Muse & the Marketplace 2019

How does a writer balance activism and the writing? What are the benefits and potential hazards of marrying the two?

For many of us, all writing is political. We write because, as idealistic as it sounds, we want to help make the world a better place. Yet we’ve all been told, in at least one writing class or listicle, that literary writing does not concern itself with the shifting political climate of the moment. In this session, we call BS on that idea. On a craft level, we’ll discuss ways that writers have navigated these rough waters in the past and connect these to contemporary writers. We’ll talk about the ways the essay and social media can develop your platform. We’ll discuss the elusive speaking engagement: how to find gigs, which ones to accept, how to take that money ethically, how to stick up for your rights when needed, and when to say no.