Cartersville Area Writers hosts our 3rd annual CAW Writers Conference on May 17, 2025, at the historic Legion Theatre on Main Street in Cartersville, GA.
9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Free parking is available behind The Legion Theatre and in the new parking deck directly across the street. ***Please don't park on the street so as not to obstruct open businesses that day. Thank you!***
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Keynote Speaker: Robert Gwaltney
Robert Gwaltney, a recipient of the 2022 Pat Conroy Writers Residency, was named 2023 Georgia Author of the Year for his debut novel, ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ. He resides in Atlanta, Georgia, where he is an active member of the Atlanta literary community, serving as a board member for Broadleaf Writers Association. Robertโs work has appeared in such publications as ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ป๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ, ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ณ๐บ ๐๐ฆ๐ท๐ช๐ฆ๐ธ, ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ญ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐ท๐ช๐ฆ๐ธ, and ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐ถ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ. His forthcoming novel, ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฏ, will be published by Mercer University Press in the Spring of 2026. His keynote topic will be, "Finding Our Voices, Finding Our Way."
Workshops:
*ANN HITE - Using Haints and History in Our Fiction
Ann Hite has written six novels and two nonfiction books. Her short story collection, ๐๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐๐ฏ ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ฏ, won bronze in the 2022 Foreword Indies Book Award. She has been shortlisted
for the Townsend Prize and nominated for the Pushcart. Her passion for history and Appalachia heavily influences her writing.
๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ณ๐จ๐ช๐ข ๐๐ช๐ณ๐ญ: ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ถ๐ค๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐จ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฌ, 1888-1957 (Mercer University Press September 2, 2025)
๐๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ฏ
: A haunted story collection (Fall of 2022 Mercer University Press)
Bronze Winner, Foreword Indie Awards 2023
Townsend Prize Finalist 2023
Nominated for Pushcart 2022
๐๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ (November 9, 2021 Firefly Southern Fiction)
๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ต๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐๐ธ๐ข๐บ (May 1, 2020 Mercer University Press)
Pushcart Nominee 2020
Georgia Author of the Year 2021 Honorable Mention
๐๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฐ๐ด (Mercer University Press Sept. 2016)
Georgia Writer of the Year Finalist 2017
Pushcart Nominee 2017
IndieFab Finalist 2017
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ด ๐๐ฐ (Mercer University Press Sept. 2015)
IndieFab Finalist 2016
๐๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฏ ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ฏ
Townsend Prize Finalist 2012
Georgia Author Of The Year 2012
Former President of the Georgia Writers Association
Board Member of Broadleaf Writers Association
*TENESHA CURTIS - Write Your Book in a Year
A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Tenesha L. Curtis has been a lover of the dark, disturbing, and deviant since childhood. In her kindergarten and elementary school years, her favorite movies included classics like ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅโ๐ด ๐๐ญ๐ข๐บ and ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐บ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ. Unable to be tied to one genre, sheโs consumed work from writers like Edgar Allen Poe, Kazuo Ishiguro, Toni Morrison, Amy Tan, Patricia Cornwell, Stephen King, Ayn Rand, and Zane. Her fascination with the human psyche led her to earn a master's degree in chemical addiction treatment and work in the mental health world for over a decade before turning her life over to literature completely. She uses this training and experience to influence straightforward books on writing made especially for newbie authors and thrilling works of fiction in various genres. Connect with her at ReadTenesha.com.
*RICHARD FIERCE - Worldbuilding
Richard Fierce is a fantasy author with a passion for storytelling that dates back to his childhood. He first ventured into publishing in 2007 and hasnโt looked back since. His books are filled with dragons, adventure, and the kind of epic journeys that transport readers to new worlds. With over 40 books under his belt that have sold over 300,000 copies, he offers something for everyone.
In 2000, Richard was named Poet of the Year for his poem The Darkness, and his love for literature extends beyond just writingโhe co-founded the Acworth Book Festival in Georgia to help bring authors and readers together. Though he originally worked in retail, he eventually transitioned to the tech industry, balancing his career with his writing.
Richard lives in Northwest Georgia with his family and a lively mix of pets, including four dogs (huskies!). He often jokes that his house feels like a zoo, but he wouldnโt have it any other way.
His love for fantasy started in high school when he was gifted a copy of Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickmanโa book that sparked a lifelong love for dragons and epic quests.
Whether heโs writing about dragon riders, lost civilizations, or ancient prophecies, Richard continues to craft stories that pull readers into unforgettable adventures.
*VICKIE MCENTIRE - Metadata
Vickie McEntire is an award-winning, internationally published author known for her works, including:
1. ๐๐ข๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ช๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด
2. ๐๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ณ๐ฅ & ๐๐บ๐ณ๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ (Georgia Author of the Year)
3. ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ต๐บ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ต - a poetry collection
4. Contributions to ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ (in five editions)
5. A story in ๐๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ magazine
6. Various anthologies
7. A childrenโs book profile in ๐๐ข๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ, a Georgia Writers Museum publication
8. Upcoming novel: ๐๐ถ๐ค๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ
9. Upcoming essay collection: ๐โ๐ญ๐ญ ๐๐ญ๐บ ๐๐ธ๐ข๐บ
After writing human interest stories for ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ป๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ, Vickie served as the magazine's editor. She has conducted workshops at various venues, including the Calhoun-Gordon County Library and the Red Clay Writers Conference, and participated in the 2018 AJC Decatur Book Festival.
Vickie belongs to several writing organizations, including Georgia Writers and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She owns Colorful Crow Publishing, with imprints Baby Crow (children's books) and The Spotted Feather (author services), and leads the Colorful Crow Writers Community, which meets monthly via Zoom.
Additionally, she manages The Book Nook in Calhoun, located inside Pintage Antique Market, which sends out a literary newsletter. Vickie is passionate about reading!
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Schedule:
9:00 Doors Open to Public
9:15 Breakfast/Auction Open/Book Sales
9:45 Welcome/A little history of CAW- Mandy Cantrell
Introduction of Tammy as President and MC
Introduction of Keynote, Robert Gwaltney
10:00 Keynote Speaker, Robert Gwaltney - main stage
11:00 Workshops
---1 Ann Hite- front meeting area
---2 (Vickie McEntire - main stage
12:00 Lunch - Book Sales/Peruse Silent Auction
12:30 Readings from The Crow Speaks, Vol. III, the CAW 2025 Anthology
1:00 Workshops
---3 Tenesha Curtis - main stage
---4 Richard Fierce - front meeting area
2:00 "Q&A with a Publisher" Vickie McEntire - main stage
2:15 "The Future of CAW" - Tammy Barron
2:30 Closing/Auction Winner Announcements
3:00 Dismissal/Auction Pickups/Book Sales
Get your tickets now at cartersvilleareawriters.com or use the QR codes on Facebook (pinned to the top). Any questions? Email us at
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