In the first days of March 2012, seven members—Lauren Nielsen, Danielle Koch, Antonia Lliteras Espinosa, Allyson Batis, Hannah Lund, Tonya Tienter, Allison Croat (plus faculty Diane and Peter Scholl)—attended the convention in New Orleans.

Several of these students, including the five who were in a panel presentation on this year’s Common Reader, Bellocq’s Ophelia, presented a version of this panel at the Black History Conference in February here at Luther and they will also be presenters at Luther’s Research Symposium, May 5, as will Hannah Lund. Though 2012 did not bring prizes our way at the convention, our chapter members have frequently been awarded scholarships and prizes which are announced first at the convention.

Next year the convention will be in Portland, OR, March 20-23, 2013, and the convention theme will be “Open Book.” The Common Reader for 2012-13 is Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman.