Greetings GCACWT,

Fairhope 2013 is only two weeks away, and I couldn't be more excited We've got the super-talented and amazing Erica Dawson as our keynote reader. We've got some amazing panels lined up, including a round-table about hybrid poetry and a stitching workshop by the chapbook artists from Sweet:  A Literary Confection. Plus, we have plenty of wonderful readings lined up. You don't want to miss this. Fairhope 2013 is going to rock.

Have you registered?
If you have not done so, please register at our website today:  http://www.gcacwt.com.  Registering insures your place at the conference and insures that we'll have a printed name badge for you. You can either prepay or pay at the door. Either way, make sure that you're on our official conference roster:  http://www.gcacwt.com/click-for-registration.html,

Who are you?
We want to be sure that those of you who are participating in the conference are listed on our webpage. If you've not done so already, take a few minutes to submit or update your bio here:  http://www.gcacwt.com/biographical-notes.html. If you see any errors, please let me know, and I'll fix them asap.

Volunteers Needed
GCACWT needs a few intrepid volunteers, people who will help with registration, the book fair, making coffee, and any other general running around that might be taking place. If you'd like to volunteer (and earn my deep, heartfelt gratitude), please contact me at gulfcoastwriters@gmail.com. I'd be much, much obliged. I've heard from only a couple of people, and I desperately need your help.

Conference Schedule Posted
The schedule for GCACWT 2013 is now posted at the GCACWT website (http://www.gcacwt.com/2013-program.html). If you see any errors or any problems, please be sure to contact me immediately. I beg your indulgence if you see any problems. I'll try to fix them immediately. If you are marked as a "chair," you will simply be in charge of that room. I'll be contacting chairs directly with more detailed instructions the week of the conference. Relax; it's a very easy gig.

Don't forget the reception!
This year's conference reception will be Saturday evening at 6:00 p.m. at the American Legion right on Mobile Bay in Fairhope, Alabama. There will be a cash bar, and the menu features chicken salad sandwiches, muffulettas, vegetarian pinwheels, chicken/sausage gumbo, seafood gumbo, and assorted cookies. You definitely don't want to miss the reception!

Share the News
Remember, if you're on Twitter, use the hashtag #gcacwt to promote the event. You'll find me on Twitter at @NewberryJeff. Plus, you can keep up with all the latest GCACWT news on our Facebook page at http://tinyurl.com/gcacwt.

If you have any concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me at gulfcoastwriters@gmail.com. I'm excited about meeting all of you. Thank you for supporting the Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers.

I'm looking forward to meeting all of you.

Best,
Jeff Newberry
President
Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers

Greetings GCACWT,

Fairhope 2013 is only three weeks away! We've been busy behind the scenes getting ready for what we believe will be a fantastic conference. So, what are waiting for? Register today! If you've not registered, simply visit http://www.gcacwt.com/click-for-registration.html to do so.

The absolute deadline for panel and reading requests is MARCH 22, 2013! So, if you interested in proposing a panel, joining a panel, or reading at GCACWT 2013, what are you waiting for? Sign up and register at our website today:  http://www.gcacwt.com.  We want to be sure that those of you who are participating in the conference are listed on our webpage. If you've not done so already, take a few minutes to submit or update your bio here:  http://www.gcacwt.com/biographical-notes.html.

Volunteers Needed
GCACWT needs a few intrepid volunteers, people who will help with registration, the book fair, making coffee, and any other general running around that might be taking place. If you'd like to volunteer (and earn my deep, heartfelt gratitude), please contact me at gulfcoastwriters@gmail.com. I'd be much, much obliged.

Tentative Schedule Posted
The preliminary schedule for GCACWT 2013 is now posted at the GCACWT website (http://www.gcacwt.com/2013-program.html). If you see any errors or any problems, please be sure to contact me immediately. I beg your indulgence if you see any problems. I'll try to fix them immediately. If you are marked as a "chair," you will simply be in charge of that room. I'll be contacting chairs directly with more detailed instructions. Relax; it's a very easy gig. 

Share the News
Remember, if you're on Twitter, use the hashtag #gcacwt to promote the event. You can also find GCACWT on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/gcacwt.

