Thank You for Supporting the Festival of Writers
The 2nd biennial Chattanooga Festival of Writers was MARCH 28 and 29, 2008.
On behalf of the AEC, thank you to everyone who helped make the 2008 Chattanooga Festival of Writers a great success! That includes our many hard working volunteers and committee members, our sponsors, the attendees and the guest writers. It was a fantastic opportunity to come together and reflect on the many facets and joys of writing.
Participants of all ages, writing levels and genres were inspired by the discussions and workshops. We hope that each person took away the inspiration and tools necessary to hone your talents and continue to pursue the wonderful craft of writing.
The Chattanooga Festival of Writers is over, but mark your calendars now for the Conference on Southern Literature APRIL 2-4, 2009!
Festival Enhances Students,Teachers
An editorial published in the March 26th in the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Festival Enriches Students, Teachers
Though the Chattanooga Festival of Writers, which convenes here Friday, is relatively young, it already has earned a justifiable and widespread reputation for excellence from the readers and others who attend it as well as from the authors who present the programs. Less known, but just as valuable to the community and region are the student enrichment programs and professional development workshop for teachers that are a vital part of the festival.
Sponsored by the Arts and Education Council, the festival is a companion to the council’s heralded biennial Conference of Southern Literature, which is held in oddnumbered years. The Friday and Saturday festival offers addresses, readings and other events at the downtown Sheraton Read House and on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus. The student programs, which emphasize the importance of creative writing, complement the festival’s regular programming.
Winners of the Young Southern Student Writers program, a poetry and prose competition for K-12 students, will be announced Thursday at Memorial Auditorium. The competition is a major event, as evidenced by the record 3,900 entries — up from 500 in 1999 — submitted by students in area school systems and home school associations. The entries are judged by members of the English Department at UTC. It obviously is a task enjoyed by the university professors. “We are thrilled that the Young Southern Writers contests continue to grow at such a rapid pace,” says Dr. Verbie Prevost, chairman of the program since it began. “What a splendid opportunity for students to demonstrate their creativity and be recognized for it.” It is, indeed.
The Classroom Residency program is another important segment of the enrichment program associated with the festival. The residency allows students to read an author’s work and then to meet him or her to discuss it and the creative process. Authors will visit five county schools on Thursday and Friday as part of the program. It’s a win-win situation. Students learn from professional writers and the authors are able to interact with youngsters who like to write.
In addition, the AEC offers a Creative Writing Workshop for Hamilton County teachers in conjunction with the festival. Several award-winning authors at the Friday event will offer fresh insight on the best ways to bring the world of writers and writing to students in their classrooms.
The AEC’s Festival of Writers has gained a place of prominence on the expanding list of the community’s productive and varied cultural events, and it understandably has won the affection and patronage of area residents. The inclusion of enrichment programs that directly touch hundreds of the area’s students and teachers makes the festival especially noteworthy.
This story was published Wednesday, March 26, 2008
