20 Years: Growing a Garden of Words
It’s hard to imagine that this year marks the twentieth anniversary of our conference gathering. It all started with Patricia Winn’s seed of an idea to bring together southern writers and readers to celebrate the beauty of the written word.
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Each year, writers come to this event, bringing with them the seeds of their ideas and cultivating their own gardens of words. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to attend workshops, receive support, and gain inspiration to craft your own unique story. Join us this year and let your creativity bloom.
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We look forward to seeing you on June 4 – 6, 2025.

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Laurina Lyle, 

Conference Director for Clarksville Arts and Heritage Council

[email protected]

Stay tuned for more information on the impressive list of speakers, conference agenda, and how to register.

[ ABOUT ]
Clarksville Writers Conference

A little bit of history about our story. Clarksville, Tennessee, was a pivotal center of the Southern Renaissance of the 1920s and ’30s. Writers of the era living in Clarksville included Robert Penn Warren, Evelyn Scott, Caroline Gordon and Allen Tate. Additional writers, including Thomas Mabry, Cleanth Brooks, Ford Madox Ford, Donald Davidson, Katherine Ann Porter, Robert Lowell, Andrew Lytle, Malcolm Cowley, Frances and Brainard Cheney and others gathered to write and discuss their work at “Benfolly,” Tate and Gordon’s home overlooking the banks of the Cumberland River. Their Clarksville home became a Mecca for writers of the Southern Renaissance, and from that site poured literature which enriched the American scene. In that great tradition, we offer you the Nineteenth Annual Clarksville Writers Conference.

Our founder. Patricia Winn

[ WRITING CONTEST ]

2025

Thomas Dabney Mabry

Creative Writing Contest

Short Story Submission Rules Instructions:
 
> Maximum of 3,500 words or a maximum of 10 double-spaced pages of unpublished and not-under-contract English-language fiction manuscripts in the font of Times New Roman or Courier New with the font size of 12. Please do not go over the maximum word count unless it is mid-word or mid-sentence; then please complete the sentence. 
 
Submissions can include Action, Adventure, Comedy, Contemporary, Cozy, Fiction, Historical, Investigator, Juvenile, Literary, Mainstream/Commercial, Mystery, New Age, Non-fiction, Sci- Fi/Fantasy, Short Story Collections, Southern Gothic, Supernatural, Suspense, Thriller, Western and Young Adult manuscripts, and any of their derivatives. 
 
> Self-published materials are considered already published materials and are not eligible for submission. 
 

> Submissions will be accepted from October 15, 2024, through February 15, 2025. 

 
 
Judging 
 
> A panel of judges will select the top 10 entries. The top ten finalists will then be sent to the head judge. Head Judge—Shana Thornton—will decide on the top 3 finalists and then finally the grand prize winner. 
 
 
How To Submit
 
$35 fee per entry due at the time of submission (NO Refunds); payable via PayPal to AHC. The website for the conference and contest is clarksvillewritersconference.com 
 
Multiple submissions are allowed; a separate submission fee is required for each additional submission and all of the submission fees will be due at the time of submission. 
 
> Submissions would be emailed to AHC email at [email protected]. 
 
> The subject line of your email submission should include “TMCWA,” 2025, and the TITLE of your manuscript. Example: TMCWA 2025—Alice in Wonderland Remix 
 
> The submission should include 2 attachments per submission: a coversheet with your name, title of your manuscript, phone number, address, and email address on it and PDF attachment of your submission (No name or personal identifying information on the actual manuscript). Please put the title of the manuscript as a header on the submission, but not your name. 
 
 
Sample Cover Letter
 
Alice in Wonderland Remix
Jane Doe
2323 Rabbit Hole
Queens Court, TN 33333
 
Entries will be blindly judged by a panel of judges before going to the head judge; if there is identifying information on the manuscript, then you will be disqualified. 
 
> If plagiarism is suspected, the submission will be disqualified. 
> No handwritten copies will be accepted. 
> No AI Generated Submissions will be accepted. 
> The top 3 finalists will be notified via email or phone by one of the committee members between mid-March and mid-April 2025. 
 
 
Prizes
 
1st Place – $250 cash prize plus a free admission to the 2026 Conference
2nd Place – $150 cash prize
3rd Place – $100 cash prize
 
The top 3 finalists will be announced at the conference and the prize baskets for the winners will be distributed at that time. The top three winners will not know their exact ranking until the time of the announcement at the conference.. A person does not need to be present to be a winner. 
 
 
About Shana Thornton
 
Shana Thornton is the author of four works of fiction, RIPE FOR THE PICKIN’ (2022), THE ADVENTURES TO PAWNASSUS (2019), POKE SALLET QUEEN AND THE FAMILY MEDICINE WHEEL (2015) and MULTIPLE EXPOSURE (2012). She also author of the nonfiction, THE NUDGE WRITING PROMPTS (2023), and co-author of SEASONS OF BALANCE:ON CREATIVITY AND MINDFULNESS (2016). She is the Founder of the Clarksville/Montgomery County African American Legacy Trail (2019). Shana earned an M.A. in English from Austin Peay State University. She lives in Tennessee with her family.