After swearing off doing conventions because I couldn't believe in them, it took a very special and amazing conference to get me to say yes to speaking once again. The Kentucky Women Writers Conference - the oldest in the U.S. - has asked me to participate in their 3 day conference next April and I couldn't be more thrilled or honoured! This is one worth coming out of the woodworks for and one I think will be of value not to just those who attend but to those of us who speak. It's about connecting with each other and that's something I'm definitely about - not about pushing books and collecting cool kid points.

About the Kentucky Women Writers Conference:

The Kentucky Women Writers Conference was established in 1979 by a group of women dedicated to the goal of bringing world-class writers and thinkers to the Central Kentucky region. In that first year, Conference organizers made good on their objectives by bringing Alice Walker, Ruth Stone, Maya Angelou, Tony Cade Bambara, and Ruth Whitman to Lexington. Since then, the Conference has become renowned for seeking out and showcasing emerging voices who have gone on to esteemed careers. (See Past Presenters list). We believe that one of the more significant benefits of the Kentucky Women Writers Conference is the intimacy of our event. Conference participants have incomparable access to authors, who are available both for readings and for smaller panel and workshop discussions. Authors, similarly, report enjoying the feeling of community associated with the Conference -- Gloria Steinem wrote us in 2004 to say, "I send my congratulations to the Kentucky Women Writers Conference for helping women to find voice, confidence and skill. Thanks to you, common dreams and unique talents are being heard in the world. I remember my time there in 1987 as one of warmth, encouragement and strong local voices. I only wish something like this had been part of my earlier life." In its history, the Conference has served as an important resource for the Commonwealth of Kentucky and beyond. We strive to create a space that invites people from all backgrounds to enjoy the literary arts, while remaining the premier literary event of the region. Each year, our registrants span from the young freshman just getting her feet wet as a critical thinker to the established writer who has his life's work behind him. For 26 years, the Kentucky Women Writers Conference has brought the best in women's letters to the Central Kentucky region, offering our registrants a distinctly intimate engagement with the life of the mind. Founded in 1979, we are the country's longest-running conference of this kind and the only conference to present contemporary women writers in a festival atmosphere of diverse teaching forms.