MTSU Write
Fall 2025 Conference: Weaving Hope
Each Fall, MTSU Write celebrates its mission by hosting the Creative Writing Conference on the MTSU campus. The Conference brings together students, mentors, alumni, and members of the community for learning, networking, and recognizing program graduates.
Conference Theme
The 2025 conference theme is Weaving Hope and will feature classes and presentations that will invite you to write both toward hope. This year’s conference will take place Friday, November 7 (virtual) and Saturday, November 8 (on MTSU’s campus).
Keynote Speaker: Ruta Sepetys
Ruta Sepetys (Rūta Šepetys) is an internationally acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction published in over sixty countries and forty languages. Considered a “crossover” novelist, her books are read by both students and adults worldwide. Winner of the Carnegie Medal and honored by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Ruta is renowned for giving voice to underrepresented history and those who experienced it. Her books have won or been shortlisted for more than fifty book prizes, appear on over forty state reading lists, and are currently in development for film and television.
Ruta is the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee. Born in Michigan, she was raised in a family of artists, readers, and music lovers. She is passionate about the power of history to foster dialogue and global understanding. Her research and writing on human resilience have earned her invitations to speak at NATO, European Parliament, the U.S. Capitol, the Library of Congress, and Embassies worldwide. She has been awarded fellowships from The University of Oxford in England and The Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Italy. The New York Times Book Review declared, “Ruta Sepetys acts as champion of the interstitial people so often ignored—whole populations lost in the cracks of history.”
Ruta was bestowed the Cross of the Knight of the Order by the President of Lithuania for her contributions to education and memory preservation and was honored with a postage stamp containing her image. She is deeply grateful for her Baltic heritage— even if it means she has a name that no one can pronounce.
Ruta lives with her family in the hills of Tennessee. For more information, visit https://rutasepetys.com/
Conference Schedule
Noon-1:00pm (CT): Readings from MTSU Write Community
1:00pm-3:00pm (CT): For our afternoon virtual programming, you will be able to choose from among the three following sessions:
OPTION 1 – Amy Wright – 21 Questions to Generate Great Writing – “Hope is the thing with feathers,” Emily Dickinson writes, and questions give wing to hope. Inquiry creates community. It cultivates intimacy. It help writers understand their audience. In this workshop, we will look at strategies for asking great questions to generate great writing. Through group work and in small breakout rooms, we will look at how tiered questions helps us climb toward discoveries. We’ll discuss why using focused Q&A can open new directions in your writing, and help direct projects that have been waiting for guidance.
OPTION 2 – Katie Nelson – Revision Strategies – Revision can be fun! In this workshop, we will explore tools and strategies to help you see your writing in a new way and make it stronger in the process. Bring a piece of writing you’ve been working on (or an idea) to use for practicing these skills.
Friday, November 7 Kick-off Gathering & Reading
Please join us for a kick-off reading! This reading, cosponsored by Poetry in the Boro, will feature work by some of our conference presenters. More information and location details coming soon!
8:30am-9:00am: Registration, & Welcome from MTSU Write Director Mary Leoson
Session 1 Options: 9:00am-10:30am
OPTION 1 – Kathy Rhodes – Practical Magic Story Starts: Ideation to Creation – Generating solid ideas that spark a story, writing from prompts (provided or self-produced), and crafting beginnings—for emerging and newly established writers.
OPTION 2 – Matthew Leavitt Brown – Poetry & Healing from Trauma – Drawing from work from Stations, a collection of poetry written on the remnants of a forest destroyed by a tornado, this session explores how language can serve as a therapeutic response to trauma and loss. Matthew Leavitt Brown will lead participants through a process of using poetry and listening as a form of collaborative response to impermanence and presence.
OPTION 3 – Cameron Mitchell – Leading with Your Emotions – In this master class workshop participants will learn to do storytelling from a different perspective using emotions. Participants will engage in thought provoking conversation, learn advance writing techniques, and performance activities that will deepen their understanding of storytelling.
Session 2: 10:45am-12:15pm
OPTION 1 – Jennifer Chesak – Writing the “Eclipsed” Essay: On the Other Side of the Dark, You Find Light – This nonfiction essay workshop explores the theme of moving through a personal dark time only to find renewal and relief. We’ve all experienced a moment in our lives that eclipses us, something that changes us forever. When the moon passes between planet Earth and the sun, blotting out the light, light always returns again. When we face our own dark times, however, we may think the shadows are eternal or that the suffering will never end. But nothing is permanent, not even suffering. Session attendees will leave with the bones of an essay that navigates one of their life’s biggest challenges along with how the pain transformed them.
OPTION 2 – Angela Hamilton – Common Mistakes New Writers Often Make – This presentation will focus on defining, identifying, and preventing three common difficulties new writers often face. Attendees will be given some time to implement the strategies they learn and are encouraged to bring a story they are currently working on.
OPTION 3 – Shan Overton – The Joy of Aliveness: A Blakean Workshop for Poets and Writers in Tumultuous Times – How might our writing cultivate and sustain our joy of aliveness in these tumultuous times? In this session, we will ponder what we can learn from the Romantic poet, printer, and painter William Blake (1757-1827) about engaging creativity and the imagination to live boldly in the face of the myriad problems and provocations we face here and now. We will draw, write, and share what we have generated in celebration of our very existence.
12:15-2:30pm: Lunch & Keynote Address
We will have lunch in ACB 106, followed by readings from MTSU Write mentees who have earned their certificates and a keynote address from the keynote speaker. There will be time to buy books (and get them signed) after the keynote!
Session 3: 2:30pm-4:00pm
OPTION 1 – Bryanna Licciardi – It’s Funny Because its (Partially) True: On Weaving the Personal with the Fictional in Poetry. We’re often drawn to poetry to help us process life events but sometimes we get so focused on the facts, we forget the creative opportunities this genre offers. In this workshop, we’ll explore ways you as a writer can weave reality with imagination to help us connect to a more nuanced understanding of “truth.” Expect plenty of time to write!
OPTION 2 – Mary Leoson – Dabbling in the Dark: Finding Hope & Healing Through Horror Fiction. Writing about hauntings can be cathartic in many ways, from ghosts walking in the woods to unnatural creatures lurking under the bed. Come explore the shadows and dip your toe into the night. Leave with an idea, notes, and maybe even a draft of a story that is sure to bring shivers to readers!
OPTION 3 – Haiku Group Meetup: This is for existing members of the Haiku Group and also for those who are curious about Haiku!
Registration:
Questions or Comments
Please send an email to [email protected].