Conversation and Connections: A Lit Conference Review, by Sarah Tollok
Editor’s Note: The following article originally appeared in Write or Die, the in-house magazine of Chill Subs. We were looking to write some content about our conference, Conversations and Connections: Practical Advice on Writing, which is coming back to Philadelphia on September 23, and will be our 25th conference, and thought hey that review Sarah Tollok wrote for Write or Die might be just the thing! Even though it includes a note about the biggest mistake Dave Housley ever made in organizing 24 conferences! A thing he will certainly not do again! Thanks to Sarah and Write or Die for allowing us to reprint this review.
So there I was, white-knuckle driving through Washington D.C. on a sunny spring day. I was lured out of rural Northwestern Virginia by the Conversations and Connections writing conference hosted by Barrelhouse Mag. Just as I was cursing myself for driving right past what my GPS told me was the entrance to the parking area, a woman standing at the lot’s entrance hailed me over. Apparently, among all the cars driving by in our nation’s capitol that morning, I clearly had “confused writer” written all over my face. I turned around in a church lot full of boy scouts loading up for an outing. My fairy godmother of parking then kindly informed me that the conference had accidentally put the wrong address on the website and that the correct parking lot was actually just around the corner. After that initial glitch, it was smooth sailing.
I’m always on the lookout for writing events that offer both quality content and a chance to network in person with those in the writing community. I love generative workshops and those that get you thinking about style, structure and techniques in new innovative ways. At really large events though, I tend to shrink to the back of the conversation, hindered by my own anxieties and fears, doubting what I could possibly contribute in this room full of “real writers.”
The conference’s website informed potential participants that Barrelhouse wanted them to have a relaxed, cozy and personal experience. I had contacted the conference directors to ask about this prior to the big day. Dave Housley explained that he and conference co-founders Susan Muaddi-Darraj and Julie Wakemann-Linn wanted everyone to feel comfortable and accepted, from writers who are new to the writing scene as well as those who have been attending such events for several years.
Dave put my own anxieties into words when he wrote to me, “We all started out at some point, and we’ve all had imposter syndrome or felt like we didn’t belong in some particular cool kids club, so we really want to make folks feel like they belong here and they’re welcome.”
I was heartened by how he added, “We generally don’t take ourselves too seriously and hopefully that rubs off and sets the right tone.”
9:00: Welcome
During opening remarks, Dave was extremely welcoming. He expressed heartfelt appreciation to attendees and panelists alike. He explained everything in our packets and how the day would progress, and cracked jokes about coffee delivery being late.
The day’s events included 3 blocks of presentations, with four or five options to choose from in each block. Topics spanned a variety of topics such as writing craft, writing life, and publishing. The writing craft sessions specified poetry, fiction, or nonfiction, but it seemed like the skills taught could be applied across the literary board.
9:30 — 10:30: Session 1 panel discussions and craft workshops
The first session I attended was Drafting as Prototyping: How to Apply Design Thinking to Your Writing Process, with Marguerite Sheffer and Tierney Oberhammer. The enthusiastic and warm presenters encouraged attendees to embrace the messy side of the creative process instead of constantly pursuing perfection, as the latter often leads to getting stuck. They guided us all in applying the tenets of design thinking—commonly used by artists and engineers to unlock creativity and solve sticky problems—to our writing process. We were taught five practical strategies for bringing exploration, play, flexibility, and possibility into our writing. My favorite activity involved writing 25 possible ways to solve any problem that you are stuck on. Marguerite shared that she often found that the craziest but most eye opening items usually happened around the 20-25 mark.
10:45 — 11:45: Session 2 panel discussions and craft workshops
After a little break to stretch and grab coffee (which did arrive as promised), I took in Getting Hands-On with Metaphor with Holly M. Wendt. Before we got started, Holly instructed us to visit one of the tables at the front of the room to pick up materials to use during the writing exercises. They had laid out items such as fabric squares, hard candies, crystals and modeling clay for us to choose from. During the session, Holly encouraged us to look deeper into well-known and overused metaphors, to describe objects using metaphors that evoked all of our senses, and to analyze how some masters of the art of metaphor were able to layer on so much detail and nuance with just one simple comparison. Holly was truly passionate about the subject matter. They encouraged all of us to not be afraid to mine the specialized topics that we were total nerds about to infuse intricate and multi-faceted metaphors into our writing. The session was a superbly effervescent glass of champagne, bubbly and light at just the right moments but with hidden depths of flavor. It left me with the perfect buzz humming inside of me. See what I did there? Metaphor, baby!
