AWP | Writing Motherhood in Post-Roe America
A person's decision whether or not to become a parent or guardian has long been a subject of writers. In the wake of the Supreme Court overturning the right to abortions, how does this dramatic shift in government oversight and assault on bodily autonomy shape the way we write about the value and specific work of mothering, teach antiracism to our children, and offer new narratives on parenting, guardianship, and motherhood? This panel draws together multidisciplinary writers to discuss parenting, identity, and what can be done to combat the latest crisis facing American families and communities.
This event takes place in-person at the Seattle Convention Center. AWP Conference registration is required to attend. Learn more here.
Jessamine Chan
Jessamine Chanâs short stories have appeared in Tin House and Epoch. A former reviews editor at Publishers Weekly, she holds an MFA from Columbia University. Her first novel, The School for Good Mothers, is a New York Times bestseller and a Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club pick. She lives in Chicago with her husband and daughter.
Sonora Jha
Sonora Jha is the author of four books, including the novel The Laughter, winner of the 2024 Washington State Book Award. Her previous books are the novel Foreign (2013) and the memoir How To Raise A Feminist Son (2021). After a career as a journalist covering crime, politics, and culture in India and Singapore, she moved to the United States to earn a Ph.D. in media and public affairs. Sonoraâs work has been featured in The New York Times, on the BBC, in literary anthologies, and elsewhere. She is a Loyola Endowed Professor at Seattle University and lives in Seattle. Her new novel, Intemperance, will be out from Harper Via in October 2025.
Claire Dederer
Claire Dederer is the bestselling author of two critically acclaimed memoirs: Love and Trouble and Poser. Her new nonfiction book, Monsters, is based on her viral Paris Review essay "What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men?" Monsters will be published by Knopf in April 2023. Claire's writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Nation, Vogue, Slate, and many other publications. She is the recipient of a Lannan Foundation residency and is currently on the faculty of the Creative Writing MFA at Pacific University.
Angela Garbes
Angela Garbes is the author of Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change, called âa landmark and a lightning stormâ by the New Yorker. Her first book, Like a Mother, was an NPR Best Book of the Year and finalist for the Washington State Book Award in nonfiction. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Cut, New York, Bon AppĂ©tit, and featured on NPR's Fresh Air. Garbes is also a community advocate for reproductive justice, working families, and equity and inclusion. A first-generation Filipina American, lives with her family in Seattle.Â
