Thursday, July 17 through —Saturday, 19, 2025
Please join us on Thursday, July 17, at the Springhill Suites in Denton, Texas. Registration opens at 3:00 pm and goes till 5:30. Then, we kick off the Conference with an open mic, emceed by Michael Guinn. (Please note, poems must be family friendly!) Then, it’s off to get plenty of rest for the next day and a half of activities! Please note contest information (for attendees only!) below.
Registration is NOW OPEN!
Hotel and Registration Information – complete the form (payment can be made by mail or by PayPal (add $2); either way, you need to send in the registration form by USPS or email).
PayPal Payments: Payments for the conference can be made on-line if you have a PayPal account. If paying by PayPal, please add $2 to cover fees.
Friday, July 18
Friday starts with a free breakfast for those registered at the hotel. At 8:30, Corbett Buchly will speak on “Balancing the Concrete with the Ambiguous.” At 9:30, Kathryn Merry, Roger Bussèll, and Michael Guinn will provide us with what promises to be a very interesting and informative panel on poetry presentation. At 10:50, we will hear a reading from the winner of this year’s William D. Barney Memorial Chapbook Contest. Next, we’ll have the first half of the “You Be the Judge” contest readings from Bob Schinzel and Steve Sanders. Then, we break for lunch – a box lunch provided by a local sandwich shop (you will get to choose your menu in a later email) with entertainment from DeCee Cornish, an award-winning storyteller! After lunch, we hear the rest of the “You Be the Judge” entries and then roll right into a critiquing circle panel with James Neiswender, Beth Honeycutt, Christine Irving and Bob Schinzel. Be sure to bring a poem or two to critique! At 3:00, Diane Glancy and Richard Kushmaul will give us a presentation on “How to Shape a Book,” using actual experience from “PIECE,” Diane’s Catherine Case Lubbe Manuscript Contest winner that Richard edited. Christine Irving and Susan Maxwell Campbell will present on “When Poets Meet” at 4:00 and then we will hear from University of North Texas Regents Emeritus Professor Bruce Bond. After a break, where you can stroll through the bookroom or freshen up in your room, we have our banquet with a whole host of “extras” – the DPA contest winners will be announced, “You Be the Judge” winners announced, we conclude the Life Member Auction, hear our keynote speaker, Megan Willome, author of “The Joy of Poetry,” and hear from our entertainer for the evening, Doug Burr, a singer/songwriter of unusual resonance! You might think that would be all for this very busy day, but we don’t call it quits until another open mic with Michael Guinn!
Saturday, July 19
On Saturday, we begin at 8:30 am with the PST Monthly Meeting and Councilor’s Meeting, including the announcement of Monthly Contest winners. At 9:30, we hear from Betty Roberts with “Writing Prompts,” a workshop where you will get the chance to share. Then, we’ll have a Close Read Presentation with Q&A from Paul Causey, Beth Honeycutt, and Kathryn Merry. We close out our presentations with a talk by Steve Sanders on “Persona Poetry” and then have a quick plenary session to close out the 2025 conference.
Throughout the Conference
Bookroom: All attendees and speakers may place their books for sale in the bookroom. These books must be pre-registered with Richard Kushmaul by email (before the 15th of July.) Send a list of all books you intend to sell with: Author’s name, Title of the book, Number of books of each Title, and the Price for each Title (MS Word .docx file ). Richard sets up spreadsheets for each author in advance. Bring your books to the Bookroom already labeled and ready for sale. Place a 3”X 3” removable Post-it-Note label (or something similar) inside the cover, with the following information listed: Author, Title, Price.
Contests and Raffle
You Be the Judge Contest: A PST Tradition. A contest for attendees. In an effort to streamline this contest, the line length has been reduced to 15 lines, plus title. The line width is 60 characters. These poems will be read aloud then the attendees vote for the winners. Place your entry poem in a folder at registration.
DPA “When Poets Meet” Contest: Open NOW, this is a special contest sponsored by Christine Irving and Susan Maxwell Campbell. Here’s how to submit!
Life Member Raffle: A Friday Night Tradition. Prizes will be donated by PST Chapters and individuals. The proceeds help fund PST’s Life Memberships. Prizes will be on display in the bookroom.
Registration is NOW OPEN!
Hotel and Registration Information – complete the form (payment can be made by mail or by PayPal (add $2); either way, you need to send in the registration form by USPS or email).
PayPal Payments: Payments for the conference can be made on-line if you have a PayPal account. If paying by PayPal, please add $2 to cover fees.