CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Writers interested in this summer's conference will find a sample program below. While details vary from from year to year, the basic structure of what can be expected during a week on campus does not. The schedule below is intended to give applicants and admitted writers a picture of how they would be spending their days at Kettle Pond should join us in June.
It is NOT intended to represent a final schedule or a commitment to run events as listed below. Last minute changes to accommodate our faculty, staff, or venue, while minor, do tend to be common in the weeks leading up the the conference, and preparing for arrivals and events on the ground always takes precedence over site updates. Maybe someday! But until we declare otherwise, please always view our online schedule as merely a handy guide, and feel free to contact the conference directly with further questions.
2026 SCHEDULE
(FOR SAMPLE USE ONLY :)
Saturday, June 20
1:00 - 5:00 pm — Welcome to Kettle Pond!
Conference & Campus Housing Check-In
5:45 - 6:45 pm — Dinner
7:00 - 7:30 pm — Conference Orientation
7:30 - 8:30 pm — Faculty Readings
Kevin Bertolero & Michael J. Seidlinger
8:30 - 11:00 pm — Lakeside Social
& Conference Bookstore Hours
Sunday, June 21
7:30 - 8:45 am — Breakfast
9:00 - 10:00 am — Michael J. Seidlinger
Lecture — Ego Death
10:15 - 11:15 am — Brian Hall
Workshop — Part 1 (of 2):
Short Short Fiction
10:15 am - 12:15 pm — Kevin Bertolero
Workshop — Crafting Lines: On Working with Poetic Fragments
12:15 - 1:15 pm — Lunch
1:00 - 3:00 pm — Paddling Launch Hours
1:15 - 3:15 pm — Christopher Citro
Workshop — Let's Write! Generative Poetry with Sun Poems & Apostrophe Poems
2:45 - 4:15 pm — Chen Chen
Workshop — Part 1 (of 2):
A Generative "Seminar": Poem Sequences & Parachutes of Love
4:30 - 5:30 pm — Resident Readings
5:45 - 6:45 pm — Dinner
7:00 - 8:00 pm — Faculty Readings
Chen Chen & Ashley Mayne
8:15 - 11:00 pm — Lakeside Social
& Conference Bookstore Hours
Monday, June 22
7:30 - 8:45 am — Breakfast
9:00 - 10:00 am — Brian Hall
Lecture — Dialogue: Are You Really Going to Do It Like That?
10:15 am - 12:45 pm — Kem Joy Ukwu
Workshop — Short Story to Screen: Inspiration to Adaptation
10:15 am - 12:45 pm — Sylvia Jones
Workshop — Bops & Centos: Who Else is Speaking Through You?
12:15 - 1:15 pm — Lunch
1:00 - 3:00 pm — Paddling Launch Hours
1:15 - 4:15 pm — Workshop Part 1 (of 2):
Deirdre Coyle & Michael J. Seidlinger
Gamifying the Writing Process
4:30 - 5:30 pm — Resident Readings
5:45 - 6:45 pm — Dinner
7:30 - 8:00 pm — Faculty Readings
Deirdre Coyle & Jaclyn Gilbert
8:15 - 11:00 pm — Lakeside Social
& Conference Bookstore Hours
Tuesday, June 23
7:30 - 8:45 am — Breakfast
9:00 - 10:00 am — Darin Patterson
Lecture — Quips & Giggles: How to Use Humor to Get Your Point Across
10:15 - 11:45 am — Brian Hall
Workshop — Part 2:
Short Short Fiction
10:15 am - 12:15 pm — Christopher Citro
Workshop — Let's Write! Generative Poetry with Goodbye Poems & Short Poems
12:15 - 1:15 pm — Lunch
12:15 - 1:15 — Silent Bookclub
1:00 - 3:00 pm — Paddling Launch Hours
1:30 - 2:30 pm — Ashley Mayne
Workshop — Part 1 (of 2):
Workshop in the Woods
3:30 - 4:30 pm — Jaclyn Gilbert
Lecture — Navigating the Indie Landscape & Defying Genre
4:30 - 5:30 pm — Resident Readings
5:45 - 6:45 pm — Dinner
7:00 - 8:00 pm — Faculty Readings
Christopher Citro & Kem Joy Ukwu
8:15 - 11:00 pm — Lakeside Social
& Conference Bookstore Hours
Wednesday, June 24
7:30 - 8:45 am — Breakfast
9:00 - 10:00 am — Ashley Mayne
Lecture — Un-Lecture: Silent Forest Walk*
*dress for the outdoors
10:15 - 11:15 am — Brian Hall
Workshop — Part 1 (of 2):
Poetry Collective
10:15 - 11:45 am — Chen Chen
Workshop — Part 2:
A Generative "Seminar": Poem Sequences & Parachutes of Love
12:15 - 1:15 pm — Lunch
12:15 - 1:15 pm — Silent Bookclub
1:00 - 3:00 pm — Paddling Launch Hours
1:00 - 2:00 pm — feat. Kevin Bertolero
Roundtable — Submitting & Publishing Poetry
Publishing
2:45 - 5:45 pm — Workshop — Part 2:
Deirdre Coyle & Michael Seidlinger
Gamifying the Writing Process
5:45 - 6:45 pm — Dinner
7:30 ~ 11:30? pm — Midweek Party!
Reception at Staff & Faculty Residence
Thursday, June 25
7:30 - 8:45 am — Breakfast
10:00 am - 12:00 pm — Christopher Citro
Lecture — Architecture of a Book: Assembling a Poetry Manuscript
10:00 am - 12:30 pm — Kem Joy Ukwu
Workshop — Short Fiction
12:15 - 1:15 pm — Lunch
1:00 - 1:30 pm — feat. Darin Patterson
Roundtable — Comedy in the World
1:00 -3:00pm — Paddling Launch Hours
3:00 - 4:30 pm — Kevin Bertolero
Lecture — Poetry & the Time-Image
4:30 - 5:30 pm — Resident Readings
5:45 - 6:45 pm — Dinner
7:00 - 7:30 pm — Faculty Reading
Brian Hall
8:15 - 11:00 pm — Lakeside Social
...& Conference Bookstore Hours
Friday, June 26
7:30 - 8:45 am — Breakfast
9:00 - 10:00 am — Kem Joy Ukwu
Lecture — Discovering Goals as Propulsion
10:15 am - 11:45 am — Brian Hall
Workshop — Part 2:
Poetry Collective
10:15 am - 12:15 pm — Chen Chen
Workshop — Assembling Midnight & Other Feral Entities
12:15 - 1:15 pm — Lunch
1:00 -3:00 pm — Paddling Launch Hours
1:30 - 2:30 pm — Ashley Mayne
Workshop — Part 2:
Workshop in the Woods
3:30 - 4:30 pm — Deirdre Coyle
Lecture — How to Sell Out
4:30 - 6:00 pm — Dinner
6:30 ~ 11:00? pm — Kettle Pond Salon
Conference Photo & Bookstore Hours
Saturday, June 27
7:30 - 9:45 pm — Breakfast
10:00 - 11:00 am — Chen Chen
Lecture — The Art of Telling
8:00? am ~ 3:30 pm
Conference Check-Out