Registration
Standard Registration: $750
Registration Opens Monday, February 26, 2024!
Includes access to:
- Two 3-hour introductory, intensive Master Classes with faculty in a select track:
- Poetry Track: One 3-hour introductory intensive workshop with Nikki Grimes, and one 3-hour introductory intensive workshop with Jillian Hanesworth.
- Memoir Track: One 3-hour introductory intensive workshop with Will Schwalbe, and one 3-hour introductory intensive workshop with Kwame Alexander.
- Children’s Literature Track: One 3-hour introductory intensive workshop with Ann Marie Stephens, and one 3-hour introductory intensive workshop with Kekla Magoon and Cynthia Leitich Smith.
- Opening keynote and reception, closing keynote, all featured speaker events, all mix and mingle events, and Pitchapalooza event (American Idol for authors)
- All genre-centric panels and publishing panel
- Book fair and signings
Accommodations booked separately; see below for options.
Make Your Accommodations Now for Early-bird Rates!
Stay in our historic Athenaeum Hotel situated on Chautauqua Lake.
Use Promo Code ‘Writer’ when booking to save with our early-bird rates until April 30, or while vacancy lasts.
Or look for other accommodations around Chautauqua!
Student Registration: $375
(Must provide valid student ID at Registration)
Includes all components of standard registration. Registrant must be an Undergraduate or Graduate student in a creative writing, professional writing, or English program with a valid student ID.
Institutions hoping to sponsor the attendance of their undergraduate or graduate students may do so at discounted registration rates. Contact Emily Carpenter at ecarpenter@chq.org, or Stephine Hunt at shunt@chq.org.
Accommodations booked separately; to book your accommodations at a discounted student rate, please contact Emily Carpenter (ecarpenter@chq.org) or Stephine Hunt (shunt@chq.org) for your discount code.
Director
Kwame Alexander
KWAME ALEXANDER is a poet, educator, producer and #1 New York Times bestselling author of 40 books, including Why Fathers Cry at Night, An American Story, The Door of No Return, Becoming Muhammad Ali (co-authored with James Patterson), Rebound, which was shortlisted for the prestigious UK Carnegie Medal, and The Undefeated, the National Book Award nominee, Newbery Honor, and Caldecott Medal-winning picturebook illustrated by Kadir Nelson.
Kwame is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, The Coretta Scott King Author Honor, Three NAACP Image Award Nominations, and the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award. In 2018, he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic in Ghana, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an international literacy program he co-founded. In January 2023, a Kennedy Center-commissioned national tour for young audiences began for Alexander’s musical Acoustic Rooster’s Barnyard Boogie: Starring Indigo Blume, which is based on two of his beloved children’s books, Acoustic Rooster and Indigo Blume.
Kwame is also the Executive Producer, Showrunner, and Emmy-winning Writer of The Crossover TV series, based on his Newbery-Medal winning novel of the same name, which premiered on Disney+ in April 2023. The Crossover was produced in partnership with LeBron James’ SpringHill Company and Big Sea Entertainment, Kwame’s production company where he serves as CEO and Co-founder, dedicated to creating innovative, highly original children’s and family entertainment.
Other current projects in development at Big Sea include America’s Next Great Author, the groundbreaking reality television series for writers, and an animated series based off of the book The World of ¡Vamos! by Raúl the Third, in partnership with Sony Pictures Television – Kids (formerly known as Silvergate Media).
A regular contributor to NPR’s Morning Edition, Kwame is the creator and host of the Why Fathers Cry podcast, premiering September 2023, featuring conversations about love and parenting and loss, with fathers and sons.
Additionally, Kwame regularly serves as a keynote and guest speaker at hundreds of thousands of schools, libraries, organizations and conferences around the world. He has shared his passion for literacy, books and the craft of writing at events like the Chautauqua Lecture Series, the Edinburgh Book Festival, Aspen Ideas, Asheville Ideas Fest, and the Global Literacy Symposium in Ghana, where he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic in Ghana. Most recently he was appointed the Rudell Artistic Director of Literary Arts and Writer-in-Residence at the Chautauqua Institution.
His mission is to change the world, one word at a time.
