The Sewanee Writers' Conference is a writers' conference held every summer on the campus of the

University of the South The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by 28 southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, and its School of Theology is an official seminary of ...

Sewanee, Tennessee Sewanee () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,535 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area. Sewanee is best known as the home of ...

. The conference was started in 1989 by founding director Wyatt Prunty and the current director is Leah Stewart. The conference is funded largely by an endowment from the estate of acclaimed American playwright

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

. The conference takes place over twelve days, during which participants attend writing workshops, readings, panel presentations, lectures on the craft of poetry, fiction, and playwriting, and numerous social gatherings.

Admission

Admission to the conference is competitive and is decided through a formal application process. All applicants who are accepted to the conference have a portion of their expenses underwritten by the estate of

. Poets, non-fiction, and fiction writers who have published at least one full-length book, whether through a legitimate small press or a major publishing house, are eligible to apply for a limited number of fellowships to cover all tuition, room, and board for the conference. Poets, non-fiction, and fiction writers with a record of publication in periodicals are eligible to apply for scholarships (also limited in number) to cover conference tuition. Playwrights are also eligible for these awards if their work has seen production, either professional or amateur. Publication or production is not required for general admission to the conference.

Faculty and staff

The faculty of the Sewanee Writers' Conference has included poets, fiction writers, nonfiction writers, and playwrights such as Daniel Anderson, Richard Bausch, Venita Blackburn, John Casey,

Claudia Emerson Claudia Emerson (January 13, 1957 – December 4, 2014) was an American poet. She won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for her poetry collection ''Late Wife'', and was named the Poet Laureate of Virginia by Governor Tim Kaine in 2008. Early life Emerso ...

, Daisy Foote, B.H. Fairchild,

Debora Greger Debora Greger (born 1949) is an American poet as well as a visual artist. She was raised in Richland, Washington. She attended the University of Washington and then the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She then went on to hold fellowships at the Fine Art ...

Barry Hannah Barry Hannah (April 23, 1942 – March 1, 2010) was an American novelist and short story writer from Mississippi.Kellogg, Carolyn (March 2, 2010)"Author Barry Hannah, 67, has died" ''Los Angeles Times''. Retrieved May 18, 2013. Hannah was born in ...

Robert Hass Robert L. Hass (born March 1, 1941) is an American poet. He served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1995 to 1997. He won the 2007 National Book Award and shared the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for the collection ''Time and Materials: Poems 1997 ...

, Beth Henley, Vanessa Hua, Andrew Hudgins, Mark Jarman,

Donald Justice Donald Rodney Justice (August 12, 1925 – August 6, 2004) was an American teacher of writing and poet who won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1980. In summing up Justice's career, David Orr wrote, "In most ways, Justice was no different from a ...

Randall Kenan Randall Kenan (March 12, 1963 – August 28, 2020) was an American author. Born in Brooklyn, New York, at six weeks old Kenan moved to Duplin County, North Carolina, a small rural community, where he lived with his grandparents in a town named ...

Katie Kitamura Katie Kitamura is an American novelist, journalist, and art critic. She is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at the London Consortium. Early life and education Katie Kitamura was born in Sacramento, California in 1979 to a family of Japanese ...

, Margot Livesey, William Logan, Maurice Manning, Charles Martin, Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, Claire Messud, Jill McCorkle,

Alice McDermott Alice McDermott (born June 27, 1953) is an American writer and university professor. For her 1998 novel ''Charming Billy'' she won an American Book Award and the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction. McDermott is Johns Hopkins University's Rich ...

, Erin McGraw, Dan O'Brien, Elena Passarello,

Carl Phillips Carl Phillips (born 1959) is an American writer and poet. He is a Professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis. Early life Phillips was born in Everett, Washington. He was born a child of a military family, moving year-by-year unt ...

, Mary Jo Salter,

Christine Schutt Christine Schutt, an American novelist and short story writer, has been a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. She received her BA and MA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and her MFA from Co ...

, Dave Smith, A.E. Stallings,

Mark Strand Mark Strand (April 11, 1934 – November 29, 2014) was a Canadian-born American poet, essayist and translator. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1990 and received the Wallace Stevens Award in 2004 ...

Mona Van Duyn Mona Jane Van Duyn (May 9, 1921 – December 2, 2004) was an American poet. She was appointed United States Poet Laureate in 1992. Biography Early years Van Duyn was born May 9, 1921 in Waterloo, Iowa."Van Duyn, Mona (1921–2004)." '' Dictio ...

, Sidney Wade,

Richard Wilbur Richard Purdy Wilbur (March 1, 1921 – October 14, 2017) was an American poet and literary translator. One of the foremost poets of his generation, Wilbur's work, composed primarily in traditional forms, was marked by its wit, charm, and gentle ...

, Steve Yarbrough, and many others. Current and former conference staff members include current director Leah Stewart, Caki Wilkinson, Megan Roberts, Adam Latham, Gwen E. Kirby, Amy Arthur,

Erica Dawson Erica Dawson is an American poet and professor. She is the author of three poetry collections. Biography Dawson grew up in Columbia, Maryland. After earning a B.A. degree at Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Poetry a ...

, Samuel Fox, Juliana Gray, Ananda Lima, Daniel Groves, Jonathan Bohr Heinen, Hastings Hensel, Carrie Jerrell, Jake Ricafrente, Kate Jayroe, Norris Eppes, and Adam Vines.

References

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External links

Sewanee Writers' Conference

Sewanee: The University of the South

SWC on YouTube
American writers' organizations Events in Tennessee Franklin County, Tennessee Recurring events established in 1989 Sewanee: The University of the South Writers' conferences Sewanee, Tennessee