From Sidney Lanier to Alice Walker, from Flannery O’Connor to Tina McElroy Ansa, middle Georgia has produced many lauded authors and poets, and even more are just now getting started. This fall, the Hawkinsville Pulaski-County Arts Council will help plant the seeds for the area’s budding authors to thrive.

The Art of Writing, led by local authors Carol Cannon and Nancy Brandon, will take place Saturday, September 28th from 9:00-1:30 at the Opera House. The workshop is designed to help writers generate ideas for new works–fiction or nonfiction–and promises opportunities for personal interaction with other writers.

“Many people think there’s a deep, dark secret to becoming an author,” Cannon said. “But really it’s about sitting down and writing one word, then another, then another. We hope this workshop inspires a new community of writers.”

A former public school teacher, Cannon, also the Arts Council president, pursued writing after retiring from the classroom. She is the author of Take Heart, the first installment of the Hart and Soul book series as well as the Kerry book series, which includes Forgiveness, Hope, Peace and Joy. 

A Hawkinsville native, author Nancy Brandon currently lives in Savannah Georgia, where she taught writing and teacher education. Now retired from Georgia Southern University, she concentrates on writing historical women’s fiction while also helping other writers pursue their publication goals. She is the author of Dunaway’s Crossing, set in Pineview and Show Me a Kindness, set in Vidalia.

“No writing experience is necessary,” Brandon says of The Art of Writing workshop. “We hope to draw a group of participants who have great writing ideas, but just need a springboard for their work.”

The number of participants is limited to sixteen and will take place at the Opera House, 42 S. Lumpkin Street, Hawkinsville. The cost for the The Art of Writing workshop is $60, which includes a light lunch. You can register online at www.hawkinsvilleoperahouse.com, or in person at the Hawkinsville Opera House weekdays from 10-4. Interested writers with questions can contact the Arts Council at (478) 783-1884 or at hpcartscouncil@gmail.com.

The Art of Writing Workshop Registration Form