If you have any concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me at gulfcoastwriters@gmail.com. I'm excited about meeting all of you. Thank you for supporting the Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers.

--
Best,
Jeff Newberry
President
Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers
http://www.gcacwt.com

Greetings GCACWT,

Fairhope 2013 is but a month away! We've been busy behind the scenes getting ready for what we believe will be a fantastic conference. So, what are waiting for? Register today! If you've not registered, simply visit http://www.gcacwt.com/click-for-preregistration.html to do so.

What's New This Year?
The only real change is that this year's conference reception will take place on Saturday, April 6, 2013, at the American Legion in Fairhope, Alabama (as opposed to Friday night). GCACWT will cater this reception with gumbo and appetizers (vegetarian choices are available). The American Legion will have a cash bar.


Panels & Panel Requests
There's still time to register a panel or join a panel. To see the list of 2013 panels, please visit GCACWT's webpage here:  http://www.gcacwt.com/2013-proposed-panels.html.

Want to Read?
There are still slots for original readings of creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry available. To request a reading, simply visit http://www.gcacwt.com/reading-request-2013.html.

Our Keynote Speaker
Erica Dawson's poetry is kinetic and alive. Her newest book, The Small Blades Hurt, will be published by Measure Press in 2014. Her book Big-Eyed Afraid, is available from Waywiser Press. Read an interview with Erica Dawson here:  http://www.cprw.com/Hilbert/dawson.htm.

The Student Writing Contest
The judges are beginning to send in the results. I'm very much looking forward to announcing the 2013 winners in Fairhope.

Who Are You?
So many great people are involved with the Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers, and we want to be sure that those of you who are participating in the conference are listed on our webpage. If you've not done so already, take a few minutes to submit or update your bio here:  http://www.gcacwt.com/biographical-notes.html.

Share the News
Remember, if you're on Twitter, use the hashtag #gcacwt to promote the event. You can also find GCACWT on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/gcacwt.

If you have any concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me at gulfcoastwriters@gmail.com. I'm excited about meeting all of you. Thank you for supporting the Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers.

--
Best,
Jeff Newberry
President
Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers
http://www.gcacwt.com

Thank you, everyone, for your entries to the 2013 Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers Student Writing Competition. Entries are now closed. The submitted works will be forwarded to the judges, who will make their final decisions before the April 5-6 GCACWT conference at the University of South Alabama--Baldwin Campus in Fairhope. Winners will be announced at the conference.

Thanks again for your entries. See you all in Fairhope.

--
Jeff Newberry
President
Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers

Greetings GCACWT!

The deadline for the student writing competition is this coming Friday (March 1, 2013). We have only a few submissions thus far. Don't let the deadline slip by. Submit your best student creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry today.

March 1 is also the deadline for preregistration. You don't want to miss out on the reduced conference rate, so register today.

If you're coming to the conference, please take a few minutes to update (or add) your biographical sketch for the website. Please keep biographies to around 100 words.

There are still plenty of spots for readings of creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. To submit a reading request, simply visit our website at http://www.gcacwt.com.

The panels are starting to roll in, as well. Below is a list of  "open" panels, those panels that have been accepted but still need participants. If you'd like to be on one of these panels, simply click on "Panel Request" under "Fairhope 2013" at http://www.gcacwt.com. 

Open Panels

"A Sense of Place: A Sense of Self":  The Value of Place Consciousness in the Composition Classroom

This presentation will center on the use of a creative nonfiction assignment in the composition classroom.  Utilizing and valuing students' personal experiences, and in particular how their identities are shaped by the place(s) they have lived and grown, is an effective means of engaging students in the process of writing and self-discovery. In terms of the writing process, students learn the importance of and appropriate times for description, exposition, dialog, and develop a sense of narrative structure. Many of these lessons come about through a multiple draft process that incorporates peer review and a conference with the writing instructor. Textually, students have language restrictions that challenge them to discover effective ways of conveying meaning through the use of active verbs.  In terms of self-discovery, students are required to relate an  instance where their identity has been challenged through stereotyping, and also discuss how a particular person--who is not a parent--has functioned as a positive or negative role model. While some contend that creative nonfiction perpetuates a myopic world view—navel gazing, some call it—this particular assignment recognizes and values the self, but also urges the student writer to explore how the self fits into the larger world.

