AWP Conference Book Signing

My first conference ever, the AWP Conference in NYC, is fast approaching. Next week! I am prepared to be both thrilled and overwhelmed. According to the AWP Web site, there will be 7,000 people attending. (Is that even possible?!) Registration has long been entirely closed out.

There are some wonderful events listed, both on and off site. I have a long list of ones I'd love to attend, including the intriguing "The Poet's Notebook: Charles Simic and Bruce Weigl, A Reading and Conversation," "Show and Tell: Collaborations of the Verbal and Visual," "Bending Genre," "Mongrels in the Park: an Investigation of the Prose Poem," "1000 Words: Picturing Fictions," and way too many others to fit in. I'm looking forward to meeting writers I admire and editors who have been supportive of my work. The book fair should be great. And although it will only be open on Thursday and Friday to those who have pre-registered, the good news is that the book fair will be open to the public on Saturday.

Ann Rushton and Kelly Shriver, the lovely editors at Bound Off , a fascinating monthly audio literary magazine, have invited me to sign copies of Stirring the Mirror at their table, #422, on Saturday, February 2, 2008, from 10-11 AM. Fellow contributor Nick Antosca will be signing his books during the same time.

If you have time for a brief detour in your day, you can listen to my disembodied voice read "Yellow Chicken Claw" (from Stirring the Mirror) in Bound Off's second podcast:

"Yellow Chicken Claw"

I look forward to meeting some of you next week.