Presenter Guidelines

Event organizer: The event organizer serves as the primary event contact and acts as the liaison between AWP and the event participants. The event organizer must submit all relevant paperwork and confirm all event particulars with AWP, including participant contact information, scheduling requests, and/or audiovisual needs. Should the event be cancelled without cause or the presenters fail to hold the event, AWP reserves the right to not accept for consideration any event proposals from the organizer for the next conference.

The organizer will not be listed as an event participant or identified as such in the conference program unless the organizer self-identifies as a moderator or participant in the proposal. If the event organizer wishes to be listed in the conference program and/or take part in the event, they must be included on the list of participants.

Moderator: Events should have a designated moderator, who may also be the event organizer. The moderator is considered an event participant and is expected to adhere to AWP’s participation guidelines, policies, and limitations. The moderator’s short biography will be included in the online conference schedule.

The event moderator oversees and manages the event proceedings, ensuring the event observes the following:

• that presenters are introduced to the audience at the beginning of the event
• that presenters speak for no more than their allotted time and that their presentation, discussion, and/or reading time is managed appropriately within the seventy-five-minute time frame for in-person events or the sixty-minute time frame for prerecorded virtual events
• that presenters who read from or discuss their own work during a panel discussion, as opposed to an event designated as a reading, do so in a limited capacity (not longer than five minutes) and only to expand upon the discussion of other texts, authors, or subjects
• that the moderator and the panelists adhere to AWP’s presenter guidelines, policies, and limitations

Participant: Also commonly called presenters, participants in events are those who have been added to a conference event proposal by the event organizer.

AWP can take scheduling requests up to September 1, 2026. With so many events, the schedule is challenging to balance in terms of category, subject matter, and presenter scheduling requests; therefore, AWP cannot accept requests based on preference alone. Scheduling requests must be accompanied by a work, family, health, or religious reason that explains the difficulty of participation during a particular day and time. To make a scheduling request, please email [email protected] with the event title, the presenter scheduling request, and the reason for the scheduling request.

Once the full schedule is released, the assignment of time and space for events is final. AWP cannot consider scheduling changes. If presenters are unable to participate in an event at its assigned time, AWP reserves the right to cancel the event.

Our attendees invest a considerable amount of time and expense to attend the conference. For these reasons, AWP works hard to ensure every event at the AWP Conference & Bookfair realizes its full potential. Our attendees expect that

• presenters will prepare for their event prior to their arrival,
• presenters will present on the issues related in the event description,
• presenters will engage the audience,
• presenters will not simply read directly from written statements, and
• presenters who read from or discuss their own work during a panel discussion, as opposed to an event designated as a reading, do so in a limited capacity (not longer than five minutes) and only to expand upon the discussion of other texts, authors, or subjects.

Events that are selected for inclusion on the official conference schedule should take the time to review the following best practices.

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

Moderators should prepare an advance outline of how the event will be executed. Presenters should have notes prepared for their presentation. While we appreciate literary improvisations and liberty, we also appreciate depth of thought and concision. We value prepared presentations that reflect well on the presenters, the conference, and AWP.

Events are accepted in part based on the strength of the description submitted during the proposal process. Unless changes have been approved by AWP, these descriptions are used to advertise accepted events to the attendees, who expect that the event descriptions will accurately describe how the event will be executed. Please be advised that moderators and presenters whose presentations do not align closely to the event description are ranked very poorly on individual event surveys.

Engage the Audience

The best panels are often those that take time to engage the audience directly. For this reason, we discourage reading directly from prepared written statements and instead recommend brief presentations and openness to debate.

All in-person presenters should use a microphone at all times. Even if you are able to project your voice to professional theatrical levels, always assume there are hard of hearing audience members who will need you to use the microphone.

The moderator should introduce and identify all presenters in the order in which they are sitting. It’s also helpful if presenters sit in the same order they are listed on the online schedule and in their event outline.

All in-person events should plan for questions from the audience. All questions should either be repeated from the podium microphone or shared via a provided wireless microphone to be passed around the audience. Microphones should be used at all times to facilitate the participation of audience members who are hard of hearing.

All prerecorded virtual events should review the Virtual Event Proposals & Process page for information on connecting with virtual attendees.

