History of the CSWS Northwest Women Writers Symposium

The Northwest Women Writers Symposium (NWWS) program began as a CSWS Research Interest Group in 2011. It was so successful that it migrated into CSWS Special Project status as the Women Writers Project in 2012, and became integrated into CSWS as an internal program in spring 2014. The final symposium was held in 2018.

The NWWS and Women Writers Program sought to foster and enhance opportunities for women writers on campus, in the community, and throughout the Pacific Northwest; to bring distinct voices of published women writers to campus; and to support the work of creative writing by bringing together writers from different disciplines. This program was aimed toward exploring local, regional, and university collaborations, most notably through an evolving annual women writers conference. From 2013 to 2018, CSWS collaborated with Eugene Public Library to host a portion of the symposium in its downtown facility to increase public access to events.

Symposiums: 2012-2018

• 7th annual CSWS Northwest Women Writers Symposium, “The Border and Its Meaning: Forgotten Stories,” held April 25, 2018, featuring Pulitzer Prize finalist Laila Lalami.
• 6th annual CSWS Northwest Women Writers Symposium “Women and Work: Stories of the Great Migration,” held March 3, 2017, featuring Ayana Mathis as keynote.
• 5th annual CSWS Northwest Women Writers Symposium: “Crossing Borders: Women’s Stories of Immigration, Migration, and Transition,” May 6 – 8, 2016, featured Reyna Grande as keynote.
• 4th annual CSWS Northwest Women Writers Symposium:“Our Daily Bread: Women’s Stories of Food and Resilience,” held May 7 – 9, 2015, featured Diana Abu-Jaber as keynote.
• The 3rd annual CSWS Northwest Women Writers Symposium — “Family, Animal, Story,” held May 1 – 3, 2014, featured Karen Joy Fowler as keynote. About 275 people attended events over this three-day period.
• 2nd annual CSWS Northwest Women Writers Symposium — Common Ground: Land, Language, Story — was held May 9 – 11, 2013, and featured Ruth Ozeki as keynote. More than 250 people attended this series of events, which took place over three days on the University of Oregon campus and at the Eugene Downtown Library.
• MemoirFest, the first annual CSWS Northwest Women Writers Symposium, held May 12, 2012 was attended by about 100 women and men.

Coordinator

• Alice Evans, CSWS Research Dissemination Specialist

Advisory Group

• Alisa Freedman, Associate Professor, Japanese Literature & Film (EALL)
• Barbara Corrado Pope, Professor Emerita, Women’s and Gender Studies
• Brandy Teel, Engagement & Opportunities Manager, UO Graduate School
• Lauren Kessler, Professor, School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC)
• Linda Long, Associate Professor, Manuscripts Librarian, UO Libraries
• Miriam Gershow, Senior Instructor, Department of English (UO Today interview)
• Mary E. Wood, Professor, Department of English
• Robert Hill Long, Poet; Adjunct Research Assistant/Anthropology
• Ursula Crawford, Editor & Journalist, UO alumna