Participating in this annual conference has been invaluable for my professional development, giving me to the opportunity to hear fellow writers and teachers share conversations about pedagogy and technique. Stand-out events of the ones I attended this year included: “Re-visioning History in Creative Nonfiction,” “Writing the Investigative Memoir,” and “Speak Memory: the Power and Politics of Retrospective Narration.” I mention these three for the sake of brevity, but also because each of these conversations were particularly instructive in helping illuminate further aspects of narrative nonfiction and storytelling, which is directly related to my writing courses. The first two, specifically, helped expand my understanding of the ways that research and forensic investigation might be implemented in personal writing, which is directly relevant to my immersion writing class (English 425) and my course on creative nonfiction (English 325). Whereas, the final one was beneficial in terms of thinking about the role of the narrator in fiction, which I discuss regularly in not only my flash fiction course (English 292) and my writing workshops (English 323 and 423), but also when I teach literature courses. In fact, I’ll be teaching English 304 this fall, and several of the novels in this course—most notably, Julie Buntin’s Marlena—employ this technique in useful ways. And I look forward to revisiting this title with the teaching of these speakers in mind.

Further, as a practicing writer, I have found the conference valuable not only for exposing me to new ideas and ways of approaching the craft, but also in renewing professional connections that benefit both my teaching and my writing. For example, I was able to meet author Lacy M. Johnson in person after having invited her to my English 425 class in the winter as a visiting speaker via the Course Connections program. Being able to connect in this way helps create professional ties, which continue to benefit my students via introducing them to accomplished authors in the field. Likewise, I was able to sit down with the editor-in-chief of Poets & Writers magazine, which is the most influential literary publication in the US. Doing so helps maintain my relationship with the organization, where I’ve served as a contributing editor for the last decade. I was also able to pitch several ideas for future pieces with the magazine, which I would not have been able to do so effectively if this exchange weren’t in-person.