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From the President's Desk: There's Gold in Them Thar Conference Rooms!

by Jack El-Hai

Every year when I inform certain friends that I am once again flying 1,100 miles to New York City to attend the ASJA annual writers conference, they roll their eyes. They can't believe that I could possibly want to attend the same conference 11 or 12 years in a row, except as an excuse to do something else. They wonder whether I have a mistress in the Bronx, or whether I am obsessed with the salami hanging in the windows at Katz Deli, or whether I have a childish fixation on riding the Staten Island ferry. (For some reason, they never picture me indulging in any culturally or intellectually stimulating activity, like studying the Braque paintings at the Museum of Modern Art. I wonder why?)

These friends believe that year after year of chilled meeting rooms and variations on baked chicken for lunch cannot be all that alluring. And they are right. Naturally, those of us in ASJA who repeatedly attend the conference don't go for the temperature or the cuisine, although the rooms are not always cold and the food is sometimes quite good. We show up at the conference because the experience makes us rich. Or at least enriches us.

* I've gained, first of all, in knowledge. The conference has taught me how to write an effective book proposal, give a speech, use the Internet resourcefully, structure better narratives, organize research, shift from writing nonfiction to writing fiction, juggle time, and discover new approaches to my work.

* I have found new work at the conference. The remarks of several panelists and speakers, including an editor at The Atlantic Monthly, helped me sell stories to those publications. I also met my literary agent on a conference panel, and she sold one of my books.

* I've been entertained and inspired. Many luncheon speakers of the past—including Kitty Kelley, Olivia Goldsmith, Dominick Dunne, Buzz Bissinger, and Barbara Ehrenreich—have proved to me that many great writers are also great speakers capable of opening our eyes to new ways of doing what we do. In addition, the presentation of ASJA awards and the remarks of the recipients remind me how much high quality work our members produce.

* I've struck it rich in friendship. I see most of my ASJA buddies only once a year at this conference. When a favorite colleague hovers into view, it is as if no time at all has passed since our last meeting in the same surroundings.

* I have met and learned from the famous. At the conference I've personally bumped into Susan Orlean, Dava Sobel, Simon Winchester and Lawrence Weschler, among other well-known writers. That was long before I became an ASJA officer, in case you're wondering.

* At times, I have regressed in age and in cynicism. That's how I feel when I talk to the young writers and new ASJA members who come to the conference. I get a fresh look at our profession through their eyes, and I see fresh possibilities and the sheer excitement of setting down ideas in print.

* I've found new resources to help me in my work. Ever since the conference's Idea Marketplace exposed me to such aides as Profnet and Lexis-Nexis, I have worked more efficiently.

* The conference has led me to increasingly value my ASJA membership. The annual business meeting on Members' Day shows a great deal about how ASJA works. Each trip to New York is a reminder of some useful program or service that had slipped my mind.

* And I have taken advantage of the opportunity to indulge my childish fixation on riding the Staten Island ferry.

By the time you read this, it may be nearly too late to register for the conference. Don't wait, and if you're an ASJA member go directly to www.asja.org/members/wc/2007/2007fees.php. If you're not a member, visit http://www.asja.org/wc/2007/2007fees.php. You'll get rich, and your friends don't have to know that your real reasons for attending are entirely professional.

You can reach ASJA President Jack El-Hai at prez@asja.org.

Jack El-Hai of Minneapolis, Minnesota, is president of ASJA. E-mail the president through www.asja.org/contact.php.