CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Clarksville Arts & Heritage Development Council, in partnership with Austin Peay State University and the Tennessee Arts Commission, has announced the 11th Annual Clarksville Writers Conference. The event will be held June 4 and 5 on the campus of Austin Peay State University.
This year’s keynote speaker will be Sharyn McCrumb, an award-winning Southern writer best known for her Appalachian “Ballad” novels, including the New York Times bestsellers The Ballad of Tom Dooley and She Walks These Hills, as well as the forthcoming Prayers the Devil Answers. McCrumb will speak at Thursday evening’s banquet at the Club Level of Austin Peay State University’s newly renovated Governors Stadium, featuring a view of the historic campus.
The conference banquet will include two days of presentations and workshops throughout Thursday and Friday on the APSU campus. Authors scheduled to speak include:
* E.W. Brooks, author of the breakout series Mafietta and owner of publishing company E.W. Brooks Books;
* Nick Allen Brown, fiction writer and author of novels Field of Dead Horses and The Astronaut from Bear Creek;
* Steven Cox, editor of Once I Too Had Wings, a selection of personal journal entries by early 20th century Appalachian writer and artist, Emma Bell Miles;
* Rod Davis, award-winning novelist and author of South, America, Corina’s Way and American Voudou: Journey into a Hidden World;
* Amy Greene, author of New York Times bestselling novel Bloodroot and the critically acclaimed follow-up Long Man;
* Stuart Horwitz, founder and principal of New England-based independent editing firm Book Architecture and author of Blueprint Your Bestseller and Book Architecture;
* Ellen Kanervo, conference chair and project leader of C is for Clarksville on the Cumberland, an art and alphabet book about the city;
* Barry Kitterman, fiction editor of Zone 3 Magazine and author of novel The Baker’s Boy and short story collection “From the San Joaquin”;
* Bob Mayer, author of science fiction series Atlantis and Area 51 and thrillers The Green Beret Series and The Presidential Series and founder of publishing company Cool Gus;
* Carol Ponder and Robert Kiefer, award-winning theatre and music professionals whose My Father’s War: A Story of War, Survival and Grace combines memoir, music and spoken word into a reader’s theatre performance;
* Margaret Prim, executive director of the Pennyroyal Arts Council and project leader of H is for Hopkinsville, an art and alphabet book about the city;
* Karen Skolfield, poet and author of Frost in the Low Areas, winner of the 2014 PEN New England Award in poetry and the First Book Award from Zone 3 Press;
* Eleanor Williams, Montgomery County Historian and author of local history books Homes and Happenings, Cabins to Castles and Worship along the Warioto.
Also available to conference participants will be free manuscript consultations with Ken Sherman, literary agent with Los Angeles-based Ken Sherman & Associates.
A complete package including all conference activities is offered, as well as a la carte options. Late registrations should be postmarked by May 28. Visit the conference website for author bios, the conference schedule, registration information and more.