Tommy Hays will teach Keeping Ourselves Company

Local writers will have the opportunity to hone their skills with the Great Smokies Writing Program's fall workshop series. A consortium of the Western North Carolina's writers community and UNC Asheville, the program will offer eight workshops in poetry and prose. The classes, held at varying locations in Asheville, are open to all interested writers. Students will earn UNC Asheville credit hours in Literature and Language.

Tommy Hays, author of "The Pleasure Was Mine," will lead Keeping Ourselves Company: An Advanced Creative Prose Workshop at Asheville School, located off Patton Ave., from 6-8:30 p.m. for 15 consecutive Tuesdays beginning August 28. This is a three-credit hour class. This course is for advanced prose writers, who have projects they are working on or who want to start something new in either fiction or memoir. Prospective students must receive the instructor's permission to enroll by contacting Hays at hays@main.nc.us.

Noted prose author Elizabeth Lutyens will teach Hanging in There: An Advanced Prose Workshop. This course will meet at Asheville School from 6-8:30 p.m. for 15 consecutive Wednesdays beginning August 29. This is a three-credit hour class. Three times during the course, each student will submit 15 to 20 pages of new work, which will be discussed in-depth. Prospective students must receive the instructor's permission to enroll by contacting Lutyens at elutyens@msn.com.

Award-winning poet Glenis Redmond will lead Permission to Go Within: Poetry on a Deeper Level. This class will meet from 6-8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays beginning September 4 at the YMI Cultural Center, 39 South Market St. This two-credit hour class will focus on exploring a variety of writing tools and understanding the emotional aspects of verse.

Noted playwright and biographer Steven Samuels will teach Re:Vision -- Preparing your Book for the World at the Randolph Learning Center, 90 Montford Ave., from 6-8:30 p.m. for 10 consecutive on Wednesdays beginning September 12. This is a two-credit hour class focused on helping fiction and nonfiction writers prepare manuscripts for publication, find the right agent and create a marketing plan.

Professor and author of "Basil's Dream," Christine Hale, will teach People and Places We Can't Forget. This prose workshop will be held the Randolph Learning Center from 6-8:30 p.m. for 10 consecutive Wednesdays beginning September 12. This is two-credit hour class will focus on the fundamental aspects of writing and the composition of new work, which will be read and critiqued.

Noted poet Pat Riviere-Seel will lead Talking Back to the Muse. Held at the Randolph Learning Center from 6-8:30 p.m. for 10 consecutive Wednesdays beginning September 12, the poetry class focuses on finding new ways of approaching and revising poems. This is a two-credit hour class.

Vicki Lane, author of the Elizabeth Goodweather mystery series, will lead It Doesn't Have to Be a Mystery: Demystifying the Novel. This fiction workshop will meet from 6:30-9 p.m. for 10 consecutive Wednesdays beginning September 12 at the Randolph Learning Center. This is a two-credit hour class. The course will instruct budding novelists on the basics of setting, plot, characterization and dialogue. Information on seeking an agent, submitting a manuscript and building a career will also be covered.

Noted prose and poetry author Sebastian Matthews will teach Telling Stories: A Creative Nonfiction Workshop worth two-credit hours. The course will meet at the Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church, 281 Edgewood Rd., Asheville from 6-8:30 p.m. for 10 consecutive Thursdays beginning September 13. Designed for both beginning and experienced writers, this course works with a variety of nonfiction forms, including personal essay and memoir. Students will discuss each other's work and explore revision strategies.

UNC Asheville tuition and fees are $168.68 for two credit hour courses and $253.02 for three-credit hour courses for applicants who meet North Carolina residency requirements. In addition, there is a one-time visiting student application fee of $20. 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 email fox@unca.edu.