AWA Updates from President
Dear AWA Members, April 20, 2009
This update concerns the following:
(1) AWA Virtual Conference for 2009 and follow-up from 2008 conference
(2) AWA ABOY Nominations for books published in 2008 extended to May 10, 2009 to gain 5 nominations in each category
(3) AWA Awards, OCAL, and Contests to continue via virtual conference - more info to follow in coming week
(4) Dr. Walton leaving Morehead State May 15 to become Faculty at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio
(5) Need assistance to maintain website and membership since Dr. Walton will eventually lose access to MSU website
AWA Virtual Conference and 2008 conference information
Over the past few years, AWA has faced a number of challenges. Like many organizations, we have experienced a decline in participation, primarily participation at the annual conference in July. We have seen some decline in membership, contest entries and awards nominations as well. Our 2008 AWA conference held in Morehead, Kentucky demonstrated just how dire the situation has become, with only about twenty percent of registered AWA members in attendance. Last summer it seemed that $4.00+ for gas hindered many from attending the conference at Morehead State University. Members present had conversations that carried into the Business Meeting. AWA has features that distinguish the AWA from other writers' associations. We offer special awards. First, the Outstanding Contribution to Appalachian Literature (OCAL) honors those whose careers have built broader recognition of our literature as a whole. Next, our Appalachian Book of the Year Awards (ABOY) recognize individual achievement in fiction, poetry, prose, and children's literature. Although we offer a number of contests in various genres for work yet to be published, our awards have had the mutual benefits of acknowledging deserving achievement while presenting our efforts to further Appalachian writing of merit. While it would be easy to disband AWA, the OCAL and ABOY awards have meaning that resonates beyond our modest circle of writers. AWA deserves preservation.
To that end at the business meeting in July 2008, we discussed how we can continue as an organization if we suspend our annual conference indefinitely. The AWA would require a well-maintained host website and a carefully monitored email distribution list. It would, as now, need an accurate, up-to-date listing of current members and potential members. We could continue to offer both our OCAL and ABOY awards and our contests, eliciting nominations and contest entries from our members at large. Our new, temporary form would differ from our current form only in that most of our interaction would be through the Internet. We would, in essence, become the "virtual AWA."
AWA Virtual Conference
This "virtual AWA" would permit us to reassess the directions our organization can pursue. In the past, AWA conferences have focused on all types of matters with varying degrees of success. Writers workshops have always performed well, but academic presentations have enjoyed uneven attendance. In some years, the emphasis on publications and sales has taken precedence, with uneven results as well. Writing and the celebration of writing has earned the higher regard from our conference participants, and perhaps our "virtual AWA conference" should focus attention there. We can always add a page that lists publishing opportunities as part of the website and take advantage of the web's flexibility.
Such a change in the nature of our organization will require, of course, a reconsideration of dues and fees (already modest to promote more regular participation), a stable site maintained by an officer, and most of all a dedication to restore the foundation of AWA: a commitment to writing. I hope that in the upcoming months, the AWA can offer you more details about upcoming changes. I hope that you will find them worthwhile enough to continue or renew your ties to the AWA.
Most of these virtual thoughts derived from an email from Dr. Thomas Alan Holmes, a long standing member.
ABOY Nominations acceptance date moved to May 10 to increase the nominations to ensure that we have 5 nominations in each category.
OCAL Nominations - info to be updated within next two weeks
Contests - info to be updated within next two weeks
Dr. Christina Walton, AWA President
