I went to the National Latino Writers Conference in Albuquerque last year and I'm looking forward to going again this year. I'm craving a second dose of the intense bout of learning and networking I experienced the first time around.
This year, I'm particularly looking forward to sessions with Cristina García, Jimmy Santiago Baca, Tim Z. Hernández, Demetria Martínez, Alisa Valdés-Rodríguez, and Marcela Landres (among others).
One of my favorite parts of the conference last year was getting my work reviewed and critiqued by some of the writers, agents and editors that are part of the conference faculty. And I'm looking forward to going through that process again this year.
Another favorite for me was meeting the many inspiring writers in attendance. Most of us got to read excerpts of our work during lunchtime general sessions. What a treat to hear so many diverse voices from across the US! And what a treat to meet kindred writerly spirits from my new backyard, such as Lorena Hughes of the Divine Secrets of the Writing Sisterhood blog who a few weeks later introduced me to some of her blogging sisters and also to the one and only Suze at Analog Breakfast. Other great folks I met at the conference were Sandra Toro, Liza Ann Acosta, Lydia Gil of La Bloga, and José "Pepo" Delgado.
So, you see why I was inspired and why I want to go back this year?
To download the full conference faculty listing and registration form, click on this National Hispanic Cultural Center link.
7 comments:
Thanks Raquel!! The feeling is mutual! It was such a pleasure to meet you and the other writers you mention. I mostly enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere and the chance to meet so many industry professionals and people of various backgrounds. It was so different from other conferences I've attended where everyone is in a rush to pitch before the agents/editors leave!
I'm curious about that rush to pitch you've experienced at other conferences. You mean folks are not as eager to talk to each other? It was actually my first conference of this sort so I'm curious to know more about how it compares to others.
What I meant about "the rush to pitch" is that since the other conferences I've attended have been one-day affairs, there is only a small window of time where you can talk to industry professionals about your project(s). Pitch sessions are usually in the afternoon (maybe 3-4 hours long?) while writers are attending lectures. But these conversations are monitored by a conference staff member (timer in hand) who makes sure you don't exceed your 10 minutes. Lunch seems to be the only "free" time (only one hour!) but then again other writers ALSO want to speak to agents (lots of awkward silences ensue because nobody wants to be the needy writer who starts pitching in front of everyone else. Ha!) And we've been warned plenty of times not to pitch in the bathroom! Since the Latino Conference is three-days long, writers know they'll have plenty of time to meet/talk to agents and that takes the pressure off and probably makes us look less like anxious salespeople and more like colleagues with a mutually beneficial product. You see what I mean? :-)
If you want to know more, I wrote about my conference experiences (aka: horror stories) here:
http://divinesecretsofthewritingsisterhood.blogspot.com/2010/12/agents-dont-bite-how-to-maximize-your.html
Thanks for such great conference insights. That was a great post!
Lore's been trying to sell me on it. :)
I second the motion! Lets put that on the "agenda" (ha!) for when we see each other. Un abrazo.
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