A handy checklist for attendees of the upcoming West Virginia Writers Summer Conference (June 10-12 , 2022, at Cedar Lakes Conference Center in Ripley, WV.)

1. If you've never been to the conference, check out the Conference First Timers Guide for some handy tips.
2. Remember to bring material to pin to the Writers Wall, be it poetry or prose. Remember to NOT put your name on the Writers Wall material.
3. Remember to bring material to read in the People's Choice competitions on Friday or Saturday, be it poetry or prose.
4. Remember that name badges are required in order to attend workshops, so that will help in knowing who people are in all the activities.
5. Remember to bring something to donate to the silent auction. People have brought books, crafts, jewelry, art, sculpture and many other kinds of things. If it looks interesting, chances are it will do well. If you don't have something already, maybe ask a local business to donate something. WV Writers can send them a tax receipt.
6. Remember to bring a food item or drink item for the Reception Table in the Main Hall. This can be something home baked or store bought, like cookies, candy bar minis, doughnuts, or, God help us, something healthy like fruit. Chips, not so good. Likewise for drinks, a 12 pack of canned soft drinks or water is greatly appreciated. We'll have coffee and fruit/veggie trays on hand, but if you have healthy food you'd like to bring, that's always appreciated too. We like to have enough food and drinks on hand so there are refreshments throughout the weekend, so if everyone brings a food item and a drink item, we'll be good to go.
7. If you have a cooler and ice you can loan us for the weekend please do bring it. We use them to keep the refreshment drinks cold.
8. Check out the finalized schedule online for the latest changes, so you can plan your days accordingly.  (Schedule to be posted.)
9. Remember to bring a hoodie, sweater or something warm to pull on, as it does get nippy at night. Similarly, a rain coat or umbrella would be good, as traditionally there is an annual torrential downpour at some point.

As a service to first time attendees or potential attendees of WV Writers Summer Conference, this document is being provided as a guide to planning your conference experience. There are answers to frequently asked questions below...

• If you plan to stay overnight, be sure to fill out the separate Cedar Lakes form, as well. You'll also need to fill it out if you plan to eat meals there, which we recommend, because it's hard to get out to a restaurant and back without missing a workshop or two.
• Upon arrival at the conference, please stop at the Cedar Lakes office when you first enter the grounds. The office is the first building on your right as you enter. You'll get your meal tickets (more like a typed sheet of paper) and your room keys. DO NOT LOSE YOUR MEAL TICKET.
• Ask the Cedar Lakes staff to point out the Assembly Hall to you.  They can also provide a map as well. Come there next.  It's all new and all renovated.  (It still has that New Assembly Hall Smell.)
• Check in at the registration table.  If you have pre-registered and prepaid in full, there is usually a "quick line" you can jump to and simply check your name off the list, grab your name tag and goody bag, and head to step three. If you still need to register, that's fine too. We accept cash, checks, and can now accept credit cards via Square Up at the registration desk or bookstore.  (Cedar Lakes can accept credit cards for room and meals).
• Stop by the reception table for a cold (or hot) drink and a snack.
• For 2022, the the Writer's Wall competition has returned to the Assembly Hall.  For the Writer's Wall, participants can bring in a one page piece of poetry and/or prose to anonymously post to the wall (which means, naturally, that your name must not appear on it). There will be a sign up book and an intern to help with the process, assigning each entry a number which conference attendees will be able to vote for using the ballot slip in their goodie bags. The winners will be announced at the Awards Banquet on Saturday night.
• Similarly, there will be five total sessions of People's Choice, with prose and poetry sessions on Friday evening and prose, poetry and youth sessions on Saturday. During People's Choice, attendees are invited to read a piece of their own work that must come in at under 5 minutes in length. After all the pieces are read, ballots will be passed out for fellow readers and other attendees to vote on their favorite pieces. Winners will be announced at the Awards Banquet on Saturday night.
• You don't have to register for the individual workshops in advance. Just pick them as you go. Some people find that it's easier to print out the schedule (or use the one given to you at registration, which will be the most accurate) and then highlight two classes each session that you're interested in. Then, when the time arrives, you can pick between the two. Some people like to have a "back up class" in case one is overcrowded, or in case you find yourself enjoying a particular track so much that you want to stick with it (poetry vs. non-fiction, for example). We would recommend that you take at least one class outside of your chosen genre; not just for the broadened experience, but because you might find inspiration or a particular nugget of writing wisdom that you can apply to what you're working on. For example, if you write fiction, take a poetry workshop or a nonfiction editing workshop, which can help with your craft.
• Be sure to dress light but bring a sweater and an umbrella. It’s not uncommon for it to rain very hard on at least one of the conference days. The classrooms can also be hot. Be sure to wear shoes that are comfortable for walking, not only for walking to and from the dining hall but for taking strolls around the grounds of Cedar Lakes.  Oh, and open toed shoes can be sort of iffy, for there is a great deal of goose poo to be found in certain parts near the lakes.
• We also hope you're planning to attend the banquet and stick around for entertainment in the Assembly Hall on Saturday evening!