National Latino Writers Conference

Next week, I’ll be flying south and west to eat green chile, dance in the mountains, and teach a travel writing seminar at the Eighth Annual National Latino Writer’s Conference in Albuquerque. This year’s line-up is looking pretty stellar, including:

* A poetry workshop by poet/playwright/ teatrista/photographer/wordsmith superstar Juan Felipe Herrera, author of 24 volumes including 187 Reasons Mexicanos Can’t Cross the Border

* a keynote by memoirist/poet/young adult novelist Rigoberto Gonzalez, author of Butterfly Boy, among others

* a screenwriting workshop by Marilyn Atlas, producer of “Real Women Have Curves”

* a banquet honoring the National Hispanic Cultural Center Literary Award-winner Luis Alberto Urrea, author of 11 libros, including what is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest pieces of literary journalism published in my lifetime: Devil’s Highway

Plus: agents, editors, publishers, open mic readings, book signings, receptions, one-on-one meetings with faculty, and surely a little mambo-salsa-rumba too. I’ll be taking a taxi straight from the airport to Frontier’s for a foot-long burrito. Horale! If you ever need me in New Mexico, you can always find me there.