Writers Conference at UND

(UND archival photo)

(UND Today) – For fifty-seven years, the Writers Conference has served our community on campus, in the region and beyond by bringing the most inspiring and significant writers of our times to Grand Forks—a spot that’s not typically on the list of major book tour spots. Each year, the Writers Conference’s featured authors have shared their stories, entranced audiences and helped us better understand the world around us through the art of fiction, memoir, poetry, graphic narratives and much more.

This year’s Writers Conference, “Fables & Futures,” draws its inspiration from this mission and another tale as old as time: the fables that have drawn us to the fireside, generation after generation. Since time immemorial, stories have served our community by fostering ties between us. They have allowed us to better understand the world around us and to imagine a better future for all. Stories are not merely decorative; they are the fiber that weaves our community together.

That’s the territory that this year’s “Fables & Futures” conference will explore, through three days of inspiring panel discussions, community workshops, open mics, featured author readings and more. We hope you’ll join us—in-person or online via Zoom—from March 25 through 27, for what promises to be a riveting Writers Conference.

This year will feature Booker Prize and Story Prize-winner George Saunders, whose brand-new novel “Vigil” is taking the book world by storm. Our featured authors also include brilliant, award-winning writers who put their own unique spins on timeless classics. Maria Dahvana Headley’s translation of the epic poem “Beowulf” injects a well-known story of heroism and bravado with an edgy, earnest and contemporary voice. The ghost story and murder mystery find new life in Amber Sparks’s “Happy People Don’t Live Here,” a vibrant novel set in a Minnesota sanatorium converted into apartment complex.