Wesleyan Writers Conference

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CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Please check this site frequently for updates. We will be announcing more program events soon. 

Faculty Members and Seminars

Seminars are led by award-winning writers who are also generous teachers. Each member of the conference faculty leads a daily seminar, usually including a short lecture, discussion, and (optional) writing exercises. You are welcome to attend as many of these sessions as you like. We suggest that you attend one seminar regularly and visit several of the others. See the schedule below, as well as the Faculty and Guest Speakers page.

Manuscript Consultations and Informal Conferences

If you register for a consultation, a faculty member or teaching fellow will meet with you privately to discuss your work. Sign up on the registration form.

During the week teaching fellows are also available to talk with you informally.

Time for Writing

Some people attend every event; others reserve part of each day for writing. Arrange your day in the way that suits you best. You will find quiet work spaces in the dorms and libraries and rolling lawns across the campus.

Guest Speakers

Speakers will talk about the writer's craft and, during the publishing panel, about the process of getting your work into print. See the schedule below. Also see Faculty and Guest Speakers page.

Arrival Information:

Boarding students’ arrival:
Wednesday, June 12, 5 -10 pm at Fauver dormitory, intersection of Church St. and Pine St.
You’ll check in at the lobby, and receive your info packet and keys.
Please note: no meals will be served until Thursday morning.

Boarding students, late arrival:
If you expect to arrive late, please let us know. After 11pm, your keys will be at Wesleyan’s Office of Public Safety, corner of High St. and William St.
Non-emergency number: 860-685-2345
Ask an officer there to escort you to your dorm room.

Boarding students arriving Thursday:
Please see directions for day students below.

Day students:
Thursday, June 13, 8-10:30 am at Usdan University Center Wyllys Ave, 3rd floor, our headquarters for the week. Participants’ check-in and the opening breakfast buffet begin there at 8:00 AM. Faculty introductions and the formal program begin there at 8:30 AM. If you’ll be arriving later in the day, please let us know.

 

PARKING:
Boarding students may park briefly in the driveway next to Fauver while registering. Afterward unloading luggage, you’ll move your car to the long-term parking Lot V on Vine St. Day students may use any campus lot except Lot E, which is reserved for Admissions Office visitors.

THE PROGRAM:
All events at the conference are optional. Be sure to attend your reader’s class regularly (if you have a reader) and attend several of the other sessions. If you’re having a manuscript consultation, your reader will announce the consultation schedule during the first class. Teaching Fellows will announce their schedule at lunch on Thursday. The guest speakers are an essential part of the program.

WHAT TO PACK:
Fauver dorm is new and air-conditioned and often chilly. You’ll have a small single room with a shared bathing area. The room contains a bed, bureau, chair, and overhead light. The linens provided include sheets, a thin pillow, a light coverlet, simple towels. Alas, this is not a hotel. We suggest that you bring soap, hangers, Kleenex, possibly a lamp or reading light. Once you’re settled, the room is fine. The weather here can range from 55 to 90 degrees, with frequent rain, so pack accordingly. This campus is hilly and you will need to do a lot of walking. The lawns are beautiful this year!

FACILITIES:
Wesleyan’s Olin Library is a lovely place to read, and it’s open to you during the day. Wireless connections are available across campus. Printers are also available, though budget cuts have reduced the hours that technical staff will be available to assist you. The Freeman Athletic Center is open to us on weekdays: hours will be announced.

 

An Overview of the 2013 Daily Schedule:

There are small variations in this schedule daily. Details will be announced closer to June. 

 

Room locations will be announced when you check in.

Most events will be held in the following three campus buildings:
Usdan University Center  ·  41 Wyllys Ave  ·  Allbritton Center

You will find these indicated on the campus map.




 SAMPLE DAILY PROGRAM
8:00-9:00 AM Breakfast
9:00-10:15 AM Seminar: Poetry 
10:30-11:45 AM
 Your choice of seminars: The Novel or Literary Journalism and Memoir
12:00-1:30 PM
 Lunch
1:30 PM
 Seminar: The Short Story
3:00 PM
 Guest Speakers, Readings, Panels
5:00 PM Informal Workshops
6:00 PM Dinner
8:00 PM

Guest Speakers, Readings, Panels
9:30 PM

Informal Readings, Other Gatherings      

 

You are welcome to adjust your schedule so that you have daily writing time. 

Manuscript consultations are scheduled by your faculty reader.

The conference concludes at 3:00 pm on Sunday, June 16.