The 24th annual conference of the Tennessee Mountain Writers, Inc. will be held March 29-31, 2012 in the DoubleTree Hotel, 215 S. Illinois, Ave., Oak Ridge, Tennessee with the theme: "Write This Minute!."
The conference will begin with a reception on Thursday evening, March 29, at 6:00 p.m., with a light buffet and presenters' previews. It continues the next morning with a coffee and welcome followed by two days of workshops and special sessions. Friday's events run from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Saturday events begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude that evening with a writing awards banquet and guest speaker.
Established writers with numerous books and magazine articles to their credit will conduct the writing workshops and present the special sessions. Attendees will have the option to participate at various levels ranging from a single class to the full conference. The workshops will consist of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, editing, and writing for young people genres. Special sessions will be presented about songwriting, book publishing and marketing. A bookstore will be open in the hotel during the conference with books for sale by faculty authors and TMW members as well as literature on every aspect of writing. Also, the conference provides attendees an abundance of networking opportunities.
For conference details including the schedule, registration, fees, writing contest rules, and more visit the Web site www.tmwi.org or call 865-671-6046 for a brochure or write to TMWI, P. O. Box 5435, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-5435. E-mail: mail@tmwi.org Registration and payment may be made online.
The conference sponsors a writing contest with plaques and cash prizes awarded to winners in the categories of fiction, children's literature, inspirational, nonfiction and poetry genres. The deadline for contest entries is Feb. 1. The student writing contest is coordinated through high school English departments. The manuscript evaluation deadline is March 1. The conference pre-registration deadline is March 17. For lodging, call the DoubleTree Hotel at 865-481-2468 or 1-800-222-8733.
A limited number of scholarships are available to the conference based on need and interest in writing. The deadline for requesting a scholarship is February 1. For more information contact scholarships@tmwi.org
Banquet and General Session speaker: The featured speaker at the writing contest awards banquet on Saturday evening will be Loraine M. Lopez, author and associate professor of English at Vanderbilt University. She teaches in the Master of Fine Arts Program of Vanderbilt. Her awards include the Independent Publisher book Award for multicultural fiction, the Paterson Award for fiction, the International Latino Award for short stories, and the inaugural Miguel Marmol Prize for fiction. Her recent books include a novel, The Realm of Happy Spirits, and a forthcoming edited collection of essays, The Other Latin. Her fiction has appeared in numerous national publications.
Fiction: Joseph Bathanti, award winning novelist and professor of creative writing at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, will conduct the fiction workshop. His novel, East Eden, won the Carolina Novel Award, a second novel, Coventry, won the Novella Literary Award and a collection of short stories, High Heart, won the Spokane Prize. He also is the author of a nonfiction book and six books of poetry.
Nonfiction: Karen McElmurray, nonfiction author, novelist, and university professor, will lead the creative nonfiction workshop. Since 2008, she has taught at Murray State University in Kentucky. She has been a faculty member of the University of Virginia, University of North Carolina, Virginia Tech., and the University of Georgia as well as the writer-in-residence at Berry College in Georgia.
Poetry: Rita Quillen, author of three books of poetry, will conduct the poetry workshop. Her work has been featured in literary journals and anthologies including the new "Southern Poetry Anthology." Her recent book, Her Secret Dreams: New and Collected Poems, was named the 2008 Poetry Book of the Year by the Appalachian Writers' Association.
Writing for young people: Dr. Doris Gove, biologist, will conduct the writing for children workshop. She writes books on natural history for children as well as hiking guides emphasizing natural history. She has written six children's books, four hiking guides, and The Smokies Trivia Book. Her most recent book for children was The Smokies Yukky Book. Gove lives in Knoxville, holds a doctorate in biology from the University of Tennessee and frequently leads hikes on the Appalachian Trail.
Editing: Katy Koontz, freelance writer and editor, will present the editing workshop. She was feature and travel editor at "McCall's" magazine and her newspaper credits include bylines in the "New York Times "and the "Washington Post" among others.
Social Media: Terri Grigsby Brooks, owner of Terri Brooks Marketing, will offer a special session on social media. Her marketing strategy for entrepreneurs includes promotional products, advertising specialties and online and social media.
Songwriting: The songwriting special session will be conducted by Karen E. Reynolds, nationally recognized artist and owner of a consulting and career coaching agency for independent artists. She hosts "Writer's Block," a Nashville station that showcases independent artists. She has taught songwriting and music business at the University of Tennessee.
Promoting Nonfiction Books: Linda and James O'Connor, award winning public relations firm owners for 20 years, will offer a special session on promoting nonfiction books through publicity and marketing.
E-Book Publishing: Charles Connor, founder of the "Harriette Austin Writing Program" of the University of Georgia, will conduct a special session on E-Book publishing. He has extensive experience and success in electronic publishing, which he considers the dominant force in publishing today.
Historic Fiction: Dr. Dac Crossley, historic fiction genre, will lead a special session titled "How to be a writer without a publisher." He was professor of entomology at the University of Georgia for 30 years.
The manuscripts of aspiring writers too often remain hidden in desk drawers and are never read by a literary agent, publisher or even a fellow member of a writing group. It is recommended that beginning writers try the latter for starters or enter a writing contest or attend a writing conference somewhere, perhaps in Oak Ridge in March 2012...
A nonprofit organization, TMWI is a member of the Arts Council of Oak Ridge. The project is funded under an agreement with the Tennessee Arts commission and the National Endowment for the Arts as well as donations by individuals and businesses. A board of directors and officers of area writers elected by the membership govern and operate TMWI.
Moreover, on January 13-15, TMWI in conjunction with the Tennessee Writers Alliance will sponsor its annual concurrent poetry and fiction workshops called "January Jumpstart" at the Magnuson Hotel (formerly Best Western) in Sweetwater, TN. Poet Marianne Worthington and fiction instructor Cary Holladay will conduct the workshops. The event will open with an informal social hour on Friday evening with the workshops on Saturday and Sunday. For additional information and registration please visit www.tmwi.org, or contact Sue Richardson Orr at theorrs@usit.net
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Hayden Evans
W. Hayden Evans is a journalist, author and free-lance writer, a retired U.S. Army officer and a former banker who lives in Clinton. He currently serves as Director of Public Relations/Communications for Temp Systems, Inc. and TSI Industrial, Inc. In addition to his many other activities (such as Tennessee Mountain Writers - of which he is one of the founding members) Hayden has been an active supporter and member of the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce for decades - and also a member of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. |
Hayden Evans
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