[039] Bestselling author to headline MTSU Writers' Conference

MURFREESBORO — Kevin Wilson, author of the novel "The Family Fang," will be the keynote speaker at the Middle Tennessee Writers' Conference planned for Saturday, Sept. 28.

The conference, which is open to the public, is sponsored by The Writer’s Loft at MTSU, the university’s non-degree writing program.

Writer's Loft Director Karen Alea Ford said the event will include workshops in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and playwriting. The conference registration deadline is Tuesday, Sept. 10.

"Beginning and experienced writers will gain insight and inspiration from this extraordinary lineup of speakers while getting to chat and mingle with the community of writers we have in Middle Tennessee,” Ford said.

“We hope this conference will become an annual touchstone for anyone interested in writing.”

"The Family Fang," which has been optioned for a movie starring Nicole Kidman, was on the New York Times Bestseller list as well as being named one of the top 10 books of 2011 by Time, People and Esquire magazines, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kirkus Reviews.

Wilson will be joined at the conference by a roster of award-winning writers, including poet Bill Brown, author of “Late Winter”; nonfiction writer Holly Tucker, author of “Blood Work”; novelist Linda Busby Parker, author of “Seven Laurels”; and playwright Claudia Barnett, an MTSU English professor and author of “I Love You Terribly: Six Plays.”

Margaret Renkl, editor of Chapter16.org, a daily source for literary news, interviews and reviews with a Tennessee focus, called the conference a "truly welcome addition to the state's literary scene: a great chance for up-and-coming writers in the Midstate to learn from celebrated writers and outstanding teachers.”

Registration is open to all writers, and the registration fee covers all workshops and a buffet dinner. General admission is $60, and the fee for Writer's Loft alumni, MTSU faculty and students is $30. Current Writer's Loft students will be admitted free.

The Writer's Loft non-degree writing program is open to anyone interested in being mentored by a professional writer of fiction, nonfiction, poetry or screenwriting. Students work from home, spending three semesters honing their skills and preparing their work for publication.

Mentors who work one-on-one with students include "The Bard of Hume-Fogg" Bill Brown, former Tennessean assistant editor and columnist Gloria Ballard, novelist and screenwriter Andrea Siegel and novelist Linda Parker.

To register for the Middle Tennessee Writers' Conference or for more information on The Writer’s Loft program, go to www.mtsu.edu/theloft or email Ford at theloftmtsu@gmail.com.