MARTIN, Tenn. – The 2023 Young Writers Conference will take place Friday, Nov. 3, on the
campus of the University of Tennessee at Martin. The event is sponsored by the UT Martin
Department of English and Modern Foreign Languages, the College of Humanities and Fine Arts and the West Tennessee Writing Project.
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. in the Boling University Center, with the conference beginning at 9 a.m. It is sponsored by the UTM Department of English and Modern Languages, the College of Humanities and Fine Arts and the West Tennessee Writing Project.
This year’s conference will feature workshops by UT Martin faculty, a keynote speech by guest author Dr. Misha Rai and an optional viewing of “Legally Blonde: The Musical” performed by students of the UT Martin Vanguard Theatre during the 10:15 a.m. session.
The play will be performed by UT Martin student members of the Vanguard Theatre
and is considered appropriate for children 11 and older.
Rai will also present a lecture for the campus and community on Thursday, Nov. 2, at 4 p.m. in the Humanities Auditorium titled “Novelist, Interrupted by Life: Using Subtext/Staging of Desire to Create Literary Suspense.” This event is free and open to the public.
Dr. David Carithers, faculty member of the Department of English and Modern Foreign
Languages and one of the coordinators of the Young Writers Conference, said the event has
something for everyone.
“With workshops on various topics from Japanese calligraphy to songwriting – plus a chance to see the Vanguard Theatre’s performance of ‘Legally Blonde: The Musical’ – this conference
offers sessions for all interests,” he said. “Teachers also enjoy the opportunity to learn new
strategies for their classrooms by attending workshop sessions with their students. And, we are very excited to welcome our guest author, Misha Rai.”
Rai is an accomplished writer whose work has received support from the Kenyon Review
Fellowship Program, the Whiting Foundation and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.
Her short story “Twenty Years Ago” was recognized as Distinguished in the 2021 Best
American Short Stories anthology.
She is a faculty member of English and creative writing at the University of the South in
Sewanee.
For more information about Rai, visit her website at www.misharai.com.
Registration for the conference is $10 for students and free for teachers. A lunch voucher to the university cafeteria is included with registration. Information on the workshop options,
presenters and how to register can be found on the 2023 Young Writers Conference website.