lockington is an author, nonprofit educator, and transracial adoptee who calls many places home. Her debut middle grade novel, For Black Girls Like Me, was published in 2019 by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. It was a Junior Library Guild Selection and has earned starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, BookPage, School Library Journal, and Booklist. Mariama is also the author of a poetry chapbook, The Lucky Daughter (Damaged Goods Press, 2017). She is a Bread Loaf Scholar, a Voices of Our Nation Arts Alumni, a Literary Death Match Champion, and she earned her Masters in Education from Lesley University and her M.F.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. She lives in Lexington, KY with her partner and her dapple-haired dachshund, Henry. Claudia Love Mair lives in Lexington, KY and holds an M.F.A. from Spalding University. Her work has appeared in Dame Magazine, The Louisville Review, and will appear in the forthcoming anthology, It Will Not Be Simple: Motherhood, Mental Illness and Trauma. Readers can find her on Twitter @claudialovemair.

For ticket prices and registration information, visit the KWWC website at https://kentuckywomenwriters.org/register

Contact Information

Julie Wrinn, Director
KWWC Inc.
232 East Maxwell Street
Lexington, KY 40506-0344
(859) 257-2874

Contact Email
kentuckywomenwriters@gmail.com