Poetry, fiction workshops scheduled Jan. 14-15

The Oak Ridger
·2 min read

Tennessee Mountain Writers will present January Jumpstart XXIII, with concurrent writing workshops in poetry and fiction, on Jan. 14 and 15 at the Comfort Inn in Oak Ridge.

Poetry and fiction-writing workshops are set for Jan. 14 and 15 at the Comfort Inn in Oak Ridge.
Poetry and fiction-writing workshops are set for Jan. 14 and 15 at the Comfort Inn in Oak Ridge.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, with the workshops beginning at 9 a.m. and running through 4:30 p.m. Lunch is from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. The Sunday workshops are from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., according to a news release.

Poetry Leader Jeff Hardin is the author of seven collections of poetry, most recently "Watermark, A Clearing Space in the Middle of Being," and "No Other Kind of World." His work has been honored with the Nicholas Roerich Prize, the Donald Justice Prize, and the X. J. Kennedy Prize from Texas Review Press. Almost a thousand of his poems have appeared in such journals as The Southern Review, Hudson Review, The Laurel Review, North American Review, Zone 3, Poetry Northwest, Grist, Southern Poetry Review, and many others. He is professor of English at Columbia State Community College.

Fiction leader Susan Gregg Gilmore started her writing career as a reporter for the University of Virginia’s newspaper, The Cavalier Daily. She continued her education at the University of Texas at Austin, where she received her Master of Arts in American Studies. Later she wrote for newspapers including the Los Angeles Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and the Chattanooga News-Free Press. Gilmore has written four novels, including "Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen," "The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove," and "The Funeral Dress."

Participation in January Jumpstart XXIII will be limited to 20 registrants per workshop. Deadline for registering is Dec. 30. Coffee and tea before the morning sessions and lunch on Saturday are included in the registration fee of $150. To register, see the Tennessee Mountain Writers website, www.tmwi.org.

Attendees should mention TMW/January Jumpstart for a special ratewhen calling Comfort Inn Oak Ridge (865-481-8200) for reservations, or use online booking link: www.choicehotels.com/reservations/groups/FL11L6

Tennessee Mountain Writers is a non-profit, non-political organization that promotes Tennessee literary arts and supports the work of Tennessee writers.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Tennessee writers bringing poetry, fiction workshops to Oak Ridge