2024 Schedule
Tuesday, June 18
3–6 p.m. | Registration | Poetry Makerspace
6 p.m. | Intention Setting and Mindfulness Session with Rachel Glowacki | Smith Memorial Library
6:30 p.m. | Opening Keynote: An Evening in the Stacks with Kwame Alexander |Smith Memorial Library
8 p.m. | Opening Reception | Smith Memorial Library
Wednesday, June 19
7–7:30 a.m. | Align the Spine, Heart and Mind (Chair Yoga and Writing Practices) | Ballroom, Alumni Hall
7:30–8:30 a.m. | Registration | Octagon
8:30–11:30 a.m. | Writers’ Labs
- Poetry Lab with Nikki Grimes | Poetry Room, Alumni Hall
- Memoir Lab with Will Schwalbe | Ballroom, Alumni Hall
- Picture Book Lab with Ann Marie Stephens | Prose Room, Alumni Hall
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | Industry Workshop: Query Letter Review with Literary Agent, Lori Kilkelly | Accepted Applicants Only
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. | Writing Circles | Lunch on your own.
1–2 p.m. | Panels
- Picture This: Connecting with Early Readers through Storytelling | Panel: Raul the III, Ann Marie Stephens, Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, Eileen Robinson (Moderator) | McKnight Hall
- The Versatility of Verse: Poets’ Roundtable | Panel: Jillian Hanesworth, Noah Falck, Kwame Alexander (Moderator) | Fletcher Hall
2:15–3:30 p.m. | Industry Workshop: Public Speaking for Authors with Kwame Alexander | Fletcher Hall
4–5 p.m. | Not All Heroes Wear Capes: The Power of Graphic Novel Storytelling | Featuring: Raul the Third, Jerry Craft, and Lori Kilkelly (Moderator) | Fletcher Hall
5–7 p.m. | Writing Circles. | Dinner on your own.
5:30–6:30 p.m. | Industry Workshop: Query Letter Review with Literary Agent, Lori Kilkelly | Accepted Applicants Only
7 p.m. |Everything Happens, Live: An Evening with Safiya Sinclair and Kate Bowler | Fletcher Hall | Event Open to the Public, Purchase Tickets at tickets.chq.org ($29)
Thursday, June 20
7–7:30 a.m. | Align the Spine, Heart and Mind (Chair Yoga and Writing Practices) with Rachel Glowacki | Ballroom, Alumni Hall
8–11 a.m. | Writers’ Labs
- Poetry Lab with Jillian Hanesworth | Poetry Room, Alumni Hall
- Memoir Lab with Kwame Alexander | Hall of Philosophy
- Fiction for Children Lab with Kekla Magoon & Cynthia Leitich Smith | Prose Room, Alumni Hall
11:15 a.m.–1:15 p.m. | Writing Circles | Lunch on your own.
1:30–2:45 p.m. | Panels
- Coming of Age: Fiction Writing for Children and Young Adults | Panel: Jerry Craft, Dee Romito, Kekla Magoon; Eileen Robinson (Moderator) | McKnight Hall
- The Story of Us: Crafting the Memorable Memoir | Panel: Will Schwabe, Nikki Grimes, Safiya Sinclair, Charlotte Matthews (Moderator) | Fletcher Hall
3:15–4:45 p.m. | Industry Workshop: How to Publish Your Book with The Book Doctors, Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry | McKnight Hall
5–6 p.m. | Author Study: Indigenous Representation in Children’s Literature with Cynthia Leitich Smith and Stephine Hunt | Fletcher Hall | Event Open to the Public
6–7:30 p.m. | Writing Circles. | Dinner on your own.
7:30–9 p.m. | Pitchapalooza | The Book Doctors, Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry | McKnight Hall | Event Open to the Public
Friday, June 21
7:45–8:30 a.m. | Summer Solstice Mindful Movement by the Lake with Rachel Glowacki | Location: Miller Park
9–10:15 a.m. | Real Talk: Demystifying Publishing with Industry Experts | Panel: Will Schwalbe, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Eileen Robinson, Kwame Alexander (Moderator) | Hall of Philosophy
10:30 a.m.–12 p.m. | Closing Keynote: “You are not a robot. Yet.” with Kate Bowler | Hall of Philosophy | Event Open to the Public
12:30–2 p.m. | The Chautauqua Book Fair at the Library & Bestor Plaza | Event Open to the Public
2–5 p.m. | Writing Circles | Lunch/Dinner on your own.
