Binghamton University graduate students are continuing a decade-old tradition this week with a three-day conference on creative writing aimed at connecting the BU community with the world of literature.

Thursday will mark the start of the 11th annual conference, titled Writing by Degrees. The program is hosted by creative writing graduate students in the master’s and doctoral programs at BU. The event will be held at the Bundy Mansion on 129 Main St. in Binghamton and is set to feature panels of authors and poets primarily from the East Coast.

“[The conference] is a way for Binghamton University students to connect with writers around the country, to meet students all across the country and to improve their own writing,” Aaryn-Wynn Nardone, co-director of the conference, said.

The panels are categorized into three groups: fiction, poetry and nonfiction. Each panelist will read his or her piece of work, after which they will give a craft talk. During this period, the panelists will discuss how they came up with their ideas and exchange tips on writing.

“The panels showed a terrific range of topics … and the readings were spectacular — not just powerful keynote readers, but graduate student readings that showed the future direction of American letters,” said Suzanne Paola, a keynote speaker from the 2006 conference, according the WBD’s Web site.

Because of the interactive nature of the panel, organizers hope it will allow for BU graduates, undergraduates, alumni and the public to meet with other writers and to improve their own writing skills.

At the end of the panelists’ presentations, a keynote speaker does a reading of his or her work. This year’s keynote speakers are Helena Maria Viramontes, Alex Lemon and Jenny Boylan.

Viramontes is the author of a number of novels, including “The Moths and Other Stories,” and has been featured in “The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women.” Lemon, a writer of poetry, has been published in a multitude of magazines, such as Best American Poetry 2008.

Like these talented writers, panelists at the conference are looking to “[make] their way” in the writing world, Nardone explained.

The graduate students run the panelist-selection process, which is “based on the merit of their writing,” Nardone said.

According to Nardone, after analyzing the submitted works of writers from other universities nationwide, the graduates choose who will present as panelists.

Boylan, author of a collection of stories entitled “Remind me to Murder you Later,” among other novels and memoirs, has made numerous appearances on Oprah and other nationally-recognized television talk shows.

Mary McNamara, a junior majoring in English, helped at last year’s conference as an intern for Harpur Palate, BU’s literary journal.

“[The conference] is important because of the way it brings everybody together to relax and enjoy the work of really talented people,” McNamara said.

She said that Writing by Degrees allows for everyone to see what is going on in the contemporary world of creative writing.

Writing by Degrees is sponsored in part by an array of groups and organizations both on and off campus. Some of these include BU’s Creative Writing Program, the English department, the Graduate Student Association, Java Joe’s and the Main Street Baptist Church, according to WBD’s site.

The event is open and free to the public. For more information, visit the organization’s Web site at writingbydegrees.binghamton.edu.