Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend HopeWords Writer’s Conference in Bluefield, WV. It was the first weekend I’ve been away since I started my new job last summer. I typically have to work over the weekends checking emails and texts so this was a big deal! I was so thankful to my team at work for making sure we had everything covered.
This was my second time at HopeWords. When I went in March of 2021, it was the first time I had traveled overnight since lockdown began a full year before and there were still many restrictions in place. I didn’t know anyone else going and drove by myself (my PT cruiser faithfully chugged uphill all the way). It was also the first writer’s event I had ever participated in so I wasn’t sure what to expect or how I would fit in. I was pretty shy to speak up. I can only remember talking to two people the whole time, both of whom spoke to me first. Yet the speakers were so good! I remember crying while Andrew Peterson spoke and pored over my notes from various speakers long after. Some of the musicians who played before and after the main session commented on how it was the first live audience they had played for in a year. Everything felt celebratory.
Fast forward to 2023, the quality of the speakers was just as good. The most exciting speaker for me was Katherine Paterson, the twice Newberry award winning author who wrote The Bridge to Terabithia, The Great Gilly Hopkins, and Jacob Have I Loved. However, everything else was so different in good ways! First, I was able to travel with a fellow Habit member and her friend so it was a really nice drive up, getting to know one another better and talking about our writing. While at the conference we also got to connect with several other people I’d already met at the Habit writing retreat in June. (If you are interested in a writing community I would definitely recommend checking out the Habit Membership.) That feeling of community gave me much more confidence and generosity to introduce myself to others I didn’t know yet. I hoped this time, no one would leave saying they’d only talked to two people. It is amazing what a difference community can make.
It wasn’t only the fellow writers at the conference who welcomed me in. The town (including the mayor) basically rolled out the red carpet for us. The conference attendees were offered a trolley tour of the city and surrounding area, were treated to free samples in many businesses (including the best milkshakes in West Virginia), welcomed into every restaurant, and given special opportunities at every turn. Just about any local who didn’t recognize us assumed we were there for the writer’s conference which shows what a big deal the conference was for this little community!
Some people have asked me if Bluefield is a retreat destination. It isn’t. It isn’t very easy to get to either. However, some people of the town considered how they could best serve their community and ended up developing this great annual writer’s conference. The host of the event wrote this essay about Bluefield, the Light of the World. It’s a great picture of his love for his city and the potential he sees there. I’m thankful we were invited to take part in the community this year!
P.S. The journal that published my poem in print shipped to me this past week. =) It’s been so fun having the book on my coffee table. I’m slowing reading the other poems, stories, and essays, with mine alongside all the rest.
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