# Event Details

- **Event Name**: An Evening with Arthurdale Writer-in-Residence Monic Ductan
- **Event Start and End Date**: Fri, 06 Mar, 2026 at 05:30 pm – Fri, 06 Mar, 2026 at 08:30 pm
- **Event Description**: Join us for an evening with Arthurdale Heritage’s first Writer-in-Residence, Monic Ductan! Monic Ductan grew up in rural Georgia. Daughters of Muscadine, her debut short story collection, won the Weatherford Award and the Tennessee Book Award. Monic was awarded a 2023 Individual Artist grant in fiction from the Tennessee Arts Commission and a 2025 Walter E. Dakin Fellowship in fiction from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Her poem, “Mama Took Grandma to Vote for Kennedy,” won the Tennessee Williams and New Orleans Literary Festival Contest in 2025. Monic’s work has appeared in a number of journals, including Oxford American, Appalachian Review, and Shenandoah. She teaches at Tennessee Tech University and lives in middle Tennessee.

5:30pm – Creative Writing Workshop | “Mix & Match: Mining Your Past for Setting Details”
Free (suggested donation $10) – Click here to RSVP
For this workshop, we will focus on using significant details and sensory impressions from our own lives. Using a nostalgia-themed writing prompt, the instructor will challenge participants to write about familiar settings and to mix and match settings to fit their prose. For instance, the smell of their grandma’s kitchen might be compatible with the old wallpaper in their neighbor’s basement and the paper dolls from their elementary school. We will also use excerpts from published writing as examples to guide us.

7:00pm – Annual Rita Avashia “Know Your Neighbors” Reading
Free
Featuring Monic Ductan and other local authors (TBA).
Authors will read aloud selections from their own writing. There will be a Q&A following the reading. Light refreshments will be provided.

About Rita Avashia
Rita Avashia was born and raised in Gujarat, India, married her husband, Bipin, in 1970 and emigrated to the US in 1971. Together, they made homes in Queens, NY, Cross Lanes, WV, Kansas City, MO and Austin, TX, but of these, it was West Virginia that Rita lived in the longest, and always referred to as “home.”Although she was in a new country, far from family and cultural traditions, Rita saw life in the US as both an adventure and opportunity. She built strong, lasting relationships with her neighbors, experimented with recipes from global cuisines, and made her dinner table the site for bringing both together. Ask anyone who knew Rita, and chances are they will remember a meal that they shared at her table.She and Bipin shared values of life-long learning, building community, and exploring the world. They visited all seven continents and have been to every kind of museum imaginable. Rita also loved the natural world: she was quick to dip her feet in any body of water and felt deeply connected to the wonder around her. She was very creative: she quilted, embroidered saris, knitted, crocheted, and made cards.Rita had a special place in her heart for children and openly shared her immigration stories and culture with the young people in her community. She facilitated annual summer camps for South Asian kids in WV, led her daughters’ Girl Scout troops, and choreographed Diwali dances. In Austin, she offered respite to children and families in the cancer center at Dell Children’s hospital.Like most Appalachian folks, Rita believed that a good meal, and a good story, were the keys to building relationships across differences. It is in this spirit that we offer this annual reading. If she lived in Arthurdale, there’s no question that she’d be in the audience for it.
- **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/arthurdale/an-evening-with-arthurdale-writer-in-residence-monic-ductan/200029584123435
- **Event Categories**: art, literary-art, contests, workshops, nonprofit, kids, festivals, trips-adventures, summer-camps, business, food-drinks, conferences
- **Interested Audience**: 
  - total_interested_count: 9

## Ticket Details


## Event venue details

- **city**: Arthurdale
- **state**: WV
- **country**: United States
- **location**: 18 Q Rd, Rte. 92, Arthurdale, WV, United States, West Virginia 26520
- **lat**: 39.49506
- **long**: -79.8157
- **full address**: 18 Q Rd, Rte. 92, Arthurdale, WV, United States, West Virginia 26520

## Event gallery

- **Alt text**: An Evening with Arthurdale Writer-in-Residence Monic Ductan
  - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events1/banners/6ded3c153f6d1e7d6e67aa001f2a29c232390a277b84d2bd2df4f035293b35df-rimg-w1200-h675-dcb01f40-gmir?v=1772248721

## FAQs

- **Q**: When and where is An Evening with Arthurdale Writer-in-Residence Monic Ductan being held?
  - **A:** An Evening with Arthurdale Writer-in-Residence Monic Ductan takes place on Fri, 06 Mar, 2026 at 05:30 pm to Fri, 06 Mar, 2026 at 08:30 pm at 18 Q Rd, Rte. 92, Arthurdale, WV, United States, West Virginia 26520.
- **Q**: Who is organizing An Evening with Arthurdale Writer-in-Residence Monic Ductan?
  - **A:** An Evening with Arthurdale Writer-in-Residence Monic Ductan is organized by Arthurdale Heritage, Inc..
- **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me?
  - **A:** An Evening with Arthurdale Writer-in-Residence Monic Ductan is ideal for curious learners, students, and skill-builders looking to gain hands-on knowledge and practical expertise in a focused, interactive setting. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Arthurdale, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. If An Evening with Arthurdale Writer-in-Residence Monic Ductan sounds like your kind of event, don't wait - spots fill up fast.

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