Register here for Hub City's 2008 Writing in Place conference, which will be held Aug. 1-3 at Wofford College. We will take up to 72 students this year in this intensive writing conference that appeals to both beginners and professionals. Tommy Hays, author of the novel The Pleasure Was Mine is the keynote speaker. This year we have added a two-day class in screenwriting, in addition to fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction! Published novelists, poets, essayists, and literary critics lead a series of workshops over three days that include intense instruction, challenging exercises, and an opportunity for feedback.

Registrants must sign up for one of four tracks: poetry, fiction, screen-writing and creative non-fiction. Our instructors will expect you to write during this conference, and we have planned a weekend with "downtime" for that purpose. We also want you to have time for networking with faculty and new friends.

Register Now!

2007 Faculty

BETSY COX (Fiction) is the author of The Slow Moon, Bargains in the Real World, Night Talk, The Ragged Way People Fall Out of Love, and Familiar Ground. She is the John C. Cobb Endowed Chair in the Humanities at Wofford College.

PETER CASTER (Screenwriting) has authored a book and numerous articles studying twentieth-century film and literature. He has taught writing for eleven years, currently at USC Upstate. He is the author of Prisons, Race and Masculinity in Twentieth Century U.S. Literature and Film (Ohio State University Press, 2008)

VERA GOMEZ (Reading Your Work Out Loud) is a performance poet/writer from Greenville. Her performance credits including reading at the Visualite Theatre in Charlotte and at the National Chicano and Chicana Studies Conference.

JOHN LANE ("Mapping Your Memoir") is the author of Circling Home, Chattooga: Descending into the Myth of Deliverance River and Waist Deep in Black Water, all published by UGA Press. A published poet and playwright, he teaches creative writing at Wofford College.

TOMMY HAYS (Keynote and fiction) is Executive Director of the Great Smokies Writing Program in Asheville. His recent novel The Pleasure Was Mine was read on National Public Radio's "Radio Reader" hosted by Dick Estell. Previous novels include In the Family Way and Sam's Crossing.

SEBASTIAN MATTHEWS (Creative Nonfiction) teaches at Warren Wilson College in Asheville and edits Rivendell, a place-based literary journal. He is the author of the memoir, In My Father's Foodsteps, the story of his relationship with his father, the legendary poet William Matthews.

RICK MULKEY (Poetry) is the author of four poetry books including: Toward Any Darkness and Bluefield Breakdown. He has taught creative writing and American literature at colleges, universities and writing workshops in the United States and Europe. Most recently, he directed the MFA Creative Writing program at Wichita State University. He currently teaches poetry and American literature at Converse College, where he directs the creative writing major.

JENNIE NEIGHBORS (Poetry) is the author of the poetry collection Between the Twilight and the Sky, which will be published in fall 2008 by Parlor Press. Her work has appeared in Ugly Duckling Presse's Poste Card Series, Osiris, neotrope, Dirigible, gestalten, and elsewhere. She teaches at Wofford College.

LYN RIDDLE (True Crime Writing: Craft or Crass?) will publish her fourth true crime book First We'll Kill My Husband (Kensington Press) in August. Her other books are Ashes to Ashes, Overkill and Family Blood. She is also the editor of Community Journals newspapers in Greenville, Spartanburg and Anderson and teaches journalism at Furman University in Greenville

SUSAN TEKULVE (Lyric Fiction) has a short fiction chapbook, My Mother's War Stories, that was published by Winnow Press in 2005.  An associate professor of English at Converse College, she has published fiction and nonfiction in journals such as Shenandoah, New Letters, and Best New Writing 2007.  

PATRICK WHITFILL (Narrative Complexity in Poetry) is the 2008-2009 writer in residence with the Hub City Writers Project. He holds a PhD in creative writing from Texas Tech University and has published in such journals as Poet Lore and Alabama Literary Review.

Schedule

Friday
5:00 pm Registration begins
6:00 pm Barbecue
7:00 pm Panel discussion with faculty
8:00 pm Writing classes

Saturday
8:00 am Coffee and Danish
9:00 am Opening session
9:30 am Writing classes

Noon: Lunch
1 pm Writing time
3 pm Writing classes
6 pm Social Hour/Dinner at Hub-bub
7:30 pm Keynote with Tommy Hays
8:30 pm Open mic

Sunday
8:00 am Coffee and Danish
9-10 Concurrent sessions
    Lyric Fiction
    Reading Your Work Aloud
10-11 Concurrent sessions
    True Crime Writing
    Narrative complexity in Poetry
11-12 Concurrent sessions
    Mapping Your Memoir
    TBA

Conference lodging

Lodging is available in a Wofford College dormitory for $15 a night. These are single rooms, and you will not have a roommate. Please check the appropriate box if you intend to stay at Wofford. Other hotels in the area include the Marriott at Renaissance Park (864-596-1211), the Inn on Main (864-585-5001), and the Fairfield (864-542-0333). PLEASE NOTE: The Wofford dorm rooms are spartan, and the beds are four feet off the floor. If you have difficulty reaching a bed that high, please consider a motel room.

What to bring

For your comfort, please bring a sweater or jacket. Classrooms can sometimes be chilly. Bring a notebook and writing instrument. You may also bring a laptop. If you want to take part in the open mic, bring a short piece of your work to read. Overnighters should bring a pillow and blanket for a single bed. Sheets and towels are provided.

About Manuscript Critiques

Manuscript critiques are available on Sunday morning on a first-come, first-served basis. The price is $30 for a 30-minute session. You can sign up for these as you register. Then you will send us one copy of your manuscript by July 1. Manuscript limits are: poetry: 5 poems; short story, creative nonfiction, or screenwriting: 15 pages. Please do no send more pages than stipulated, and do not revise the manuscript once sent.

Discounts

If you have joined the Hub City Writers Project as a member at the $30 level or higher, tuition to the conference is reduced to $145. This membership also entitles you to 25 percent discount on Hub City books. If you have questions about whether you have made a donation, email us. The DONATE button is on the home page.

Conference history

Past Instructors and keynote speakers for our conference have included: Fred Chappell, George Singleton, Elizabeth Cox, Ron Rash, Nikky Finney, Janisse Ray, Rebecca McClanahan, Claire Bateman, Frye Gaillard, Ruth Moose, Rosa Shand, Cathy Smith Bowers, Deno Trakas, Tom McConnell, and many others.

Register Now!