AWP is excited to continue to offer a virtual conference element at the upcoming conference and bookfair. The 2027 AWP Conference & Bookfair will feature hundreds of in-person conference events and a select number of prerecorded virtual conference events.
The prerecorded virtual events for #AWP27 will be available for both in-person and virtual-only attendees to watch on demand at any time throughout the conference and for one month afterward.
If you’re interested in proposing an event to be held virtually, please carefully read the guidelines below before proposing your event.
Please note that the following guidelines are subject to change and may be altered by AWP without notice.
All 2027 virtual AWP events must meet the following criteria:
- include between two and five participants, including the moderator, who are able to participate in the virtual prerecording of the event
- be sixty minutes long
- be correctly categorized
- include a title, description, and statement of value
Virtual conference event proposals can be submitted the same way in-person event proposals are submitted, which is through AWP’s event proposal submission portal. If you are proposing a virtual event, be sure to select the option that states “Virtual event: I prefer that this session be prerecorded and made available on demand online” when completing your proposal.
The deadline for event organizers to submit their event proposal is 11:59 p.m. ET on June 1, 2026.
If your event is accepted, you and your participants will be contacted to schedule a recording session with an AWP staff member. All virtual conference events will be recorded in fall 2026 to ensure there is enough time for AWP staff to complete the postrecording process. Once each event is recorded, the postrecording process includes adding title slides, making any necessary edits, adding captions, and preparing the video file to be posted.
#AWP27 Virtual Conference Event Timeline
June 1, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET: Deadline to submit 2027 conference proposals
June 5, 2026, at 12:00 noon ET: Deadline for overcommitted participants to step down
June–July 2026: Conference subcommittee evaluates proposals.
August 2026: AWP announces accepted events.
August 2026: Deadline for organizers to request changes to accepted events
Fall 2026: AWP reaches out to organizers of accepted virtual events to schedule recording session.
Fall 2026: Full schedule is announced.
Fall 2026: Virtual conference events are prerecorded.
March 2027: Virtual events are made available for #AWP27 attendees to watch on demand online.
Virtual Event Roles & Responsibilities
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. Additionally, the event organizer is responsible for scheduling the recording session and ensuring that the moderator and presenters are prepared to participate in the virtual recording of the event.
Moderator: The moderator oversees event proceedings during the recording session and must ensure that presentation, discussion, and/or reading time is managed appropriately within the event’s allotted time. The moderator is considered an event participant and is expected to adhere to AWP’s participation guidelines, policies, and limitations. The moderator’s biographical note will be included in the online conference schedule.
Participant: Also commonly called presenters, participants in events are those who have been added to a conference event proposal by the event organizer.
Notification
All event organizers will be notified of submission results in August. AWP will reach out to organizers of virtual events following their acceptance notification to confirm their virtual event and schedule their recording session.
To ensure that all proposal organizers and participants receive all updates from AWP regarding this event proposal, all participants should make sure their communication preferences are up to date and opt in to receive mailings with conference information. If you are unsubscribed from our Mailchimp audience, you will not receive important updates regarding your event proposal. If you have any questions about your communication preferences, please email [email protected] for assistance.
Prepare, Prepare, Prepare
If your event has been accepted and you have scheduled your recording session, you and your panelists should begin to prepare to hold your conference event virtually. For tips on preparing your materials, setting up your space, and practicing for your recording, please check out AWP’s Virtual Presentation Guide (coming soon). If you have any questions about preparing for your virtual event recording or if you foresee any barriers to your group’s participation, please email [email protected] for assistance.
Engage the Audience
All virtual events will be prerecorded. If you would like to answer questions from AWP attendees or other writers as a part of your event, we recommend soliciting or collecting those questions before your scheduled recording. Those questions can then be answered by presenters during the sixty-minute recording.
Please note that the prerecorded virtual events for #AWP27 will be available for in-person and virtual-only attendees to watch on demand at any time throughout the conference and for one month afterward. When the prerecorded virtual events are made available to watch in March 2027, registered attendees will be able to chat and leave comments on each event’s video page on the virtual conference platform.
While we wish we could hold these virtual conference events live and include live Q&As during the conference, we unfortunately do not have the staff or resources to make that happen alongside the in-person conference.
Event Outline Upload
If your event is accepted, you will be asked to upload an event outline by February 17, 2027. An outline can include any written remarks you have prepared, reading material you plan to share, or a list of moderator questions. This document can be uploaded only by the organizer or the moderator.
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 a more updated version at any time as your plans come into better focus closer to the recording. You can also update your event outline once you have completed your event recording.
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.
This feature was added to the proposal system to encourage event participants to start preparing for the event well beforehand. 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.
Accessibility Services
AWP is committed to making all reasonable arrangements that will allow conference attendees to participate in conference events. All virtual conference events will be prerecorded 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.
If you or one of your presenters requires accessibility services to take part in the recording of your virtual conference event, please email [email protected] before the scheduled recording session to request any accessibility services.
Please visit our Accessibility Overview page for more information.
Registration Policies
To attend the in-person conference and/or access the virtual conference events, all presenters must register for the conference and can do so 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.
Virtual-only presenters who do not plan to attend the in-person conference will be able to register at a virtual-only rate when events are accepted in August.
If a virtual-only presenter only wishes to participate in the recording of the event and does not plan to access any virtual conference event (including their own event) on the virtual conference platform, they are not required to register.
Attendee Terms & Conditions
Please visit the Attendee Terms & Conditions page for an explanation of these policies, which are automatically agreed upon by anyone who attends the conference.