Jill McCorkle to Give Keynote Address at NCWN 2018 Spring Conference
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GREENSBORO—The Keynote Address at the North Carolina Writers' Network 2018 Spring Conference kicks off a full day of classes and sessions on the craft and business of writing. Past speakers have included Michael Parker and North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame inductees Fred Chappell and Jaki Shelton Green.
Spring Conference happens Saturday, April 21, at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. On-site registration will be available beginning at 8:00 am in the MHRA Building lobby on the UNCG campus.
2018 North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame inductee Jill McCorkle will give this year's Keynote Address.
McCorkle has the distinction of having her first two novels published on the same day in 1984. Since then she has published four other novels and four collections of short stories. Five of her books have been named New York Times notable books, while three of her stories have appeared in Best American Short Stories anthologies. McCorkle has received the New England Booksellers Award, the John Dos Passos Prize for Excellence in Literature, and the North Carolina Award for Literature. She is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers.
McCorkle has taught at UNC-Chapel Hill, Tufts, and Brandeis, where she was the Fannie Hurst Visiting Writer. She was a Briggs-Copeland Lecturer in Fiction at Harvard for five years where she also chaired Creative Writing. She currently teaches creative writing in the MFA Program at NC State University and is a core faculty member of the Bennington College Writing Seminars. A native of Lumberton, she lives with her husband, photographer Tom Rankin, in Hillsborough.
You can read McCorkle's essay "Cuss Time" and her short story, "Me and Big Foot," on the American Scholar website.
When McCorkle is inducted into the NC Literary Hall of Fame this October, she will join journalist Joseph Mitchell as one of two from Robeson County. Other inductees include Dr. James W. Clark, Jr., of Raleigh; Randall Kenan of Hillsborough; Penelope Niven of High Point; and Marsha White Warren of Chapel Hill.'
“I am Robeson County born and bred,” McCorkle said. “To me it’s an important place, and my work does reflect this place.”
McCorkle is working on her next novel, which weaves her memories of growing up in Lumberton with her father's recollections of a famous train wreck in Robeson County during World War Two. There is "a courtroom trial as a backdrop" as well as plenty of Robeson County history.
The North Carolina Writers' Network 2018 Spring Conference offers classes on fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction, as well as cinematic storytelling techniques; how to submit; and law for writers. Popular programs include the open mics, faculty readings, "Lunch with an Author," and Slush Pile Live! where anonymous submissions are read aloud infront of a panel of editors, who offer constructive feedback each piece—live!
For a taste of what to expect at this year's Keynote Address, you can listen to Fred Chappell give the Keynote Address at the NCWN 2017 Spring Conference, here.
Spring Conference is sponsored in part by UNCG’s Creative Writing Program, which will provide parking for Spring Conference registrants in the Oakland Avenue Parking Deck, across Forest Street from the MHRA Building (behind Yum Yum Better Ice Cream and Old Town Draught House). Other sponsors include the North Carolina Arts Council.
Learn more and register at www.ncwriters.org.
Thank You to the Sponsors of NCWN's Spring Conference
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- Written by Administrator
- Category: Network News
GREENSBORO—The North Carolina Writers' Network 2018 Spring Conference happens April 21. It's a full weekend of classes and workshops on the craft and business of writing, plus panels, readings, camaraderie, and more.
2018 North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame inductee Jill McCorkle will give the Keynote Address; popular features include "Luch with an Author," where attendees can eat lunch with the author of their choice (pre-registration required!), and the fourth annual Slush Pile Live!
The conference is held at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro because of the generosity of its Master in Fine Arts Writing Program.
The Master in Fine Arts Writing Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro offers a two-year residency program with an emphasis on providing students with studio time in which to study the writing of fiction or poetry. This program is one of the oldest in the country. The faculty includes Emilia Phillips, who'll lead the Master Class in Poetry at the NCWN 2018 Spring Conference and whose third poetry collection Empty Clip has just been released; as well as past Spring Conference faculty such as Fred Chappell and Lee Zacharias. The program produces The Greensboro Review, edited by poet Terry L. Kennedy.
Conference attendees will be able to park free in the Oakland Avenue Parking Deck courtesy of the MFA Writing Program at UNCG.
Other sponsors include 
The North Carolina Arts Council offers operating support for the North Carolina Writers' Network. The Arts Council has been a statutory state agency since 1967. Their core functions include creating a strong and efficient arts infrastructure across North Carolina; planning and implementing economic development using the arts; education; and research. The Arts Council believes that artists are an integral part of civic life as they stimulate creativity, innovation and dialogue. Our cities vibrate with the energy of the arts; and our rural communities reach deep into their roots and celebrate their unique traditions. Residents in every corner of NC have the chance to engage their artistic aspirations. The arts help children flourish through a complete education that prepares them for the workforce with twenty-first century skills. The arts build bridges where diverse communities reach across boundaries to celebrate and share their cultures. The arts are an essential ingredient in state policy, practice, and pride.
Registration for the North Carolina Writers' Network 2018 Spring Conference is open.