FAIRHOPE, Alabama—The annual conference of one of the oldest continuously operating writers organizations in the country—with its first meetings in 1923—continues today, July 13, with a day of workshops at the Fairhope campus of the University of South Alabama Baldwin County.

The 2013 Alabama Writers' Conclave Conference began last night, July 12, with a reception and opening address, and continues July 13 and July 14, with Saturday and Sunday workshops in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and play writing, and a Saturday night banquet, keynote address and reading by south Alabama native, USA grad, and bestselling author Tom Franklin.

“The members of the board of the Alabama Writers' Conclave are delighted to have their annual convention in Fairhope,” said Sue Walker, AWC program chair, Stokes Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at USA, and former state poet laureate, who organized the weekend event. “Some 100 writers will gather from around Alabama and neighboring states. We are grateful to the University of South Alabama for the use of the USA Fairhope campus facility and wish to thank Cindy Wilson in particular. Tom Franklin is this year's writer-in-residence—and we will celebrate his birthday on Saturday night after his keynote address.”

The literary festivities got started last night with a reception and an opening address by Jeanie Thompson, executive director of The Alabama Writers' Forum. Saturday's workshops run from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Sunday from 9 a.m. until 11:15 a.m.

The July 13 banquet and keynote address by Franklin, who received his undergraduate degree from USA and now teaches in the creative writing master's program at the University of Mississippi, will take place at The Venue on South Section Street and will be catered by Tamara's restaurant. His most recent novel, “Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter,” was nominated for nine awards and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award. His earlier works include “Poachers,” “Hell at the Breech,” and “Smonk.” He is the recipient of a 2001 Guggenheim Fellowship.

“To the best of my knowledge this is the first time the conclave is meeting on Alabama's Gulf Coast, in Fairhope, the haven of many of Alabama's notable writers,” Richard Modlin, AWC's president, told The Courier this week. “Previously the AWC has met in Montevallo, Tuscaloosa, Auburn, Birmingham, and Huntsville.

“The AWC Board, whose members are composed of individuals from different parts of the state, feel it best serves the writing community by holding annual meetings in different part of the state,” he said. “The AWC provides a venue where anyone interested in the craft of writing and literature can meet and learn from successful published writers and poets.”

Conference faculty members include:

*Beth Ann Fennelly, a poet and nonfiction writer who directs the MFA program at the University of Mississippi where she was named the 2011 Outstanding Liberal Arts Teacher of the year. Her poetry has been frequently anthologized, She published a book of nonfiction, “Great with Child” in 2006. In October, “The Tilted World” will be published—the novel she co-authored with Tom Franklin, her husband. 

*Carolyn Haines, local bestselling author of the Sarah Booth Delaney Mississippi Delta Series and many other works, who teaches fiction writing at USA. She is the 2010 Harper Lee Award Winner and the 2009 Richard Wright Literary Excellence award winner;

*Linda Busby Parker, local author of “Seven Laurels,” winner of the James Jones First Novel Award and the Langum Prize for Historical Fiction, who teaches fiction and creative nonfiction at USA. She has received teaching fellowships at Bread Loaf Writers' Conference and the Sewanee Writing Conference;

*Scott Wilkerson, poet and dramatist, whose new play premieres this summer in Los Angeles. He is the author of two collections of poetry, “Threading Stone” and “Ars Minotaurica”;

*Terry L. French, southeast coordinator of the Haiku Society of America;

*TK Thorne, a retired captain of the Birmingham Police Department, is the author of the award-winning first novel, “Noah's Wife.” Her acclaimed forthcoming nonfiction book, “Last Chance for Justice: How Relentless Investigators Uncovered New Evidence Convicting the Birmingham Church Bombers,” will be out in September.

Workshops

“At the conclave, I'll be giving three craft classes,” Fennelly said. “These three interactive classes are designed for all levels of expertise and will focus on a craft technique that we can then apply to later writing. We will have some hands-on exercises and handouts will be provided.

“We're excited to return to Fairhope and the USA Fairhope campus, where we gave some of our first readings back when we were in graduate school, at the Gulf Coast Writers Association Conference,” she said. “It will also be great to see old friends like Sue Walker, who has supported the literary arts in Alabama for many years, and has always been a great booster for her former student, Tommy."

For a complete schedule of workshops, visit alabamawritersconclave.org.

Franklin and Fennelly return to Fairhope in November 

“We'll return to Fairhope to read from our new novel,” Fennelley said about "The Tilted World," co-authored with her husband.  “(Tommy and I) will read at Page & Palette (in Fairhope), on Tuesday, Nov. 26, at 6 p.m., and in Mobile at the Ben May Main Library at 2 p.m. on Sunday Nov. 24.

Registration info

For information about registration and discounted rates at the Hampton Inn in Fairhope, visit alabamawritersconclave.org. Registration runs from 7:30 - 9 a.m. Saturday at the USABC campus at 111 St. James St. in Fairhope.

Editor's Note: Mike Odom is a student in the creative writing program at USA, completing his master's degree in English, where Sue Walker is chair of his creative nonfiction thesis committee, of which Carolyn Haines is a member.