Conversations & Connections: Practical Advice on Writing
April 12, 2025, American University, Washington, DC
Conversations and Connections is a one-day conference organized by Barrelhouse in person at American University in Washington, DC on April 12, 2025.
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What is Conversations and Connections?
Conversations and Connections is a one-day writer's conference that brings together writers, editors, and publishers in a friendly, supportive environment. The conference is organized by Barrelhouse magazine, and has been held for the past 15 years in Washington DC, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia. The April 12 conference is our 28th Conversations and Connections. All proceeds go to participating small presses and literary magazines, and to Barrelhouse.
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What do you get with your $85 registration fee?
For your registration fee, you get the full day conference, including the featured authors reading/QA, and 3 craft workshop/panel sessions, plus your choice of choice of 1 out of our 4 featured books. Through our “partner press program,” you’ll also be able to allocate $25 to one of our participating literary magazines or small presses, each of whom is offering a different incentive — a subscription, a book, a poster, something else— for your donation.
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Who should attend?
We strive to make Conversations and Connections truly practical and valuable for all writers. If you’re just getting started and trying to figure out how this all works and where your place might be in the literary community, we’re the conference for you. If you’ve published a fair amount of work and are l0oking to re-energize your writing practice, focus on specific elements of craft, and connect with editors, publishers, and other writers who are doing the same, we’re the conference for you. All are welcome and we really strive to focus on the second part of our title: practical advice on writing!
Register Now!
For a limited time we have 20 reduced rate early bird/gift registrations available! Just $75. Click the button below.
With your registration you’ll get: the full day conference, including three sessions of panel discussions and craft workshops, your choice of 1 of our 4 featured books, more literary stuff from our partner presses, 1 ticket to speed dating with editors, a 10 minute, and a 1-on-1 meeting with a literary magazine or small press editor.
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The Death and Life of August Sweeney, by Sam Ashworth
NOVEL. SANTA FE WRITERS PROJECT.
"One of the most sumptuous and inventive novels I've read in years. I flew through this book." --Tania James, author of Loot
"In life and in death, the body offers a map of our experience. In August Sweeney, Samuel Ashworth takes us on a journey of how the hard living of a chef is both a joy and a punishment. I loved it." --Tom Colicchio -
It All Felt Impossible, by Tom McAllister
ESSAYS. ROSE METAL PRESS.
In this meditative and lyrical collection, Tom McAllister challenges himself to write a short essay for every year he’s been alive. With each piece strictly limited to a maximum of 1,500 words, these 42 essays move fluidly through time, taking poetic leaps and ending up in places the reader does not expect. Funny, insightful, and open-hearted, It All Felt Impossible aims to tell the story of McAllister’s life through brief glimpses, anecdotes, and fragments that radiate outward and grapple with his place in the culture at large.
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Two More Books To Be Added Soon!
Program Schedule
Note: We will be forming the conference schedule in early January 2025.
General Schedule (all times are U.S. eastern standard time):
9:00: Welcome
9:30 — 10:30: Session 1 panel discussions and craft workshops
10:45 — 11:45: Session 2 panel discussions and craft workshops
12:00 — 2:00: Speed dating with editors; online Write-In; Lunch
2:15 — 3:45: Featured author readings and QA
4:00 — 5:00 Session 3 panel discussions and craft workshops
5:00: Post conference reception
What Our Attendees Say
Literary Magazines and Small Presses
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Autofocus Literary is a publisher of artful autobiographical writing in any form: personal essay, memoir, confessional poetry, journals & diaries, letters & e-mails, bits & pieces of each of these, and other work that makes art from your life. We publish a book imprint, an online journal, and a podcast. The imprint, Autofocus Books, specializes in work that fits, and occasionally stretches, the boundaries of our interest in literary autobiography. We launched in early 2022 and currently publish six to eight books a year.
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Barrelhouse is a literary organization that puts out a print magazine, runs a small press, organizes the writers conference Conversations & Connections, the retreat Writer Camp, and online Write-Ins, and publishes reviews, interviews, and issues online.
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In Short: A Journal of Flash Nonfiction is an independent literary magazine for short-form creative nonfiction. We publish flash of 1,000 words or fewer, micros of 400 words or fewer, and short-shorts of 100 words or fewer. By publishing short-form work, we aim to provide a platform for writers who lack the time and resources typically needed for publication.
