Tennessee Mountain Writers

10/14/2026

What else is happening at this year's Young Creative Writer's Workshop? Why, it's Susan O'Dell Underwood, an amazing poet and a writer of fiction! Her latest poetry collection, SPLINTER, was published in 2023 by Madville Publishing. Iris Press published her poetry collection, THE BOOK OF AWE, in 2018. She also has two published chapbooks of poetry: FROM (2010) and LOVE AND OTHER HUNGERS (2014). In 2004 Susan won the Tennessee Arts Commission Literary Grant for GENESIS ROAD, a novel which she later revised and published with Madville Publishing in 2022. Kirkus Reviews gave GENISIS ROAD a glowing “starred review.” Susan continues to write poetry and short fiction, and has enjoyed having her work published in a wide variety of publications and venues. From 2013 to 2015 she was a frequent poetry guest of the recurring live radio broadcast show, "Tennessee Shines," on WDVX, in Knoxville, which continues to occasionally replay the archived reading of her long rant poem, Holler. She has given many public poetry readings in dozens of venues and locations, and welcomes the opportunity to share her work with new audiences. Don't miss Susan's fiction workshop at this year's YCWW! Register at https://www.pstcc.edu/events/ycww

10/10/2026

Tennessee Mountain Writers presents
January Jumpstart XXVII
Saturday – Sunday, January 16-17, 2027

January Jumpstart XXVII on January 16 – 17, 2027 at the Comfort Inn in Oak Ridge, TN. We will have tracks in both Poetry and Fiction.

Poetry Leader KB Ballentine​
KB Ballentine’s latest collection All the Way Through was published in November 2024 from Sheila-Na-Gig Inc. Current books can be found with Blue Light Press, Iris Press, Middle Creek Publishing, and Celtic Cat Publishing. Published in Porchlight: A Journal of Southern Literature, North Dakota Quarterly, Atlanta Review and Haight-Ashbury Literary Journal, and others; her work also appears in anthologies including Women Speak (2025) and The Strategic Poet (2021).

Fiction Leader Michael Knight
Michael Knight is the author of three novels, three collections of short stories and a book of novellas. His fiction has appeared in places like The New Yorker, Oxford American, Paris Review, Ploughshares, Sewanee Review and The Southern Review. He teaches creative writing at the University of Tennessee.

Registration Info
Registration fee: $150 (Includes coffee and tea before the morning sessions, and lunch Saturday)
Registration Deadline: December 15, 2026 OR UNTIL CLASSES ARE FULL
Hotel Rate: $84 + tax

Call Comfort Inn Oak Ridge at 865-481-8200, mention TMW/January Jumpstart or use our online booking link at https://tmwi.org/january-jumpstart-xxvii

10/09/2026

10/06/2026

Check it out!

10/01/2026

You can now PREORDER Board member Chrissie Anderson Peters' new short story collection, MILES AWAY FROM NOWHERE, by using the link posted in the comments:

Presales run from today, October 1 - Sunday, October 25. Get your orders in soon, though!

Why preorders are important — they help predict the overall success of my book and help the publisher know what to expect after the presale period. They help her earn more royalties. They help you get a 25% discount on your order, no matter how many books you buy!

09/28/2026

Congratulations to TMW Board member Melanie Grigsby Harless on her forthcoming poetry chapbook with Finishing Line Press!

"Dear Facebook Friends, thanks to all who have encouraged me in my poetry journey through the years. Now l am excited to announce that Finishing Line Press is publishing my first chapbook of poems. It will be released on January 29, but pre-publication sales start today! I would appreciate your ordering a copy. Just use the QR code below or go to Finishing Line Press, click on bookstore and search for my name. Thank you!" (Link in comments)

09/28/2026

Congratulations to TMW Board member, Sharon Smith Shadrick, on her forthcoming poetry chapbook!