Participants:  John Schulze (chair), CD Mitchell

~

“Brackish:  Hybrid Poetries—A Roundtable Discussion”

The publication of American Hybrid was not the first mention of hybrid poetics, but Cole Swenson’s much-praised and much-maligned introduction did thrust the debate/discussion about hybrid poetry into the poetic mainstream, inspiring not only an AWP panel but also a follow-up essay that appears in The Monkey and the Wrench, edited by Mary Biddinger and John Gallaher. Swenson suggests that hybrid poetry is a “third-way” poetics, somewhere between “transcendent” and “immanent” poetics, combining elements of an edgy, progressive aesthetic with a more traditional, grounded and lyric aesthetic. This panel is a roundtable discussion of hybrid poetics with panel members and audience members offering their opinions and ideas about hybrid poetics.

Participants:  Brent House (chair), Jeff Newberry

~

Creative Writing, Ecology, and Ecocriticism:  Possibilities and Practices

Three years ago, the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history began a devastation of the Gulf Coast that continues to this day. This panel will discuss various conceptualizations of ecocriticism/ecopoetics and the general way in which we think about and care for our ecos, our home, as creative minds. Some concerns worthy of exploration are: how to write about ecological issues in a way that does not merely ornament or unintentionally agenda-drive the writing; how to distinguish “ecopoetics” from “nature poetry” (is that distinction necessary?); how to best create, disseminate, or consume literature—how much should that process itself be ecologically-oriented?; at a time in which it is now generally accepted that global warming is a problem, how necessary or helpful is it to continue distinguishing an “eco”-category of any particular field or practice? 

Participants:  Caroline Klocksiem (chair)

~

What are Editors Looking For?

This panel will feature editors from literary magazines and small presses around the region discussing submissions. They'll talk about what moves a submission to the top of the slush pile as well as what gives a submission a one-way trip to the rejection folder. This panel needs more small-press editors.

Participants:  Dominkia Wrozynski (Apalachee Review), Scott Sweeney (Grey Books), Kelly Jones (Bayou), Jason Stuart (Burnt Bridge)

~

So, send in your panel requests, reading questions, and student contest entries asap, folks. Time is quickly running out, and April edges closer each day. Before we know it, GCACWT '13 will be upon us.

If you're on Twitter, use the hashtag #gcacwt to promote the conference. Feel free to add me:  @NewberryJeff.  I'm very much looking forward to this year's conference. In the past few weeks, I've heard from several people who've never attended but will be in Fairhope this year. I'm looking forward to meeting you all.

Please don't hesitate to contact me at gulfcoastwriters@gmail.com.

--
Best,
Jeff Newberry
President
Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers
http://www.gcacwt.com

Greetings GCACWT!

I hope that this message finds you well. February has crept on by, and the March 1 deadline for student contest submissions is drawing close. We have only a few so far. Don't let the deadline slip by. Submit your best student creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry today.

March 1 is also the deadline for preregistration. You don't want to miss out on the reduced conference rate, so register today.

There are still plenty of spots for readings of creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. To submit a reading request, simply visit our website at http://www.gcacwt.com.

The panels are starting to roll in, as well. Below is a list of  "open" panels, those panels that have been accepted but still need participants. If you'd like to be on one of these panels, simply click on "Panel Request" under "Fairhope 2013" at http://www.gcacwt.com. 

Open Panels

"A Sense of Place: A Sense of Self":  The Value of Place Consciousness in the Composition Classroom

This presentation will center on the use of a creative nonfiction assignment in the composition classroom.  Utilizing and valuing students' personal experiences, and in particular how their identities are shaped by the place(s) they have lived and grown, is an effective means of engaging students in the process of writing and self-discovery. In terms of the writing process, students learn the importance of and appropriate times for description, exposition, dialog, and develop a sense of narrative structure. Many of these lessons come about through a multiple draft process that incorporates peer review and a conference with the writing instructor. Textually, students have language  restrictions that challenge them to discover effective ways of conveying meaning through the use of active verbs.  In terms of self-discovery, students are required to relate an  instance where their identity has been challenged through stereotyping, and also discuss how a particular person--who is not a parent--has functioned as a positive or negative role model. While some contend that creative nonfiction perpetuates a myopic world view—navel gazing, some call it—this particular assignment recognizes and values the self, but also urges the student writer to explore how the self fits into the larger world.

