UNC Asheville's Great Smokies Writing Program Offers Fall Workshops

The Great Smokies Writing Program, a consortium of the Western North Carolina writers’ community and UNC Asheville, will offer five fall workshops in poetry and prose. Courses qualify for UNC Asheville credit hours in literature and language. Classes are open to all interested writers.

Tommy Hays, a novelist and the Great Smokies Writing Program director, will lead “Hanging in There: An Advanced Prose Workshop.” This three-credit hour course will meet at the Asheville School for 15 consecutive Wednesday evenings from 6-8:30 p.m. beginning August 31.  This course is for experienced prose writers who find themselves in need of structure, criticism and support. The instructor’s permission is required to enroll. To request permission, e-mail Hays at hays@main.nc.us.

Veteran journalist Neal Thompson will teach “Telling the Truth: A Creative Nonfiction and Freelance Writing Workshop.” This two-credit hour course will meet at the First Presbyterian Church of Asheville for 10 consecutive Monday evenings from 6-8:30 p.m. beginning September 12. This workshop will help students develop the skills to write book-length or magazine-length nonfiction works and will include instruction on the business aspects of publishing one’s work.

Poet Cathy Smith Bowers will teach “Poetic Form: A Poetry Writing Workshop.” This two-credit course will meet at the Asheville School for 10 consecutive Tuesday evenings from 6-8:30 p.m. beginning September 13. Students in this class will explore both free-verse and traditional forms of poetry to develop a portfolio of five new poems.

Dale Neal, a seasoned fiction writer and journalist, will lead “Unlocking the Words: A Prose Workshop.” This two-hour credit hour course will meet at the First Presbyterian Church of Asheville  for 10 consecutive Tuesday evenings from 6-8:30 p.m. beginning September 13. This workshop will help writers unlock their stories, memoirs and essays and get them from ideas to written works.

Hays will also teach “Craft Revisited: An Advanced Prose Workshop.” This two-hour credit course will meet at the Asheville School for 10 consecutive Tuesday evenings from 6-8:30 p.m. beginning September 13. This class is geared toward prose writers who have been writing for awhile and would like to step back and spend some revisiting their assumptions and questions about the writing craft.

Cost is $20 for the visiting student application fee. Tuition and fees for the two-credit hour courses is $138.04 or $207.06 for the three-credit hour course for those who meet North Carolina residency requirements. Class size is limited; early registration is suggested.

For more information or to register, call UNC Asheville’s Extension and Distance Education Office at 828/232-5122 or e-mail fox@unca.edu.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Elaine Fox, UNC Asheville Extension and Distance Education Director, 828/232-5122
• Jill Yarnall, UNC Asheville Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526