Cate Marvin & Erin Belieu are starting a movement for a conference based solely on women’s writing, with an emphasis on contemporary women’s writing.

Dear Friends,

A few days ago, Cate Marvin sent out an open letter to a group of women writers detailing her concerns about certain aspects of the AWP conference and asking if other women felt the same way. She then suggested the brilliant notion of a women’s writing conference and wondered who would be interested in such a thing. The letter has since gone out to hundreds, has been posted in many places, and the response has been absolutely tremendous. This leads us to believe that our moment is definitely NOW (pun intended).

Check out the rest of the letter, along with Marvin’s original letter, by visiting their Facebook group — which already has over 3,000 members (including me) — and while you’re there you should consider joining.