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Community Programs

The UNA Center for Writing Excellence is dedicated to community outreach programs that help improve the writing and literacy skills and interests of the community. At present, the UNA Center for Writing Excellence has two community program commitments:

Current Programs

Florence High School Writing Center

Since 2008, the UNA Center for Writing Excellence has worked with the administration and English Department at Florence High School to create the Florence High School Writing Center. The FHS Writing Center is directed by English Division Head Mrs. Dorlea Rickard and staffed by FHS Creative Writing and Honors English students. The center is housed in the school library. Training and document support is provided by UNA CWE writing consultants, led by Dr. Robert T. Koch Jr. and Dr. Kelly L. Latchaw.

Florence-Lauderdale Public Library Writing Workshops

Since 2009, the UNA Center for Writing Excellence has offered free creative writing workshops through the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library. These workshops meet six times on a bi-weekly basis, usually from 10am until noon, at the library. There are workshops each year in theSpring, the Summer, and the Fall. Instruction in these workshops is provided by Dr. Robert T. Koch Jr., assisted by UNA Center for Writing Excellence writing consultants.

Anyone can join! To register, visit the FLPL circulation desk and ask about the UNA CWE creative writing workshops.

Poets & Writers Writing Contests, Grants & Awards

While the University of North Alabama Center for Writing Excellence is not officially affiliated with Poets & Writers, we do recommend that aspiring writers take part in their various contests.

"The Writing Contests, Grants & Awards database includes details about the creative writing contests—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, and more—that we’ve published in Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it. Ours is the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere."

Click here to see upcoming Poets & Writers contests!

UNA Creative Writing Group

For any UNA students who have an interest in creative writing, a creative writing group will begin to meet in the Center for Writing Excellence this semester. The group will be focused on sharing and discussing the material of everyone in the group, with an end goal of both personal improvement and publication in mind. There is no prior experience required to join, we just ask that you be open and passionate about sharing your work with others. So if you are interested in writing poetry, short stories, novels, or even screenplays, feel free to join us. For more information please contact Holden Belew at hbelew@una.edu.

Past Programs

Florence-Lauderdale Public Library One Book Program

In Fall 2008, the UNA Center for Writing Excellence participated in Florence-Lauderdale Public Library’s inaugural One Book Program, which took place from August 23rd through October 10th. Community members were encouraged to read John Grogan’s Marley & Me and participate in discussions and workshops. As part of the program, Dr. Robert T. Koch Jr. and three CWE writing consultants conducted a six-week memoir writing course.

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