General Information

Times, lunch, and break information

On Friday, March 27, and Saturday, March 28, registration starts at 8:00 a.m. Refreshments are available at 8:00 a.m. both days, included in the fee. Please pre-register for critique workshops; rooms will be posted in the lobby.

The fee for the special Friday networking lunch, workshop and prize fun is $12.50.

Lunch on Saturday, March 29, is on your own. Breaks are included in the workshop fee.

Please consult schedule for times of sessions.

On the lakeshore, lots of things to do. Want to bring the family? www.visitmadison.com

The Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St., is on the shores of Lake Mendota, with a hiking path along the lake. Lowell Center, 610 Langdon St., is one block east. Our Centers are a block away from colorful State Street, which leads to the State Capitol and downtown square (10-minute hike), with many restaurants, stores, a movie theater, the Overture Center for the Arts, and more along the way. It also sits across from one of the nation’s finest historical libraries, housing genealogical treasures and one of the nation’s largest movie industry collections. You can rent bikes up the street. For the family, the free Henry Vilas Park Zoo is very nice, with a nifty new habitat for endangered frogs and more.

Your fee includes goodies

Early bird registration—$145 for Friday or Saturday/Sunday or $245 combo fee by March 7; $50 Sunday critique workshops. ($155/$265/$60 after March 7). Fee includes instruction, handout materials, morning continental breakfast Friday/Saturday, afternoon refreshments, Sunday coffee/tea, and the spring issue of Creativity Connection. Pitches, contest, Friday luncheon extra; please see registration form. Must be enrolled for Friday or Saturday/Sunday in order to pitch or enter contest.

Continuing Education Units (CEU)

Participants earn 0.6 CEU Fricay or Saturday, 0.3 on Sunday (total 1.5). A CEU is a nationally recognized way of recording your participation in noncredit professional development.

Teachers

The University of Wisconsin-Madison programs are approved toward re-licensure by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

What to wear

"Dressy casual" clothes and good walking shoes are the norm. Outside, late March in Wisconsin can be just about anything from winter to spring, the 70s to the 30s, sunny, rain or late-season snow, so please check weather forecasts before packing.

Parking

You receive parking information with your enrollment confirmation, but we recommend the "State Street/Campus" parking facility, with two entrances on the 400 blocks of either N. Frances or N. Lake Streets. Both of our centers are only one block away from there. Or call (608) 262-1122 for advice and maps. UW parking permits cost $10 per day. Hotels usually offer free parking; some offer free shuttles to campus.

Campus map
Parking and transportation

Child care

Call the Office of Campus Child Care, (608) 262-9715.

Overnight accommodations that are closest to us—make your reservation NOW!

Lodging is on your own. We have reserved a block of rooms in two hotels:

• Lowell Center, 610 Langdon St., (608) 256-2621 (free parking, breakfast, pool, one block away from Pyle Center conference building). $81/$91. Group Code is "Writers."
• Doubletree Hotel (formerly Howard Johnson's Plaza Hotel), toll free 1-800-222-TREE (near the Kohl Center, about five blocks easy walk/free shuttle). $119. Group Code W18 (Writers' Institute 8), www.doubletreemadison.com.

A tip:  If the convenient Lowell Center (listed above) is full the day you call, call back shortly before the conference. Rooms frequently open at the last minute as other reserved conference blocks are released to the public.

Also in the campus/downtown area:

• Campus Inn & Chancellor's Club (formerly Madison Inn), 601 Langdon St., (608) 257-4391 (across the street from Lowell Center, free parking, no pool, remodeled/new)
• University Inn, 441 N. Frances St., (608) 257-4881 (borders State St., next to State Street Brats Bar & Grill; two blocks from Pyle Center/remodeled top to bottom, new furnishings, in January 2007)
• Inn on the Park, (608) 257-8811 (located on the Capitol Square, at other end of State Street from our conference center, a leisurely 20-minute walk)
• Hilton Madison Monona Terrace, (608) 255-5100 (Newer luxury hotel, located just off the Capitol Square, a 25-minute walk)
• Concourse Hotel, (608) 256-6000, (located at other end of State Street from us, an easy 20-minute walk; very nice and with amenities)
• The Edgewater, (608) 256-9071 (about five blocks, on Lake Mendota)

West of the State Street area:

• Friedrick Center, 1950 Willow Dr., (608) 231-1341 (10-minute walk along a lake path). $79/89.
• BestWestern InnTowner, (608) 233-8778 (five minute drive or 45-minute walk; free shuttle both ways until 10 PM)

Most lodging chains are located in Madison. The drive from your favorite hotel/motel at our outer edges and shopping areas to the Pyle Center won't take you more than 20 minutes in even heavy traffic.

Bed-and-Breakfasts near your conference location

• Mansion Hill Inn, (608) 255-3999 (10 blocks on N. Pinckney near the lake)

• Madison Hostel, www.madisonhostel.org, 141 S. Butler St., 608-441-0144 (just off the square, about 25-minute walk). The Madison Hostel welcomes nonmembers, offers private rooms. About $45/day

For more information

Call Christine DeSmet, director at (608) 262-3447 or e-mail her at cdesmet@dcs.wisc.edu

Critique services after the conference

We critique throughout the year, including novels, articles, poetry, nonfiction book proposals, short stories, screenplays, and newsletters. Fees vary, depending on the project. Please contact us first before sending material:  Critique Services, LS&A, 610 Langdon Street, Room 621, Madison, WI 53703. Or call (608) 262-3447, or e-mail Christine DeSmet at cdesmet@dcs.wisc.edu. Christine will be glad to give a quick look at a one-page synopsis or a query letter at no charge any time.

How to register

Special thanks

…to Waldenbooks at West Towne Mall, Madison, for continued support of UW-Madison programs for writers.
…The Writer magazine, for support of Continuing Studies writing programs.
…UW-Madison Anonymous Fund, for support of Continuing Studies programs.

Please advise us as soon as possible if you have a disability and require accommodations. Requests are confidential. UW-Madison provides equal opportunities in employment and programming including Title IX requirements.

This conference is offered by UW-Madison in cooperation with UW-Extension. No Wisconsin tax dollars were used to print this publication.

To join our mailing list call Liberal Studies & the Arts,608-262-3982, or e-mail cdesmet@dcs.wisc.edu

Department of Liberal Studies & the Arts
610 Langdon Street, Rm. 715.....Madison WI 53703
Phone: 608-263-6320 or .....877-336-7836
Fax: 608-265-2475.....E-mail: liberalarts@dcs.wisc.edu

File last updated: January 2008
Feedback, questions or accessibility issues: liberalarts@dcs.wisc.edu
Copyright © 2007 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.