APSU hosting inaugural Zone 3 Writers’ Festival from April 10-12
By: Melody Cox April 3, 2025
APSU students in Dr. Raymond Deeren’s Zone 3 Internship course work to plan and execute the inaugural Zone 3 Writers’ Festival, which is scheduled for April 10-12. | Photo by Ralph Acosta
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University’s Zone 3 Press, with support from the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, is hosting the inaugural Zone 3 Writers' Festival on campus from April 10-12.
The event was planned and executed by students in APSU’s Zone 3 Internship course and will welcome writers from all over the country, including Zone 3 Journal Editor’s Prize Winners Callie Jennings, Heather Hawk, and Bryn Agnew.
“This festival is something we’re all excited for,” said Dakota Donohue, assistant marketing coordinator for the festival. “It’ll be something new for the community, expanding the circle of Austin Peay writers outside of the classroom. Organizing this event alone has been an exciting process, working alongside the Zone 3 team and fellow writers, and I’m excited to see the results of all our hard work.”
The festival begins at 7 p.m. on April 10 with a free public reading by writer Dustin M. Hoffman in the Art + Design Building’s Room 120, Heydel Hall. Other events include the Zone 3 Writers’ Festival and Book Fair on April 11 and the Tennessee's Emerging Creative Writers Contest Awards Ceremony on April 12.
Free registration for the festival starts at 9 a.m. on April 11 in the Morgan University Center, with panels and workshops continuing until 5:30 p.m. Registration and events are open to the public, and attendees are asked to bring a donation to APSU's S.O.S. Food Pantry if able. In addition to receiving conference materials such as a schedule, bookmark, and other items, conference attendees can enjoy the Department of Theatre and Dance's production of Intimate Apparel any night of the conference at the student rate ($5 with proof of conference registration). Tickets for the production can be purchased here.
In addition to craft talks and readings by professional writers, generative writing workshops, and informational panels on writing and the writing industry, attendees will have the opportunity to engage with a variety of vendors providing interactive tables and book sales.
Sample panels include discussions of writing community, storytelling, and more. Author Stephanie Dugger’s panel will discuss how to form a writing co-op, maintain relationships, and identify traits that make for trusted group members.
The Woodward Library’s own Coordinator of Digital Services Scott Shumate’s “Critical Quests: Collaborative Storytelling in Dungeons and Dragons” will discuss Austin Peay’s Dungeons and Dragons group, Critical Quest. The panel strives to demonstrate the storytelling skills developed through gaming and the importance of narrative pacing, thematic consistency, character voice, and improvisational dialogue.
The festival will conclude with Tennessee’s Emerging Creative Writers Contest Awards Ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 12, in Art + Design Room 120.
“The experience I’ve gotten from planning the 2025 Zone 3 Writers Festival has been very rewarding and insightful,” said Valerie Myhand, assistant events coordinator. “I have observed countless occasions when members of my team have shown great attention to detail when organizing the schedule and putting together presentation panels. I think this festival will be a great opportunity for students to get valuable information pertaining to the writing industry and to help further their own writing skills through craft talks.”
To learn more about Zone 3 Press, contact Dr. Raymond Deeren, co-coordinator of APSU’s Creative Writing Program, at deerenr@apsu.edu.
About the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts
Since 1985, the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts (CECA, or "seek-ah") has been providing students, the Clarksville community, and the middle Tennessee region with engaging experiences through the Art + Design, Creative Writing, Music, and Theatre & Dance programs at APSU. CECA brings as many as 85 guest artists to Clarksville each year and presents up to 100 public arts and culture events annually, including concerts, exhibitions, artist lectures, master classes, artist residencies, and more. In addition, CECA provides the arts faculty at APSU with research opportunities to enhance their professional growth as well as numerous student scholarships each year to support APSU's own emerging artists. To learn more about CECA, contact Dr. Andrea Spofford at spofforda@apsu.edu.