The Writers’ Center of Indiana, located in Indianapolis, was founded in 1979 with the mission “to nurture a writing community, to support established and emerging writers, to improve written and verbal communication, and to develop an audience for literature in Indiana.” One way WCI fulfills that mission is the annual Gathering of Writers, a day-long event that features writing classes, workshops, and discussions led by Indiana’s best writers.

This year’s keynote speaker is Indiana native Elizabeth Stuckey-French, author of The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady, Mermaids on the Moon, and The First Paper Girl in Red Oak, Iowa. She is also the co-editor of the popular textbook, Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft, now in its eight edition. Stuckey-French will also lead one of the sessions, “From Auditions to Curtain Call: How to Cast Your Novel.”

Several universities in the state are represented on this year’s faculty, including Purdue, IU, Marian, DePauw, Notre Dame, IUPUI, U. of Indianapolis, and more. Ball State will make an especially strong showing, with three creative writing professors leading the way—Jill Christman (“(How) Can I Say This?: Approaching Creative Nonfiction With Craft and Courage”), Cathy Day (“The Big Thing: Moving from Story to Book”), and Michael Meyerhofer (“Stress and Syllables: Scansion as Craft in Poetry”).

The Gathering of Writers is a great way to meet published and emerging authors from around the state. Groups of university students have attended the event in recent years, which means it could also be a great opportunity for BSU English majors to meet their peers from other institutions.

Here is a sampling of some of the sessions listed in this year’s program:

  • · Eugene Gloria, “Poetry of Witness: Writing Political Poems”
  • · David Shumate, “The Prose Poem: Dreaming Inside the Box”
  • · Barbara Shoup, “Writing Young Adult Fiction”
  • · Tom Chiarella, “Profile Form and the Study of Character”
  • · Margaret-Love Denman, “Telling Time in Fiction”
  • · Terry Kirts, “Life at First Bite: Starting Your Food Memoir”
  • · Steve Tomasula, “Fun with Words, Or, The Art Whose Medium is Language”

A complete list of sessions, as well as that day’s schedule and faculty bios, can be found at the WCI website.

Students (with i.d.) get a 75% discount—registration is only $25.

Date: Saturday, October 23
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Where: Campus of Marian University, Indianapolis

For more information, check out the event’s website here.