12:00 — 2:00: Speed dating with editors; online Write-In; Lunch
There was then a two hour time period from 12-2 during which participants could head out to grab lunch and also participate in a session of “Speed Dating with Editors.” Included with registration was one ticket for a speed dating session, a 10-minute, 1-on-1 meeting with a small press or literary magazine editor where one would receive direct feedback about one’s work. Everyone was instructed to “kick it old school” and bring a paper copy of a flash story or essay, the first few pages of a longer story or essay, or a poem. I brought the first 4 pages of the first chapter of my forthcoming novel, Bookstories. I waited out the initial huge line, grabbed my lunch from the car and headed to a bench. The line continued to be really long. Since I didn’t have anything with me that I was still trying to find a home for, I mentioned to Dave Housley that if I didn’t get in, it was fine. He was having absolutely none of that and moved me to the front of the line in the last 20 minutes. This didn’t displace others from getting a chance though, as those in line at that point had already been through once and had purchased an additional ticket for a second round.
When in line I spoke with a lovely short story writer named Jessica who shared that although her first session was “nerve-wracking,” the feedback, both specific and broad, was extremely valuable. When my session started, Dave personally paired me with Monica Prince from Santa Fe Writers Project. I tried to play it cool. I am familiar with SFWP and I recognized Monica from their website and her social media. I quickly realized my case of nerves was completely unfounded. Monica was very welcoming and sweet. She gave me feedback about my pages, helped me to get a handle on how to best describe the genre, and she even asked about how the rest of the story played out.
With a few minutes left, I asked Monica about her experience on the other side of the table, both in speed dating and as a panelist. She said that she loved the speed dating sessions because it “contextualizes why we do what we do.” She spoke of favorite moments with Barrelhouse’s conference over the years, such as knowing that her feedback on pieces helped to launch them. There were even a few occasions when Monica fell in love with an author’s pages and asked them to send her the rest of their book to read for possible publication with SFWP. She felt it was good for the writers, especially those just starting out, because they were able to put faces to the names of editors, demystifying the interactions that often only took place over email and Submittable.
2:15 — 3:45: Featured author readings and QA
As everyone wandered back from lunch and came down from the high of speed dating, we assembled for the panel of featured authors to read from their works. First up was Neema Avashia who read from her essay collection Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place. She spoke about wanting to share her truth about her childhood in West Virginia, adding an alternate voice to the often white male-dominated narratives of rural America. Next up was Davon Loeb, who read from his lyrical memoir, The In-Betweens. In his breathlessly beautiful reading, he shared about losing a childhood friend to the insidious indoctrination of racism and the confusion and rage it brought out in his younger self.
After those memoirs came works of poetry and fiction. Justin Marks read from his poetry collection If This Should Reach You In Time. He brought global ecological and societal threats, so often discussed in an abstract and distant manner, into a more intimate and immediate space. Lastly, the audience heard from Karan Madhok. He read from his debut novel, A Beautiful Decay. The postmortem narrator examined the meaning of his own life via how others processed his death, a racially motived murder. Through the juxtaposition of how his mother still daily mourned him by sitting in and tending to his childhood bedroom in the city of Varanasi, India, and how his death was reported on by an American media outlet, the narrator walked the line of one’s micro and macro place in the world.
Directly following the readings, conference attendees were able to access one of the conference perks – free books! We were each able to pick a book from one of the four featured authors. It was a mighty tough decision. Ultimately I chose Neema Avashia’s collection, as I live a stone’s throw from the West Virginia border. Later I also visited the table in the lobby to choose which of the partner presses I wanted to direct a portion of my admission fee to. Some of them offered benefits such as free journal subscriptions or books with the donation. Since I was so grateful for the speed date I had with Monica Prince, I pledged my contribution to SFWP. In return, I walked away with a copy of It’s Not Nothing by Courtney Denelle.
4:00 — 5:00 Session 3 panel discussions and craft workshops
For the last session of the day, I attended Publishing Paths: The Pros and Cons of Traditional, Small and Self-Publishing, with E. J. Wenstrom. Despite some minor technical difficulties, Ms. Wenstrom presented the information about the Big 5, small/indie publishers, self publishing and hybrid agencies in a very clear and organized manner, hitting on the pro’s and con’s in the areas of gatekeeping, creative freedom, and money flow.
Thank you to all the organizers and presenters at Conversations and Connections. Your goal of hosting a comfortable and cozy conference was absolutely accomplished. It was an outstanding day. I learned new skills, met some great people, and heard some really incredible writing. I realized after the fact that my usual imposter syndrome had fallen away pretty quickly. These ARE my people. I am a writer. I’m a confused writer most days, but a writer nonetheless.
Sarah Tollok, a multi-genre writer, lives in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Sarah has a story in the anthology Things Improbable with Improbable Press, and will be included in upcoming anthologies with Alan Squire Publishing and Clandestine Press. Her debut book, Bookstories, will be published by Balance of Seven in 2024. You can find Sarah on twitter and Goodreads by name, on Instagram as Sarah_Tollok_author_reader, and at SarahTollok.com.