Job #4 Booth Babe and Beyond - AWP Conference, Boston
From March 6th – 9th I went to the AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) conference in Boston with Fourteen Hills: The SFSU Review. Fourteen Hills is a literary journal and small press run by Creative Writing graduate students at San Francisco State University. The AWP conference is an annual gathering of writers, publishers, presses, educators, journals, and the overall literary minded . During the 3-day conference over 12,000 people gathered to attend readings, see a panel of speakers address topics from Modern Fairy Tales & Retellings to Literary Nonfiction and Social Activism, and gain access to the nation’s most comprehensive book fair. There are over 800 booths and tables at the conference, one of which Fourteen Hills occupied on the second floor.
I traveled to Boston with Miah Jeffra, Editor-in-Chief, Ari Moskowitz, Fiction Editor, and Kelly McNerney, former editor for Fourteen Hills. We touched down just before a classic two-day East Coast storm hit, and I woke to 9 inches of snow covering the sidewalk and streets. Being a California native, I was worried that I was going to be ill prepared for urban East Coast weather. This concern was augmented by the knowledge that I was traveling with three East Coast transplants. However, I was extremely grateful for my years spent snowboarding in Tahoe, and I was looking pretty smart with my base layer and cold weather gear. After a treacherous morning commute, we arrived at the Hynes Convention Center and began the grueling process of registration. It was a tricky task to get me registered with Fourteen Hills as I am not an affiliate of SF State, but lucky for us the AWP made a clerical error in our favor and I got my pass at no additional charge.
My first task with my team was to transform our two card tables and 10’ x10’ space into a noteworthy display. Working with limited resources, I hung two banners, secured a few bookstands, and arranged the seven titles that we had brought with us across the tables in a way that made the booth look full yet organized. Still, something was missing. I made a mad dash and to bring a little California sunshine to our booth in the form of yellow daffodils and chocolate chip cookies.
Before arriving to AWP I was under the impression that my sole responsibility with the group was going to be a sort of “literary booth babe”, speaking with attendees about the publication. However, I knew the company I was with, and saw the potential to lend my skills in other ways. Miah, Kelly and Ari were all very well versed in the content of the journal. They knew who’s-who, and the most appropriate people to reach out to at the AWP, but they lacked some basic networking skills. Here we were at the biggest gathering of professionals in their field, and they did not even have business cards. On location, I made a quick and dirty card design and ordered a rush printing for the remainder of the event. As they were meeting a lot of influential people, I showed each of them how to write notes on the back of each card they received, to refresh their memory of who they needed to follow up, with and what they had discussed face to face. I developed a schedule so that everyone at our booth could attend important lectures or readings, and the booth would be manned at all times. I posted photos to their Facebook page and tweeted updates to their Twitter handle at every turn, to promote the booth and get people to stop by. In a sense my role with the group shifted from a more supportive role into management, and they were grateful that I took over the responsibility.
I myself had attended conferences and large trade shows previously, and had a good idea of what to expect. In the early 90’s I went to Comdex with my father and in college I attended the Photo Marketing (PMA) conference in Las Vegas. In my last job, I spent some time at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, so I knew what to expect: large crowds, information overload, and feeling inundated by the enormity. At the AWP I was a visitor, an outsider given access to an unfamiliar industry. My interest in attending was to learn about the actual production of a conference--from the attendees setting up booths to the professionals in charge of organizing the entire event. I did not have the opportunity to schedule any meetings or make connections with event organizers in advance, but I went out on a limb and hoped that by simply showing up and explaining my mission that I would get introduced to the appropriate people. And, as luck would have it I did--I met Cynthia Sherman.
Cynthia is a recent addition to the AWP. She started working with them in 2012, bringing over 15 years of experience in exhibits and meeting management. With the help of a small team she is responsible for launching the entire conference. The AWP is hosted in a different city each year, and in order for them to happen successfully, they are planned up to fours years in advance. Before a city site is announced contracts must be settled with the city, the convention center, vendors for shipping and catering, hotels, etc. Even the floor plan must be signed off by a fire marshal. All of this has to be arranged well in advance. Cynthia requires a minimum of two site visits before the conference and arrives a full week before the event to oversee all the finishing touches.
After a quick introduction, Cynthia allowed me to follow her around the conference grounds and observe how she operates on a more intimate level with presenters and attendees. She made courtesy visits to all booths and responded to notes left for her at the help desk. Many people knew her on a first name basis. She never looked rushed or stressed, and she took an extraordinary amount of time to speak with everyone she encountered, making sure to iron out any unforeseen bumps. She introduced me to a lot of professionals that found my story interesting, and I became acquainted with many presenters on a level that was personal enough to make connections between like-minded individuals. I even witnessed her conduct a little customer service in the elevator. She inquired with a badge holder how he was finding the event, looking for another opportunity to provide support.
When I think about hot-shot CEOs, clawing, kicking, and ruthlessly pushing their way up a corporate ladder, It makes me feel a little sick inside. With a heavy heart I have always wondered if this is the only way to succeed in business. When I meet someone as open and friendly as Cynthia was to me, I am filled with hope that there are better methods, to succeed in your career without having to trade your soul for it. When Cynthia and I went our separate ways she left me with one piece of advice: “Don’t boil your inner frog,” an old expression which, simply put, means be true to yourself and be aware of your surroundings.
The majority of the writers I met have a day job separate from their craft. They earn an income and then pursue their writing in isolated conditions. They don’t go to an office everyday. They don’t collaborate or have project meetings on the progress of their work. They have unyielding passion for the each others’ work, and AWP provided a community forum for them to geek-out on their collective enthusiasms. For me, watching my friends and strangers getting so excited was something I was delighted to witness and support. There were countless times that Kelly was visibly shaking from a conversation she just had, or literary legend she had just met. The conference was more than a networking event or educational opportunity. It reinforced a sense of purpose in the work that everyone there shares in creating. In an industry that is a constant battle for authors and publishers to be recognized, the AWP provided the additional push for all creative types to keep working and supporting each other.
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