Participants:  John Schulze (chair), CD Mitchell

~


“Brackish:  Hybrid Poetries—A Roundtable Discussion”

The publication of American Hybrid was not the first mention of hybrid poetics, but Cole Swenson’s much-praised and much-maligned introduction did thrust the debate/discussion about hybrid poetry into the poetic mainstream, inspiring not only an AWP panel but also a follow-up essay that appears in The Monkey and the Wrench, edited by Mary Biddinger and John Gallaher. Swenson suggests that hybrid poetry is a “third-way” poetics, somewhere between “transcendent” and “immanent” poetics, combining elements of an edgy, progressive aesthetic with a more traditional, grounded and lyric aesthetic. This panel is a roundtable discussion of hybrid poetics with panel members and audience members offering their opinions and ideas about hybrid poetics.

Participants:  Brent House (chair), Jeff Newberry

~


Creative Writing, Ecology, and Ecocriticism:  Possibilities and Practices

Three years ago, the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history began a devastation of the Gulf Coast that continues to this day. This panel will discuss various conceptualizations of ecocriticism/ecopoetics and the general way in which we think about and care for our ecos, our home, as creative minds. Some concerns worthy of exploration are: how to write about ecological issues in a way that does not merely ornament or unintentionally agenda-drive the writing; how to distinguish “ecopoetics” from “nature poetry” (is that distinction necessary?); how to best create, disseminate, or consume literature—how much should that process itself be ecologically-oriented?; at a time in which it is now generally accepted that global warming is a problem, how necessary or helpful is it to continue distinguishing an “eco”-category of any particular field or practice? 

Participants:  Caroline Klocksiem (chair)

~
In addition to these panels, we'll also have an editor's panel ("What are Editors Looking For?"). If you're interested in being a part of any of these panels, please let me know (via http://gcacwt.com) and I'll put you in touch with the chairs.

I'm very much looking forward to this year's conference. In the past few weeks, I've heard from several people who've never attended but will be in Fairhope this year. I'm looking forward meeting you all.

Please don't hesitate to contact me at gulfcoastwriters@gmail.com.

Best,
Jeff Newberry
President
Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers

Greetings GCACWT!

Registrations, panel requests and reading requests are already starting to roll in, and I'm very excited about the 2013 conference.  If you've not registered yet, there's still plenty of time. The deadline for panel and reading requests is March 22, 2013. You can pre-register before March 1, 2013, and receive a discount. So register today at our website, http://www.gcacwt.com. Simply click on "Fairhope 2013" at the top of the page. 

Don't forget our student contests in creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. The March 1, 2013, deadline is quickly approaching. Read all about the student writing contest at the Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers website.

I also wanted to apologize for the original post about registration. The url for the GCACWT website was erroneously listed as a .ORG; the real website is http://www.gcacwt.com. My apologies to any of you who were having trouble.

Thanks again, and I hope you'll register today. We still have plenty of spots for readings. Keep your eye on our Facebook page, where you'll find updates from time to time.  Also, if you're on Twitter and you Tweet about this year's conference, hashtag it #gcacwt. Let's see if we can start a trend.

I'm so looking forward to seeing you all in Fairhope. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at either jnewberry@abac.edu or gulfcoastwriters@gmail.com. 

Thanks so much.

Yours,
Jeff Newberry
President
Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers

CALL FOR PROPOSALS (Readings & Panels)

GCACWT 2013
Fairhope, Alabama

Co-sponsored by the University of South Alabama—Baldwin CampusGulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers (GCACWT) Announces its 21st Annual Conference

April 5 and 6, 2013  at The University of South Alabama-Baldwin Campus, Fairhope, Alabama.

