J.T. Ellison to keynote 17th annual Clarksville Writers Conference

Courtesy Clarksville Writers Conference
·4 min read

The Clarksville Arts & Heritage Development Council is partnering with the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts at APSU and the Tennessee Arts Commission to once again bring acclaimed authors to town for the 17th Annual Clarksville Writers Conference.

The event will be held Thursday, May 19, and Friday, May 20, at the Art + Design Building on the campus of Austin Peay State University.

J.T. Ellison, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over 25 novels and EMMY Award-winning co-host of the Nashville literary television series A Word on Words, will deliver the keynote address at the conference's banquet the evening of Thursday, May 19, at F&M Bank's The Franklin Room, overlooking the Cumberland River and featuring an incredible view of Historic Downtown Clarksville.

Ellison is this year's recipient of the Patricia Winn Award for Southern Literature, named for the conference's founder. With millions of books in print, J.T.'s work has won critical acclaim, prestigious awards, been optioned for television, and has been published in 28 countries and 16 languages. Her novel The Cold Room won the ITW Thriller Award for Best Paperback Original, while her novels Field of Graves and Where All the Dead Lie were each a RITA nominee for Best Romantic Suspense.

This year's conference offers fifteen presentations and workshops for writers and avid readers. Authors scheduled to speak include the following:

  • Sharon Cameron is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Dark Unwinding (2012), A Spark Unseen (2013), Rook (2015), The Forgetting (2016), The Knowing (2017), The Light in Hidden Places (2020) and Bluebird (2021), all from Scholastic Press.

  • Dana Chamblee Carpenter is the author of the award-winning Bohemian Trilogy.

  • Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, a citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, resides in Qualla, North Carolina. She holds degrees from Yale University and the College of William and Mary. Her debut novel, Even As We Breathe (UPK 2020), was a finalist for the Weatherford Award, named one of NPR's Best Books of 2020, and received the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award (2021).

  • Tammy Hall Ms. Hall's first storytelling CD, Tales of Black Heritage From Around the World, was released in 2015. In 2017, she was sought out for her storytelling talent to be featured as part of the United States Postal Service commemoration ceremony that launched The Snowy Day Forever Stamp.

  • Bren McClain's critically acclaimed debut novel, One Good Mama Bone, won the 2017 Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction and was named Pulpwood Queen 2017 Book of the Year, a 2017 Great Group Reads by the Women's National Book Association and a Southeastern Independent Booksellers Association (SIBA) Okra pick.

  • Michael Shoulders has published 23 books for children, including V is for Volunteer: A Tennessee Alphabet, now in its 16th edition, and his novel Crossing the Deadline, which follows a boy's journey through the Civil War. His latest release, The Legend of the Christmas Pickle, has proven popular with children of all ages, answering the question, "Why does Santa hide pickles in Christmas trees?"

  • Shana Thornton is the author of four works of fiction, Ripe for the Pickin' (2022), The Adventures to Pawnassus (2019), Poke Sallet Queen and the Family Medicine Wheel (2015) and Multiple Exposure (2012), and co-author of Seasons of Balance: On Creativity and Mindfulness (2016).

  • S.M. Williams is the author of the historical romance trilogy All Would Be Kings, which includes The Winter Prophecy, High Treason and Rosemary. Sarah is also the author of Chinquapin: The Last Great Hope, a novel of historical fiction set during the Siege of Atlanta.

In addition to the scheduled presentations and workshops, free critique circles with Cardinal Rule Press Acquisitions Editor Adam Blackman are available to conference participants, where up to five participants per session will offer and receive tips on how to improve their manuscripts. As Acquisitions Editor at Cardinal Rule Press, Adam acquires realistic fiction picture books that help children grow into kind, empathetic adults. As a writer of picture books and middle grade, he aims right for the intersection of heart and humor.

Closing out this year's conference is TOBACCO HANDS: the Habits of Mutuality, a 24-page installation of creative nonfiction relaying the narratives of four multi-generational, dark-fired tobacco families living in Montgomery County. Immediately following the final session, from 4:30pm to 5:30pm on Friday, May 20, participants are invited to join collaborators Cynthia Marsh and Marnie Powers-Torrey in the lobby of Art + Design Building to celebrate these stories with homemade pies and sweet tea. This event is free and open to all.

A complete package including all conference activities is offered, as well as "a la carte" options. Discounted rates are available for early registration, which is postmarked on or before May 5. Late registration is postmarked between May 6 and May 12. Visit the conference website at www.artsandheritage.us/writers for author bios, the conference schedule, registration information and more.

This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: J.T. Ellison to keynote 17th annual Clarksville Writers Conference