Keynotes
Opening Keynote and Reception: An Evening in the Stacks with Kwame Alexander
KWAME ALEXANDER is a poet, educator, producer and #1 New York Times bestselling author of 40 books, including This is the Honey, Why Fathers Cry at Night, An American Story, The Door of No Return, Becoming Muhammad Ali (co-authored with James Patterson), Rebound, which was shortlisted for the prestigious UK Carnegie Medal, and The Undefeated, the National Book Award nominee, Newbery Honor, and Caldecott Medal-winning picture book illustrated by Kadir Nelson.
Kwame is also the Executive Producer, Showrunner, and Emmy-winning Writer of The Crossover TV series, based on his Newbery-Medal winning novel of the same name, which premiered on Disney+ in April 2023. The series was produced in partnership with LeBron James’ SpringHill Company and Big Sea Entertainment, Kwame’s production company that is dedicated to creating innovative, highly original children’s and family entertainment. Other current projects in development at Big Sea include America’s Next Great Author, the groundbreaking reality television series for writers.
A regular contributor to NPR’s Morning Edition, Kwame is the creator and host of the Why Fathers Cry podcast, premiering September 2023, featuring conversations about love and parenting and loss, with fathers and sons. He regularly shares his passion for literacy, books and the craft of writing around the world at events like the Chautauqua Lecture Series, the Edinburgh Book Festival, Aspen Ideas, and the Global Literacy Symposium in Ghana, where he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic in Ghana. Most recently he was appointed the Rudell Artistic Director of Literary Arts and Writer-in-Residence at the Chautauqua Institution.
His mission is to change the world, one word at a time.
Everything Happens, Live: An Evening with Safiya Sinclair and Kate Bowler
SAFIYA SINCLAIR was born and raised in Montego Bay, Jamaica. She is the author of the memoir How to Say Babylon, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Kirkus Prize, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, a Washington Post Top 10 Book of 2023, one of The Atlantic’s 10 Best Books of 2023, a TIME Magazine Top 10 Nonfiction Book of 2023, a Read with Jenna/TODAY Show Book Club pick, and one of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2023. How to Say Babylon was also named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker, NPR, The Guardian, the Los Angeles Times, Vulture, Harper’s Bazaar, and Barnes & Noble, among others, and was an ALA Notable Book of the Year. The audiobook of How to Say Babylon was named a Best Audiobook of the Year by Audible and AudioFile magazine.
She is also the author of the poetry collection Cannibal, winner of a Whiting Writers’ Award, the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Metcalf Award, the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Poetry, the Phillis Wheatley Book Award, and the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry. Cannibal was selected as one of the American Library Association’s Notable Books of the Year, and was a finalist for the PEN Center USA Literary Award and the Seamus Heaney First Book Award in the UK, and was longlisted for the PEN Open Book Award and the Dylan Thomas Prize.
Sinclair’s other honors include a Pushcart Prize, fellowships from the Poetry Foundation, Civitella Ranieri Foundation, the Elizabeth George Foundation, MacDowell, Yaddo, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, The Nation, Poetry, Kenyon Review, the Oxford American, and elsewhere. She is currently an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Arizona State University.
Closing Keynote Lecture: “You are not a robot. Yet.” with Kate Bowler
In the face of AI, we have never felt more necessary and more useless as writers. But our authenticity is the lifeblood of creativity. In this lecture, historian Kate Bowler reflects on the contested modern history of what it means to be authentic. As we develop our voices as writers and thinkers, we are doing something unimaginably vital: we are becoming human.
KATE BOWLER, PhD is a three time New York Times bestselling author, award-winning podcast host, and an Associate Professor of American Religious History at Duke University. She studies the cultural stories we tell ourselves about success, suffering, and whether (or not) we’re capable of change. In her twenties, she became