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Mildred Haun Conference Schedule

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For more information contact:

Paul D. Ludwig
Email
423.585.6949

Chippy A. McLain
Email
423.585.6956

 

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2026 Conference Program

The 17th Annual Mildred Haun Conference will be held Feb. 6-7 on Walters State’s Morristown Campus. The conference is a celebration of Appalachian literature, culture and scholarship. This year’s theme is “Cooking Up the Good Stuff: Poetry, Music, Stories and More.” The conference is free.

Pre-registration is requested and can be made at https://ws.edu/mildred-haun.

The conference honors the legacy of Haun, a pioneer of Appalachian literature and a Hamblen County native. Haun’s “The Hawk’s Done Gone” is considered one of the genre’s best works.

 

Speakers and Guests

Dale Ann Bradley

Dale Ann Bradley

Kentucky-born Dale Ann Bradley is one of the most respected voices in Modern Bluegrass. The award-winning Kentucky Music Hall of Fame inductee will be offering a songwriting workshop and concert on Saturday.

Robert Gipe

Robert Gipe

Robert won the 2015 Weatherford Award for outstanding Appalachian fiction for his novel Trampoline. The poet, illustrator and author will be the keynote speaker for the 2026 Mildred Haun Conference on Friday afternoon.

 

Doug Van Gundy

Doug Van Gundy

Poet and songwriter Doug Van Gundy, directs the West Virginia Wesleyan College Low-Residency MFA Creative Writing program. His poems and essays have appeared in many journals. Doug will host a fiction workshop on Friday.

Mandi Sheffel

Mandi Sheffell

Mandi Fugate Sheffell, from Red Fox, KY, found her passion for writing and storytelling at the Appalachian Writers' Workshop at the Hindman Settlement School. Mandi will be leading a creative non-fiction workshop on Friday.

Annie Woodford

Annie Woodford

Annie Woodford's poems have appeared in many publications and she was a runner-up for the 2020 Weatherford Award for Appalachian Poetry. Annie will share workshop poetry at the conference on Saturday.

 

2026 Events Schedule

You can use the links below to view the schedule for each day of the Mildred Haun Conference.

Friday, February 6th

Saturday, February 7th

 

Friday, February 6

Time

Event

8:00 to
9:00am

Registration Opens
Judge William H. Inman Humanities Complex Lobby
9:00 to
10:00am

Scholarly Presentation
Session A | HUM 100
Dr. Kevin Collins
Appalachian Epicry: The Ballad of Bill
9:00 to
10:15am

Scholarly Presentation
Session B | HUM 132
Amy Le Ann Richardson / Danita Dodson / Melissa Helton / Lisa Farthing
Rooted, Resilient Rising: A Panel and Reading with Mountain Women Farmers of Central Appalachia
9:00 to
10:00am

Scholarly Presentation
Session C | HUM 104
Welsey Scott McMasters & Noah Soltau
The Red Branch Review: Poetry in Appalachia
9:00 to
10:00am

Scholarly Presentation
Session D | HUM 103
Cinda Williams Chima
Using Family Records as a Springboard for Story
9:00 to
9:35am

Scholarly Presentation
Session E | HUM 102
Lydia Gervais
All Your Fabergé Eggs in the Coal Basket: Appalachian Environmentalism with Ann Pancake’s Strange As This Weather Has Been
9:40 to
10:15am		 Scholarly Presentation

Session F | HUM 102
Eleanor Weedman
Between Home and Table: How Foodways Act as Communal Narrative
9:40 to
10:15am

Scholarly Presentation
Session G | HUM 100
Makayla Shortt
Not Your Granny’s Front Porch: The Deconstruction of Appalachian Stereotypes in Monic Ductan’s Daughter of Muscadine
10:15 to
10:30am		 Break (Open mic from 10:00 to 10:30am)
10:30 to
12:00pm

Creative Non-Fiction Workshop
Mandi Fugate Sheffel
Judge William H. Inman Humanities Theatre
12:00 to
1:30pm

Lunch with Student Writers Reading from Winning Entries
Humanities Lobby
1:30 to
3:00pm

Fiction Workshop
Doug Van Gundy
Judge William H. Inman Humanities Theatre
3:00 to
3:15pm		 Break
3:15 to
3:30pm

Mildred Haun Award of Excellence & Book Giveaway
Judge William H. Inman Humanities Theatre
3:30 to
5:00pm

Keynote: Robert Gipe
Judge William H. Inman Humanities Theatre

 

 

Saturday, February 7

Time Event
8:00 to
9:00am

Registration Opens
Judge William H. Inman Humanities Complex Lobby
9:00 to
9:30am

Scholarly Presentation
Session A | HUM 101
Natalie Wood
Using Christianity for Control: Morality and Religion in Kettle Bottom and Gay Poems for Red State
9:00 to
9:35am		 Scholarly Presentation

Session B | HUM 104
Clay Spencer & Melissa Helton
Root Systems: An Intergenerational Presentation of Writing
9:00 to
9:30am		 Scholarly Presentation

Session C | HUM 102
Carissa Turpin
Celebrating Language Diversity in the Classroom
9:00 to
10:00am		 Scholarly Presentation
Session D | HUM 100

Pete Wyatt
Appalachian Heritage Cookery
9:45 to
10:15am		 Scholarly Presentation
Session E | HUM 101
Dr. Julia Watts
Fatalism and Flamboyance
9:45 to
10:15am		 Scholarly Presentation
Session F | HUM 102
Samantha Mattox
A Lonely Poet
9:00 to
10:15am		 Scholarly Presentation

Session G | HUM 103
Kelly Moore-Roberts
Canning: A History of canning in Appalachian culture
10:15 to
10:30am		 Break (Open mic from 10:00 to 10:30am)
10:30 to
12:00pm

Songwriting Workshop
Dale Ann Bradley
HUM 132
12:00 to
1:30pm

Lunch (with open mic for attendee readings)
Humanities Lobby with overflow in room 103
1:30 to
3:00pm

Poetry Workshop
Annie Woodford
Judge William H. Inman Humanities Theatre
3:00 to
3:15pm

Break
3:15 to
4:00pm

Concert with Dale Ann Bradley / Book Giveaway / Closing
Judge William H. Inman Humanities Theatre

 

 

For more information contact:

Paul D. Ludwig
Email
423.585.6949

Chippy A. McLain
Email
423.585.6956

 

Quick Links

College Catalog

Academic Calendar

Library

Campus Map

 

Events

News