Robert Olen Butler speaks at New Letters Writing Conference

Event runs June 26 through June 28

New Letters – the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s (UMKC) international magazine of writing and art – will feature keynote speaker Robert Olen Butler at its annual Weekend Writing Conference, “Writing for Love, Money, & Immortality.” Writers, community members and students of all levels can attend the conference, which will feature discussions, workshops and informal gatherings with several professional writers.

Butler’s address will be free and open to the public at 7 p.m., Friday, June 26 in the UMKC University Center’s Pierson Auditorium, 5000 Rockhill Rd., Kansas City, Mo. On June 27 and 28, the conference will continue at Diastole House, 2501 Holmes St., Kansas City, Mo.

To register or for more details, contact the UMKC Arts and Sciences Continuing Education Department at (816) 235-2736 or visit www.newletters.org and click on “writing conference” to complete an application. Students can earn one to three college credit hours at regular tuition prices, or enroll for noncredit at the reduced rate of $149, plus an incidental fee. Private manuscript consultations are available.

Butler won a Pulitzer Prize for his story collection “A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain.” He also won two National Magazine Awards and is author of “From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction.”

“This is a dream weekend for beginners and established writers alike,” said Robert Stewart, director of the conference. “True professional writers and coaches from many disciplines will share their strategies, ideas and love of the written word.”

The weekend conference features other core writers and instructors in poetry, fiction, screen and stage writing, nonfiction and memoir – including Trish Reeves, Matthew Eck, Loring Leifer, Catherine Browder, Stanley E. Banks, Mitch Brian, Frank Higgins, Debra Di Blasi, Robert Trussell and others.

Subscriptions to New Letters are $36 for two years and $22 for one year. Call (816) 235-1168 or visit www.newletters.org to join the New Letters family of subscribers.

The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 14,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a four-part mission: life and health sciences; visual and performing arts; urban issues and education; and a vibrant learning and campus life experience.


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