For the past twenty years, the Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers has held an annual conference designed specifically to provide a forum for teachers of Creative Writing (as well as graduate students interested in becoming teachers of Creative Writing). Traditionally, the conference allows faculty and students to present their creative work, while also allowing them an opportunity to discuss issues relevant to Writing/Creative Writing pedagogy and publication. In the past years, the conference has also become a place where writers interact with other writers, as well as a place where editors can locate local talent.

In addition to our usual readers and panelists, this year's conference will feature Erica Dawson as the keynote speaker. Erica Dawson is the author Big-Eyed Afraid. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Best American Poetry 2008, VQR, Alehouse Review, Harvard Review, Barrow Street, the Swallow Anthology of New American Poets, and other journals and anthologies. This  July, she continued work for the Sewanee Writers’ Conference; and, she attended the Key West Literary Seminar, as a featured guest, in winter 2010.  She teaches creative writing and literature at the University of Tampa. 

We will also feature a book room with attendee’s books for sale, as well as several literary journals representing states from the Gulf Coast region, such as Bayou,  Apalachee Review,Gulf Stream, The Southeast Review, The Texas Review, espresso ink, and Louisiana Literature, among others. Also, editors representing journals will be in attendance.We also offer a Student Creative Writing contest in poetry, fiction, and narrative nonfiction. For more information on the free contest, please visit our site at http://www.gcacwt.com.

The deadline for contest submissions is March 1, 2013.

Papers are invited on any aspect of creative writing including, but not limited to any of the following:

Original readings of fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry, Creative Writing pedagogical issues, Creative Writing in the Composition Classroom, Re-imagining Southern literature, Ecological Issues in Creative Writing, Online and Traditional Publishing, the Future of Publishing, and Roundtable discussions on a variety of issues.

To register for the conference, or to learn more about the Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writers, or for any and all inquiries about the conference, please visit our updated website at

http://www.gcacwt.com or contact GCACWT President Jeff Newberry at jnewberry@abac.edu.

-- 

Yours,
Jeff Newberry
GCACWT President

Greetings, GCACWT,

We're working hard behind-the-scenes to get out the information about the 2013 Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers annual conference. I'm excited about this year's conference, and I'm looking forward to seeing you all in Fairhope, Alabama. 

Keep an eye on this page for changes coming soon. Details are forthcoming, but here's what I can tell you:

• This year's keynote is the wonderful and talented Erica Dawson
• The conference will be on April 5 and 6, 2013, at the Fairhope Campus of the University of South Alabama
• This year, the reception will be on Saturday evening at the American Legion in Fairhope. We'll have the beach behind the American Legion, and we will have a cash bar and appetizers. 
  

If you've not already joined us on Facebook, join us here.

More news is forthcoming very soon, including registration information.

Best,
Jeff Newberry
President
Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers

So now that we have had a little time to recover and maybe even get caught up with our grading, I thought it would be a great time to touch base with everyone and say thanks for making Fairhope 2012 a great success. I am continually impressed each year by this community and its ability to come together from great distances and make Fairhope such an awesome conference.  

I’d like to give a special thank you to all those volunteers who helped manage the registration table, the book fair, as well as running errands, setting up and cleaning up all weekend. Specifically, I would like to thank the undergrads from ABAC: Matt McCullough, Mary Porter, Austin Flanders, and Alan Parks—and to the USF undergrads: Bob Varghese, Rochelle Germond, and Jerrod Metts—all led by the Mighty Matt Epperson. These folks really made it easy for all of us by taking in the lion share of the work both at the registration / book table and set up and clean up. As well, they delivered their first conference panel and a pretty awesome reading of their own writing.

I also want to give a shout out to the interns at Slash Pine for teaching us how to make pretty awesome chap books and to the first-time panelists from University of Montevallo lead by Bryn Chancellor. Nice Job, we hope to see you all again next year!

And we cannot forget the awesome reading Ravi did for us. Thanks again Ravi, for coming out and sharing your work with us.

I did want to announce that the student competition portion of the web site has been updated. Also, as the year progresses, keep an eye out for new updates.  I hope everyone has a great summer and I look forward to a great Fairhope 2013.

Best,

~jim