Below, you'll find the latest conference information. During the summer we will post updates of activities as well as the program. I encourage you to register online. If you have any questions about this or other matters, please contact me at aputnam@ups.edu or (253) 879-3407.

Registration
Program
Transportation
Hotel
Conference Highlights
Louis Owens Awards

Registration:

Online registration is no longer available. Please register as soon as you arrive at the WLA Conference.

You can fill out the registration form ahead of time to speed things up. Here's the registration form as a pdf-document.

CANCELLATION POLICY : If you are unable to attend the conference, please send an e-mail to wal@cc.usu.edu as soon as possible or call 435-797-1603. Expect a confirmation e-mail. If you don’t hear back from us, call.
Tour refunds can only be made 30 days in advance. Registration/meal refunds will incur a
20% handling fee if cancellation is received before Oct. 16. After that, no refunds can be
issued.

TOURS: IF YOU HAVE SIGNED UP FOR A TOUR, WE CAN NO LONGER CANCEL YOUR TOUR (we're now within that 30-day period). IF YOU HAVE NOT SIGNED UP YET, you missed your chance. TOUR REGISTRATION ENDED ON OCTOBER 5, 3 P.M. MOUNTAIN TIME. [CHECKS RECEIVED AFTER THAT DATE WILL BE RETURNED TO YOU.]

Program: Here is the FINAL VERSION of the conference program.

Transportation:

If you are flying to the WLA Conference and you have a connection with Alaska Airlines, you can ask for the WLA Conference discount. Here are the details:

For Internet/Web use, participants need to access http://www.alaskaair.com/ and input the eCert CodeECCMR9428 in the eCert Code box when filling out the Flights Quick Search box. The discount will be applied to any flights that meet the criteria of the prearranged meeting code.

After inputting the eCert Code, clicking on the question mark will pull up a screen giving general advisories regarding the use of eCerts. Clicking on [Image:332007_115833_0.bmp] on this screen will bring up a detailed description of what is allowed on this particular meeting code.

The Capital Aeroporter provides shuttle service between SeaTac and the Sheraton for the half-hour trip. Reservations are recommended. $25.00 one way. Call 1-800-962-3579 or visit the website at www.capair.com

Hotel:

Our conference hotel is the Sheraton Tacoma Hotel, located just a few blocks from the waterfront, marina, and the theater and museum district, which includes the Tacoma Art Museum, the Washington State History Museum, and the Museum of Glass. (Check out the links to the Museum of Glass, Dale Chihuly’s Bridge of Glass, the Tacoma Art Museum, and the Washington State History Museum.) Our hotel is virtually in the backyard of Mount Rainier, a seeming stone’s throw from your hotel room window.

Our negotiated rate is $129 for both single and double rooms. It is a full-service, splendid hotel, and I encourage (plead?) with everyone to reserve your rooms here, as we must fill our room block. You can make your reservations by calling 1-888-627-7044. Make sure to mention the Western Literature Association room rate discount.

As of 9-14-07, there are 10 rooms left from our room block—double beds only. But there are still other rooms available in the hotel. For the best deals on rooms outside the WLA block, go to their web site.

Once all the rooms at the Sheraton are filled, try our overflow hotel, the La Quinta. Mention WLA before Oct. 2 for discount. The hotel is a short cab ride (ca. $5.00) from the Sheraton. Their phone number: 253-383-0146.

If you don't like to ride a cab, try the Marriott Courtyard, which is in walking distance of our conference hotel.

What’s going on in and around Tacoma?

Map of Tacoma.

Conference Highlights:

Keynote speaker and Distinguished Achievement Award Winner: SHERMAN ALEXIE
Opening night speaker: David Guterson (Pen/Faulkner Award winner; Snow Falling on Cedars, Our Lady of the Forest, etc.) and a welcome by the Mayor of Tacoma.
Reading by Charles Johnson (National Book Award winner)
Panel on “Charles Johnson and the West,” hosted by the Charles Johnson Society
Poetry reading by Tess Gallagher at the banquet, held at the internationally known Museum of Glass; followed by the annual dance—this year to the Swing Society Band! In celebration of its 5th anniversary, the museum will be featuring a new exhibition by Maya Lin, the architect for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. There will also be a tour of the museum during the banquet.
Conference tour to Seattle and the Puget Sound: On Saturday, right after the conclusion of the conference, we will take a bus trip to Seattle, tour the Space Needle, and spend some time exploring Pike Place Market, before we get on a ferry for a cruise on Puget Sound.

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