Zone 3 Writers' Festival
Zone 3 Press, the Creative Writing Program, and the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts at Austin Peay State University are pleased to present the 2026 Zone 3 Writers' Festival! This event will be April 16-18, 2026, and is hosted on Austin Peay State University's Main Campus in Clarksville, TN.
MEMORY is the theme of this year’s festival. We invite proposals for papers, panels, workshops, and creative readings that explore memory as personal experience, collective history, cultural archive, and political force.
This year, festival attendees have the opportunity to attend craft talks and readings led by professional writers, participate in generative writing workshops, attend informational panels on writing and the writing industry, and meet with APSU creative writing faculty.
Our call for proposals is now live! The 2026 schedule of events will be announced closer to the the date, but see the 2025 schedule below.
2026 Schedule of Events
April 16, 2026
| Time | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|
|
6:00 PM
|
Mabry Hall Lobby, Music/Mass Communications Building
|
Reception and Refreshments
|
|
7:00 PM
|
Mabry Hall
|
The Roy Acuff Chair of Excellence presents: A Culmination Event with Rebecca Makkai
A Q&A will follow the event. |
|
8:00 PM
|
Mabry Hall Lobby, Music/Mass Communications Building
|
Book Signing
|
April 17, 2026
View a version of the festival schedule here (Excel).
| Time | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|
|
8:30 AM
|
Morgan University Center (MUC) Lobby (Outside Einstein Bros Bagels)
|
Registration
|
|
9:00 AM - 3:20 PM
|
Morgan University Center (MUC) Ballroom
|
Book Fair
|
| Time | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|
|
9:00 AM - 9:50 AM
|
MUC 307
|
Plenary One:
Jacob Vaus, Zone 3 Editor Prize Winner in Fiction for "Down the Hall and to the Left"; published in Volume 40.1 |
| Time | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|
|
10:00 AM - 10:50 AM
|
MUC 305
|
A Gov & Beyond — First Year Writing Award Winners
Presenter: Dr. Keely Mohon-Doyle |
|
10:00 AM - 10:50 AM
|
MUC 307
|
Writing for Film
Presenter: Jacob Vaus |
|
10:00 AM - 10:50 AM
|
MUC 308
|
The Line Between "Human" and "Machine"
Presenter: Whitney Stevens |
| Time | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|
|
11:00 AM - 11:50 AM
|
MUC 307
|
Making Memory Work for the Page
Presenter: The Ink Tank |
|
11:00 AM - 11:50 AM
|
MUC 308
|
Ekphrastic and Memoir Workshop
Presenter: Leigh Cuen |
| Time | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|
|
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
|
MUC 305
|
Lunch
|
|
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
|
MUC 308
|
Logan County High School & APSU Department of Languages & Literature Meeting
|
| Time | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|
|
12:30 PM - 1:20 PM
|
MUC 305
|
Lunch
|
|
12:30 PM - 1:20 PM
|
MUC 307
|
Plenary Two (Virtual):
Francesca Leader, Zone 3 Editor Prize Winner in Nonfiction for "Some Warnings for My Daughters on (Interlingual) Marriage"; published in Volume 40.1 |
|
12:30 PM - 1:20 PM
|
MUC 308
|
Logan County High School & APSU Department of Languages & Literature Meeting
|
| Time | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|
|
1:30 PM - 2:20 PM
|
MUC 307
|
Breaking the Loop: Subverting Memory’s Grip in Revision Lecture
Presenters: Dr. Susan Finch and Dr. Gary McDowell |
|
1:30 PM - 2:20 PM
|
MUC 308
|
Speculative Memoir: Combine Memories with Imagination Workshop (Virtual)
Presenter: Sage Tyrtle |
|
1:30 PM - 2:20 PM
|
MUC 310
|
Criminal Minds: Writing Memory into Crime Workshop
Presenter: Cresta McGowan |
| Time | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|
|
2:30 PM - 3:20 PM
|
MUC 305
|
Considering the Borrowed Form as Artifact: Navigating the Imperfections of Memory
in Nonfiction Writing Workshop
Presenter: Anna Chotlos |
|
2:30 PM - 3:20 PM
|
MUC 307
|
The Professional Writer: Navigating the Publishing Industry Roundtable Talk
Presenters: |
|
2:30 PM - 3:20 PM
|
MUC 308
|
Teaching Early Writers to Transform Lived Experience into Fiction Lecture (Virtual)
Presenter: Mary Shaver |
| Time | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|
|
3:30 PM - 4:20 PM
|
MUC 308
|
From the Roots: Readings and Reflections with Editors' Choice Award Winners
Presenter: Red Mud Review |
|
3:30 PM - 4:20 PM
|
MUC 310
|
Not All Rejections Are Equal: Resilience and Recovery for Writers Workshop
Presenter: Chrissy Hicks |
| Time | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|
|
4:30 PM - 5:20 PM
|
MUC 307
|
Plenary Three (Virtual):
Nicole Yurcaba, Zone 3 Editor Prize Winner in Poetry for "ранок" and "While You Are in Greece, Your Mother Calls You to Inform You She Bought a New Lampshade"; published in Volume 40.1 |
| Time | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|
|
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
|
MUC 305
|
Building Cultural Memory: Where Character Meets World
Presenter: Tabletop Roleplaying Gaming Club |
April 18, 2026
| Time | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|
|
9:30 AM
|
Art + Design 120, Lobby
|
Reception and Refreshments
|
|
10:00 AM
|
Art + Design 120
|
Tennessee's Emerging Creative Writers Contest Ceremony
Winners presented by Red Mud Review editors |