To see the signatures of those who have signed so far, visit: https://tinyurl.com/ysbmpnss 

To the AWP Board of Directors & Staff Leadership:

We read with dismay the #AWP26 Terms and Conditions document, which states that “AWP does not permit any disruption of its Conferences… including but not limited to protests, vigils, and demonstrations.” The undersigned – attending this year’s conference and not – are urging you to rescind this appalling policy censoring writers. We are living at a time when every United States resident needs to speak out for our democracy and for the right to free speech, enshrined in our nation’s founding documents. Our government is working hard to muzzle creative writers and other artists, as they are well aware that poets and prose writers tell the truth about the present, document the past, and envision a future unfettered by despotism. Why on earth would AWP join forces with the authoritarian federal regime to silence writers? The threats of eviction from the conference and possible arrest are jaw-droppingly shocking and smack of police state tactics.

The AWP Terms and Conditions document claims this censorship is the policy of the Baltimore Convention Center, but a review of the Center’s Event Operations & Event Planning Guide shows no such prohibition on the exercise of free speech.

While many of us made our plans to attend this year’s conference long in advance and are not in a position to cancel, we are attending under protest, as long as this policy remains in place. And we will consider a boycott of future conferences if the board and leadership of AWP do not rescind it. The future of our art form and of democracy itself is at stake. Please reverse this policy today.

Signed,