Begin & End Your Presentation On Time

Moderators and all presenters must make sure their events begin and end on time. Please keep in mind there is usually another event following on the schedule and that attendees need time to clear the room or may wish to take a break between events. Presenters should prepare between five and seven pages of notes for a presentation among four panelists. In-person presenters should expect to devote fifteen minutes to exchange between the audience and presenters during the question-and-answer period.

For a reading, we encourage presenters to choose their material in advance, rehearse and time their reading (including any prefatory remarks to a story or poems), and make sure the reading falls within the time they’ve been allotted. Presenters should be courteous to their fellow readers by keeping their presentations brief and avoiding needless shuffling of pages. If a panelist is reading different sections from a printed book, they may find it convenient to mark the pages beforehand.

Event Outlines

Once again this year, event organizers and moderators will be able to upload an event outline directly to their accepted event. For the 2027 conference cycle, event outlines will be mandatory, and events without outlines uploaded by February 17, 2027, will be removed from the schedule.

An outline can include any written remarks you have prepared, reading material you plan to share, or a list of moderator questions. This event outline will be available for attendees to download from the online schedule when it goes live in the fall. You may replace this document with an updated version at any time as your plans come into better focus closer to the event.

This feature was added to the proposal system to encourage event participants to start preparing for their event well in advance. Additionally, these copies are essential for holding an accessible event. Consider members of your audience who have disabilities and may wish or need to follow along with a written text. It is also helpful for ASL and CART interpreters to see event information beforehand.

For more information on preparing accessible event outlines, please review the AWP Conference & Bookfair Event Outline Guide.

On-Site Accessibility Copies

While attendees will be able to download your event outline directly from the conference schedule, event moderators are also required to bring five printed copies of their event outline with them on-site. You should have these copies on hand for any attendee who would like to follow along with a written version of your event. These copies of your event outline should be printed in large-print format in boldface, fourteen-to-sixteen-point font size, on white paper stock for those who may be visually impaired. We recommend that you print these copies at home and bring them with you to avoid the cost of on-site printing.

Handouts, Supplementary Material & Visual Aids

Any other documents besides the event outlines are optional. Many presenters create informative brochures, flyers, or provide supplementary materials. If you choose to provide such information, please make sure to provide at least five copies in large-print format in boldface, fourteen-to-sixteen-point font size, on white paper stock for those who may be visually impaired.

For both supplemental documents and any additional visual aids (images or videos), please consider the possibility that people in the audience may be D/deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or visually impaired. Before your event, any video you plan to show needs to be captioned. During your event, please briefly describe all supplemental documents and visual aids to the audience. Allow ample time when referring to a visual aid or when pointing out the location of materials.

ASL, CART & Cued Speech Interpretation Material

In-person audience members who are D/deaf or hard of hearing and those who use sign language interpreters or read lips need to sit where they can see both the presenters and the interpreter. The interpreter may stand close to the presenter or within a direct line of sight to allow the audience to view both the presenter and the interpreter. Presenters should be aware of the location of interpreters and attempt to keep this line of vision clear.

If you are an organizer of a panel for which interpretation has been requested, be aware that you may be contacted by AWP prior to the conference for your prepared remarks, notes, or outline. It is helpful for interpreters to have this information in advance to help them prepare for your event. Please coordinate with your panelists to arrange this information as far in advance as possible.

Presenters are encouraged to add their social media handles to their presenter profile to allow attendees to reference them on social media for #AWP27. Presenter social media accounts will be displayed in presenter profiles on the online schedule of events.

In addition to abiding by the policies outlined in this document and the event proposal guidelines, caucuses must abide by the following.

Guidelines for Conducting Caucuses

1. All conference attendees are welcome to attend any caucus meeting regardless of affiliation. Additionally, all attendees present at the meeting of a particular caucus are welcome to vote on all action items that are presented.
2. AWP is dedicated to supporting caucuses by providing space and time for their annual meetings at the annual conference and bookfair. However, each caucus is an independent group, and the views and opinions expressed by caucuses do not necessarily reflect the views of the AWP Board of Directors and staff.
3. Caucus meetings may not be readings or duplicate the panel discussions described in the event categories.
4. Caucuses should share minutes from their meetings with their members and AWP no later than thirty days after the conference.
5. All caucuses must have presenters who provide caucus leadership and facilitate caucus discussions. Caucus presenters must be members of AWP, either through individual membership or as students or faculty of an AWP member program.
6. Presenters may not hold their seats longer than three years, and they cannot be a caucus presenter again until at least three additional years have passed. This rotation of caucus presenters allows for a greater number of caucus members to participate in the leadership.
7. There will be an AWP board member and an AWP staff member assigned to each caucus to serve as liaison between individual caucuses and AWP’s staff and board; the moderator of the caucus shall serve as the spokesperson for the caucus.
8. A caucus may not solicit donations in AWP’s name per AWP policy.
9. Caucuses are permitted to use AWP in their caucus name and associated messaging and materials but must include a disclaimer that the caucus is an independent group and the views and opinions expressed by caucuses do not necessarily reflect the views of the AWP Board of Directors and staff.

