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AWP 2026: Baltimore

Words from the Deep, Dark Woods: Using Fairy Tales as Foil & Fuse

As cultural touchstones, fairy tales and myths provide fertile creative ground. Leveraging their known settings, characters, and story arcs, writers can slip into ekphrasis, persona, narrative, and more. This panel will offer examples and prompts from poets and prose writers of diverse cultural backgrounds who have used tales and myths to process grief; explore emigration and culture; and question gender, power, and neurodivergence, while using the familiar as a palimpsest to write something new.

Speaker(s):

Moderator: Elline Lipkin Presenter: Emily Perez Presenter: Kate Bernheimer Presenter: Oliver de la Paz Presenter: Jessica Stark

Location: Room 315, Level 300, Baltimore Convention Center

Session Code: F116