Many faculty and programs across a wide array of university and scholastic settings offer events that center, celebrate, or showcase student writing. These are truly diverse and have a real impact on student growth, learning, and knowledge transfer at all educational levels. Whether a showcase or a celebration, whether for first year writing students or built into grad student professionalization, whether modeled on an art expo or in the style of an academic conference, these opportunities for students to share their work are worth reflecting on and situating amid other pedagogical or writing goals. We ourselves hope to showcase a variety of perspectives on the pitfalls and opportunities such celebrations offer for students, faculty, and programs.

Dr. Trisha Tucker and Professor Amy Cannon teach in the Thematic Option Honors Program at the University of Southern California where, for the last 28 years, our program has offered a Writing Conference. This is modeled on an academic conference and integrated into our required first-year writing and research curriculum. This celebration of student writing provides students with the opportunity to present their scholarship in a real-world way to a broad cohort of peers and professors. The research, writing, and public speaking skills students demonstrate at the conference are supported by carefully scaffolded assignments and activities throughout the semester. To support student learning and ensure alignment of course outcomes across sections, the program conducts interactive pre-event pedagogy workshops for writing instructors, who then work to support students as they revise their original research and writing for presentation at a real-world academic conference. We have found that aligning a celebration of student writing with course curriculum and instructor professional development has a host of benefits for our students and faculty. We know that our program is not alone—even at USC!—in offering writing conferences that celebrate or showcase student work. Whether as a conference, a showcase, or an awards model, we know that these celebrations of student writing represent a range of efforts and outcomes for the various programs that offer them, and are eager to bring together different perspectives on what it is these features of student writing have to offer—and the challenges they may present—to students, faculty, and programs alike.