Preparing for the AWP 2010 Conference

The Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) will be holding its 2010 conference from April 7-10 in Denver, Colorado. Here's how to prepare if you plan to attend.

Preparing for the AWP 2010 Conference: Securing Accommodations

The AWP 2010 Conference will be at the Hyatt Regency Denver & Colorado Convention Center located at 650 15th Street. AWP has secured a discounted rate for conference attendees at the Hyatt Regency for $189 per night. If you want to save some money, see how many people you can pre-register and share a room with. Or you can take your chances and try to get a better deal at a hotel off-site through a discount travel site.

AWP brings a ton of visitors into a city, so if you are going to reserve a hotel room at the Hyatt Regency or at another Denver hotel, do it sooner rather than later. The last day to get the discounted AWP Conference rate at the Hyatt Regency is March 15, 2010, but the odds are high that the rooms will be booked long in advance.

Preparing for the AWP 2010 Conference: Reserving Bookfair Space and Submitting Proposals

Although the submission date has passed for panel proposals, as of this writing, there's still time to secure AWP bookfair space for your press or organization. You also have until October 15, 2009 to submit papers for the pedagogy forum.

Preparing for the AWP 2010 Conference: Pick your Events

The schedule of events will be posted on AWP's website no later than November 10, 2009. Featured speakers this year will include heavyweights Michael Chabon, Rita Dove, Etgar Keret, Leslie Silko, Gary Snyder, and George Saunders.

If the AWP Conference in 2009 was any indication, you better show up with a plan. Once a conference room is filled to capacity, no one else will be admitted to that particular event. If you don't have a plan and show up early, you may find yourself shut out of the events you most wanted to see.

Preparing for the AWP 2010 Conference: Pre-register

You can save both time and money by registering for the AWP 2010 Conference online. Badge prices are tiered depending on when you purchase them, with the lowest pre-registration prices available between September 1 and December 15. If you are a student or a presenter, you'll get an even bigger discount. Badge prices at the door are much higher than through the website.

As a first-time attendee at the AWP 2009 Conference in Chicago, I didn't realize how long it took to register and get a badge. I wasted a good hour of my life and missed an event because I figured it wouldn't be any big deal to pay at the door. Oh, was I ever wrong.

The advantage of pre-registering for the AWP 2010 Conference is that you can pick up your badge early. The AWP Conference always opens at noon on Wednesday to allow people to pick up badges and set up bookfair booths. Or, you can show up first thing on Thursday morning, walk around the long line of procrastinators clutching credit cards, and pick up your pre-printed badge.