If you’re like us, you’re gearing up for AWP and are equal parts excited and overwhelmed by the sheer plentitude of writers, events, and offsite activities. That’s to say nothing about all that Portland offers beyond the walls of the Convention Center. So many options! Thank god for the daily yoga offerings and the Dickinson Quiet Space—we’ll need a few moments of quiet here and there. But planning is key, and so to help you best wrangle all that’s on offer at AWP, we’ve rounded up a few of the most helpful links out there.
The first is obvious but not to be overlooked. The official AWP attendee guide is full of useful information and tips, along with lots of nice, glossy pictures. Scrolling through it with a pen and notepad is a good place to start.
This page by writer Paulette Perhach really is key. It has links to a webinar about how best to navigate AWP while staying sane and (also) having a good time, a pre-made Google map of the Convention Center and downtown Portland with all the AWP essentials (including best places for coffee, breakfast, and even a few walks to seek some peace and quiet) and a pretty useful list of tips (which include preparing a good elevator pitch and making sure your AWP app profile is filled out and ready to go so you can tell anyone you meet to find you later on the app). Paulette Perhach also has a good list of #AWPtips on Twitter, so follow her at @pauletteperhach and search #AWPTips for more useful advice. Also, if you text WELCOME to 444999 she’ll send you a lot more resources, including checklists, reminders, a packing guide, and even a conversation starter guide for the socially awkward (who, us?). Good stuff there, guys, good stuff.
If that’s not enough for you, here’s another list of tips compiled by The Writer.
Meanwhile, if the official event schedule has you cross-eyed, The Portland Review has compiled a shorter list of AWP highlights, mostly featuring their own contributors and alumni, but it’s a bit more manageable and also highlights some offsite events for after-hours. Elsewhere, The Rumpus has put together their own list of recommended events.
And of course, don’t forget to come to the kickoff event sponsored by CutBank at Dig a Pony on Wednesday night, 8pm. There will be readings by Soma Mei Sheng Frazier and Joan Naviyuk Kane, our 2018 Chapbook winners, and a DJ to follow. And stop by our table at the book fair (T6025) for a chat, a button, the two newly released chapbooks, and the brand new issue of 89!
See you in Portland!
