Submit Manuscripts by March 18

(COLUMBIA, Tenn. - Dec. 31, 2015) - - - Columbia State Community College announces a manuscript submission deadline for the upcoming spring Duck River Writer's Conference. Writers are encouraged to submit poetry, short stories, excerpts from novels, and teen poetry and fiction by Mar. 18.

Manuscripts will be reviewed by a panel of judges prior to the conference and a workshop will be held during the conference to provide professional feedback for all submissions.

The featured reader will be noted author, American poet and Vanderbilt University Professor of English Mark Jarman, who is the author of more than a dozen books of poetry and non-fiction criticism. Jarman recently won the Balcones Poetry Prize for "Bone Fires: New and Selected Poems," his most recent collection.

Jarman has received three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and is also a former Guggenheim Fellow.

Non-refundable fees for manuscript submissions are $15, separate from conference registration fees. Manuscripts should be sent to DRWC@ColumbiaState.edu. Payment instructions will be emailed to those making submissions.

The April 16 conference will feature craft talks, workshops and a juried reading. Advance registration fees are $10, and registration is $15 at the door. Details for the conference and additional registration information will be released at a later date.

Columbia State is a two-year college, serving a nine-county area in southern Middle Tennessee with locations in Columbia, Franklin, Lawrenceburg, Lewisburg and Clifton. As Tennessee's first community college, Columbia State is committed to increasing access and enhancing diversity at all five campuses. Columbia State is a member of the Tennessee Board of Regents, one of the largest higher education systems in the nation. For more information, please visit www.columbiastate.edu.

Tennessee's Community Colleges is a system of 13 colleges offering a high-quality, affordable, convenient and personal education to prepare students to achieve their educational and career goals in two years or less. We offer associate degree and certificate programs, workforce development programs and transfer pathways to four-year degrees. For more information, please visit us online at tncommunitycolleges.org.