There’s good news and there’s better news:
Last night’s “reading” wasn’t actually a reading — it was just a final excuse for all us writers to gather and enjoy each other’s company over a few drinks before we all dispersed to our various corners of the country. And that was wonderful. Despite how noisy and crowded the bar was, the whole evening was low-key and friendly and a perfect way to wind down our AWP.
And better still: the company was amazing, and it included a lot of people I’d been hoping to see but hadn’t yet run into! I didn’t get any photos last night, though Meg Tuite filmed a bunch of us, but if you’ll allow me to share some names with you: I was thrilled to meet Mike Joyce and Teri Lee Kline (and her charming husband!) and Doriana Maria Lareau, and we all enjoyed one last chance to utter the most common phrase of AWP, “I know you on Facebook!” And I was delighted to see my friends Gay Degani, Meg Tuite, Robert Vaughan, Bill Yarrow, Len Kuntz, and Karen Stefano — we all had a wonderful time discussing our conference and our various new writing projects and our plans for AWP in LA next year.
Tomorrow, look for one last post: a final recap of my conference as well as — and more importantly — a lengthy list of the writers I met and the books I bought, complete with links to writers’ websites and ways to buy your own books.
And finally, I’ll leave you with Mary Richards as she looked at 4 am on my way to the train this morning, because we all need a little Mary Richards in our lives:
Samuel Snoek-Brown 