Two Muse attendees networking
Three Muse attendees sitting in chairs and laughing
Two Muse attendees smiling for the camera

Muse 2022 Presenter Applications are Now Closed

Our team is currently reviewing the presenter applications we received for the Muse & the Marketplace 2022, taking place April 27 to May 1 in a hybrid format. We expect to announce decisions by Thursday, September 30, 2021. Craft and marketplace sessions will take place online, with additional (optional) in-person events in Boston, MA.

All Muse presenters enjoy tuition-free conference sessions, keynotes, and special events, and receive a small thank-you honorarium. Please know that while we accept proposals from applicants living any distance from Boston, our travel funds are quite limited. Travel to Boston is not necessary to present at Muse 2022.

Presenter applications for Muse 2022 closed on Monday, September 6, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

What We Want

Our conference offers two types of session topics: "Muse" topics, which focus on the craft of fiction and/or nonfiction, and "Marketplace" topics, which focus on elements of publishing. We seek thoughtfully designed sessions that examine a familiar topic in a new way OR a new or overlooked topic in a clear and compelling way. Innovation, rigor, and generosity of spirit are key.

We want interactive sessions that actively engage writers in discussion or debate, get us writing in class, or introduce us to an interesting genre or approach to publishing. Think of this as a teaching laboratory—a place to explore an idea you've been kicking around. Or as a place to show off how clearly and compellingly you can present a complex topic. We encourage you to review the 2021 sessions. Each year we seek a mix of both classic and new ideas. Here are a few of our favorite sessions from 2019:

Muse-goers want to study diverse texts. If you will be referencing published pieces in your session(s), please select authors from a diverse group of ethnicities, races, genders, countries, literary traditions, and/or time periods.

We want presenters from a rich and diverse range of backgrounds, experiences, and literary traditions. We seek those who genuinely enjoy teaching and who are actively submitting and publishing stories and essays. If you have a book coming out in the next year or so, that's a bonus, but not required.

What We Don't Want

In a word: panels. We find the panel format tired and suspect you might too. For the 2022 conference, we have a strong preference for solo presentations, but will also consider those co-led by two presenters at most.

Your session will likely flow from your work or experience—and will likely inspire book sales and even post-conference business—but this is NOT the place to hawk your book or audition for new clients. We are not interested in sessions that are thinly veiled advertisements for your fiction, nonfiction, or publishing-related services.

Session Formats

  • Presenters read from prepared notes for approximately 30–45 minutes (or longer), leaving the balance of the session for Q&A.
  • Lecture topics can include close readings, literary analyses, explications of craft issues, arguments for or against certain modes in fiction or nonfiction, etc.
  • Lecture can include a reading of the presenter’s own fiction or nonfiction, but the reading should take minimal time and be meant to demonstrate an idea or issue. Please include some context for the reading: i.e. insights into the construction of the text or the questions it raises, before and/or after.
  • Lecture can include elements of the other two types of sessions: i.e. a discussion of a contrasting text, a guided writing exercise based on the issues raised in the lecture, etc.
  • Presenters briefly introduce/explicate a craft (or publishing) topic and then facilitate a discussion of that topic.
  • The class should be audience-focused, inspiring students to wrestle with a short text (or texts) through the lens of the craft or publishing topic. The presenter is mainly responsible for asking the right questions and providing enough context for the conversation to be meaningful and illuminating. Presenter is not necessarily “onstage” the entire time.
  • Discussion class can include elements of the other two types of sessions: i.e. the introduction of the craft topic can be quite long (up to about 20-25 minutes) and can include examples from the author’s own work. A guided writing exercise can also be used to put into practice some of the issues raised during the discussion or to set up that discussion.
  • Presenters set up a series of short writing exercises that audience members complete on the spot. These exercises should be unique and not necessarily pulled from a familiar book. They should also be related to each other in some way: i.e. three or four exercises focused on different aspects of plot or dialogue.
  • Audience members may be asked to read some of their exercises aloud, but keep in mind that this often eats up a lot of time.
  • These sessions work best when they are framed by a craft topic and/or the presenter has some agenda in mind: i.e. the exercises and the way they are handled or shared in class will add up to a deeper understanding of some element of craft.
Timing & Attendance

Sessions are 75 minutes long. In the online format, the number of live attendees per session varies from 25 to 250. Because it is not disruptive for them to do so, attendees may switch between various sessions during a block. Unless the presenter has requested their session to be "live only," all Muse-goers may watch a recording of the session for several months after the conclusion of the conference.

Virtual Platform Features

The virtual session platform will feature a livestream of the presenter, downloadable attachments for handouts, and a chat feature for attendees to interact with the presenter throughout the session.

Handouts

If your session is accepted, we request that you provide at least one handout, of at least one page, per session. Feedback from previous conferences has shown that students love to have something to take away, even if it’s just a list of further reading—particularly any titles mentioned during the presentation.

FAQ

PRESENTER APPLICATION

After review by our selection committee, all presenter application notifications will go out at the end of September. You will be notified whether or not your session is accepted.

If you have not received a confirmation email within four hours of submitting your application, please check your spam and junk folders. If there is no confirmation email, please reach out to muse@grubstreet.org.

All presenter applications are due Monday, September 11, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

Yes! We welcome resubmitted sessions, but you are likely to have more success if you refresh your idea a bit. That said, a session that is a perfect fit for the Muse lineup one year is not necessarily a perfect fit for the next.

Yes! To submit multiple sessions, please fill out the form multiple times.