Hamline MFAC Alumni Weekend - Summer 2023

Alumni Weekend: July 7-9, 2023

Read on for everything you need to know to register for July's Alumni Weekend! 

Health and Safety

Come on back to Hamline! (Some of you for the first time, whoa!)

All in-person attendees will need the following:

• Completed Covid-19 vaccination
• Completed a booster vaccination

We are not requiring masks for the event, though we do encourage you to bring one and use it if you need to.

If you are not able to attend in person due to these policies, we will still have our virtual registration available and we would love to see you join us over the web!

Food and Lodging

Hotel: If you are traveling to St. Paul, you might need somewhere to stay during your visit! The Best Western Plus Como Park Hotel (formerly known as Bandana Square) has rooms available for students and alumni at a discounted price of $129/night. A shuttle is available to get you to and from the hotel and campus.

Click here to book your room (the discounted rate is already applied!)

https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/book/hotel-rooms.24130.html?groupId=4Y0KD7P5

Dorm Rooms on Campus: We have some dorm rooms available for attendees on campus. Please note: these are not the same as the campus apartments that we have used in the past. The rooms will come with linens for those that would like to stay, but air conditioning is not available and you will need to bring your own amenities. The rates are $25/night for single occupancy, and $35/night for double occupancy.

To sign up for the dorms, please send us an email at mfacaa@hamline.edu. Let us know if you are looking for a single or double, and if you and a buddy have agreed to dorm together, we’d like both of you to email us and list your roommate. 

Food: Your registration covers a catered lunch and dinner on Friday as well as a pizza party on Sunday evening. All other meals are on your own, but luckily there is no shortage of dining options along Snelling Ave where campus sits. The Hamline dining hall in Andersen should be open for some meals as well. Please feel free to reach out in advance if you have specific dietary restrictions.

Guest Speakers

We're excited to introduce our lineup of amazing authors, teachers, and industry professionals:

• Master Class: Geoff Herbach
• Guest Agent: Stephen Barr, Writer’s House
• H.M. Bouwman (middle grade, GOSSAMER SUMMER, 2023)
• Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay (playwright, picture books, WHEN EVERYTHING WAS EVERYTHING, 2018)
• Halee Kirkwood (poetry, 2022 James Welch Prize recipient)
• Alison McGhee (all ages, THE OPPOSITE OF FATE, 2020)

Take a look at all our upcoming sessions on our information page here: Session Info

Master Class

Our master class speaker is going to feel right at home at Hamline! Here’s a reminder of what Geoff Herbach is going to speak about this summer:

Breaking Scene

Scenes are the basic unit of story. In fact, they’re so basic to what we do, advanced writers can begin to take them for granted. Scenes pile on scenes and suddenly our pacing is off, the energy is gone, the work feels stale. This weekend, we’re going to work slow, below the surface of the scene, focusing on emotional shifts, gaps in expectation, and subtext. We’ll experiment with weaving other kinds of narrative modes into scene, using techniques like expositional pause, action dilation, and summary flash to make this basic unit of our work turn to fire. No matter what genre you work in, you'll find something helpful to make your scene writing more intentional.

Geoff Herbach is the author of eight YA novels, a picture book (Hair-pocalypse!), and a literary novel. He’s received the Cybils Award for best YA Fiction, a Minnesota Book Award, and the Burr/Worzalla Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement. His books have been selected by the Junior Library Guild, and listed among the year’s best by the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association, the International Literacy Association, Bank Street, and by many state library associations. They’ve also been selected as state-wide one-reads, as top audiobooks of the year, and as a Global Read Aloud choice. In the past, he produced radio comedy shows and toured rock clubs telling weird stories. Presently, Geoff co-directs the Creative Writing Programs at Minnesota State University, Mankato, his favorite place on the planet.

Register Now

Register early and save! Early Bird prices are available until Monday, June 12th, when the price will increase. Also, if you are a recent grad (July 2022 or January 2023) you are eligible for our recent grads discount. That nets you savings of 15% off the registration price. Pick the registration ticket that's correct for you:

• Early Bird Registration: $299 until June 12th, then it's $350
• Recent Grad discount: $254 until June 12th, 15% off
• Virtual (online) Registration: $149

What is the virtual experience? If you choose the virtual format, you will be able to stream the event live via Zoom, ask questions through chat, and you'll have access to session recordings for 60 days after the event. We'll bring Alumni Weekend to you, wherever you are!

PLEASE NOTE: In-person registrations DO NOT come with session streaming or recordings, just like in years pre-Covid. And, if you would like to partake in faculty lectures this July, please contact the MFAC program for information on lecture passes!

Coming in person but still want recordings for later? You're in luck! We now have a recording add-on for anyone who is registering for in-person alumni weekend. This option is listed on the registration page for $50, and will add the virtual experience to your regular ticket, complete with recordings available for 60 days after the event.

This item is not a standalone, and can only be included with a purchase of a regular or recent grad registration.

Additionally, you can donate to the MFAC AW Scholarship Fund. This is an extra option on the registration page, and you can donate whether or not you plan on attending alumni weekend. Donations to the fund help us to award a minimum of two registrations per event to alumni who may not otherwise be able to attend. We sincerely appreciate everyone who has donated in the past and everyone who plans to give in the future!

Alumni Presenters

Do you have an idea for a presentation you would like to give? We offer two 60-minute speaking slots for alums! Fill out the form below by June 5th, and we'll pick two sessions to complement our schedule. You'll even get a $100 honorarium for presenting! It's an excellent opportunity to flex those teaching muscles.

SUBMIT A PROPOSAL HERE

Red Balloon Book Fair

Local bookstore Red Balloon will be with us for a book fair full of faculty, guest speakers, student and alumni publications. We know that as alumni you want to see your books on this list, so read on for information on how that list will be generated.

The list of alumni books will be based on registration. If you want the opportunity for your book(s) to be included on the bookfair page, you will need to be registered for alumni weekend by the early bird deadline (June 12th). You will be asked during the registration process on Ticketbud to provide the names of any titles you would like included in the fair.

Red Balloon does their best to get as many titles as they can for us, but unfortunately they may not be able to offer everything. If we are not able to include your books, please know you are a valid author and we appreciate your understanding!

Scholarships

Each alumni weekend, we give out a minimum of two registrations to alums who may not otherwise be able to attend due to financial constraints. We're proud of the alumni donors who continually make this a possibility! If you would like to apply for one of these scholarships for January, we have a form for that, too! The deadline to apply is June 5th.

APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP HERE

Applications and scholarship awards are kept anonymous, and anyone is welcome to apply. The scholarships are awarded by lottery, though we prioritize alums who have not received the scholarship in the last year.

To Recap:

The early bird deadline to register for alumni weekend is June 12th! Prices increase on that day.

If you need to fill out any of the following forms to send in a proposal, get your book(s) in the book fair, or apply for a scholarship, here they are again:

• SUBMIT A PROPOSAL (Deadline: June 5th)
• APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP (Deadline June 5th)

The schedule will be sent out in the first week of June, so watch your inboxes for that.

We can't wait to see you all!