Conference & Pitch Fest

An update to our community regarding the Conference & Pitch Fest

Dear Community Members,

We wanted to update you on this year’s Conference & Pitch Fest, and the fate of this particular program going forward. In the past, the Conference has been sustained in no small part through private donations, that helped offset the cost of programming, and kept individual registration fees accessible. We are immensely grateful to those of you who have continued to support us throughout the different iterations of this program; every kind of support has helped us move forward with our mission.

In recent years, we’ve learned that the funding priorities of some of our patrons have shifted, largely due to the obvious societal pressures that organizations like ours are facing today. Although this is understandable, it doesn’t change the good work we are able to do because of our private donors and because of the support of our community members.

That said, we have been formally asked to stay away from using language that refers to our marginalized communities, as a contingent to our forthcoming funding that would support the Conference & Pitch Fest in particular. While we remain grateful to have been supported in the past, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with our patrons whose priorities have shifted, and who no longer see the necessity of our work in this particular way. We remain committed to advocating the work of writers and artists of color, and to support marginalized voices across the board, including the good work that many of our sister organizations continue to do while navigating some of the same issues.

Unfortunately, this means that we will no longer be able to commence the Conference & Pitch Fest as we planned. Please know that we did not come to this decision lightly, but we believe it is the right one, as we cannot look away from the core mission of our organization, now when it is needed more than ever. We have already heard from many community members with your words of support and we are incredibly grateful for this. We hope to continue doing the important work of advocating for writers and artists of color in all ways possible.

If you are an Anaphora Fellow or Alumnx who was planning to participate in the Conference & Pitch Fest, our team will reach out about the scheduled Pitch Critique sessions soon.

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FAQ

I was planning to attend the Conference & Pitch Fest. What kind of resources do you have?

We will still be holding a couple of Pitch Critique sessions, to help writers practice their pitch with other peers. This will help you sharpen your pitch and polish your query.

Why can’t you still hold the conference without additional funding?

Without additional funding, Anaphora would not have the resources to pay the conference speakers, all of whom are BIPOC identifying folks. Lack of funding also means registration fees that are not accessible to the public.

Are you planning to pursue other funding or additional resources to bring back the Conference & Pitch Fest?

Unfortunately, no. This is not the first time that an offer in funding has been made contingent upon shifting our organization’s core values. We do not believe that is a good way to conduct programming that is needed for our community.

How else are you planning to build this gap in programming?

We will continue to bring literary agents, editors and publishers through our other programs, or in stand-alone programs, to answer your questions, and get you ready for publication. We will also continue to hold Pitch Critique sessions, Querying Workshops, Nonfiction Book Proposal Workshops and other sessions to help writers send their work out for publication. Please sign up with the newsletter to receive the announcements.

I am an Anaphora Fellow/Alumnx who was planning to attend the Conference & Pitch Fest. What kind of resources do you have for me?

If you are an Anaphora Fellow/Alumnx or you were part of a program that offered complimentary access into the Conference & Pitch Fest, we will reach out to you soon about the next steps to send your pitch to participating literary agents from our program.

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If you’re interested in attending any of the prep sessions that are part of the conference, sign up here. The next Information Session will be held on April 14th at 10:00am PT.