AWP 2010

NewPages has just returned from AWP 2010 in Denver - WOW! Always such anticipation building up to it, getting ready for it, getting there, and then - whoosh - those three days go by so fast!

Our dearest gratitude to all of you who took the time to stop by the table to say hello and offer your support for our work. Your comments truly help to fuel our energy and keep our passions burning here. So often, day after day, behind the screen and keyboard, it does get a bit lonely and our minds sometimes trail into existential wanderings. But, AWP is our once-a-year reminder of how many of you there are who use the site and appreciate our tappings-away.

Thanks to all the exhibitors - lit mags, publishers, creative writing programs, and authors - who actually smiled in recognition when they saw us coming down the aisles with our NewPages t-shirts announcing our presence. And thanks to all our newly made friends in these endeavors - AWP is great for meeting new people in the "scenes".

Thanks to reviewers - including Jennifer Sinor's students - who stopped by. So nice to see the people behind all those thoughtful words.

Thanks to all the blog readers who mentioned how helpful this is. It is indeed a great deal of work, but work I love all the more when I know it is appreciated by others. "Heroic" was one word I will keep with me. Good to have a bit of an ego boost for when the beer fund runs low.

And speaking of beer fund...CODE ORANGE!

Denver was a blast, and Denver Pale Ale - or DPA - is certainly a brew I can recommend to visitors.

I will no doubt have more AWP comments intertwined in the blog in the days and months upcoming, but for now - time to get back into the NewPages groove (after a full night's sleep!).

[Pictured: Part of the NewPages table exhibit. / The blue bear butt at the conference center as seen from the hotel. / The steady flow of the nearly 10,000 attendees. / The golden dome of the capitol building.]