Texas Association of Creative Writers
TACW Annual Conference
October 24-26, 2024
McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center
Texas Tech University, 17th and University
Lubbock, TX 79409
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We welcome individual submissions of creative work as well as proposals for group panels involving pedagogy, craft skills, publishing tips, collaborations, and university programs. Panels should list all presenters and offer a summary of the panel’s proposed topic. Panels should not include more than four presenters. Individual writers should simply provide the genre they would like to read. Send all applications to President Jill Patterson at tacwt14@gmail.com by July 1, 2024. Acceptances to the program will be announced by August 1, 2024.
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Like our other conferences, the 2024 TACW gathering will begin just after lunch on Thursday, October 24th, and will run through Saturday, October 26th, at noon. We will hold an opening reception on Thursday night. All panels and the Thursday night reception will be held on Texas Tech’s campus at the McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center, 17th and University Avenue.
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​Our lodging headquarters will be The Cotton Court, a boutique hotel that members loved last year. It has a private courtyard where we can gather in the evenings as well as a restaurant and bar (with live music) onsite. It is also within walking distance of several beloved local restaurants. To reserve your room at the conference hotel, call The Cotton Court or use the link below to access the conference's private reservation site. Reservations must be made by October 1, 2024. To secure the conference discount by phone, mention that you are with the Writers Conference hosted by Texas Tech University.
210-220-3054
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Conference fee: $105 ($65 registration + $40 membership dues)
Student Registration: $35 total (membership free/discounted registration)
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Conference Schedule
All panels will take place in the McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center
located at 17th and University, Lubbock, TX 76409.
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Thursday, October 24, 2024
1:00 Registration |
Lobby of McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center
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1:30 Welcome | Plains Capital Room
Leslie Jill Patterson, President
Texas Association of Creative Writers
1:45 - 3:00 Video Essays | Plains Capital Room
Leslie Jill Patterson, Moderator
Price Bigham (Lubbock)
Brody Shappell (Lubbock)
Brock Allen (Lubbock)
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3:15 - 4:15 Minority Voices in Trump Country |
Plains Capital Room
Steven Moore (Abilene)
Daniel Garcia (Abilene)
Daniel Ooi (Abilene)
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4:30 - 5:30 Nonfiction Readings | Plains Capital Room
John Schulze (Wichita Falls)
Kimberly Parish Davis (Lake Dallas)
Jim Sanderson (Beaumont)
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5:30 - 7:30 Reception |
Lobby of McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center
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Friday, October 25, 2024
8:15 to 10 Light Breakfast |
Lobby of McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center
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​8:45 - 9:45 Madville Poets | Plains Capital Room
Steven Moore (Abilene)
Earl Braggs (Chattanooga, Tennessee)
Daniel Mendoza (Rio Grande Valley)
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Nonfiction Readings | Alexander Room
Jennifer Tubbs (Lubbock)
Moumin Quazi (Stephenville)
Jess Smith (Lubbock)
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10:00 - 11:20 Poetry Readings | Plains Capital Room
Robin Carstensen (Corpus Christi)
Heather Myers (Denton)
T J Geiger (Lubbock)
Scott Yarbrough (Plano)
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Fiction Readings | Alexander Room
Grace Harmon (Beaumont)
Nana Boateng (Lubbock)
Wade Crowder (Dallas)
Terry Dalrymple (San Angelo)
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11:30 - 12:30 History in Creative Works | Plains Capital Room
William Wenthe (Lubbock)
Jim Sanderson (Beaumont)
Sidney Balman (Alpine)
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Poetry Readings | Alexander Room
Chris Ellery (San Angelo)
Emma Aylor (Lubbock)
Dan Williams (Fort Worth)
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12:30 - 2:00 Lunch
2:00 - 3:20 Non-Texans Write West Texas | Plains Capital Room
Jess Smith (Lubbock)
William Brown (Lubbock)
Josh Luckenbach (Lubbock)
Naveed Alam (Lubbock)
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Nonfiction Readings | Alexander Room
Nikki Lyssy (Lubbock)
W. K. (Kip) Stratton (Austin)
Shantanu Manke (Lubbock)
Cheryl Clements (College Station)
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3:30 - 4:45 Poetry Readings | Plains Capital Room
Lyman Grant (Austin)
Linda Masi (Lubbock)
Austin Allen James (Houston)
William Wenthe (Lubbock)
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Nonfiction Readings | Alexander Room
Jo Anna Gaona (Lubbock)
Kat Moore (Denton)
Laurie Champion (Davie, Florida)
Jill Talbot (Denton)
4:50 Business Meeting
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Saturday, October 26, 2024
8:15 to 10 Light Breakfast |
Lobby of McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center
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8:45 - 9:45 Texas Publishers | Plains Capital Room
Katie Cortese (Lubbock)
Kimberly Parish Davis (Lake Dallas)
Dan Williams (Fort Worth)
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Nonfiction Readings | Alexander Room
Price Bigham (Lubbock)
T J Geiger II (Lubbock)
Leslie Jill Patterson (Lubbock)
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10:00 - 11:20 Feedback as Craft | Plains Capital Room
Kat Moore (Denton)
Heather Myers (Denton)
Anna Chotlos (Denton)
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Poetry Readings | Alexander Room
Vanessa Robinson (Abilene)
Meghan Giles (Lubbock)
Jennessa Hester (Lubbock)
Claire Phillips-Latham (Houston)
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11:30 - 12:30 Fiction Readings | Alexander Room
Jessica Joplin (Wichita Falls)
Moumin Quazi (Stephenville)
Sidney Balman (Alpine)​​​​