Alumni and Friends of the University of Iowa Social

Alumni of the University of Iowa, friends of "The Writing University," colleagues and fans of writing and communication, please consider adding this event to your conference calendar. We'll be serving hors d’oeuvres and non-alcoholic beverages, and a cash bar will be available. We'll also be giving away some door prizes including some great books by great UI writers (are you surprised??). So...good conversation with great friends and colleagues...what an absolutely great way to close your travel day and kick off #AWP24!

11th Annual Rock and Roll Reading

Fifteen readers read for just the length of a song. All pieces are about or inspired by rock and roll or any of its precursors or offshoots. Readers include Matt Bell, Aina Hunter, Roy Kesey, Melissa Faliveno, and Tracy Brimhall. No cover.

Masking is strongly encouraged but not required.

Alan Squire Publishing

Come celebrate the amazing authors of Alan Squire Publishing! Featuring contributors to our new anthology Already Gone, James J. Patterson, and more! This event will take place in the convention center hotel, room to be announced. 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Braving the Body: Book Launch

Nicole Callihan, editor of the new anthology Braving the Body, will host this launch reading. Poets reading include Mary Jo Bang, Jan Beatty, Lauren Camp, Meg Kearney, Erika Meitner, and more! Appetizers, plus cash bar.

Off-site Translator Meetup with ALTA and WWB

Join the American Literary Translators Association and Words Without Borders for a translator meetup at Parlor KC, 0.7 miles from the Kansas City Convention Center! Food and drinks available for purchase.

Literary Rule Breakers: Kansas City Edition

For some writers, rules are rules. For others, rules are meant to be broken! In this off-site reading in the backroom of the downtown Made in KC Cafe, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00ish p.m, three fiction writers, one non-fiction writer, and three poets will read a short piece or excerpt for five to seven minutes that breaks some sort of "rule" of writing, then explain what rule they are breaking. Featuring Gwen Kirby, Jennifer Pullen, Sarah Einstein, Brad Modlin, Joy Baglio, Jennifer Moore, and Annah Browning. Free drink ticket for the first eighteen guests.

As If Conjured: A Poetry Reading Celebrating The Familiar & Her Extraordinary Friends

Celebrate the launch of Sarah Kain Gutowski's new fabulist, absurdist narrative-in-poems, The Familiar at Bliss Books & Wine with extraordinary poets and friends Jessica Cuello (Yours, Creature), Cynthia Marie Hoffman (Exploding Head), Hyejung Kook (Poetry as Spellcasting), Eugenia Leigh (Bianca), Marcus Myers (Cloud Sanctum), and Enzo Silon Surin (American Scapegoat). Light refreshments will be served, with drink tickets offered to the first twenty at the door.

Placing Words: The Writers Place Presents Five Poets

The Writers Place features readings by poets Phyllis Becker, Joe Benevento, Donald Levering, Al Ortolani, and Sarah Rosenthal. Hosted by Phyllis Becker, James Benger, and Rick Christiansen. Includes light reception.

Green Writers Press, Mouthfeel Press, & Noemi Press at Café Corazón

Green Writers Press, Mouthfeel Press, and Noemi Press are excited to welcome you to our off-site event on February 8, 2024 at Café Corazón, 110 Southwest Blvd, Kansas City, MO, a nine-minute walk from the Kansas City Convention Center (or a quick Uber ride). We will have the entire café reserved for food and drink, relaxing after the day’s events, and selected readings from a few of our authors. The incredible variety of culture, food, language, and music—fostered and appreciated by Latinx cultures—provides beauty and inspiration to us all, and this is what Café Corazón reflects. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

Lily Poetry Review Books

Lily Poetry Review Books celebrates with Amanda Shaw, Jules Jacob, Robert Carr, Robbie Gamble, Eric E. Hyett, Anne Elezabeth Pluto, Kelly DuMar, Phoebe Reeves, Laura Van Prooyen, Jennifer Jean, Jennifer Martelli, Ron Mohring, Hannah Larrabee, Mary Buchinger, Eileen Cleary, and Suzanne Mercury.

Sonnets and Cider

Join us for an intimate reading with a few of the contributors to our recent Belle Point Press anthology, Mid/South Sonnets. As Charlotte Street is a smaller venue, free registration is required to attend and will be capped at twenty-five. In addition to introductions and conversation with editors C.T. Salazar and Casie Dodd, we'll be joined by the following poets: George David Clark, Ashley M. Jones, Steven Leyva, Aurielle Marie, mónica teresa ortiz, Hiba Tahir, Jim Whiteside, and Matthew Wimberley. Light refreshments will be provided.

Registration is required to stay within room capacity.

Placing Words, Part Two: The Writers Place Presents Six Poets

The Writers Place features readings by poets James Benger, Beth Gulley, Sarah Gutowski, John Moessner, Joshua Robbins, and Patrick Stockwell. Hosted by James Benger and Beth Gulley. Includes light reception.