Criteria for Automatic Acceptance of a Caucus

After two years of a caucus’s operation, the AWP Board of Directors may approve a caucus for automatic acceptance to the conference if the following criteria are met:

1. The caucus has fulfilled a professional need—a need not met by regular programming—among a specific group of AWP stakeholders.
2. The caucus has featured good moderators who cultivate productive discussions that represent the group as a whole.
3. The caucus has shared an agenda and meeting minutes with its members and AWP.
4. The caucus has opened its meeting to all AWP conference attendees who cared to attend.

All accepted presenters must register for the conference. Presenters on events accepted through the conference subcommittee adjudication process can register at our reduced presenter rate. The rate will be made available to all eligible presenters, who will be notified via email about how and when to register.

Presenter registration includes admission to AWP’s bookfair, meetings, panels, readings, and public receptions during the conference period. Meals, lodging, and travel are not included. For information on lodging at AWP’s official conference hotels, accepted presenters can visit the #AWP27 hotel information page in the Presenter Service Center. For local travel information, please visit the Parking & Getting Around Chicago page (coming soon).

Participants on bookfair stage events are not eligible to purchase a registration at the presenter rate.

AWP makes all reasonable arrangements that will allow conference attendees to participate in conference events. All convention centers and hotels occupied by the conference are accessible in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). All rooms at the conference are wheelchair accessible and have seats in the first row marked as reserved for individuals with accessibility needs. All virtual conference events will be prerecorded in order to allow for captioning to be included.

Many accessibility services require advanced planning and reservations for a conference as large as AWP’s. To help us better prepare, all requests for accessibility services, equipment, or accommodations should be submitted in advance. AWP can best meet accessibility needs when requests are sent to [email protected] by Wednesday, February 24, 2027. AWP will make every effort to accommodate requests that arrive after February 24. Please visit our Accessibility Overview page for more information.

Attendees who require special on-site assistance during the conference should request it from staff at AWP’s Accessibility Desk located in the registration area or contact us at [email protected].

Professional photographs, audio, and video will be captured before and during the Conference. By registering for a Conference, you, Attendee, acknowledge film, video, recording and photographs are being taken at the Conference. By you attending a Conference and your presence at such Conference, you give unqualified consent to AWP and its agents to record, use and publicize your voice, actions, likeness, and appearance, (collectively “Recording”) in any manner and media, without compensation or obligation to you or your heirs and assigns; and (ii) AWP will retain the exclusive right, title and interest (including all worldwide copyrights) to any such Recordings, free of any claims by you or any other person deriving any rights or interest from you. Uses of Records may include, but are not limited to, e-broadcasting on AWP’s YouTube Channel, educational initiatives, post conference reporting, and AWP’s podcast series.

Speakers/Presenters provide consent for AWP to record presentations in audio and/or visual form and grant AWP a royalty-free license to use, reproduce, and distribute the recordings and accompanying materials.

Speakers/Presenters also understand that while they retain the rights to their presentation materials (handouts, slides, etc.) and the content of the presentation, AWP is the sole copyright owner of any recording and can distribute it, along with any supporting materials in any way, with the appropriate attribution of the speakers.

Speakers, presenters and panelists agree, that their presentations or participation in the Conference does not violate any proprietary or personal rights of others (including any copyright, trademark, and privacy rights), are factually accurate, and contain nothing defamatory or otherwise unlawful. Speakers, presenters, and panelists have full authority to enter into this agreement and have obtained all necessary permissions or licenses from any individuals or organizations whose material is included or used in a presentation. Speakers, presenters, and panelists warrant their materials are original or properly licensed and agree to defend and indemnify potential copyright infringement claims. Speakers, presenters, and panelists additionally grant a nonexclusive, royalty-free license to AWP to all provided content.