PRESS RELEASE: NIMROD AWARDS CONFERENCE FOR READERS AND WRITERS
Nimrod International Journal’s 2015 Conference for Readers and Writers will take place on October 17th at the University of Tulsa. Featuring nationally known writers and newly discovered award-winners, this conference is also distinctive in bringing editors to meet one on one with writers who want individual critiques and guidance toward refining their work.
Participants will be offered the opportunity to work with over forty distinguished authors, including the judges for the annual Nimrod Awards contest and other visiting artists. This year’s judges are two distinguished writers—Pulitzer Prize finalist Karen Russell, author of Swamplandia!, and Tina Chang, Poet Laureate of Brooklyn and author of Of Gods & Strangers.
Other guests include such celebrated authors as fiction writer Molly Antopol, a Stegner Fellow and author of The UnAmericans, a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree; young adult writer Jennifer Latham, author of Scarlett Undercover; YA fantasy writer Sarah Cross, author of Kill Me Softly; mystery writer Megan Abbott, author of The Fever, nonfiction writer Hector Tobar, author of Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine and the Miracle that Set Them Free; and Oklahoma Poet Laureate Benjamin Myers, author of Lapse Americana; and over thirty other professional writers and editors eager to share their talent and experience.
The conference will feature masterclasses, readings, panel discussions, and one-on-one editing sessions. Each workshop and panel is designed to stimulate ideas and discussion and to inspire and improve participants’ writing. Not only will participants be able to attend classes with award-winning authors, but they will be able to interact with them during coffee breaks, lunch, and informal talk sessions.
After the choice of two opening panel discussions, one a general writing advice session and the other a Q&A session on editing and publishing, participants will choose from a wide variety of masterclasses. There will be classes on writing fiction, poetry, memoir, mystery, nonfiction, and young adult literature and fantasy; ways to attract the attention of literary agents; and more. Just a few of the class titles: “Diversified: Incorporating Real-World Diversity into Young Adult Fiction,” “Down a Dark Alley: Atmosphere in Crime Fiction,” “Write About a Box: Taking the Fear out of Writing Your Memoir,” “The Fantasy Writer’s Cupboard: Fairy Tales, Folklore, and Myth” and “Writing with Questions: Empathy, Intimacy, and Interviewing in Nonfiction.” All are designed to encourage dialogue, share experience and expertise, and leave space for discovery. Most sessions will also include writing exercises, and all will have time for questions.
Those who pre-register and send their brief writing samples by October 10th will have the opportunity to sit down one on one with an experienced editor to discuss their work. These sessions are unique to Nimrod’s conference and are a conference favorite every year.
Lunch for registered participants will be accompanied by readings by Tina Chang and Karen Russell. An invitational reading with other featured guests and a group book-signing will end the day.
Each registrant is entitled to participate in readings, panel discussions, masterclasses, and one-on-one editing sessions. The cost of Saturday’s conference is $60.00, including lunch. Full and partial scholarships are also available, but each participant must register. Those who wish to participate in a one-on-one editing session must send in the registration form and 2-3 pages of poetry or 4-5 pages of fiction by October 10th. Professional development credit is available for Tulsa Public School teachers.
Nimrod also offers a special Two-Day Pass to attend both the writing workshop and the Awards Dinner the night before, October 16th. The Awards Dinner honors the winners and judges of Nimrod’s annual writing contest. It will feature a keynote address by Pulitzer Prize-nominee Karen Russell and readings of poetry and fiction by award-winners Heather Altfeld, Leila Chatti, J. D. Wiley, and Emily Wortman-Wunder. A ticket to the dinner alone is $65. The Two-Day Pass to attend both the dinner on Friday and the workshop on Saturday is $100.
For registration forms and more information, including dinner and scholarship information, please contact Eilis O’Neal at 918-631-3080 or e-mail: nimrod@utulsa.edu or visit the Nimrod website: www.utulsa.edu/nimrod.
