Writing workshops in poetry, fiction set for January in Oak Ridge

Concurrent writing workshops in poetry and fiction are scheduled for January Jumpstart XXIV, Jan. 13-14, 2024, at the Comfort Inn, 433 South Rutgers Ave. in Oak Ridge.

Registration begins at 8:30 on Saturday, with the workshops beginning at 9 a.m. and running through 4:30 p.m., a news release said. Lunch is from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. The Sunday workshops are from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Poetry leader Connie Jordan Green is the author of four books of poetry: "Slow Children Playing" and "Regret Comes to Tea," from Finishing Line Press; "Household Inventory," winner of the Brick Road Poetry Press 2013 Award; and most recently, "Darwin’s Breath" from Iris Press.

Her poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, the release said. She belongs to the Tennessee Mountain Writers (board of directors), Knoxville Writers' Guild, Academy of American Poets, and the Authors Guild; she was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the East Tennessee Hall of Fame for Writers, and a Tribute to the Arts Award from the Arts Council of Oak Ridge. She and her husband, Richard, a retired engineer, have three children and seven grandchildren.

Fiction leader Darnell Arnoult is the author of the novel "Sufficient Grace," poetry collections "What Travels With Us," "Galaxie Wagon," and the forthcoming "Incantations." Her shorter works have appeared in a variety of journals and anthologies.

She holds a master's degree from NCSU and an MFA from University of Memphis and she offers a constellation of workshops and services for writers and writing communities, the release said. She is the recipient of the SIBA Poetry Book of the Year Prize, Weatherford Award, Chaffin Award, and Hobson Award in Arts and Letters. She lives with her family in Mebane, North Carolina. For more about Darnell, visit darnellarnoult.net.

Participation in January Jumpstart XXIV will be limited to 20 registrants per workshop. Deadline for registering is Dec. 29. Coffee and tea before the morning sessions and lunch on Saturday are included in the registration fee of $150. To register, see the Tennessee Mountain Writers website, www.tmwi.org.

Attendees should mention TMW/January Jumpstart for a special rate of $82 plus tax when calling Comfort Inn Oak Ridge (865-481-8200) for reservations,or use online booking link:www.choicehotels.com/reservations/groups/FL11L6.

Tennessee Mountain Writers is a nonprofit, nonpolitical organization that promotes Tennessee literary arts and supports the work of Tennessee writers. This project is funded in part under an agreement with the Tennessee Arts Commission.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Writing workshops January 2024 in Oak Ridge Tennessee