Hickory – Catawba Valley Community College’s English Department is sponsoring the Catawba Valley Writers’ Conference this fall featuring well-known Southern authors Pamela Duncan and Terry Barr. The conference will be held on the college’s Main Campus in Hickory Saturday, September 15, 9am to 3pm.

The workshop is designed for adult and older teen writers and readers of all experience and interest levels.
Duncan is the author of “Moon Women,” a Southeast Booksellers Association Award Finalist; “Plant Life,” winner of the 2003 Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction; and “The Big Beautiful.” She received the James Still Award for Writing about the Appalachian South, awarded by the Fellowship of Southern Writers. She also received the Lee Smith Award, which recognizes an individual who has worked to preserve and promote Appalachian culture.

Duncan has appeared on UNC-TV’s North Carolina Bookwatch and The State of Things on NPR. She is currently at work on “The Wilder Place,” a novel set in western North Carolina, and a collection of short fiction titled “On the Inside Looking Out.” She teaches creative writing at Western Carolina University. More about Duncan is available at www.pameladuncan.com.

Barr is the author of “Don’t Date Baptists and Other Warnings from My Alabama Mother” (Third Lung Press), and “We Might As Well Eat: How to Survive Tornados, Alabama Football, and Your Southern Family.” His work has appeared in numerous publications, including The Bitter Southerner, Under the Sun, Story South, Wraparound South, Flying South, Full Grown People, Hippocampus, and Vol 1 Brooklyn. He blogs at Medium.com/@terrybarr and lives in Greenville, S.C., with his family.

A limited number of books by the authors will be available for purchase and book signing during the event.

An afternoon question and answer panel discussion will be held with the authors and Robert Canipe, Editor-in-Chief of CVCC’s Red Hawk Publishing, and local author and CVCC staff member Tim Peeler.

Attendees may bring lunch or take advantage of numerous nearby restaurants.

Pre-registration for the workshop prior to September 7 is $20 and $28 the day of the event. Registration available at https://tinyurl.com/y75jzedv. Contact Jessica Watkins, English Department Faculty for more information, 828-327-7000. ext. 4692, [email protected].