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Santa Fe Writer’s Project was founded in 1998 by Andrew Gifford and is dedicated to artistic preservation, recognizing exciting new authors, and bringing out of print work back to the shelves through an eclectic catalog of fiction and creative nonfiction, an online quarterly journal, and an annual Awards Program that has been judged by writers such as Benjamin Percy, Emily St. John Mandel, Jayne Anne Phillips, Robert Olen Butler, and many others. Find out more at www.sfwp.com.
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Stanchion is an independent quarterly print literary magazine and book press founded in the suburbs of Philadelphia during the tumultuous summer of 2020 by editor-in-chief and one-man band, Jeff Bogle. The magazine is printed on thick uncoated A5 paper and features short stories, flash fiction, CNF, poetry, one-act plays, drawings, collage art, and black & white photography.
Stanchion is an inclusive space, a paying publication and press with no fees, and is a safe home for diverse voices from around the globe. (partner press incentive: Issue 13 and the first Stanchion book, The Woman's Part, PLUS a bookmark and stickers).
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Taco Bell Quarterly is the literary magazine for the Taco Bell Arts and Letters. We’re a reaction against everything. The gatekeepers. The taste-makers. The hipsters. Health food. Artists Who Wear Cute Scarves. Bitch-ass Wendy’s. We seek to demystify what it means to be literary, artistic, important, and elite. We welcome writers and artists of all merit, whether you’re published in The Paris Review, rejected from The Paris Review, or DGAF what The Paris Review is. First and foremost, TBQ is about great writing. It’s about provoking and existing among the white noise of capitalism. We embrace the spectrum of trash to brilliance. Taco Bell Quarterly has tens of thousands of readers. We’ve been interviewed or mentioned in Vox, Salon, Food and Wine Magazine, Mental Floss, Yahoo, The Guardian, The New York Post, Publisher’s Weekly, Literary Hub, Bon Appetit and dozens more.
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Washington Writers’ Publishing House is a non-profit, cooperative literary organization that has published over 100 volumes of poetry since 1975 as well as fiction and nonfiction. The press sponsors three annual competitions for writers living in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, and the winners of each category (one each in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction) comprise our annual slate. In 2021, WWPH launched an online literary journal, WWPH WRITES to expand our mission to further the creative work of writers in our region. In 2024, WWPH launched our biennial works in translation series. More about the Washington Writers' Publishing House at www.washingtonwriters.org
American University’s MFA in Creative Writing Program is our host for the conference.
For more than 30 years, writers have come to American University to develop their work and exchange ideas in the District’s only creative writing MFA program.
Our graduate workshops provide a rigorous yet supportive environment where students explore a range of approaches to the art and craft of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. As an MFA student at American University, you are free to pursue a single genre or explore several. You will acquire a deeper understanding of your own work and hone your skills in a collaborative setting. This two-year, 36-credit-hour MFA program integrates writing, literary journalism, translation, and the study of literature to prepare students for a range of career possibilities. Write, give feedback, and receive guidance from a close-knit community of respectful peers and faculty.
In the MFA program, you'll find lawyers, military veterans, musicians, teachers, and business executives who are passionate about the written word. In addition to our prestigious Visiting Writers Series, our MFA program publishes Folio, a nationally recognized literary journal sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences at American University in Washington, DC. Since 1984, we have published original creative work by both new and established authors. For more information, contact us at lit@american.edu.
Speed Dating With Editors is a 10 minute, 1-on-1 workshop with an editor
With your registration, you get one ticket to “Speed Dating with Editors,” a 10 minute, 1-on-1 meeting with a literary magazine or small press editor where you’ll receive direct feedback about your work.
What works best?
We’ve found that the following things work best: a flash story or essay, the first few pages of a longer story or essay, or a poem.
Paper!
It's easiest for the editors if they're reading paper, so please print out and bring along copies of whatever you intend to workshop
We’ll match you up.
The logistics and timing don’t allow for you to choose the editor you’d like to work with. We’ll make sure nonfiction work is read by nonfiction editors, poetry by poetry editors, etc, but the situation doesn't allow for everybody to choose their editor. You’ll be matched up with an editor by our volunteers.
Location and Logistics
The conference will be held at American University’s Kerwin Hall
Address
Ward Circle Bldg, Kerwin Hall
4400 Massachusetts Ave NW #270
Washington, DC 20016
Google Map:
Click here to open the map in a new window
Parking and Directions and Other Logistics:
Parking, walking directions, wi-fi, and eventually food and coffee information are available on this Google document. We’ll continue to update this doc with relevant information as we get closer to the conference.
