Thursday, September 29, 2022
The Windham-Campbell Prizes returned to campus for its first in-person festival since 2019 and YC&E was honored to assist with their team’s planning and on-site needs! The Windham-Campbell Prizes were established in 2013 by novelist and memoirist Donald Windham in memory of his partner of 40 years, Sandy M. Campbell, to call attention to literary achievement and provide writers working in English with the opportunity to focus on their work independent of financial concerns. Prizes are awarded each spring in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama. Prizewinners receive their awards in person and participate in a multi-day literary festival in September showcasing their work and celebrating their accomplishments.
New this year was the Windham-Campbell tent, located on Cross Campus and used as a hub for the festival. Our team assisted with all logistics involving the tent, where staff hosted 3-4 events and readings each day and attendees were treated to a latte truck along with breakfast from a different New Haven vendor each day. YC&E also helped coordinate media services for events, including a special choral event at the Beinecke Library.
Our team assisted with travel, transportation, and accommodation arrangements for all Windham-Campbell prize winners and their guests, plus other VIP guests, including personalized itineraries for each person and special welcome bags at the Study Hotel at check-in.
We also coordinated most on-site support, from managing volunteers, prepping speakers, working with media services for each space, working with catering, and more. We even helped with a dance party at Gryphon’s Pub!
It was an honor to have assisted on-site and experienced this incredible literary event. Kudos to everyone who worked so hard to bring this important event to life this year!
Testimonial
“I wanted to send a note of gratitude for all of the work that [Yale Conferences & Events]… put into making the Windham-Campbell Prizes festival a success. Your timeliness, thoughtfulness, and attention to detail lifted a huge amount of stress off our shoulders and allowed us to focus on what we are good at, which curating a fantastic festival that engages the students and the community. Also, we just really like working with you :).” - Michael Kelleher, Director, Windham-Campbell Prizes
