Ruta Sepetys headlines 2012 Writing in Place
Hub City hosts the 12th annual Writing in Place conference on the campus of Wofford College July 13-15, 2012. This year's conference features a keynote address by bestselling young-adult novelist Ruta Sepetys, lots of new workshops, happy hour at the Hub City Bookshop, and faculty readings!
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 genres: poetry, fiction, young-adult fiction, or creative nonfiction. 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. This conference is open to 60 adult writers and sells out every year, so register early.
This conference is geared toward starting a new piece of work rather than workshopping something you have already written.
In conjunction with the Spartanburg Writing Project, recertification credits are available to certified k-12 teachers. If you are a teacher and need information about how to qualify, please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Our faculty
Anna Jean Mayhew
A.J. is the author of The Dry Grass of August (Kensington Books), winner of the 2011 Sir Walter Raleigh Award for fiction. She been a member of the same writing group since 1987, and now leads two groups herself. Her book chronicles the road trip of the Watts family as they travel without their father and with their African-American maid from Charlotte to Pensacola, Florida in the summer of 1954, just after the Brown v. Board of Education decision. The book is being translated into French and Italian for release in 2013. Visit her website
Ray McManus
Ray teaches poetry at the University of South Carolina-Sumter. He is the author of three collections of poetry: Driving through the country before you are born, which was published by USC Press and won the 2007 South Carolina Book Prize; Left Behind (Stepping Stones Press, 2008); and Red Dirt Jesus (2011), winner of the Marick Press Poetry Prize. Visit his website
Ruta Sepetys
Ruta's first book, Between Shades of Gray (Penguin-Philomel, 2011) is a New York Times bestselling young-adult novel. It has recently been named one of the best children's books of 2011 by Kirkus, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal. The book has been translated into 27 languages and in November 2011 won the top literary award prize in France. It will be released in paperback this spring. Ruta lives in Nashville. Visit her website
George Singleton
George has published four collections of short stories, two novels, and one book on writing advice, Pep Talks, Warnings, and Screeds. His fiction has appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, Oxford American, Playboy, Georgia Review, and so on. Ten of his stories have appeared in the annual New Stories from the South anthology. A 2009 Guggenheim Fellow, George lives in Pickens County and teaches creative writing at the SC Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities. Visit his website
Joni Tevis
Joni is the author of The Wet Collection (Milkweed Editions, 2007). Her writing has appeared in Orion, Oxford American, Shenandoah, Conjunctions, AGNI, The Bellingham Review, North Dakota Quarterly, Barrelhouse, and elsewhere. In 2006, she was awarded a Minnesota State Arts Board Grant. She lives in Greenville and teaches literature and creative writing at Furman University. Visit her website
Conference Lodging
Lodging is available in a Wofford College dormitory for $30 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 a first-come, first-served basis. For a $50 fee you will get a thirty-minute private session with one of our faculty members. After you register, please send ten pages of prose or five poems by June 15 to HCWP, 186 W Main St. Spartanburg SC 29306 or email to submit@hubcity.org. Critiques are available in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. There are no critiques available in YA fiction.
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 $190. 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 betsy@hubcity.org. The "Become a Member" button is at the bottom of this page.
Tentative Schedule
Friday
- 5:00 pm Registration begins.
- 6:00 pm Dinner.
- 7:00 pm Faculty readings.
- 8:00 pm Writing classes.
Saturday
- 8:00 am Coffee and danish.
- 9:00 am Opening session.
- 9:30 am Writing classes. *Noon: Lunch
- 1:00 pm Writing time.
- 3:00 pm Writing classes.
- 6:30 pm Dinner .
- 7:30 pm Keynote with Ruta Sepetys
- 8:30 pm Open Mic
Sunday
- 8:00 am Coffee and danish.
- 9:00 am Concurrent workshops Eric Kocher (Nonfiction); Susan Tekulve (Fiction: "Moments of Being and Nonbeing; Finding Extraordinary Stories in Every Day Objects and First Homes")
- 10:30 Concurrent workshops Terri McCord (Poetry); Kari Jackson & Erin Haire ("Social Media for Writers") TBA
Conference History
Past Instructors and keynote speakers for our conference have included: Robert Morgan, Elizabeth Berg, Jill McCorkle, John Lane, Sebastian Matthews, Glenis Redmond, Ron Stodghill, Ashley Warlick, Charles Everitt, Tommy Hays, Fred Chappell, George Singleton, Elizabeth Cox, Ron Rash, Nikky Finney, Janisse Ray, Rebecca McClanahan, Claire Bateman, Dot Jackson, Rick Mulkey, Frye Gaillard, Ruth Moose, Rosa Shand, Cathy Smith Bowers, Deno Trakas, Tom McConnell, and many others.
Among the writers who have visited our community for readings or workshops in the past three years are: Jonathan Tropper, Richard Russo, Claudia Emerson,Tea Obreht, Barry Lopez, Rick Bass, David Huddle, Ron Rash, Jill McCorkle, Arthur Golden, Dan Wakefield, Sheri Reynolds, Albert Goldbarth and R.T, Smith, among many others. The creative writing faculties at Spartanburg's colleges include many writers who have published books, including poets Rick Mulkey, Deno Trakas and John Lane, fiction writers Elizabeth Cox, Susan Tekulve, Sam Howie, Brock Adams, Thomas McConnell. The Atlantic magazine's venerable fiction editor C. Michael Curtis teaches at Wofford College and sits on our editorial committee. A low-residency MFA in creative writing is offered at Converse College.
Our sister program, HUB-BUB, has a website of its own. Here you can check up on what’s happening at The Showroom Gallery and Performance Hall and learn about the Artists-in-Residence Program.
