After earning an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Margaret Whitford spent 20 years in the not-for-profit field in senior management roles. She then returned to graduate school at Chatham University to pursue an MFA. Margaret was kind enough to answer a few questions about her upcoming trip to Lancaster for our annual writing conference:
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Q: Tell us a little about your involvement this year at HippoCamp.
A: I will be co-presenting with Janna Maron (A Case Study of a Writer-Editor Collaboration). Attendees can expect a behind-the-scenes look at what this collaboration entails and how it worked to help me complete a full draft of my memoir.
Q: Our motto is “memorable creative nonfiction.” Tell us about one of the more recent memoirs, essay collections, or individual essays you’ve read and why it was memorable.
A: Though I read this memoir as soon as it was published, Sue William Silverman’s gorgeous collection of linked essays, How to Survive Death and Other Conveniences, comes to mind. Lyrical, funny, and beautifully written.
Q: What made you decide to participate in HippoCamp this year as a speaker?
A: Janna Maron invited me to co-present with her, and I’m eager to share my experience with developmental editing so that other writers are aware of this way of working.
Q: What’s going to keep you busy between now and HippoCamp?
A: Before the opportunity to participate at HippoCamp arose, I’d committed to the Postgraduate Conference at Vermont College of Fine Arts. I will be work-shopping an essay drawn from my memoir and edited to stand alone.
Q: Since you’ll also be attending the conference, when you’re not wearing your “speaker hat,” what are you most looking forward to learning or doing?
A: Speaking with other participants. I’m sorry I cannot be there for a longer time period, but because of the conference mentioned above, I will not arrive in Lancaster until Sunday.
Q: We love introducing Lancaster to attendees. If you live here or have been here before, what would you recommend to other attendees? And, if this will be your first time here, what are you looking forward to?
A: Central Market is terrific.
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We can’t wait for Margaret to join us this year! HippoCamp 2022, a creative nonfiction conference sponsored by Hippocampus Magazine and Books, is Aug. 12-14 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. For more information or to register, visit our official conference website here.
Learn more about the conference and see details of all previous years at our magazine website’s HippoCamp page.)