"The cover for my book, Housedresses, came from one of Mama’s old black and white photographs and was designed by my daughter, Hannah. The photograph was taken at my Great Aunt Minnie’s and Great Uncle Ernest’s house. They had a small farm next to the old high school in Dunlap. Mama is barely seventeen and pregnant with my younger brother, Glen. She’s holding me, and Minnie is standing next to us. The book title comes from my poem, “Whatever Happened to Housedresses?” I wrote the poem about Ernest and Minnie. My book is in pre-sales now. The link is in the comments."

09/01/2026

DEADLINE IS EXTENDED UNTIL SEPTEMBER 7!!!

Tennessee Mountain Writers Fall Workshop

Creative Nonfiction with Amy Wright

Saturday, September 26, 2026

9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. EST

For our Fall Workshop, Amy Wright will combine her expertise on the craft of nonfiction with writing exercises to help attendees create several starts to pieces in an environment conducive to learning and fun to take with them when the day’s activities end. We welcome writers of all levels to join us for a day of creative fellowship.

Amy Wright joined the Creative Writing faculty at East Tennessee State University after serving as their 2022 Wayne G. Basler Chair of Excellence. Her nonfiction debut, Paper Concert: A Conversation in the Round, (Sarabande Books) won a Nautilus Gold Award for Lyric Prose. She has also published three poetry books, six chapbooks, and co-edited the Virginia volume of The Southern Poetry Anthology. She has twice been awarded a Peter Taylor Fellowship to the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop. Essays appear in the Fourth Genre, Georgia Review, Kenyon Review, Ninth Letter, and elsewhere.

The workshop will include a break for lunch. Meal options will be made available following registration. Coffee, tea, soft drinks and snacks before the morning session are included.

Registration Fees: $85

Participation Limit: 20

Location: Grace Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall
131 W. Gettysburg Ave.
Oak Ridge, TN
(entrance is on the back side of the church; plenty of parking)

Registration Deadline: September 7, 2026

Workshop Hours: 9:00 a.m. — 3:30 p.m. (EST), Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.

Registration Form available at https://tmwi.org/registration-form-fall-workshop-2026/.

Deadline to register is September 7, 2026.

Additional Information: Contact Beto Cu***ng at [email protected]

This project is funded in part under an agreement with the Tennessee Arts Commission.

08/24/2026

**ONLY 7 SPACES LEFT** (DEADLINE IS SEPTEMBER 1!)

Tennessee Mountain Writers Fall Workshop

Creative Nonfiction with Amy Wright

Saturday, September 26, 2026

9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. EST

For our Fall Workshop, Amy Wright will combine her expertise on the craft of nonfiction with writing exercises to help attendees create several starts to pieces in an environment conducive to learning and fun to take with them when the day’s activities end. We welcome writers of all levels to join us for a day of creative fellowship.

Amy Wright joined the Creative Writing faculty at East Tennessee State University after serving as their 2022 Wayne G. Basler Chair of Excellence. Her nonfiction debut, Paper Concert: A Conversation in the Round, (Sarabande Books) won a Nautilus Gold Award for Lyric Prose. She has also published three poetry books, six chapbooks, and co-edited the Virginia volume of The Southern Poetry Anthology. She has twice been awarded a Peter Taylor Fellowship to the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop. Essays appear in the Fourth Genre, Georgia Review, Kenyon Review, Ninth Letter, and elsewhere.

The workshop will include a break for lunch. Meal options will be made available following registration. Coffee, tea, soft drinks and snacks before the morning session are included.

Registration Fees: $85

Participation Limit: 20

Location: Grace Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall
131 W. Gettysburg Ave.
Oak Ridge, TN
(entrance is on the back side of the church; plenty of parking)

Registration Deadline: September 1, 2026

Workshop Hours: 9:00 a.m. — 3:30 p.m. (EST), Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.

Registration Form available at https://tmwi.org/registration-form-fall-workshop-2026/.

Deadline to register is September 1, 2026.

Additional Information: Contact Beto Cu***ng at [email protected]

This project is funded in part under an agreement with the Tennessee Arts Commission.