Thank you for your interest in offering a session at AWA's online retreat this October 4-5. The theme of this year’s retreat is Staying With the Words: Writing as Witness, inspired by Pat Schneider’s reminder that “When we stay with the writing, rather than focus on the writer behind the words, no subject is too big.” Our Keynote Speaker this year will be Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew.

We polled our community and identified some key subjects we'd like to offer sessions on:

1. Working with specialized populations: there is strong interest in expanding reach and trauma-sensitive facilitation.
2. Business Development: Visibility, marketing, reaching new audiences. There is also interest in expanding longstanding workshop models and building sustainable programs.
3. Genre and Writing Craft: Creative Non-fiction, Narrative Essays, and Lyrical Essays were the most selected
genres of interest, followed by Memoir and Poetry. Micro-fiction, hybrid forms (e.g., hermit crab, form poetry), and specific forms (e.g., songwriting, SoulCollage) also received interest.
4. Productivity & Writing Practice Support: revision techniques or developing short pieces for publication were top priorities, followed by structuring the writer’s life for productivity.
5. Publishing and Industry Navigation: Getting published in literary journals, approaching agents/traditional publishers, and navigating self-publishing.