National writers visit Bloomington

Continuing its tradition of fostering creativity and writing technique since 1940, the IU Writers' Conference will be holding its 64th annual conference starting Sunday. \nNational writers will visit Bloomington for the conference, which will be held in the Indiana Memorial Union through July 2. It will feature poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. \nIn the past the IUWC has attracted writers such as Kurt Vonnegut. This year there will be nine guest writers alongside IU Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing Alyce Miller. This will be her third Writers' Conference.\n"It is truly one of the best conferences in the country, and it generates a good deal of national attention," Miller said.\nOf these nine, only Li-Young Lee is not affiliated with a college or university. Lee won the Delmore Schwartz Memorial Poetry Award for his book, "The City in Which I Love You." These 10 writers each will teach four classes or six workshops -- three on poetry and three on fiction. Miller will teach fiction workshops.\nRegistration begins Sunday, and is followed by an optional dinner with the 10 authors. Readings will serve as the evening entertainment starting at 8 p.m., said IUWC intern Mary Anne Sommer. \nThe work will commence the following day. Presentation, panels, outings, readings and receptions will accompany the workshops and classes. The poetry and fiction workshops will run from 2 to 4 p.m. on Monday through Thursday. The final meeting on Friday will conclude by noon.\nThe four classes will not conflict with the workshops. Class titles include, "The Novelist on the Ground: Researching, Conceptualizing and Structuring Your Novel," which will be taught every day from 9 to 9:50 a.m.; "New Shadows: The Art of Inventive Poetic Imitation," which will be taught from 10 to 10:50 a.m.; "That Scary World, Out There (In Here): Conjuring Political Fiction," which will be taught from 11 to 11:50 a.m., and "Poetic Strategies of Subversion," which will be taught from 1 to 1:50 p.m. All classes will run Monday through Thursday. \nThere is a $50 application fee, and the combined cost for classes, panels, outings, presentations, readings and receptions is $350. After having a manuscript of fiction or poetry accepted, attending a workshop will cost an extra $150. \nFor an extra tuition fee of $200, two credits can be earned on the undergraduate or graduate level at IU. The credits can also be transferred to other universities. A revision of the manuscript, along with the original, due by Aug, 1, determines the grade. The credits can be transferred to other schools. To alleviate the high costs of the event, scholarships are available to those with the most impressive manuscripts.\nJodie Canada said they were happy to have a scholarship.\nThe conference will also have a table where they sell books of the 10 teaching authors. \n"This makes us unique among bookstores in town," Canada said. "We order them in especially for the conference. We try to get the older and more obscure books."\n-- Contact staff writer Benjames Derrick at bderrick@indiana.edu.