AWP (the Association of Writers and Writing Programs) brings its annual writing conference to Chicago this year which means hordes (literally!) of writers young and old will be descending on Chicago starting Wednesday. Look for plenty of action in the Loop, where the four-day event gets going at the Palmer House Hilton (if you want to attend, check their website for registration details). But do not despair if you can't attend because there's going to be plenty of writer spillover into area bookstores, bars, clubs, and coffeehouses (psst...check out our Slowdown section) as writers from far and near get their word on through Saturday.