Thoughts on running an online writing conference (one week in). THREAD.

1. Far more people are willing to take workshops online than I expected. In the middle of the workday, on weekends, in the summer, in a pandemic. It gives me hope.

2. Very exciting to see pockets of attendance from California, Florida, Canada, Australia, & more. Welcome to Cleveland, everyone!

3. Best of all we’re seeing lots of Clevelanders who have never attended a Lit Cleveland event before. Perhaps online has opened up new opportunities for attendance.

4. Chat is where it’s at. Such great conversation, ideas, dialogue between participants. In some ways this is an improvement on in-person workshops.

5. Genuinely surprised we haven’t seen any bad actors yet. No bombing, no shit stirrers, just good people. Lit people are great. *Knock on wood*

6. Also stunned that massive classes (100+ people) can work. Very different from a small workshop, but effective it its own right. Having more people just adds to the great chat.

7. It’s a real pleasure to witness 6 different instructors with 6 distinct teaching styles lead 6 different classes. There are many right ways to teach. That variety is refreshing, engaging. I'm learning a lot as an instruction myself.

8. Such killer events too. Finally able to gather Cleveland Stories participants for a book launch/reading/reunion. Perhaps the most meaningful event we’ve done since going online.

9. Also we held one of the best open mics I’ve ever been to. Readers of all ages, all backgrounds, different parts of the world(!), very different aesthetics. Such a supportive, fun atmosphere. Could really feel a small community form.

10. We've never had the budget for big name in-person appearances (part of our commitment to keeping the conference free), but we were stunned that rock star writers were willing to Zoom in for very little. So grateful.

11. Seriously, did you watch that discussion with Jericho Brown, Phil Metres, and Barbara Jane Reyes? Extraordinary. Some of the best writers/minds in the country. Can’t believe that happened at our conference.

12. Or did you catch the fiction panel last night? So much fun taking a deep dive into setting with an all-star lineup.

13. Great to see some regulars who attend multiple events. Great to see old friends find each other in the chat during a Zoom event. A nice shadow of the bonds/reunions that happen at an in-person conference.

14. We’ve had some real trouble with Crowdcast. So terrifying/frustrating when connections are lost, video doesn’t work. But more than 100+ people were able to swiftly move to Zoom no problem. Extraordinary.

15. Computer time is real drain (I’m doing 1-3 events a day plus soundchecks and emails). Killer. I can feel my body dying. But in-person can be draining too. We see people bail at the in-person conference early from exhaustion.

16. If we had the budget/staff, this online conference could be HUGE. Like nation-wide huge. But I’m amazed at how many people we can reach with such a small team. Have a lot of what if ideas about combining with other lit orgs across the country. The anti-AWP.

17. I miss so much about the in-person conference. I miss the handshakes and hugs. I miss meeting new people. I miss the electric energy. I miss the free ice cream.

18. I really miss gathering the many different lit orgs and bookstores and presses and journals in one place. In adjusting to online we really lost that community.

19. Also very aware of how must we lost this year by scrambling to move online. Essentially planned the whole thing ourselves. Next year we really need to bring in more groups, community members to help plan this conference. We’re still to closed off/top down/white.

20. We’re also so aware of the digital divide. For the middle class Zoom is second nature now, but there are still so many who don’t have access to these free events. Not to mention COVID. The inequity/injustice is palpable. How can we serve those people in this time?

21. I’m also still grappling with the role of writing in a time of profound injustice & social justice awakening. Many of our events are designed to ask these urgent questions (see the poetry+protest panel) but I still worry about writing as a distraction from important work.

22. So curious to hear how this conference feels for others. If you attended in person in the past—how is it different? If this is your first time at Inkubator, what is your impression?

23. Still two more weeks of events. Hope you can join us. More thoughts to come.

One more note: deep appreciation to everyone who wrote even a one sentence thank-you email. We can't see faces online (except tiny zoom boxes) so your small notes fuel us. They mean so so much. After this I am going to write thank yous to everyone for everything.