Springfield's history, amenities draw writers' groups

“I pitched this conference as ‘a place where the Old West began,’” said Steven Law, a local resident and WWA member. “And it’s certainly true. Before the Kansas railheads, there was southwest Missouri, where the cattle drives came through. During the civil war there was the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, and guerilla warfare, which the James and Youngers and William Quantrill participated in.”

Other notable events include the shootout between Wild Bill Hickock and Dave Tutt on the Springfield square, which Law said “was the first of its kind and opened the door of the gunfighter myth (that) became so famous.”

Law said Springfield is the farthest east WWA has gathered, and this year’s event was also one of the largest conferences since the organization began holding them in 1953.

“We had over 240 participants from all over the United States and Canada, including book editors from New York and Amazon.com in Seattle,” Law said, noting that a book distributor from Levy Home Entertainment also was in attendance.

The WWA event included a book signing co-sponsored by PFI Western Store and Borders Books. Cynthia Hammond, a corporate sales representative with Borders in Springfield, said the signing, held at PFI, drew 84 writers and a good response from the public. “We were slammed,” Hammond said.

Dana Maugans, director of sales with the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, said that in addition to history, the Ozarks’ natural amenities draw writers’ groups. The Association of Outdoor Writers and the Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers brought a combined 350 people to the city in 2003 and outdoor press and media associations visited the city in 2004 and 2006.

“We are a clean, safe community,” Maugans said. “There is a lot to do in the area as the outdoors go. There are hiking trails and walking trails and we are near the lake.”

Makings of a literary festival

Paul Johns, executive director of the Writer’s Hall of Fame of America, believes writers can be a popular attraction in their own right. Right now, the Writer’s Hall of Fame’s displays are at the Library Center, but Johns hopes to find a permanent home that could serve as a magnet to area writers.

“Hopefully, for young writers, we could demystify the writing life,” Johns said. “They’ll say, ‘Well, if they could do it so can I.’ We also would envision it as a learning center for aspiring writers.”

William Brandon “Bucky” Bowman of the Springfield Regional Arts Council would like to see the Writer’s Hall of Fame located in a new space at the Creamery Arts Center.

“We are going to have to raise money to build a new wing … because, like the Writer’s Hall of Fame of America, there are many arts groups out there who don’t have a home and should be housed down here in (the) arts center,” Bowman said.

Bowman has bigger plans to put Springfield on the literary map, though, with an annual Missouri Literary Festival to be held in Springfield.

The first festival already is in the works for Oct. 3–5, 2008, at Hammons Field. Springfield Cardinals General Manager Matt Gifford and Vice President of Sales and Marketing Kirk Elmquist are among early supporters for the event.

Bowman has put together a steering committee of 25 people, including Gifford and Elmquist, to orchestrate the festival.

“I’ve gathered together 25 geniuses, which will bring such guidance,” Bowman said. “Many of them are authors themselves, (including) Jack Stack and Todd Parnell.”

Bowman has tapped Warwick Sabin – founder of the Arkansas Literary Festival in Little Rock, which is the closest such event to Springfield – to head the steering committee.[[In-content Ad]]