Urban Sites Network Events
2015 Urban Sites Network Conference
Students Write Their Cities
April 17–18, 2015
University of New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
Host site: Greater New Orleans Writing Project
Why us? Why now?
Education—along with other social supports—is being attacked, narrowed, and de-funded. This impacts all children, not only but especially those in urban schools. Teachers, researchers, and community members must tell our individual and collective stories, but not just to each other: we must strategize about how to thoughtfully inform the public and policy-makers about our work and our students.
Even more importantly, we must help our students to tell their stories, to write a future that is hope-filled and just.
Join us in New Orleans for the 2015 National Writing Project Urban Sites Network Conference, presented by WriteFest and the Greater New Orleans Writing Project! 
We will explore ways to empower urban students through writing pedagogy, with a focus on the educational climate in New Orleans and on student publishing.
Call for Proposals
Use this form to submit your workshop proposal. Submission deadline: February 8.
Register Today
You can register for the conference using the button below.
Keynote Speaker
Key speakers will include Tony Diaz , originally from Chicago, and author of The Aztec Love God, which Ishmael Reed selected as the 1998 Nilon Award for Excellence in Minority Fiction. Diaz is also included in major anthologies such as Hecho in Tejas: An Anthology of Texas Mexican Writers edited by Dagoberto Gilb and Literary Houston. His essays have also appeared in the Los Angeles Times, CNN.com, The Huffington Post, Mamiverse, and the Houston Chronicle. He has just completed The Protestors Handbook, a multimedia project ranging from text to performance. Diaz is perhaps best known for his work as the leader of the Librotraficante movement, in which he works to smuggle banned books back into classrooms. The project began in Arizona after the Arizona legislature banned Mexican-American studies in public high schools.
Conference Highlights
» Friday, April 17, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
- Pre-conference activities, including school visits, a visit to the Neighborhood Story Project, and a guided tour of the Lower 9th Ward.
- Writing marathon in the French Quarter led by Richard Louth, director of the Southeastern Louisiana Writing Project and founder of the New Orleans Writing Marathon.
- Separate registration will be required for these events.
» Friday, April 17, 5:00 p.m.
- Cocktail Reception with a poetry performance by Team Slam New Orleans.
» Saturday, April 18, 8:30 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
- Multiple rounds of breakout sessions.
- Lunch and keynote presentation.
Downloadable Files
WriteFest 2015 Flyer
Download PDF
Bus Tour Poster
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Writing Marathon Flyer
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Hotel List
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